Amsterdam hop on hop off boat

[DanaJW]

I am just wondering if this is a good option to get our bearings and see Amsterdam.  Thanks in advance!

[sansterre]

Yes, wonderful way to see the city.  And hop off and back on whenever you want.

[DanaJW]

Thanks so much for your response.

[Ine]

The nicest way to see Amsterdam is from the canals.

[DanaJW]

Thank you 

[TiogaCruiser]

I’ve been looking at this also. Is it part of the public transport or separate private companies? 

Im finding several third party vendors selling 24 hour tickets.

[Ine]

Just now, TiogaCruiser said:

I’ve been looking at this also. Is it part of the public transport or separate private companies? 

Im finding several third party vendors selling 24 hour tickets.

It is not public transport.  All of them are private companies.

[dogs4fun]

FWIW - the evening canal tours are also wonderful - one acquires an entirely different perspective of the city magically lighted at night (the bridges are also lighted). We loved our wine and cheese evening tour.

Edited April 11, 2019 by dogs4fun

[DanaJW]

Thank you all!

[BarbinMich]

On 4/11/2019 at 9:21 AM, TiogaCruiser said:

I’ve been looking at this also. Is it part of the public transport or separate private companies? 

Im finding several third party vendors selling 24 hour tickets.

We've used these canal boats on several visits and highly recommend them.  Their starting point is near the RR station and not far from the ship dock.

[dpw]

We will be staying at the Amsterdam Hilton in the museum district. Is there a hop on hop off that starts nearby?  Or what kind of public transportation would be recommended?  Thank you

[MAVIP]

7 hours ago, dpw said:

We will be staying at the Amsterdam Hilton in the museum district. Is there a hop on hop off that starts nearby?  Or what kind of public transportation would be recommended?  Thank you

 Not exactly nearby Apollolaan 138. With a 6 minutes walk to a Public transport bus #347 in Emmastraat (leaving f.e. at 13.56pm) you will arrive at the Rijksmuseum at 14.08 pm. And there is a stop of the Hop on Hop off. Pity is that you will have to look carefully as the city of Amsterdam forbids them to indicate the stopping places. I would suggest to ask the driver of bus 347 or passers by….. At www.9292.nl you will be able to find all public transport in the Netherlands. In your language too. 

[Ine]

9 hours ago, dpw said:

We will be staying at the Amsterdam Hilton in the museum district. Is there a hop on hop off that starts nearby?  Or what kind of public transportation would be recommended?  Thank you

Talk to the staff in the hotel. They can tell you which one is the closest. It might be easier however to take a tram or bus to the centre like Centraal Station where most canalboats are located. You have a choice of a hopon off boat or a canalboatride which lasts in general about one hour.

[dpw]

I can’t thank both MAVIP and  Ine enough for your responses. We are on a land tour and added extra days in Amsterdam on our own. I did not research the location of the hotel prior to booking and now realize we are a distance from the central of the city. I did email our hotel regarding transportation with no response. Cruise critic has always been invaluable in planning for a cruise, but really did not expect to receive such detailed information for an area so far from the airport and cruise port. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Joanandjoe]

MAVIP and Ine, we were planning on staying at Banks Mansion (and still have a reservation there); but we were able to reserve rooms at the Hilton for our 3 night stay for Hilton points plus a small amount of cash.  Based on the answers to dpw about how difficult transportation is from the Hilton, would you suggest saving the Hilton points for another trip, and using our reservations at Banks Mansion?  Thanks.

 

I will start a different post about the Grachten Festival, which will take place while we're in Amsterdam.

[4cordelia]

On 4/10/2019 at 3:53 PM, Ine said:

The nicest way to see Amsterdam is from the canals.

Agree!  To max your time, try to start early in the day.  Verify last boat time and where the drop of point will be.  

Enjoy!

 

[Ine]

10 hours ago, Joanandjoe said:

MAVIP and Ine, we were planning on staying at Banks Mansion (and still have a reservation there); but we were able to reserve rooms at the Hilton for our 3 night stay for Hilton points plus a small amount of cash.  Based on the answers to dpw about how difficult transportation is from the Hilton, would you suggest saving the Hilton points for another trip, and using our reservations at Banks Mansion?  Thanks.

 

I will start a different post about the Grachten Festival, which will take place while we're in Amsterdam.

Banks Mansion is a great hotel and is city center. Friends of us always stay there.

If you stay in the Hilton (also a nice hotel but outside city center) you need transportation to get to the center. Not that difficult but it takes time of course. Can you use your Hilton points for Doubletree by Hilton? There is one very close to Centraal Station and the cruise terminal. Plus that one has a nice bar on the topfloor with view over the city.

[4cordelia]

23 hours ago, dpw said:

I can’t thank both MAVIP and  Ine enough for your responses. We are on a land tour and added extra days in Amsterdam on our own. I did not research the location of the hotel prior to booking and now realize we are a distance from the central of the city. I did email our hotel regarding transportation with no response. Cruise critic has always been invaluable in planning for a cruise, but really did not expect to receive such detailed information for an area so far from the airport and cruise port. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Cruise Critic is the first place I always start looking when planning a trip.   We stayed at the Marriott in the Museum District and found the trams to be very easy.  There is an attendant onbaord who helped us get where we needed to go.  We found Amsterdam to be one of the easiest cities to get around.  I hope you do too!

[dpw]

Thank you,4cordelia, for your area specific information, encouragement, and well wishes!  We leave in three days!!  Like you, I will now turn to cruise critic first when planning any type of trip!

[4cordelia]

On 5/17/2019 at 4:12 PM, dpw said:

Thank you,4cordelia, for your area specific information, encouragement, and well wishes!  We leave in three days!!  Like you, I will now turn to cruise critic first when planning any type of trip!

Happy Travels to you too!

 

[Earl Rosebery]

We found the hop on hop off to be completely unreliable.   Took the boat out to the Museum district.   Tried to come back but the service was so infrequent, we ended up taking the tram..  

[gfkcruiser]

Never been to Amsterdam (except airport many times)  and only have 1.5 days near end of August.  Regarding the canal tours, are any recommended over others and do they all cover the same area?

At this time we will be at the Movenpick hotel.

 

Thanks

[3rdCoastFan]

17 hours ago, gfkcruiser said:

Never been to Amsterdam (except airport many times)  and only have 1.5 days near end of August.  Regarding the canal tours, are any recommended over others and do they all cover the same area?

At this time we will be at the Movenpick hotel.

 

Thanks

The vast majority of canal boat tours follow the same itinerary and include a pre-recorded commentary track. There are about a half dozen that leave from the area immediately surround Centraal. 

 

Two companies run smaller boats that may let you see different parts of the city. One is KINBoat and another is Those Dam Boat Guys. Both have live commentary. The former is BYO, which may encourage a livelier atmosphere.