Amsterdam Light Festival Cruises: The 15 Best Sailings

1.Light Festival Boat with Unlimited Drinks Option

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 2,570 reviews Our pick

Spend 75 minutes on a warm, covered electric boat viewing 20 Amsterdam Light Festival artworks. Your English-speaking host explains the art, canals, and city, while the drinks package adds unlimited beer, wine, glühwein, hot chocolate, soda, and a welcome snack.

“Really nice experience, very very cold so definitely wrap up if you are going in the colder months. Lots of variety for drinks alcoholic and soft drinks. Really good tour guide, fun and involves everyone. Highly recommend”

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2.Light Festival Heated Cruise with Drinks & Snacks

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 1,452 reviews · from $31

Join Captain Jack Amsterdam near Central Station for a 75-minute evening cruise through the Light Festival route. Your English-speaking host points out illuminated art, bridges, houseboats, and canal landmarks while you enjoy a heated cabin, drinks, and optional snack box. Hosts may include Bobby Brown, Chris, Sofia, Lieke, or Elysian.

“Amazing experience! The light installations were stunning, and the cozy boat with warm blankets and drinks made it perfect. The guide was friendly and shared great insights. A must-do during the Amsterdam Light Festival!”

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3.Light Festival Heated Cruise w/ Drinks & Snacks

★★★★★★★★★★3.6 · 727 reviews · from $31

Cruise Amsterdam’s Light Festival aboard a covered, heated classic saloon boat. An English-speaking host explains the 20-plus light artworks and city sights while you enjoy wine, mulled wine, beer, soft drinks, and snacks. Check the package carefully, as drinks and snacks depend on the option selected.

“Our guides did an excellent job engaging the group on the boat. They shared the thought process behind the light displays and how they were inspired, while also providing some history of what we were passing. This isn’t your typical holiday light show, so if that’s what you are looking for, this isn’t for you. It tied social media and its effects on society. Very well done!! They kept glasses full.”

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4.Amsterdam Light Festival Live Commentary & Optional Drinks

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 410 reviews · from $31

Board a heated electric boat at Badhuiskade for a 90-minute Amsterdam Light Festival cruise. Your captain, including guides such as Han, provides live English or Dutch commentary, while audio guides and multilingual brochures explain the artworks. Drinks and stroopwafels are available onboard.

“loved the art work as we went round the canals. lovely way to see more of amsterdam”

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5.Light Festival Cruise with Unlimited Drinks Option

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 263 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.) · from $35

Cruise Amsterdam’s canals and the Amstel for about 75 minutes, passing Central Station, NEMO, the city’s romantic bridge, and Light Festival installations. English-speaking guides such as Sabrina, Roger, Olly, Hannah, and Connor add city stories, while the unlimited drinks option includes warm choices such as gluhwein and hot chocolate.

“As soon as I got to Amsterdam, I knew I'd want to be in the water on the canals and I think night is maybe the best time for that if the weather permits! The glow of the lights on the water makes everything even more magical. The 2024 Light Festival was great! Our hosts on board the boat were friendly, knowledgable about the festival and were great about checking in with everyone to make sure their drinks were full! The pick up point was clearly marked as well and everything ran very smoothly. Worth every penny!”

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6.Amsterdam Light Festival: Heated Boat Cruise + Hot Drinks & Bite

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 207 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.) · from $26Best value

Sail for 75 minutes through Amsterdam’s Light Festival aboard a covered Booot canal boat. A local skipper and live guide explain the artworks and city sights. Choose a standard ticket or add unlimited hot chocolate, mulled wine, beer, wine, soft drinks, and a small snack.

“We were a little worried at first that it would be a tourist trap and when we saw the line of people, but we had a great time!! The guide was outstanding!!! Funny and also with some history - very amusing, friendly and we all had a fun trip.”

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7.Amsterdam Light Festival: Saloon Boat Cruise + Hot Drinks & Bite

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 147 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.) · from $26

Spend 75 minutes on Amsterdam’s UNESCO-listed Canal Ring, viewing Light Festival installations from a covered boat while a live host explains the works and city sights. Guides vary, with Kiara, Nadine R, Leon, Ivan, and others praised by name. Drinks and a snack depend on the option booked.

“The cost of the tour was 18.50€ at the boat and paying online was 28€. The cruise was booked as Flying Dutchman but there was no Flying Dutchman kiosk at Rikjmuseum and no other operator knew where they were. We clicked the link to the meeting place and ended up having to walk 20 minutes to no place where there was a canal cruise kiosk. Finally entered Flying Dutchman Canal Cruise into Google maps and ended up walking another 20 minutes to the Anne Frank House location. There, a rep from another company honored our ticket. My LAST time booking with Viator.”

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8.Amsterdam Light Festival: Heated Cruise with Hot Drinks & Bite

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 144 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.) · from $26

Cruise Amsterdam’s illuminated canals for 75 minutes in a covered saloon boat with a live guide and local skipper. Choose an evening departure and add unlimited beer, wine, mulled wine, hot chocolate, sodas, and one small bite or stroopwafel. Expect warmth, festive views, and possible crowding.

“This experience is extremely misleading in how it is sold: - “just nine people makes for a small, intimate group” - there were over 60 people on the boat - 1:15 length - it was over 1:45 - unlimited drinks and snacks. The snacks were extremely limited It was also extremely chaotic trying to queue and find the right boat. I do not recommend this experience. The hosts were great, despite having to shout as the microphone was broken.”

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9.Amsterdam Light Festival: Canal Cruise + Snack & Unlimited Drinks

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 128 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.) · from $47

Spend 75 minutes cruising Amsterdam’s Light Festival aboard a covered Flying Dutch Boats vessel. A local skipper and live guide explain the artworks and canals. Choose a basic ticket or add unlimited beer, wine, mulled wine, soft drinks, and a small snack or stroopwafel.

“Big disappointment. We went early in the day to find where to board for the evening cruise. It is just an empty dock with no signs or boats. At night these tubs show up. Plastic covers you can’t see out of, but some plastic windows are rolled up to let the freezing air come in. No heat. A hole in the top for the captain to stick his head out to see. This is a sub standard boat. We see all the nice boats go by with proper seating and glass windows, heat, and bathroom. The guide had no microphone and when you could hear him, you couldn’t understand his…”

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10.Amsterdam Light Festival Winter Walk with Stroopwafel Workshop

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 66 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) Top rated

Meet your guide under an orange umbrella at Dam Square for a two-hour English walking tour through Amsterdam’s canals, Begijnhof, Nine Streets, Jordaan, and Light Festival displays. Finish with hot chocolate and a hands-on stroopwafel workshop at Melly’s.

“Very little content and information for a lot of walking! No winer hat or rain poncho as stated in trip itinerary and although we did get a “warm” drink at the end of the walk, the cafe owner wasn’t very happy on our arrival and we were mad to feel like an inconvenience!! Definitely give it a miss 👎🏻”

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11.Light Festival Cruise With Drinks & Snacks

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 62 reviews · from $31

You’ll cruise Amsterdam’s canals for 75 minutes during the Light Festival, passing NEMO, Magere Brug, Herengracht, and more. An English-speaking host and skipper guide the trip. Choose the drinks package for unlimited beer, wine, Glühwein, and soft drinks, plus a snack.

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12.Light Festival Heated Cruise & Unlimited Drinks!

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 61 reviews · 1h 15m · from $49

Board at Amsterdam Central Station for a 75-minute covered, heated canal cruise during the Light Festival. Your captain, sometimes Olivier, explains the illuminated artworks and city sights while you enjoy unlimited drinks, blankets, and views from the electric boat.

“Deze tour gedaan met vriendinnen en we hebben erg genoten! Lekkere warme gluhwein, gezellige verhalen en lekker warm onder een dekentje al het moois kunnen aanschouwen :) zeker een aanrader”

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13.Light Festival Boat Tour with Warm Drinks

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 34 reviews · from $31

Join KINboat for a 75-minute open-boat cruise through Amsterdam’s Light Festival. Your English or Dutch guide explains the Rituals theme and each installation while blankets and warm drinks keep you comfortable. Guide Dule has earned praise for lively city facts, though the open boat demands proper winter clothing.

“Guide is great! The festival is great, great guests, lots of fun, the festival is great! They have hot wine on the boat which is great! All recommendations for this company!”

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14.Light Festival Heated Cruise with Drinks Option

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 32 reviews · from $31

Join Voyage Amsterdam for a 75-minute evening cruise through the Amsterdam Light Festival. An English-speaking guide explains the illuminated artworks as you watch from a heated, covered saloon boat. Choose a basic ticket or add unlimited mulled wine, beer, sodas, and snacks.

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15.Amsterdam Light Festival Canal Cruise + Unlimited Drinks Option

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 29 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.) · from $33

Sail for about 75 minutes from Amsterdam Central Station through the Light Festival route. Your captain handles the canals while an English-speaking guide provides commentary. Choose a departure between 5 and 10pm, with drinks and snacks available on the 31 December option.

“Disappointed in the Light Festival Canal tour. The light displayed were not holiday oriented and very spread out. When we got to the location we were told to get on a specific boat. It was not fully enclosed as the picture shows. There ended up only being 3 of us on the boat. It appeared KIN had other boats,with more people, so not sure why we were put on this one. I will say our Captain/Tour Guide was very knowledgeable and did a good job.”

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