Amsterdam - hoho bus or canal boat?

[FritzG]

Has anyone used the hoho bus and/or canal trip? I see pro's and con's for each one especially since the canal trip only runs once an hour. We're planning to do Amsterdam on our own in September, and we usually find hoho's to be an easy way to see the sights at our own pace.

[orchestrapal]

How many cities can you see from a canal? We have always done a canal cruise where ever one was offered. It is very special, while a bus is a bus!

[FreestyleNovice]

Canal trip, hands down.

 

You will see the beauty of Amsterdam from a slower and much more enjoyable pace.

 

There are multiple companies offering canal tours btw.

[Ine]

Indeed both sometimes take a lot of your time, waiting for bus or boat.

You might opt for a GVB daycard valid for all trams and buses to get to those places you want to visit. http://en.gvb.nl/gvb-dag-meerdagenkaart

Apart from that you can make a canaltour of about one hour to see it from the water. Around Centraal Station and Rokin you find many tours offered.

https://www.canal.nl/en/canal-cruise-amsterdam

http://www.lovers.nl/en/

http://www.rederijplas.nl/en/

http://www.rederijkooij.nl/en

[WatchHill]

I've done two canal trips - one in the day time was nice. However, the best one was toward evening as the lights came on and we enjoyed wine and cheese as we sailed along the canals.

 

I've also done combination walking and bus tours in Amsterdam, visiting museums and the flower market, but the canal trips are unique to the city.

 

Darcy

Edited April 23, 2015 by WatchHill

[tartanexile81]

Indeed both sometimes take a lot of your time, waiting for bus or boat.

You might opt for a GVB daycard valid for all trams and buses to get to those places you want to visit. http://en.gvb.nl/gvb-dag-meerdagenkaart

Apart from that you can make a canaltour of about one hour to see it from the water. Around Centraal Station and Rokin you find many tours offered.

https://www.canal.nl/en/canal-cruise-amsterdam

http://www.lovers.nl/en/

http://www.rederijplas.nl/en/

http://www.rederijkooij.nl/en

 

Thank you for the information Ine. I've had a look at the websites but it's hard to decide which company to choose. We'll be in Amsterdam in just over 3 weeks for an overnight visit and we were going to buy our tickets in advance. Gray Line looks like the best bet in terms of the route that covers the main tourist spots / frequency (never been to Amsterdam so forgive me if that sounds stupid to you)

Thanks for your great advice

[crusingnut]

I've done two canal trips - one in the day time was nice. However, the best one was toward evening as the lights came on and we enjoyed wine and cheese as we sailed along the canals.

 

I've also done combination walking and bus tours in Amsterdam, visiting museums and the flower market, but the canal trips are unique to the city.

 

Darcy

 

Do you recall which canal tour you took in the evening? I've read it's beautiful when the canal is lit up.

[Ine]

Rederij Kooy has cheese and wine cruises at night

http://www.rederijkooij.nl/en/our-canal-cruises

[WatchHill]

Thanks, Ine.

 

I need another trip to Amsterdam in the early fall and want to do an evening canal trip, then board a river boat going down the Rhine. I'm looking out at the tulips that are in bloom - many of which I purchased at the floating flower market.

 

Darcy

[UKBayern]

The Hoho bus should be a definite no. Busses cannot drive along the canals, and by looking at the map it is as I feared, the route is almost only on the busy modern throughfares (Weesperstraat, Prins Hendrikkade, Plantage Middenlaan, brrrr.... just ter-ri-ble).

What I personally would do is start with a one hour boat trip to see the highlights from the water with a short explanation. I see that the Hoho-boat does not cover a lot of the canals either.

Amsterdam is a very compact walkable city, and the public transport is excellent. DIY is the way to go.

[HRPro]

Rederij Kooy has cheese and wine cruises at night

http://www.rederijkooij.nl/en/our-canal-cruises

 

We will be visiting the Rijksmuseum and the Ann Frank House during our day in Amsterdam in September. Which would be the location closest to one of those sites to take a canal cruise. Unfortunately, the evening cruise would be too late for us as we will need to take the train back to Rotterdam that evening, but we would like to take a late afternoon/early evening canal cruise. Since I've never been to Amsterdam, I'm not sure which would be the most convenient location for the canal cruise.

 

Many thanks for your help.

[Ine]

From Anne Frankhuis those near Centraal Station, Plas, Lovers and Canal.nl

[OCruisers]

We very much enjoyed the Canal Boat ! :D

[FreestyleNovice]

We will be visiting the Rijksmuseum and the Ann Frank House during our day in Amsterdam in September. Which would be the location closest to one of those sites to take a canal cruise. Unfortunately, the evening cruise would be too late for us as we will need to take the train back to Rotterdam that evening, but we would like to take a late afternoon/early evening canal cruise. Since I've never been to Amsterdam, I'm not sure which would be the most convenient location for the canal cruise.

 

Many thanks for your help.

 

Maybe the early evening in September will be in a nice dusk. Trains run all night long between Amsterdam and Rotterdam btw.

[Northern Aurora]

We have been to Amsterdam twice, and while we have taken canal tours (not the canal museum "bus") each time, which are delightful, we've found that Amsterdam has an excellent tram/bus system. Very easy for a visitor to understand.

[LondonTowner]

The HOHO bus we took in Amsterdam also included a canal trip. We caught the bus from Central Square.