Smidtje Canal Cruises Haarlem: 50-Minute Historic Centre Boat Tour
4.4
247 Ratings
Haarlem

Experience the beauty of Haarlem’s historic centre on a 50-minute boat tour with Smidtje Canal Cruises. Let our experienced skippers guide you through the canals and river Spaarne while enjoying food and drinks on board.

Duration: 50 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Teylers Museum - Teylers Museum is an art, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the museum is the neoclassical Oval Room (1784), which was built behind the house of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst (1702–1778),…
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What's Included
  • Audio guided tour
  • Professional Driver/Skipper/Guide included
  • Enjoy a 50-minute scenic canal cruise
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks, unless specified
Additional Information

Embark on a captivating journey with us and explore the historical heart of Haarlem for a delightful 50 minutes. Let our knowledgeable skippers lead you through the city’s most enchanting highlights, including the illustrious Teylers Museum, the iconic Molen de Adriaan windmill, the vibrant Jopenkerk brewery, and the captivating Frans Hals Museum….

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Location
Spaarne 11A
Spaarne
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(247 Ratings)
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1 star
Auriselm2021
Aug 27, 2025
Very relaxed and educational! - The website is user friendly, the reservation and payment was easy to arrange. Very friendly and helpful staff. The boat trip was very relaxed and educational and to listen in 3 different languages.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
X5915nvrd
Aug 25, 2025
Interesting - A nice interesting trip through Haarlem by boat. Fun facts and facts about the city and the canals / waterways of Haarlem.
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Passenger13456876958
Aug 21, 2025
Beautiful cruise on the Spaarne - Together with my mother we enjoyed a beautiful cruise on the Spaarne. Actually I had reserved voir 16.00 but on location I asked asn an employee of Smidtje if we could join the cruise earlier. The next cruise was at 1.30pm. This was arranged quickly and kindly by the employee. And after 15 minutes we could already go on the boat.
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Relax11772238224
Aug 2, 2025
Haarlem from the water - An introduction to Haarlem from the water. DE skipper was very EN enthusiastic and could tell many nice things besides DE standard information. It was also fine but DE own "touch" made it just a bit more special
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Families959
Jul 31, 2025
Super! - Very interesting EN beautiful boat trip. We had reserved a time, but due to circumstances we were allowed to participate in a later boat trip. Super arranged. Very friendly captain!
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Monique
Aug 26, 2025
Nice open boat, top skipper but still a lesser experience. - The boat trip was lovely. Nice open boat and with 7 people we could sit nicely in the front of the boat with each other. Skipper very friendly but 1 lady on the shore of the Blacksmith was not so nice and responded very strongly to our sons. We had asked Consent to smoke (in addition to our party, 3 people on board) and that was allowed. So we were not aware of any harm when the lady in question demanded that the cigarettes be put out immediately and called our sons antisocial. This while they had asked and received Consent neatly in advance. It left quite a mark on our boat, booked to make the birthday of our daughter (18) even more special. Because I know someone who works at the Blacksmith and I think she is a great hostess, the boat and skipper top were a four rating anyway. Again a pity that our skipper's colleague managed to temper the mood quite a bit.
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Marinal60
Aug 22, 2025
Nice but not perfect - Nice trip, not too long, not too short. You get a nice impression of Haarlem from the water. The explanation is not only very concise but also somewhat meagre. Fortunately, the skipper gave some more explanation. That brightened things up. All praise to the skipper, who also worked entirely alone (also mooring etc.). The (arched) windows are a bit less transparent due to aging so you can't see through them properly. That's a shame. Tip for the route: with 100 meters you can continue the St. Bavo Cathedral on the Leidsevaart show. That would be a huge enrichment. You'll have to manoeuvre around the corner there. It takes time, too. So turn around a little later, and you'll have an attraction.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
T3662shnicod
Aug 18, 2025
Poor communication - I had booked a canal cruise for 7 people, and because there was an 86-year-old person with walking difficulties, booked for a closed canal boat. I got confirmation of this, so I thought everything was fine. The day before the cruise I received another email as a reminder, very neat. Until I read the email again and saw that there was now an open boat in the confirmation, instead of from covered boat. Called Smidtje and indeed we were, without being informed, placed in an open boat, because the sailing times had suddenly changed. Yeah, and that's not possible with someone who's got walking difficulties, they don't get in and out of a skiff. The problem was solved by placing us on a closed canal boat half an hour earlier. Fortunately, this was not a problem for us, but I do not think it is neat, especially because I have tried to contact a disabled person by telephone prior to booking. According to the ladies at the reception it was the system that we were not informed about this. But sorry, you had my phone number and my e-mail address. How difficult it can be to get in touch. We considered the cruise itself fun, our 'captain' did it fun and informative
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Toosl729
Aug 7, 2025
Bit disappointing. - The audio tour did not work but the captain would guide himself. That was minimal and in bad English. He had one of the guests operate the rudder. Furthermore, he was more concerned with a few guests than with his work. I would have liked more information. The trip started later and was finished very quickly. Barely 35 minutes.
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Frankd1701rm
Jul 21, 2025
- We went with two people on board on Sunday 20 July 2025 at 2 pm. The captain did his best to explain the buildings and history of Haarlem but the sound system was not good. And his English translations left much to be desired; he frequently inserted Dutch words into the English text, the same for the German explanations. Furthermore a beautiful trip on river Spaarne. With a better sound system and better translations it would be an even better excurusion.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Check Availability
From $22
From $22
up to 10 guests
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Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).
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