Zaanse Schans Day Cruise

A full day on a genuine 1916 Hasselter cargo barge, retracing the freight route she actually worked - out along the IJ past the old NDSM shipyard, through the sluices onto the Zaan, two hours among the windmills of the Zaanse Schans with the full €30 mills-and-museums ticket and the clog-making workshop included, and home down the historic tow canal. Never more than twelve guests, and usually eight to ten.

• €129 per personchildren 8–15: €99 · includes the €30 mills ticket
• 4–6 hoursincluding stops and the workshop
• Casts off 9:00–10:00from Houthavens
• Max 12 guestsusually 8 to 10
• NL · EN · DEguided in all three

Highlights

• A certified, still-working 1916 Hasselter vrachtaak - a real sailing museum ship, not a replica and not a standard canal boat.
• Two full hours moored at the Zaanse Schans on the full €30 ticket - working windmills, the Zaans Museum and its Verkade chocolate factory, the Time Museum, the audio tour - plus the clog-making workshop, all in the price.
• Through the sluices onto the Zaan, where old industry stands shoulder to shoulder with modern food factories - and the old Verkade biscuit factory.
• A run through the polder by sloot, gliding above the level of the houses and fields either side of you.
• Home to Amsterdam down the historic Amsterdam–Purmerend tow canal and through the lock behind Centraal Station.
• A family at the helm rather than a crew on shift - the story of the ship told by the people who keep her sailing.

What your ticket opens at the Zaanse Schans

Everyone else at the Zaanse Schans queues at the gate and pays €30 for this. It's already inside your €129 - which puts the sailing day itself under €100.

And then there's the clog-making workshop, which isn't sold at the gate at all - it comes with the ship, not the ticket. Between the two, the whole Zaanse Schans half of your day is paid for before you step off the boat.

The route, mooring by mooring

Locations

This cruise casts off from Houthavens. The Museumhaven is our second mooring, used for private charters and trips agreed in advance. Centraal Station is the landmark both are measured from.

Practical information

Everything worth knowing before you decide - the honest version, including the bits that might not suit you.

Price

€129 per person, VAT included. Children aged 8 to 15 sail for €99. The Zaanse Schans ticket - €30 if you buy it at the gate - and the clog-making workshop are both part of the price, so the sailing day itself works out under €100. Nothing to book or queue for separately.

What's included

The cruise itself, guided by the family. The full Zaanse Schans ticket: two working windmills, the World of Windmills museum, the Zaans Museum with its Verkade chocolate-factory experience, the Zaan Time Museum, the Weavers' House, the Dutch-and-English audio tour, and 10% off the pancakes at De Kraai. The clog-making workshop on top, which isn't sold at the gate at all. Coffee, tea and water all day. Wifi and power aboard. Towels if you fancy a swim, and life vests and buoys for everyone.

Departure & duration

Casts off from Houthavens between 9:00 and 10:00 and runs 4 to 6 hours including the stops and the workshop. We confirm your exact departure time by email when we confirm the date.

Sailing days

We sail on fixed days, keeping a day free between trips to clean and prepare the ship. Tell us the date you have in mind and we'll tell you straight away whether she's free.

Group size

Twelve guests at most, usually eight to ten. Small enough that you're sailing with the family rather than being processed by a crew.

Minimum to sail

A departure sails from 6 guests. If fewer book yours, you choose: move free to another departure, turn your date into a private charter with everything you've paid credited in full, or take a full refund - no questions asked.

Aboard the ship

Below deck there's the vooronder (bow cabin), the galley with its lounge - sofa and table - the main kajuit, the engine room, and a toilet. There's covered and open-air seating, so there's always a dry seat whatever the sky is doing.

Food & drink

We don't cater. Bring your own food and drink aboard - there's a galley with a working gas stove if you'd like to cook - or we moor somewhere good along the way and you eat ashore.

What to bring

Swimwear if the weather looks right, and lunch if you'd rather not stop for it.

Children & dogs

Children are welcome from 8 years old. Dogs are welcome too, on a lead.

Accessibility

Standing height below deck is 155 cm. That means the ship is not suitable for wheelchair users or for guests with limited mobility, and we'd rather say so now than have you find out at the quay.

Languages

Your day is guided in Dutch, English or German - tell us which you'd prefer.

Booking & payment

Nothing to pay to ask. You send a date, we confirm availability by email, and payment runs through Stripe once the booking is confirmed. We sell this cruise direct - never through resellers.

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.

Bad weather

Rain rarely stops us - there's always a dry seat aboard. But if our skipper cancels a sailing for weather or safety, you choose: rebook any open date free, or a 100% refund. No forms, no arguing - the skipper's call is final and the risk is ours, not yours.

Reaching us

Phone Monday to Friday, 9:00–18:00. Email and WhatsApp any time - we reply on sailing-free days. You'll always reach the family, not a call centre.

Getting there

Ships our size can't come into the centre anymore - Amsterdam's engine and emissions rules have closed the inner city to roughly 95% of comparable vessels. The "Verbetering" is one of the few that still can, which is why you step aboard in the city itself rather than being bussed to a marina outside town.

20 minwalk from Centraal

Houthavens Departs from here

Van Diemenkade 28, 1013 CR Amsterdam

≈1.7 km north-west of Amsterdam Centraal, along the IJ waterfront - or a few minutes by taxi. Look for the old ships moored along Van Diemenkade.

Public-transport routes and parking for this quay are still being finalised - ask us when you book.

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13 minwalk from Centraal

Museumhaven By arrangement

Oosterdok 12, 1011 VX Amsterdam

≈1 km south-east of Amsterdam Centraal, beside Het Scheepvaartmuseum on the Oosterdok. Used for private charters and trips agreed in advance, not for this cruise.

Public-transport routes and parking for this quay are still being finalised - ask us when you book.

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What guests say

Left on our Google business page after sailing with us during Sail Amsterdam. Written in Dutch - translated here, otherwise unedited.