Delft canal cruise: times, prices and is the boat tour worth it?

A Delft canal cruise with Rondvaart Delft leaves from Koornmarkt 113 every hour on the hour from 11:00 to 17:00, every day from 1 April to 31 October, and takes about 50 minutes. Adults pay €14.00, children up to 16 pay €6.50 and children under 4 ride free. In November the boats sail at weekends only, and from December to March there are no scheduled trips. For a smaller open boat, Randstad Recreaties sails from right next to Delft station. Yes, it is worth it, as long as you treat it as what it is best at: a 50-minute rest between sights, with Delft passing at eye level, rather than a replacement for seeing the town on foot.

We are a small Delft company that runs private walking tours in this town, so this post looks at the boat from that side: what the water shows you, what it cannot explain, and how to fit the two into one day.

Who runs canal boat tours in Delft?

Two companies run canal boat tours in Delft. Rondvaart Delft, the boat company of Rederij Brands at Koornmarkt 113, runs the scheduled cruises in covered boats with a live guide. Randstad Recreaties sails smaller open electric boats from a jetty next to Delft station, with a skipper or for you to steer yourself. Anything else on the water is something you pedal or paddle.

Rondvaart Delft: covered boats from the Koornmarkt

Rondvaart Delft sails four covered canal boats, each built for Delft’s narrow canals:

• Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, 48 passengers, fully electric, built in 2016
• Willem de Zwijger, 48 passengers, fully electric, built in 1997
• Hugo de Groot, 40 passengers
• Johannes Vermeer, 32 passengers, the oldest boat in the fleet

All four can sail with the glass roof fully open or fully closed. The same company also has a small open electric boat, the E-Hopper (it used to be called the Canal Hopper), for up to eight people with a skipper, and pedal boats at €15.00 per hour. A live guide on board tells the stories as you go.

Randstad Recreaties: small open boats from the station

Randstad Recreaties rents small open electric boats, the quiet kind the Dutch call whisper boats (fluisterboten). They leave from a jetty on the Westsingelgracht, right next to Delft station, so you can be on the water a few minutes after you step off the train. You can book a trip through historic Delft with a skipper, or rent the boat and steer it yourself; you do not need a boating licence. Self-drive costs €179 for four hours or €289 for eight hours (weekdays only), plus a €100 deposit, with start times at 10:00, 12:30, 15:00, 17:30 and 20:00. The season runs from April to October, Tuesday to Sunday. Online booking for 2027 opens in mid-February; until then, call +31 6 42 82 61 00.

Rondvaart Delft or Randstad Recreaties?

	Rondvaart Delft	Randstad Recreaties
Departure	Koornmarkt 113, old centre, 5 minutes’ walk from the station	Westsingelgracht, right next to Delft station
Boat	Covered canal boats for 32 to 48 people, glass roof	Small open electric boats
Trip	50-minute cruise with a live guide	With a skipper, or self-drive
Season	Daily April to October, weekends in November	April to October, Tuesday to Sunday
Price	€14.00 adult, €6.50 child up to 16	Self-drive from €179 for 4 hours; ask for skippered trips
In the rain	Roof closes	Open boat
Best for	Stories, any weather, families on a budget	A small group with its own boat on a dry day

Choose Rondvaart Delft if you want the stories, a seat under a roof and a fixed hourly departure. Choose Randstad Recreaties if you are a small group who would rather have a boat to yourselves, set your own pace and start right at the station.

The city’s tourist office, In Delft, also lists stand-up paddleboarding on the city canals; see its page on experiencing Delft from the water for the current options.

Where does the Delft canal boat leave from?

From the ticket kiosk at Koornmarkt 113, in the old centre, about five minutes’ walk from Delft station. You can buy a ticket at the kiosk or book ahead online, by phone or by email.

If you come by car, the operator recommends the underground car parks Phoenix and Zuidpoort, because parking in the centre itself is difficult. Coaches park on the Spoorsingel.

The smaller open boats of Randstad Recreaties leave from a jetty on the Westsingelgracht, right next to the station.

When does the boat run?

Daily in the main season, at weekends in November, and not on a schedule in winter.

	Rondvaart Delft canal cruise
Season	1 April to 31 October 2026, seven days a week
November	Weekends; weekdays on request
December to March	No scheduled departures
Departures	Every hour on the hour, 11:00 to 17:00 (last boat 17:00)
Duration	About 50 minutes
Departure point	Koornmarkt 113, Delft

Groups and private boats can arrange another departure time with the company, including outside these hours.

How much does a canal cruise in Delft cost?

€14.00 for an adult on the regular 50-minute cruise. A whole private boat starts at €99.95 for up to eight people.

Ticket or boat	Price
Adult	€14.00
Child up to 16	€6.50
Child under 4	Free
Groups of 20 or more	10% off the regular cruise
E-Hopper, private, up to 8 people, per hour	€99.95
Johannes Vermeer, private, up to 32 people	€425.00
Hugo de Groot, private, up to 40 people	€525.00
Willem de Zwijger or Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, private, up to 48 people	€625.00

The private boats come with a captain and guide for a 50-minute cruise. For two people the regular boat is the obvious choice. For a party of seven or eight, the E-Hopper costs about what seven adult tickets would (€98.00), and the boat is yours.

Sources: the operators’ own websites (checked 19 October 2026): Rondvaart Delft, prices and timetable, Delft Blue Line, Royal Delft, Randstad Recreaties.

What do you see from a Delft canal boat?

Canal houses, the undersides of the old arched bridges, and the backs of buildings you cannot reach on foot. The guide on board covers Delft’s history, Delft Blue, Johannes Vermeer and the Dutch East India Company.

The real difference is the height. On foot you look down at the water; from the boat you look up at the gables, and the bridges become low arches you pass beneath rather than steps you climb. That view is the boat’s gift, and no walk gives it to you.

What a boat cannot do is stop. It cannot take you into the Oude Kerk to stand at Vermeer’s grave, or let you walk round the tomb of William of Orange in the Nieuwe Kerk, or wait while you look at a stone on a facade until it makes sense. A walk explains what the boat only shows. That is why we treat the two as partners rather than rivals.

Is a canal boat tour in Delft worth it?

Yes, for most visitors with half a day or more. It is €14 for 50 minutes sitting down, under a roof when it rains, with a guide talking. In a day of churches, cobbles and museums, that is a well-placed rest.

It is less worth it in three cases:

• You have two or three hours in Delft. Then spend them on the Markt, the Nieuwe Kerk, the Oude Kerk and the Oude Delft canal on foot. The boat is the first thing to cut from a short visit.
• You are coming from Amsterdam and have just done a canal cruise there. Delft from the water is smaller and quieter, which some people prefer and others find repetitive.
• It is a dry, mild day and you love walking. The canals of Delft are all walkable, and the bridges give good views; you lose the low angle but gain the stops.

What if it rains?

You stay dry. The glass roof on all four canal boats closes, so the regular cruise sails in all weather and you see the canals through glass. On a wet day the boat becomes one of the better hours in Delft: it is one of the few sights you can do sitting down and covered between two indoor visits. The private E-Hopper is an open boat; the operator offers a bad-weather guarantee on its private boats, so ask what that means for your booking. The Randstad Recreaties boats are open too, which makes them a dry-weather choice.

Does the Delft canal boat run in winter?

Not on a schedule. The season runs from 1 April to 31 October. In November the boats sail at weekends, and on weekdays on request. From December to March there are no scheduled departures; a group can ask the company about a private trip.

If you are in Delft in winter, the canals are still the backbone of the town, and a walk along the Oude Delft and the Koornmarkt in the low winter light is a good substitute. Our guides walk all year.

Is the boat accessible?

Rondvaart Delft does not publish wheelchair or step-free information. Boarding means stepping down from the quay into the boat, so if steps or a wheelchair are a concern, call the company on +31 15 212 6385 before you go and ask which boat and which time suit you best.

Can you take a boat to Royal Delft?

Yes. Rondvaart Delft’s Delft Blue Line combines a canal cruise to the Royal Delft factory, an audio tour of the factory and museum, and a boat trip back to the old centre. It departs daily at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00 and 14:00 from Koornmarkt 113, from April to October, and takes about three hours.

Delft Blue Line	Price
Adult	€28.50
Child 13 to 16	€19.50
Child 4 to 12	€15.50
Child under 4	Free

That compares well with buying the parts separately: a regular cruise (€14.00) plus Royal Delft entry (€17.50) is €31.50 for an adult, and the regular cruise does not take you to the factory. For small groups the return trip may be by tuktuk instead of the boat, depending on the day. If you want to know whether the factory itself is worth three hours, our post Is the Royal Delft factory tour worth it? has the full picture.

How do you combine a canal cruise with a walking tour?

Walk first, then sail. A two-hour walk in the morning gives you the stories; the boat after lunch lets you sit down and see the same streets from the water, and the things you heard about in the morning now have a name when you pass them.

A half day that works:

• 10:00 Private walking tour from the Markt, two hours: the Nieuwe Kerk, the city hall, the Oude Kerk and the canals.
• 12:00 Lunch near the Koornmarkt or on the Beestenmarkt.
• 13:00 Canal cruise from Koornmarkt 113, back at about 13:50.
• 14:00 Free afternoon: the churches inside, the Vermeer Centrum, or Royal Delft.

Book the boat for the hour after your walk ends and you will not have to watch the clock during the tour. If you prefer the reverse order, the 11:00 boat followed by a walk at 12:00 works too, but you lose the moment of recognition from the water. For a full timed plan with the boat in the afternoon, see Delft in one day.

For a company or a large group, our full-day package Delft at its Best puts all of this in one programme: a private walking tour, a Dutch lunch, a canal boat trip that drops the group near Royal Delft, and a guided visit to the factory, for €98 per person including 21% VAT, from 11 people, about seven hours from 10:00 to 17:00.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to book the Delft canal cruise in advance?

Not usually. You can buy a ticket at the kiosk at Koornmarkt 113 and take the next hourly boat. Book ahead if you are set on a particular hour, on a sunny summer weekend, or if you are a group, which can also arrange its own departure time.

How long is the canal boat tour in Delft?

About 50 minutes on the regular cruise. The Delft Blue Line, which includes the boat to Royal Delft, the factory visit and the boat back, takes about three hours. The private boats are booked for a 50-minute cruise, and the small E-Hopper by the hour.

Is the Delft canal cruise good for children?

Yes, and it is cheap for them: €6.50 for children up to 16 and free under 4. Fifty minutes sitting still suits most children from about four, and passing under the low bridges is the part they remember. On the Delft Blue Line, children aged 4 to 12 pay €15.50.

Can we hire a private boat in Delft?

Yes. Rondvaart Delft rents its canal boats privately with a captain and guide, from €425.00 for up to 32 people to €625.00 for up to 48, and the small electric E-Hopper for up to eight people at €99.95 per hour. Groups can choose their own departure time. Randstad Recreaties rents small open electric boats from next to the station, with a skipper or to steer yourself, from €179 for four hours.

Is the canal boat in Delft the same as an Amsterdam canal cruise?

The idea is the same, the scale is not. Delft’s canals are narrow and the bridges low, so the boats are small and the trip is quiet, with no big harbour or busy waterways. It takes 50 minutes and covers the old centre rather than a city.

Which is better, the boat or a walking tour?

They do different jobs. The boat shows you Delft from a low angle and gives you a rest; a walk takes you into the churches and squares and explains what you are looking at. If you have time for both, walk first and take the boat after lunch.

See Delft on foot with a Discover Delft guide

If you would like the stories before you board, the Highlights of Delft private walking tour covers the centre in two hours for €199 per group, not per person, for up to 20 people. The Delft and Royal Delft tour adds the factory, with entry and a tuktuk there and back included (a bus from November to February), from €224. Our guides work in English, Dutch, German, French, Italian and Spanish, and every tour is private to your party.