water based sports
Amsterdam is a city of water, meaning there’s loads of ways to make the most of being near the canals, rivers and lakes. The water in Amsterdam is pretty clean, and the quality of the water of the recreational lakes is even checked by the authorities every two weeks.
Find out more below
- Hire a boat
- Stand-up paddle boarding
- Surfing
- Open water swimming
- Kayaking
1. Hire a Boat
Hiring your own boat and doing a tour of the canals is something I’d definitely recommend whilst you’re in Amsterdam. Renting a boat for 2-3 hours costs around €100 and can usually fit up to 8 people. In the past I’ve used Mokumboot, they do reasonable prices and all of their boats are electric so better for the environment. You don’t need any kind of license to captain one of these boats, and they’re very easy to steer!
We would usually buy some crates of beer and picnic food from the supermarket before getting the boat. There are a few rules for boats on the canals, e.g. always stick to the right and don’t play loud music.
There’s some great bars and pubs around Amsterdam that are accessible by boat – perfect to add to your route for when you want to buy some extra drinks or, importantly, need to use a toilet…
- Hannekes Boom
- Waterkant
- Edel
- Zouthaven
- Loetje aan ‘t IJ
2. Stand-Up Paddle (SUP) Boarding
A great place for stand-up paddle boarding in Amsterdam is Sloterplas. This lake, located in Sloterpark has a water center perched on the edge with the option to hire water sport equipment. If you plan on hiring paddle boards for 2+ hours, you can paddle all the from the water sport center to Sloterplas Beach, a sandy urban beach with cafes and a volleyball net.
Watersport Centrum Sloterplas rent SUP boards for €15 / hour and kayaks for €7.50 / hour.
3. Visit the Beach
You’ll have to head further afield to the nearest beach, Zandvoort, if you want to go surfing. This large sandy beach is a 34-minute train journey from Amsterdam, so expect a trip to the beach to take up the best part of a day. But once you’re there there’s loads to, including:
- Surfing, stand-up paddle boarding, kitesurfing.
- Swim in the sea.
- Go to one of its 30 beach clubs.
You can rent a surfboard and a wetsuit for €12.50 /hour from First Wave Surf School.
4. Open Water Swimming
There are some great spots around Amsterdam for some open water swimming. Check out the following:
- Sloterplas – One of the best spots for swimming, sloterplas has an urban sandy beach on the edge of a lake, perfect for swimming, picnics, and volleyball.
- Amsterdamse Bos – in Amsterdam’s biggest landscape park you’ll find several places to swim, including Grote Vijver (Big Pond)
- IJBurg – this is a suburb in the east of Amsterdam with a sandy man made beach, perfect for a picnic and a swim.
5. Canal Kayak or SUP Tour
See Amsterdam from the canals in your very own kayak or paddle board, a fun activity for a sunny summers day! You can rent stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, canoes and wetsuits from
https://kanoensupamsterdam.nl/
You can just hire the equipment on an hourly basis and head out on your own, or you can join one of their group outings.
