A View from the Amstel
I have never needed much convincing to visit Amsterdam. From 16th century houses lining beautiful canals, to coffeeshops, and the Red Light District, this quirky city has always been on my list to explore. I got the chance to do just that during my last trip to Europe while staying in an accommodation that’s quintessentially Dutch, an Amsterdam houseboat!
I first came across the houseboat rental site, Amsterdam Book Now, after browsing I amsterdam, the city’s official tourism site. In addition to a vast selection of houseboats for small and large groups, they also offer vacation rentals, and bed and breakfasts.
The Amsterdam houseboat we ended up picking was a cozy one bedroom boat located on the Amstel river. Two-thirds of the boat are occupied by the owner and her son (who were out of town during my stay), and one-third of the boat houses the rental. Amsterdam is always busy no matter what time of year it is, so be prepared for higher hotel and rental costs when planning your visit.
Table of Contents
THE LOCATION
The boat was perfectly situated on one of Amsterdam’s most famous canals, the Amstel. Walk a few streets over and you stumble upon a myriad of quaint clothing stores, art stores, a grocery store, and most importantly bars & restaurants.
What I liked was that the boat was close enough to the center – Dam Square was a 20 minute walk – but away from the touristy areas, and on a quiet street. When traveling, I like to immerse myself as much as possible, and one way to do it is to live amongst the locals.
THE HOUSEBOAT
On larger canals, such as the Amstel, you’ll often find houseboats double parked, which was the case with our boat. To get to it, we had to walk across another boat and then hop onto ours. A word to the wise, if you want to stay on a houseboat, don’t travel with large suitcases like my friend and I did. It was nightmarish attempting to drag them along the edge of the boat, in the cold, praying they wouldn’t tip over and fall into the freezing water!
The entrance to the boat was through a hatch, with steep stairs leading down into a studio-sized apartment. Again, large suitcase and steep stairs are not what travel dreams are made of! The apartment had a cozy double bed nook below the hatch, a full kitchen, a breakfast table with a gorgeous mosaic-style hanging overhead lamp, a futon, and a bathroom with a hot shower. Most importantly, it was well lit, with a number of portholes around the room.
My only gripe on an otherwise amiable stay was the lack of heating on the boat, which made for two very uncomfortable nights! It was near freezing while we were in Amsterdam, and I made the assumption that the heat would be working on the entire boat. But, that wasn’t the case! With the houseboat owner away in Marbella, our caretaker unfortunately didn’t have the heat turned on when we checked onto the boat. So, learn from our mistake, and ALWAYS check to see if the A/C or heat works at your vacation rental. Otherwise, you’re really going to have to cozy up to your travel partner.
Despite having to lug our suitcases onto the boat, and the lack of heating, our stay on the Amstel canal in an Amsterdam Book Now houseboat was an ideal way to experience the city. And, it’s a bucketlist item I can now check off!
Thanks to Amsterdam Book Now for having me as a guest on their houseboat A358. My stay was complimentary, however, as always, all opinions expressed are my own.
