Spido Rotterdam Highlights and Harbour Tour

Rotterdam is a port city before it is anything else, and the best way to feel it is from the water. Spido has been sailing harbour tours from the Willemsplein for generations, and its Highlights and Harbour Tour is the one most visitors take. The boat leaves from the foot of the Erasmus Bridge and spends about two thirds of its time on the city stretch of the Nieuwe Maas, passing Noordereiland, the Willemsbrug, the old railway lift bridge De Hef, the Markthal and the Cube Houses, the Euromast, Hotel New York and the ss Rotterdam at Katendrecht. The final third heads west to the old shipyards of RDM and the Waalhaven, where container ships, tugs and dry docks show the working port at close range. Audio commentary runs in Dutch, English and German, with route notes in many other languages by QR code. This page links to the Tiqets ticket for the cruise.

How to visit: boats leave from Spido at Willemsplein 85, right beside the Erasmus Bridge, reached by tram 7 to Willemsplein or metro D or E to Leuvehaven. Arrive about fifteen minutes before departure and show the smartphone ticket at the boat. Note that the Tiqets ticket is non-refundable and cannot be rescheduled, so book once your plans are fixed. The winter timetable is much thinner than the summer one: from November to late March there is a single afternoon sailing on Monday to Wednesday and four sailings from Thursday to Sunday, with daily sailings over the Christmas holidays and no boats on New Year’s Day.

What to expect: the boats are enclosed and heated, with large windows and some open deck space, so the trip works in any weather. Hot and cold drinks and snacks are sold on board, by card only, and outside food is not allowed. The tour is listed as wheelchair accessible, and dogs on a lead are welcome on this cruise. The route can change at high water, when the boat may not pass under the Willemsbrug.

Making the most of it: sit on the side facing the city on the way out for the skyline, then move outside for the port section if the weather allows. The cruise is a perfect first-day orientation, because it shows you where the Kop van Zuid, Katendrecht and the old harbours sit in relation to each other. Afterwards, walk across the Erasmus Bridge to the Wilhelminapier for a drink at Hotel New York.