Plantage Route Amsterdam: a real city safari

Discover Amsterdam in a different way? No problem! The Plantage Route leads you through the green part of the city. During your city safari in your own boat, you will pass sights such as NEMO, the Maritime Museum, the Artis Zoo and the Tropenmuseum. Who knows, you might spot a zebra or elephant here and there and imagine yourself in the tropics. In short, the ideal combination between city and nature.

Don’t have boat yet? We can highly recommend our BBQ boat for this route. You then enjoy a fully catered barbecue and unlimited beer wine and soft drinks while enjoying this real city safari. Prefer a different boat trip, view our extensive range of boat trips and our boat rental page.

City safari

Yes, that’s right. The Plantation Route in Amsterdam gives you the experience of a real city safari. You wouldn’t immediately suspect it, but the busy city is home to more wild animals than you think. Goose populations, kingfishers, rats and even bats can be found in the city’s nature reserves. And since the cruising route passes by the Artis Zoo, you have a chance of spotting a giraffe or elephant.

Green life

In addition to the chance of spotting wild animals, you will of course also cruise along the beautiful green life of Amsterdam. Capitals can sometimes get quite busy, so escaping into the green areas of the city through the canals is as exiting as relaxing.

Nemo

The Nemo Science Museum is one of the sights you will cruise along the route. This science and technology museum is an interactive way where visitors can investigate certain natural phenomena themselves through experimental setups. The building itself is easy to recognize due to its unique shape.

Maritime museum

A little further along the route you will find the Maritime Museum, which contains the largest maritime collection. The museum is mainly focused on the rich maritime history of the Netherlands and contains ship models, weapons, world maps and paintings showing the greatest historical naval battles.

City brewery the IJ

Those who are thirsty from cruising will be happy with the next stop. Brewery IJ focuses mainly on specialty beers brewed in two places in the city. For example, the draft beers are brewed at the Funenkade, while the bottle beers are brewed at the Zeeburgerpad. Not only will you learn about well-known beers such as Zatte, Natte, Ijwit or Colombus, but you can also taste them!

Tropical museum

After being hydrated again, we move on to warmer regions. The Tropenmuseum in particular. This museum contains a large collection of ethnographic artifacts from the tropical areas. The emphasis is mainly on former Dutch areas by sea. It teaches visitors about the cultural diversity that is present in our world. How people mourn, celebrate, decorate, pray or even fight in other cultures.

Artis

The Artis Zoo is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands, which means that it not only has a lot of wild animals, but also 27 monumental buildings dating from the nineteenth century. With more than 900 animal species, Artis is always worth a visit. The cruising route runs along the back of the zoo, so you may be able to spot some animals.

Hortus

The Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam is a botanical garden located in the Plantation area. The garden consists of about four thousand tropical and native trees and plants. This green oasis in the middle of the city is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. In the garden you will also find the Orangery, an ancient national monument that now serves as the Hortus Café.

Zuiderkerk

The Zuiderkerk (southern church), built in Renaissance style, is unique in Amsterdam. After all, the seventeenth-century church was built for Protestant worship, but nowadays it is regularly rented for gatherings.

Oudeschans

The last part of the sailing route passes along the OudeSchans, a wide canal in the eastern part of the city center. These are the quays that Oudeschans call.