A canal cruise is a popular way to see the beautiful buildings of the city of Rotterdam from the water. In the last century, a oarsmen’s association started passenger service from shore to various ships. Unfortunately, the First World War threw a spanner in the works. Spido was founded in 1919 and for many years was the only shipping company responsible for the shore connections in Rotterdam, especially for passenger transportation. Meanwhile, Spido has been providing these shore connections in the city of Rotterdam for more than a hundred years. The company, like the city, has continued to renew itself after the Second World War. A well-known connection was the trip to the Waalhaven to admire the air shows from the water. In the past nine decades, Spido has specialized in tourist transport with a wide range of day trips, tours and cruises. The tours traditionally start at the foot of the Erasmus Bridge.
Spido
With a wide range of tours, cruises and day trips, guests can choose how much they see of the city in any season of the year. The tours take you past beautiful, historic buildings, modern bridges, bustling harbours and many other fascinating attractions. Cruises on the many rivers outside Rotterdam are becoming more and more popular. And during the day trips to Woudrichem, Willemstad or the nature island Tiengemeten you look forward to the beautiful nature where the ships of Spido sail past. On the vessel, you can participate in board games while enjoying a cup of coffee or tea, but it is also possible to enjoy a snack, and even an extensive lunch is among the possibilities. During the day trips, coffee with apple pie and lunch are even free of charge.
Guests using a wheelchair can also get on board without any problems. If you are with a group of more than twenty people, you can book a canal cruise in advance. Standing on deck, you can take the most beautiful pictures of all the impressive sights that pass by. Dog lovers can also bring their pets on a leash. If you are moored during the cruise, you can take part in various city walks accompanied by qualified guides. A much sought after the tour is the tour in the port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe. Here you will get to see historical shipyards and hotel New York, from where the Holland-America line departs. The tours are accompanied by an explanation in various languages, including; Dutch. English, French and also German. Groups between 20 and 200 persons can also make reservations to organize meetings and other events on board. There are also combination tickets available for adventurous tourists who would like to visit several attractions.
Harbour cruise with Spido Rotterdam
During the cruise in Rotterdam, you will get to see all the highlights of the impressive harbour. With the Spido you sail along with the extremely modern transhipment of containers, shipyards and docks. You will also get to see the beautiful historic and innovative buildings that make the city of Rotterdam so unique. The tour does not end before you pass the steamship Rotterdam, which used to sail the crossing to America, the Holland America Line. This canal cruise has a surprising action; the birthday boy can have a double party. On your birthday you can request a free canal cruise from the ticket service when you can prove it with your ID.
High Tea Cruise
The High Tea Cruise distinguishes itself from other cruises by its excellent high tea with various exquisite sweet and savoury delicacies. These are served during the cruise. You sail to the Botlek area where you get a good view of the bustle in the harbour, shipyards and dry docks. You will also see the transhipment of containers. But that’s not all. The city’s famous skyline with its unrivalled buildings also passes by. You sail along the Erasmus Bridge, the Euromast, SS Rotterdam and Hotel New York. This tour is very suitable for tourists who want a bit more rest and pampering outside the high season.
Under The Bridge
The conviviality on board gets a sporty touch during the Under the Bridge tours with the various bridge games. During the round trip, you sail along Kralingen, the Hollandse IJssel, the municipalities of Bolnes, Ridderkerk and then you go up the river Lek to the polder-like Krimpener- and Albasserwaard. Also, the windmills of Kinderdijk (Unesco World Culture Heritage List) will pass by. During the cruise, you can enjoy an excellent buffet lunch, and there’s a choice of food for everyone. Afterwards, there is an opportunity to disembark and visit Schoonhoven. You can explore the surroundings independently until the ship continues its journey to Rotterdam. At the end of the tour, the players will play the final bridge games. The day ends with the award ceremony and a drink. The return trip will be over the river Lek and further over the river Nieuwe Maas. When the tide permits, guests can also visit the Maashaven, before the tour comes to an end at the Willemsplein.
High Wine Cruise
Sail along the beautiful skyline of Rotterdam while enjoying a three-course dinner with small dishes accompanied by elegant wines on the High Wine Cruise. This tour is new. The kitchen brigade has put together a tasty menu of culinary delights with a matching wine arrangement. This tour sails along with various port activities and the skyline of Rotterdam.
An enjoyable day trip with Spido
A cruise around the Land van Heusden en Altena
This day trip sails along with many beautiful (nature) areas and only at the end of the day you disembark again. Guests can check in from 10:00 am, so you can leave no later than 10:30 am while enjoying a cup of coffee with a piece of apple pie. You sail along De Kuip and under the Brienenoordbrug via the river Noord in the direction of Dordrecht. At Dordrecht you go over the port, left, onto the Merwede and you see Hardinxveld on one side, while on the other hand, you pass the Merwelanden nature reserve. Via the river Upper Merwede you sail along Gorinchem towards the old fortified town of Woudrichem.
The land of Heusden and Altena falls under the municipality of Altena since 2019. The whole area consists of villages and beautiful nature. This day trip sails around Altena so you can enjoy the authentic villages and beautiful landscape from the water. During the cruise, the captain tells several well-known and lesser-known stories about all the beautiful things you see.
Along Woudrichem you will sail along the narrow Afgedamde Maas past Aalburg, up the Bergsche Maas. Here you navigate between the Brabant countryside towards the Biesbosch and finally under the Moerdijk bridges through the Hollands Diep. The canal boat will take you to the much narrower Dordtsche Kil, and via the Oude Maas you will pass Zwijndrecht, and via the rivers Noord and Nieuwe Maas you will return to your home port.
This canal cruise does not stop during this trip so you will be on board of the boat all day, from 10:00 to 18:30, the arrival in Rotterdam. During this day trip, you can enjoy an extensive buffet taking into account vegetarians as well as fish or meat lovers.
With the tour boat to see the historic Dordrecht
A cruise to the historic city centre of Dordrecht is worthwhile. In Dordrecht, guides from the Gilde Dordrecht take you to the most beautiful places and tell you about the history of the historic city centre. Did you know, for example, that there are almost 1000 protected national monuments in Dordrecht?
The day starts with a welcome speech from the captain and a cup of coffee. At 10:30 a.m. the cruise on the Nieuwe Maas starts, and you will pass the harbours on Rotterdam-Zuid. Afterwards, you sail along Pernis, and at the Botlek you turn into the river Oude Maas. You will navigate between Hoogvliet and Spijkenisse before you can enjoy the beautiful nature in the polders. During the cruise, the captain will tell you about the beautiful things you will encounter along the way.
After lunch, you will arrive in Dordrecht where you and the guide will take a walk through the city. People in wheelchairs and rollators are taken into account. You can indicate this when you book the canal cruise.
The canal boat goes back via the river Noord, and you will pass by Ridderkerk and Kinderdijk. A little further on you go under the Brienenoordbrug, pass the Feyenoord stadium and cross the centre of Rotterdam. When you’re just under the Erasmus bridge, the boat moors and the day trip ends around 17:30 hrs.
Across the water to the windmills of Kinderdijk
The windmills of Kinderdijk were very important to keep the polders dry hundreds of years ago. They pumped water from the polder into the Lek, the same river as the one over which you sail with Spido to Kinderdijk. During the voyage, the captain tells helpful and knowledgable stories about the beautiful things you see along the way.
The day starts around 10:00 am when everyone comes on board in Rotterdam. Half an hour later, the Spido boat leaves over the river Nieuwe Maas. The beautiful thing about a cruise is that from departure to the end you can see everything from the water and because of this it looks very different from the mainland. During the day trip, the crew will do everything they can to please everyone. At 11:45 am the lunch buffet will open, and you can enjoy various hot and cold dishes. On the way there we first sail on to Schoonhoven so you can see the beautiful surroundings. The arrival in Kinderdijk is around 13:15, where you can visit the mills with a guide. Visiting the Museum windmill Nederwaard and watching a film about the history of Kinderdijk is part of the day trip.
At 15:45, you will leave again with everyone on board, on your way to Rotterdam. On the return trip, you will always see things you didn’t see on the way back. Arriving in the port of Rotterdam you will sail on to the SS Rotterdam, the cruise ship that used to bring people from Rotterdam to America. Before the boat moors, we sail past Hotel New York so you can take some cute pictures of it. Around 17:00 hours this beautiful cruise will end.
Enjoying the environment in Tiengemeten
Tiengemeten is an island in the Haringvliet and is not far from the Haringvliet Bridge. The island is a protected nature reserve and is not very large at one hundred by four hundred meters. Nature has been managed by Natuurmonumenten since 1997 and is, therefore, the ideal destination if you love nature and tranquillity. If you are lucky, you might even see a white-tailed eagle.
You leave for the island at 10:30 am while you will sit down and relax with a cup of coffee. The tour first passes the Waalhaven and at the Botlek the boat sails under the Botlek Bridge up the river Oude Maas. Via the river Spui, the trip sees Oud-Beijerland, and you will arrive at Tiengemeten around 13:30 hrs. Before that time, you will have enjoyed the extensive lunch on board.
The nature walk departs around 13:45 hours, accompanied by an experienced guide of Natuurmonumenten. The beaver lives here so you might see them building a dam somewhere. The Scottish Highlanders are almost unmissable and are usually seen. After the hike, everyone goes back on board, and the trip back to Rotterdam starts. On the way back there is still plenty to see, but when you pass under the Brienenoordbrug, you know that the day trip is almost over. At 18:30 hours you will moor again in Rotterdam.
Having a nice day with the Spido boat to Woudrichem
The fortified town of Woudrichem in Brabant lies on the river Merwede and is, therefore, a perfect destination for a Spido cruise. The city still has houses built in the sixteenth century. Woudrichem has an enormous past as a fishing village and therefore also has its fishing museum.
From 10:00 am people come on board and enjoy a piece of apple pie with coffee before departure. On departure in the direction of the Brienenoord Bridge, you will pass the Feyenoord stadium De Kuip. At Kinderdijk the river Nieuwe Maas changes into the river Lek and the captain will tell you something about the windmills you see. Before you arrive in Woudrichem, you can enjoy a delicious lunch with hot and cold dishes.
When you arrive in Woudrichem, you will walk with the city guide through the streets of Woudrichem, and you will hear more about the interesting history of the small town. After the walk, the boat leaves for Rotterdam. The return trip will be on the same water as the outward journey so if you want to take the one picture that didn’t work out on the outward journey because you were on the other side you now have another chance. At about 18:00 the Spido boat moors again at the Willemsplein in Rotterdam.
On a cruise to Willemstad
This day trip goes to the Brabant Willemstad. Willemstad has been a favourite destination for people with their boat for many years, simply because people can walk onto a cosy terrace from their ship. Willemstad is a cosy fortified town with a rich history. In 1585 Prince Maurice, the son of William of Orange, granted it city rights and in 1809 King Louis Napoleon visited it.
The Spido boat leaves Rotterdam around 10:30 am, and then you go along the Botlek on the river Oude Maas, then via Spui to the Haringvliet. You sail along the beautiful island of Tiengemeten under the Haringvliet bridge to the Havenhoofd in Willemstad. When you are moored here, you can join the guide for a walk through the charming fortified town. Around 16:00 hours everyone is back and the captain sails to Rotterdam. On the way back, there is always enough to see, so enjoy the view. You moor at 18:30 in Rotterdam.
Sail and enjoy Seven Rivers and a look at the Deltawerken
This is a real cruise because during this day trip you will not disembark. After coffee and apple pie, the Spido boat sails up the Nieuwe Maas in the direction of Pernis. At the Botlek the ship goes on the Oude Maas, and at the drinking water production company Beerenplaat the canal boat turns into the Spui. At the end of the Spui, you will enter the fourth river of the day, the Haringvliet. The trip continues to the Haringvliet dam where the Spido boat will sail past while the captain tells more about this part of the Delta Works.
At Stellendam the boat will turn around, and you will sail along the coast of Goeree-Overflakkee in the direction of the Haringvliet bridge. Sailing this bridge, you end up in the Hollands Diep. At Moerdijk, you sail up the Dordtsche Kil. At the end of this river, the boat will cross the Oude Maas again. The Noord will be the seventh river you will sail this day before you go back to Rotterdam.
This canal cruise passes many beautiful nature reserves and sails under the three famous bridges of Rotterdam before you go ashore again at the Willemsplein in Rotterdam at the end of the day.
