Sail Amsterdam 2025

Since university has not started yet, but my student free travel actually has, I decided to go to Sail Amsterdam 2025. I actually was not aware of this event until Wednesday, when the sail-in was on the news. It looked so cool, so on Friday I stepped into the train to Amsterdam. If you, like me a week before, have no idea what Sail Amsterdam is: it’s a massive event that happens every 5 years, where hundreds of ships from all over the world come to Amsterdam. There are more than 10.000 ships, which is insane. The first event was organised in 1975 to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Amsterdam, and since then it has been organised every 5 years, except for 2020 because of COVID-19. The event starts on Wednesday, when all the ships sail into Amsterdam, and ends on Sunday, when they sail out again. It is also all free, which is a huge plus.

The fun of the event already starts when you arrive at the train station, since you immediately stumble upon the river. And this river is filled with ships, a lot of them very big and beautiful. There were also a lot of smaller boats, a few of them really unique and fun! The massive amount of ships looks very chaotic, but there are also a lot of boats regulating the traffic, making sure nobody crashes and dies. All these ships together are really a beautiful sight, that you will not see anywhere else.

Warning, if you dislike massive crowds and strolling at a snail’s pace, DO NOT GO HERE. I arrived a little bit past noon, and I already was confronted with a massive line to the toilet on the train station. The organisers mention a lot of times that there are 2.3 million visitors expected, and believe me, that is not an exaggeration. The main area, the IJhaven, was completely packed, and my feet hurt so much after walking so slowly for hours. However, if you are okay with that, then I would definitely recommend going.

Randomly hopping on a ferry

When I arrived at Amsterdam Central Station, I immediately stumbled upon a ferry that was about to leave. I had no plan, and I decided to just hop on, it was free after all. I do not know how these ferry manage to not crash into all the other ships. The ferry took me to the other side of the river, where it was actually not so crowded. I walked around a bit, passed a sluis (according to chatGPT a lock in English), and arrived at a houseboat area. This was quite peaceful, and you could see some of the ships sailing on the river. At the end of the area there was also a really cute cafe. I brough my own lunch as a real Dutchie, but otherwise it looked like such a great spot to chill and look at the sights. But this part was actually a dead end, so eventually I had to turn around and walk back. This time I acquired a great spot on the ferrry, and could see all the ships up close.

Ferry ride

The Orange Ocean

Back on the correct side of the shore, I started to walk to the direction where al the fun seemed to be. This led to me following the so called orange trail. Here, the crowdedness started. It also did not help that the whole area was lined with food trucks, which sometimes created a bottleneck. I also brought my own lunch, so I did not buy anything, but I was so tempted by all the smells. The orange trail lets you pass all the beautiful ships that were docked in the IJhaven. You can enter most of them, although with a wait that varied in length. There are also some other activities for children, and a lot of places to sit and eat. All these ships with there high masts and sails, docked together, looked so beautiful and mystical.

I entered the first ship with a manaegable line, which was the Dar Mlodziezy, a Polish three-masted tall ship. It was fun to walk around the ship, although it was also still very crowded. You could not actually go inside to see the ship, which was the same. However, the view from the deck to the river was amazing. The catch was that the queue to get off the ship was longer than the queue to get on, which I did not expect. So I still had to wait a while. At some point when I was standing next to the bell, one of the crew members ringed the bell, since it was 2 o’clock. This absolutely jump scared me, just wanted to mention that.

The Dar Mlodziezy

When I managed to leave the ship, I continued on following the orange trail. There were a lot of cool ships, and they all varied a lot in size and style. Some of these ships have come from very far away, for example there was one ship that came all the way from Uruguay. There was also one massive ship with 4 masts that looked absolutely stunning. At some point you can cross a bridge to the other side of the IJhaven, and next to this bridge a lot of smaller ships were docked. All these ships together created a sea of colour and business.

The other side of the IJhaven was a little bit less crowded, but there were a lot of activities. I bought a rocket ice cream in the colours of the Amsterdam flag, which I saw a lot of people eating. It was very overpriced, 3.20 euros, but I wanted to include it in the blog, because it looked fun. There was also a ferris wheel, but since I was alone, I did not go on it, since I was afraid I would have to sit with a stranger. This part of the IJhaven also featured a stage, where a band was playing, but not a lot of people were watching, which looked a bit sad. All in all, this side of the IJhaven had a more festival vibe, but was also more spacey than the walk towards it (which took ages). Definitely try to trudge through the crowds, because it is worth it.

Ferris wheel

The Marine ships

The event also featured multiple ships from the Royal Netherlands Navy, which came all the way from Den Helder. This included one very big ship, one absolutely massive ship, and a submarine. However, the queue to enter these ships was absolutely insane, especially for the massive ship. I did not want to wait for an hour, and my brother in law works at the marine, so I have been on these ships before. However, I understand that for a lot of people this is a very special experience, and I am glad that they are so enthusiastic about it.

The big marine ship

However, I did enter a smaller ship, the Mijnenveger Bernisse. This ship, with its crew of 39 men, was used to clear mines during World War II. In 1998 it was bought in a very bad state and it has been restored by volunteers since then. Nowadays, this is the only ship of its kind that is still in use, and it is part of the royal navy sailing heritage. You could walk around the ship, see all the living quarters, the engine, and the control rooms. You can also talk to the crew members, who are happy to tell you about the ship and its history.

Mijnenveger Bernisse

One guy enthusiastically explained the mechanism of underwater mines and how they are placed. An underwater mine is kept at the correct depth using a cable on a drum and a ballast weight. The ballast pulls the cable off the drum, lowering the mine. Once the ballast hits the seabed, the tension is released and the drum locks, preventing futher unwindnig. This way, the mine remains suspended at a fixed depth, to deep for small vessels to hit, but shallow enough for larger ships to trigger it.

Mechanism of underwater mines schematic

When leaving the ship there is an option to donate to the restoration of the ship. I have no idea what the proper amount of money to donate is, so I decided to donate 5 euros.

Quick detour to the Book Store

In the city centre of Amsterdam, the American Book Center is located. I have been there before, and I know that they have a great selection of books and also a super nice vibe. So, even though I was extremely tired, I decided to go there. I was specifically looking for one book, Tusk Love, a book written based on a book in the Critical Role universe. They actually had it, but for 35 euros, which is a bit too much for me. I also saw some other books I was interested in, but they were all so expensive. Normally I want to buy books in physical stores, but if I order them online I can get them for half the price. So I decided to not buy any books, but I did enjoy the atmosphere of the store.

On the way home I passed a Bubble Tea store, and I could not resists the temptation. I thus ordered a jasmine-green tea milk tea from Yoyo. They do not sell the highest quality bubble tea, but I was easily swayed. With bubble tea in hand, I headed to the Amsterdam Zuid train station to take the train home, away from all the crowds.

Bubble tea on the way home