The 15th Amsterdam Light Festival runs from Thursday 26 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027, according to the official festival website. For eight winter weeks, artworks by Dutch and international artists light up the canals every evening, along a brand new route to mark the festival's fifteenth birthday. The art is free to see from the quays; most visitors take a guided canal cruise or follow the walking route with the festival app.
Elly8.net books the ground transport around it: a chauffeur who meets you at Schiphol, a car to your cruise departure pier and back to the hotel on a cold, dark evening, and an evening package that keeps the chauffeur with you through dinner. Prices are fixed, all-in and the same in festival season as any other week, and the 24/7 desk runs the booking from landing to departure.
How do you get to an Amsterdam Light Festival cruise?
Check the departure pier on your cruise ticket, then book a car from the hotel to the nearest permitted set-down point, with a pickup agreed for when the 75-minute cruise returns. An evening package keeps the chauffeur with you for five hours, enough for the cruise and dinner. Hotels near the route can simply walk.
Amsterdam's canal ring was built for boats and pedestrians, not cars. Many quays are narrow, one-way or closed to through traffic, and the city runs emission zones that restrict larger vehicles in the centre. That is why the desk asks for the exact pier and boat company printed on your ticket: the chauffeur sets you down at the closest point a car may stop, walks the last stretch with you if needed, and collects you at an agreed spot when the boat comes back.
On a December evening at 4:30 p.m. it is already dark, often wet and cold, and the trams and canal streets fill with festival visitors, Christmas shoppers and diners. A family with small children, a group of colleagues after a conference day, or older travellers who do not want to cross the city on foot all find the car simpler.
See Amsterdam prices and reserve
Festival dates, light hours and the route
The festival's dates and hours page says the lights are on every day from 4:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. On 31 December they close at 9 p.m. The walking route is 4.5 km (2.8 mi) long and can be done in full or in sections with the app, which becomes available from November.
| Item | Detail (official festival information) |
|---|---|
| Dates | Thursday 26 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027 |
| Light hours | Daily 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.; 31 December until 9 p.m. |
| Walking route | 4.5 km (2.8 mi), full or in sections, with the festival app |
| Canal cruise | About 75 minutes; covered and heated boats, open boats, boats with drinks, private and group boats |
| Information point | Amstel 1, Thursday to Sunday 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; daily 19 December to 3 January, closed 25 and 31 December |
| Tickets | Cruise and walk tickets on sale since 1 October 2026 |
Edition 15 has a new route, and the festival says more details and free side events will follow. Because the route changes, we do not quote a fixed starting point here; check the festival app and your ticket, and give the desk the pier name when you book.
Choosing a cruise and planning the car around it
The festival's cruise page describes four ways on the water. Covered canal cruises have big windows, a glass roof, heating and a toilet on board, with an audio guide or a live guide. Open boats get closer to the artworks, with blankets for warmth. Some boats include drinks served on board. Private and group boats, including historic boats and dinner cruises, are booked through the festival's partner boat companies.
Each type affects the car plan:
- Covered cruise, family or older travellers. Book a car from the hotel to the pier and a pickup 80 to 90 minutes later. The heated boat and a car at each end mean almost no time outside.
- Open boat. Plan for the cold. The chauffeur can hold coats and bags you do not want on deck, and the car is warm when you step off.
- Private or dinner boat for a group. An Executive Sprinter brings the group to the pier together and collects everyone afterwards, which is easier than three taxis on a narrow quay.
- Walking route. A car can drop you at one end of the section you want to walk and collect you at the other, which turns 4.5 km in winter into a comfortable evening.
Arriving at Schiphol
Schiphol is close: about 16 km (10 mi) from the canal ring, roughly 23 minutes on a clear road. The fixed fare to the canal ring, Jordaan, Museum Quarter and Plantage is the same.
| Route | Distance | Clear-road drive | Business Sedan | Business SUV | First Class Sedan | Executive Sprinter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schiphol (AMS) to the canal ring | 16 km / 10 mi | about 23 min | US$125 | US$165 | US$220 | US$325 |
| Schiphol round trip | 16 km / 10 mi each way | about 23 min each way | US$240 | US$315 | US$420 | US$620 |
| By the hour, as directed | 3-hour minimum | - | US$90/hr | US$115/hr | US$145/hr | US$180/hr |
Give us the flight number when you book. The chauffeur tracks the landing and waits inside arrivals with a name board, and waiting after a tracked landing is complimentary. Child seats are available on request. Many North American flights land in the early morning, and the desk can arrange the pickup so you reach the hotel and rest before an evening on the canals. See airport transfers and meet and greet.
The evening plan: hotel, pier, dinner, hotel
The most useful booking during the festival is the evening out and event night package. It keeps one car and one chauffeur with you for five hours, from US$450 in a business sedan to US$900 in an Executive Sprinter, with First Class sedans and SUVs in between.
A typical evening: the car collects you at 5:30 p.m., after the lights have come on, and takes you to the pier for a 6 p.m. cruise. You are back at 7:15 p.m., and the chauffeur, waiting at the agreed point, drives you to dinner in the Jordaan, De Pijp or the Museum Quarter. After dinner, a short drive past a few lit bridges and back to the hotel. If the evening runs past five hours, extra time is billed at the hourly rate. The chauffeur follows Dutch rules on what can be carried in the vehicle; enjoy the drinks on the boat or at dinner.
For a single drop-off and pickup, use the web booker or book hourly chauffeur service from US$90 an hour in a business sedan to US$180 in an Executive Sprinter, three hours minimum.
Groups, conference delegates and company evenings
Amsterdam's winter season includes conferences and company events, and a festival cruise is a popular team evening. For up to six or seven people with coats and bags, an Executive Sprinter is the simplest choice; for larger groups the desk books several vehicles on one confirmation with staggered pickups from the office, the hotel or RAI Amsterdam. Because Sprinters cannot use every canal street, the desk confirms the nearest permitted set-down point for each pier. See group transportation, Sprinter van with driver and corporate car service.
Companies that book cars regularly can open a corporate account with monthly invoicing, and travel advisers can book for clients through travel agent accounts.
Timing the evening and the holiday weeks
The lights come on at 4:30 p.m., and in late November and December that is already after dark, so even an early cruise shows the artworks at their best. Families with young children often prefer the first departures of the evening, then an early dinner; couples and groups tend to book later boats and eat first. Either way, tell the desk the cruise time and the dinner booking together, and the pickup times are planned around both.
The festival keeps its information point at Amstel 1 open every day from 19 December to 3 January, a sign of how busy the holiday weeks are, and hotels, restaurants and boats fill across the centre at the same time. If you are visiting over Christmas or New Year, reserve the car when you book the cruise. Note the shorter evening on 31 December, when the lights close at 9 p.m.; on New Year's Eve, streets in the centre are busy late into the night, and the desk agrees pickup points with that in mind.
Many visitors arrive by train from Brussels, Paris or London rather than by air. The chauffeur can meet you on arrival at Amsterdam Centraal or Amsterdam Zuid and take you and the luggage to the hotel; the fare is quoted in the web booker.
Honest alternatives: train, tram, taxi and bike
Amsterdam is one of the easiest cities in Europe to visit without a car, and for many festival visitors that is the right answer.
From Schiphol. NS, the Dutch railway, quotes about 17 minutes from Schiphol to Amsterdam, with e-tickets from €5.50. For one traveller with a light bag staying near Amsterdam Centraal, it beats any car on price.
In town. Trams and walking cover the centre well, and the festival offers a bike experience as well as the cruise and walk. The official taxi rank at Schiphol and taxi stands in the city charge by the meter; app rides use set pickup points.
| Option | Price | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| NS train from Schiphol | E-tickets from €5.50 per person | Solo travellers, light bags | Steps and cobbles with big cases |
| Tram and walking | Public transport fare or free | Hotels near the route | Cold, wet evenings with children |
| Taxi or rideshare | Metered or set by the app | Short spontaneous trips | Busy pickup points at festival times |
| Elly8.net evening car | From US$450 for five hours, fixed | Families, groups, older travellers, dinner plans | Book early for December weekends |
A pre-booked car wins when there are children or older travellers, when the cruise is far from the hotel, when you are hosting a group, and when the evening has three stops in the cold. See chauffeur vs taxi and chauffeur vs Uber and Lyft.
More of the Netherlands in winter
Daytime is free for sightseeing. The private city highlights tour, from US$360 in a business sedan to US$720 in a Sprinter, takes in the canal ring and the museums at your pace, and the signature day trip to Zaanse Schans and Volendam is a 6-hour package from US$500 in a business sedan to US$995 in an Executive Sprinter, back in time for the lights. The same desk covers Brussels, Paris, London and Hamburg; see city-to-city car service and train station transfers.
Rides in Amsterdam are operated by licensed, commercially insured local chauffeur partners vetted through the Limousine Worldwide network; Elly8.net takes the booking, fixes the price and runs the 24/7 desk. Elly8.net is a member of LimousineWorldwide.Directory, LimousineAssociation.International, HotelsWorldwide.Directory and VacationsWorldwide.Directory. Flights and hotels can be booked through our travel partner BookingWorldwide.net.
How to book
- Enter the pickup and drop-off: your flight number for Schiphol, and the hotel and cruise pier for the festival.
- Choose the vehicle: business sedan or SUV, First Class sedan or SUV, or an Executive Sprinter for groups.
- Reserve now on the Amsterdam page for listed fares and packages, or use the web booker for any other address. Confirmation arrives by email.
December weekends and the Christmas holidays fill first, so reserve once your cruise time is confirmed. Prices on the list do not change for the festival; parking and tolls are billed at cost.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Amsterdam Light Festival 2026-27?
Edition 15 runs from Thursday 26 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027. The lights are on every day from 4:30 p.m. until 11 p.m., and until 9 p.m. on 31 December, according to the festival. The route is new for this edition.
How much is a car from Schiphol to the canal ring?
A fixed transfer costs US$125 in a business sedan, US$165 in a business SUV, US$220 in a First Class Sedan and US$325 in an Executive Sprinter, per vehicle and all-in, including meet and greet inside arrivals. A round trip starts at US$240.
Can the car drop us right at the boat?
As close as the rules allow. Some quays are narrow or closed to cars, and larger vehicles face restrictions in the centre. Give us the pier and boat company from your ticket, and the desk confirms the nearest permitted set-down point; the chauffeur can walk the last stretch with you.
How long should we book the car for?
The cruise lasts about 75 minutes. A drop-off and pickup is enough for the cruise alone; with dinner afterwards, the five-hour evening package, from US$450, is usually the better value. Hourly bookings have a three-hour minimum.
Do you provide child seats?
Yes, on request. Tell us the number and ages of the children when you book, and the car arrives with the right seats fitted.
Is the train from Schiphol a better option?
For one traveller with a carry-on staying near Centraal, often yes: about 17 minutes and from €5.50. With children, large cases or a hotel away from the station, a fixed car to the door is easier.
What is the cancellation policy?
Cancel more than 72 hours before pickup for free. Within 72 hours the charge is 10%, within 48 hours 50%, and within 24 hours or for a no-show 100%. Refunds go back to the original card.
