Ottawa Boat Cruise - Rideau Canal Cruise
Ottawa, Canada
- 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
The Rideau Canal links Canada’s capital—Ottawa—with majestic Lake Ontario. On this tour, cruise in comfort along the UNESCO World Heritage–listed waterway and admire sweeping views over top attractions including the Canadian Museum of Nature, Château Laurier, Dow’s Lake, and the National Arts Centre. Along the way, listen as your guide sheds light on centuries of colorful Canadian history.
- Cruise along the UNESCO–listed Rideau Canal with your guide
- Uninterrupted views over canal-side sites of interest including Château Laurier and Dow’s Lake
- Gain insight into Ottawa’s rich history and heritage
- The world's-largest, certified, 100%-electric, passenger vessel.
What's Included
- Guide
- All Fees and Taxes
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin St, Ottawa, ON K1P 5W1, Canada
Departures are on the National Art Center side of the canal We are located behind the National Art Center (1 Elgin Street). Right beside the 1 Elgin St Cafe. Directions: Below the Plaza Bridge (Rideau Street Bridge)
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Your adventure begins when you board your fully-electric passenger boat and set sail along the Rideau Canal.
Admire the sights of Dow's Lake and the Château Laurier as you cruise by. Discover amazing facts and untold tales as your guide takes you through centuries of vivid Canadian history.
Then, learn the tales of thirty historical locations that have influenced this city, such as the German and Armenian embassies, the University of Ottawa campus, and more. This voyage promises to be both a fascinating journey and a lot of fun. Take in the final view of the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Admire the sights of Dow's Lake and the Château Laurier as you cruise by. Discover amazing facts and untold tales as your guide takes you through centuries of vivid Canadian history.
Then, learn the tales of thirty historical locations that have influenced this city, such as the German and Armenian embassies, the University of Ottawa campus, and more. This voyage promises to be both a fascinating journey and a lot of fun. Take in the final view of the Canadian Museum of Nature.
1
Rideau Canal Cruises
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Canadian Museum Of Nature (Pass By)
National Arts Centre (Pass By)
2
Rideau Canal National Historic Site
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Lansdowne Park (Pass By)
Dows Lake Pavilion (Pass By)
Ottawa City hall (Pass By)
Rogers Centre Ottawa (Pass By)
Ottawa Locks (Pass By)
University of Ottawa (Pass By)
TD Place (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Pushchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travellers can participate
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please note- there is no rescheduling
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 95 travellers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Traveller Photos
Featured review
SophiaGibbs_K
This was a highlight of our family vacation to Ottawa! Melody, our guide, was extremely engaging, friendly, and knowledgeable. The weather was beautiful but good to note is that since the boat has a covering, we would have been fine even if it had rained. Since we took the boat ride on our first day here, we were able to feel informed about the area for the rest of the trip.
Reviews
4.3
based on 1,182 reviews
C_C, June 2026
Very informative, calming and absolutely lovely. The guide spoke English and French perfectly. What a skill to have !
David_M, June 2026
IF you get to the departure site earlier than 20 minutes before the cruise, you will not find anyone or any sign to direct you to the proper departure point.
Raymond_F, June 2026
The signage directions from the rodway/sidewalk was was extremely poor ,I would say non existent to get down to the canal side meeting area.
We were definitely not the only one who had difficulty find where to go
JOHN_G, June 2026
As advertised - on time departure and return, we'll informed guide, and easy to book.
Well worth the price and a must do when visiting Ottawa.
STEVENWAYNE_B, June 2026
The tour was absolutely lovely. Our guide was well informed and interesting to listen to. We did struggle getting to the correct dock, but part of that was construction, and the fact there was an identical boat on the other side of the river. It was a wonderful activity for our day in Ottawa.
TINA_N, June 2026
Easy to find the meeting place. The crew was charming, the narrator was very interesting.
The day of our cruise was the Saturday of the Tulip Festival. So many people out, in the canalside parks. Fascinating how Colonel By went from envision to execution, and that the canal freezes solid for ice skating.
Beautiful views of Ottawa.
MichaelJ_O, June 2026
Relaxing ride down the canal. The information was interesting but since the trip is out and back they only provided information for the first half.
Sharon_D, June 2026
Lovely way to experience Ottawa from the water. Our guide Cam was super and his sidekick in the bar very amusing. An enjoyable and informative tour
Hiywote_E, June 2026
I highly recommend this boat trip for anyone who's on a short trip to Ottawa. The tour guide Cam and the crew on board were all very helpful
Sharon_D, June 2026
Lovely way to see the city and surrounds by water. Our guide Cam and Teo behind the bar were lively and friendly and made for a fabulous 90 mins. Thank you!
Renata_K, June 2026
Great, easy ride. Beautiful scenery. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and the experience was thoroughly enjoyable.
Christa_D, May 2026
Easy to find start and to check in. Good narration but it was in English and French. Sit on the right side for best experience. It was a nice experience but if short on time you easily could do something else.
Susan_V, May 2026
Took the 6:30 pm cruise. It was very enjoyable after a hot day of touring the city. The crew was excellent
Bruce_C, May 2026
Very informative and very well run tour of the Rideau canal. Friendly, helpful staff that was excellent in handling all types of questions.
Greg_C, May 2026
Guide talked way too fast. This is common among tour guides, but it still detracted from the experience
Hugo_L, May 2026
Informative and relaxing, the guides were very friendly. Smooth and silent boat. I recommend for a nice family tour.
Lesley_W, May 2026
I recommend arriving the 20 mins before the start time (as mentioned in the vendor's instructions) thats around the time they check tickets and let you on-board. Our trip was very busy, there was a large number of from a tourist bus. The seats are well packed in, but we got on the boat early and had a great side view. Drinks and snacks are available to purchase on board. The guide was great, lots of information about the canal history and landmarks you pass by. The guide delivered the presentation equally in English and French.
De_V, May 2026
Our trip ended up being cancelled after we had only travelled about 2 kilometers. A log jammed in the propeller, and they could not get it free. The crew tried extremely hard and we waited about 45 minutes, but they were still unable to fix it.
The crew was very nice and did a good job. We were returned to the starting point by bus and given the option of rebooking or a refund. I felt the company over all handled it quite well.
My only comment on the cruise itself would be that though it was stated that the trip would be narrated in both French and English,
French was the majority of what was spoken and we felt that we missed out on quite a bit.
I don’t believe that was intentional but we just felt like we were missing out.
Michele_R, Oct 2025
We had a wonderful time on the river cruise. Lily, our guide, did a great job. She was informative and personable.
It was a picture perfect day!
mccandlesm, Oct 2025
Great way to get background info on Ottawa, on the canal that brought it into existence. Restful as well.
Brandi_M, Oct 2025
Wonderful tour. Would recommend. Guide was knowledgeable and friendly. The tour was on time both leaving and arriving back. The location wasn't too bad to find despite others' feedback - we arrived early to make sure. The tour does let you off across the canal from where you board - but you just have to walk across the bridge to get back to where you started. We did sunset tour and it was lovely. Neat facts and a great explanation of canal and surrounding buildings. Our party of 5 all really enjoyed it.
Joseph_S, Oct 2025
The narrator was informative, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We had beautiful weather. Boat was quiet so we could have great conversations.
Amanda_S, Sept 2025
Saw a completely different side to Ottawa, beautiful, peaceful canal. Brillant commentary and comfortable journey
Eileen_A, Sept 2025
A nice way to spend an hour and a half. Tour guide very personable and helpful. Washroom and snacks available on board.
Janina_d, Sept 2025
It was a very nice trip and the guide Wendy was excellent, but I think it was a little expensive for what it was. Nevertheless, definitely a nice way to spend 90 mins and I appreciated the electric boat which was nice and quiet. I went back and walked part of the route along the canal the next day which was fun and I had new appreciation for the canal and bridges - never would have done that if I had not done the canal boat trip first.
Adam_S, Sept 2025
It was good enough. Tour guide was great but there wasn’t a lot to see. Just a cool ride on the canal
David_M, Sept 2025
Wasn’t very well identified for the start point due to lack of information on e- tickets. Name of the excursion wasn’t obvious A diagram of where to meet would be easier to understand as the street was so divided and finding number one was a mission.
kevin_n, Sept 2025
Tour guide provided lots of interesting information about the canal origins and the sites you see along the trip.
Ewen_M, Sept 2025
Well organized but the passengers should know in advance that they will be let off on the opposite side of the canal.
Julie_L, Sept 2025
Nice gentle ride on the Canal with good commentary. Electric boat cruise so very environmentally friendly! Shame that some people talked all the way through, made it difficult to hear at times!
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per person-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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