The 15 Boat Tours in Hamburg That Earn Their Price

1.1.5-Hour Harbor and Speicherstadt Day Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 14,200 reviews · 1h 30m · from $40Our pick

1.5-hour Hamburg harbor cruise to Speicherstadt and container ships, with live German guide, open deck photo views, and Elbphilharmonie pier stop.

“Very informative and funny presentation. My husband listened to the English version over the head phones but it is not nearly as good as the live one in German. We felt the translation left out a lot of information. Otherwise the cruise was very entertaining!”

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2.90-Minute Evening Lights Harbor Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 7,728 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $27

Ride a traditional barge on Hamburg’s evening harbor lights past Speicherstadt and container terminals, with live captain commentary for $27.

“The captain who was also guide was excellent very professional Smart and with good sense of humour! We could experience the fireworks Hafengeburtstag on the river Elbe it was fantastic!”

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3.2-Hour XXL Port of Hamburg Cruise Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 6,979 reviews · 2 hours · from $47

2-hour Hamburg Port cruise through locks and docks, with HafenCity and Elbphilharmonie views, live German guide, multilingual app.

“I enjoyed the tour and laid back atmosphere. Interesting information too.”

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4.1-Hour Evening Harbor Lights Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 5,073 reviews · 1 hour · from $30

A 1-hour evening cruise from Brücke 4 through Hamburg’s lit harbor, Speicherstadt, HafenCity, and container terminals, with German live commentary.

“Easy to find. The cruise company has a office right up at the docks. The tour was well done (yes ours was in German ... but both of us are fluent enough to get the jokes!) A different way to see the sites”

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5.1-Hour Harbor Sightseeing Cruise with HafenCity

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 3,067 reviews · 1 hour · from $30

See Speicherstadt, HafenCity, and Elbphilharmonie from the Elbe on a 1-hour HafenCity cruise with port facts and panoramic views.

“fantastic boat and great little tour of the harbour, drinks and toilets on board. German spoken but still a great tour.”

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6.1-Hour Harbor Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 2,283 reviews · 1 hour · from $28

1-hour Hamburg harbor cruise from St. Pauli Landungsbrücken with live German narration and an English audio app, passing Speicherstadt, HafenCity, Elbe Phil

“The tour was very nice and the view from the city was very cool, the staff was friendly and they provided booklets in English as the tour was in German. I think it was too short, but highly recommended for a tight schedule.”

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7.1.5h Grand Harbor Evening Lights Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 1,316 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $28

See Hamburg’s harbor in 90 minutes on an evening cruise from Landungsbrücken, with German commentary on Speicherstadt and Elbphilharmonie.

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8.Hop-On Hop-Off Bus with Harbor Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 930 reviews · 1 day · from $50

Full-day Line A hop-on hop-off bus plus a 1 or 2 hour harbor cruise in Hamburg, starting at St. Pauli Landungsbrücken.

“It was really excellent that we could split the two activities over two days, as there was now time left to do the boat trip when we got back from the hop-on hop-off bus trip. We tend to use the bus as one trip, in order to gain an overview of the whole city. We rarely tend to use the bus more than once. Hamburg was great and the bus was great too.”

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9.Harbor Cruise with Wine and Cheese

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 795 reviews · 1h 30m · from $49

90-minute Hamburg harbor cruise with 3 glasses of wine, local cheese and crackers, and live German commentary on Speicherstadt and landmarks.

“When we went it was only offered in German and being English speaking we couldn't understand what sights he was pointing out or any factoids he may have given. But the wait staff was wonderfully helpful and the length of the tour was more then expected. the wine and cheese offered were very good. Overall a nice relaxing event.”

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10.Harbor Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 666 reviews · 1 hour · from $22Best value

See HafenCity, the Elbphilharmonie, and Hamburg’s working harbor on a guided 1-hour cruise from Speicherstadt.

“Trotz Schneetreiben war die Schifffahrt spannend. Nur sind die Fenster andauernd beschlagen, dadurch hat man nicht gut gesehen. Mussten selber mit Taschentüchern immer wieder frei wischen.”

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11.1.5-Hour Evening Lights Harbour Cruise on a Ship

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 601 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $29

90-minute Hamburg harbor evening lights cruise past Elbphilharmonie and ports, with German live commentary, open deck photos, and onboard bar.

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12.City Cruise on Alster Lake

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 533 reviews · 1 hour · from $29

Take a 50-minute cruise on Hamburg’s Alster Lake, passing landmarks and bridges, with German live commentary and an English audio option for $29.

“A very good activity to do White we are visiting Hamburg. The sightseeing was magic specially for Christmas”

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13.Line F Hop-On Hop-Off Bus and Boat Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 520 reviews · 3 hours · from $43

Hamburg hop-on hop-off bus plus harbor boat tour with English audio, Speicherstadt, St. Pauli piers, and flexible stops in 3 hours.

“Super netterBusfahrer und dann noch einen „lebenden“ Guide an Bord, der uns Hamburg in sehr kompetenter Weise nahe gebracht hat. Wir machten zuerst eine komplette Fahrt mit dem Bus und fuhren anschließend nochmal mit, um an den Sightseeing Points auszusteigen. Alles in allem eine tolle Gelegenheit, eine Stadt kennen zu lernen. Vielen Dank an die beiden super netten Hamburger Jungs …”

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14.2-Hour Harbor Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 504 reviews · 2 hours · from $40

Hamburg's 2-hour harbor cruise shows the Port's scale, Speicherstadt canals, HafenCity, Elbphilharmonie, and working docks on the Elbe.

“schöne, unterhaltsame 2 Stunden auf dem Wasser im Hamburger Hafen.”

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15.Canal cruise on the Alster

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 428 reviews · 2 hours · from $41

Hamburg Alster canal cruise from Jungfernstieg Pier 3, 2 hours of villas, parks and views, German captain and English audio guide.

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