Amsterdam Free Ferries (GVB): The Crossings to Noord
The Amsterdam free ferries behind Centraal are GVB boats that cross the IJ to Amsterdam-Noord — no ticket, no tap, no booking; just walk or roll your bike on and ride to Buiksloterweg (A’DAM Lookout, EYE), NDSM (STRAAT Museum, IJ-Hallen) or IJplein.
The Amsterdam ferries run by GVB are completely free and need no ticket — you simply walk onto the boat from the docks directly behind Amsterdam Centraal and cross the IJ to Amsterdam-Noord in a few minutes. There is no card to tap, no fare to pay and no booking; the ferries are part of the public transport network, carry more than 20 million passengers a year, and are open to everyone, including cyclists, moped riders and wheelchair users.
Three free routes fan out from the rear of Centraal: a quick hop to Buiksloterweg (F3) for the A’DAM Lookout, EYE Film Museum and This Is Holland; a longer ride west to the NDSM creative wharf (F4) for the STRAAT street-art museum and the IJ-Hallen flea market; and a short eastern crossing to IJplein (F2). This guide explains which ferry goes where, how often they sail, the exact hours, how to bring a bike, and how the free boats fit with a GVB day ticket or the I amsterdam City Card.
Which ferry goes where
Pick your ferry by destination, not by number — the docks behind Centraal are signed by route name and a digital board shows the next departure. The Buiksloterweg ferry is the workhorse for visitors because it lands a short walk from the A’DAM Lookout, the EYE Film Museum and This Is Holland, while the NDSM ferry takes you to the former shipyard now full of street art, festivals, restaurants and the IJ-Hallen flea market. Note that GVB numbers its IJ ferries F1–F9, but only F2, F3 and F4 leave from behind Centraal; the rest connect other points along the waterfront.
- Buiksloterweg (F3): Centraal ↔ Buiksloterweg — for A’DAM Lookout, EYE Film Museum, This Is Holland and the IJpromenade walk
- NDSM (F4): Centraal ↔ NDSM Wharf — for the STRAAT street-art museum, restaurants, festivals and the monthly IJ-Hallen flea market
- IJplein (F2): Centraal ↔ IJplein — a quick eastern crossing into residential Noord with skyline views
- All three leave from the De Ruijterkade docks immediately behind Amsterdam Centraal
They are free — really
You do not buy a ticket and you do not tap your OV-chipkaart, OVpay bank card or phone on the GVB ferries across the IJ — they are free to everyone. This is unusual: trams, buses and the metro all need a valid fare, but the Noord ferries are treated as a free public link across the water because there are no road bridges here. Just board through the open gate when the boat arrives and stand or sit anywhere on deck. Smoking is not allowed on board.
Because there is nothing to pay, the ferries are not “included” in the I amsterdam City Card, a GVB day ticket or any pass — there is simply no fare to cover, so you save nothing by holding one. The only crossings that cost money are the separate longer routes such as the Hempont car ferry toward Zaandam, which carries vehicles and is far from the Centraal docks; the passenger ferries you reach from the station are always free.
Schedules, frequency and exact hours
The Buiksloterweg ferry (F3) is the most frequent and the only true 24-hour service, sailing roughly every 4–8 minutes during the day so you rarely wait more than a couple of minutes. The NDSM ferry (F4) runs about every 10–15 minutes by day, and the IJplein ferry (F2) sits between the two. Crossings are short: Buiksloterweg is barely three or four minutes, IJplein about five, and even NDSM is only about fourteen.
Hours vary by route, so check before a late trip: F2 IJplein runs roughly 06:30–00:00 (from 09:00 on Sundays), and F4 NDSM runs about 07:00 until 02:00, extended to around 03:30 on Friday and Saturday nights. Only F3 Buiksloterweg covers the small hours. Sailings can pause briefly when large ships pass on the IJ, but delays are normally only a few minutes — use the live GVB timetable or the 9292 app for the current schedule.
What is on the other side: Noord highlights
The free crossing is really a gateway to Amsterdam-Noord, the city’s fast-changing northern bank. From the Buiksloterweg landing you are metres from the A’DAM Lookout (with its over-the-edge swing), the striking EYE Film Museum and the This Is Holland flight experience, plus the green Tolhuistuin gardens and IJpromenade waterfront walk. It is the easiest, most scenic five-minute trip in the city.
- Buiksloterweg side: A’DAM Lookout, EYE Film Museum, This Is Holland, Tolhuistuin, NXT Museum and riverside cafés
- NDSM side: STRAAT Museum (street art and graffiti), waterfront restaurants, festival grounds and the monthly IJ-Hallen flea market
- IJplein side: quiet residential Noord, good skyline photo spots and quick onward cycling routes
- Tip: the ferry is not a canal cruise — it crosses open harbour water, not the historic ring of canals, so treat it as transport plus a free skyline view
Bringing a bike (and practical boarding advice)
Bikes ride free on the GVB IJ ferries — you simply wheel your bike straight onto the open deck, with no extra ticket and no separate fare, which makes the ferries the natural way to start a cycling day in green, spacious Noord. Mopeds, motor scooters (engine off) and mobility scooters are also carried, and the modern IJveer 60-series boats take up to around 300 foot passengers with bikes. Ramps are wide and level, so wheelchairs, strollers and rolling luggage board easily.
For a smooth trip, arrive at the dock a minute before departure, keep to the side ramps if you are on a bike or scooter, and always let the boat fully empty before stepping on. The Buiksloterweg ferry is the best first ride: it is fast, frequent, runs all night and drops you metres from the A’DAM Lookout lift and the EYE Film Museum.
How the free ferries fit your Amsterdam transport plan
Because the ferries cost nothing, they work alongside whatever ticket you use for the rest of GVB. A 1-day GVB ticket is €10.00 in 2026 (cheaper per day on multi-day passes, down to about €6.15/day on a 7-day), while OVpay contactless pay-as-you-go costs €1.16 to board plus €0.217/km and caps GVB travel at €10.50 a day — but none of that touches the ferries, which stay free regardless. So you can ride a tram to Centraal on your ticket, then hop the free boat to Noord without tapping at all.
The same goes for the I amsterdam City Card and the Amsterdam Travel Ticket: their unlimited GVB travel is handy for trams, buses and metro, but the Noord ferries were always free, so they are not a reason to buy a pass. Plan your paid trips around museums and longer rides, and treat every IJ crossing as a free bonus.
