My wife and I traveled to Amsterdam. It was our first time. Originally I booked a room in a canal house hotel. In Amsterdam central and the canal district, most hotel rooms are very small and quite expensive. If you've staying in Tokyo or Singapore, it's similar to that. If you are used to big rooms and don't pay attention to square footage when you book, you will be shocked. After reading more about Amsterdam, I read a lot of posts by people who stayed in houseboats or wanted to stay in a houseboat. I thought they might be larger than the hotel rooms at the same price point, but they are actually about the same. This houseboat was no exception. It is pretty small. It's fine for a couple nights for one person or a couple, but it would be a bit cramped for a long time. FYI - This website says you have to rent for minimum of 4 nights, but you can bypass that warning and submit anyways. We were able to book 3 nights, no questios asked. I had no idea how to book a houseboat. I looked in Airbnb (which I hate) and vbro and some other websites. Most people seemed to recommend houseboathotel, which I'd never heard of (I'm in US), but they seem to have been around a long time and I read only positive feedback so I took a chance. The down payment options are limited and you have to pay the balance in cash Euro, but other than that, everything went very smoothly. So if you are wondering, this website is legit. Our host Rinze was there to greet us. He was very friendly and helpful. The houseboat, although a bit cramped, does have everything in it (comfortable bed, bathroom, kitchen, eating area, giant glass windows that open so you can feed ducks). The houseboat is new (or at least seems new). The location is great. Walking distance to everywhere. The roads don't really have sidewalks and lot of brick, so it's not so easy to roll large suitcases. Not a big deal but something to know... Also cabs and uber have difficulty (it's definitely a walking/biking city), so best to go there when the weather is decent. This is the kind of houseboat that looks like a trailer. It is divided into 3 apartments. The host has a large apartment, probably half the boat. The other half is divided into 2 apartments. We stayed in BK151, which was 10 euro/night cheaper. It is the middle unit. The other one is the end. I recommend viewing the properties on a cell phone. The mobile version seems prettier (you can see pictures of each houseboat as you scroll). You can find larger houseboats by either paying more or going further from the city, but I liked this houseboat. The price was decent, the location was great, and it seemed new. Overall, it was a fun experience. One last note: it was colder than we expected and rained a bit, so we stayed in the houseboat more than we planned. I think it was more fun stuck in here (feeding ducks and seeing the boats go by) than in a hotel room.
