The switch to electric boats

Are the Bruges canal boats electric?

Most of them already are. Visit Bruges says at least half of the 20-boat fleet is electric, VRT and the Belga news agency counted 16 of 20 in June 2026, and all tour boats must be electric from 1 January 2028.

The switch started long before the deadline. A first test boat sailed in 2010, and the current e-boats have been on the canals since 2020. The remaining diesel boats are being replaced step by step.

The new regulation spells out the details. Each company runs four tour boats and keeps one reserve boat. The tour boats must be electric from 1 January 2028. The reserve boat must be ordered electric by then and sail electric by 1 January 2030.

Why is Bruges switching to electric boats?

Clean air, less noise and less wear on the canals. Electric boats produce no emissions or smell, make less noise and cause fewer waves, according to Visit Bruges.

Fewer waves matter more than it sounds. The canals are narrow and on average about 2 m deep, and the old quay walls take every wash from a passing boat. When the first electric boats arrived, Lonely Planet's report pointed to less damage to the quay walls as one of the gains.

Noise is the other driver. More than a million people take a canal trip each year, and residents along the water have complained for years about repeated commentary from passing boats. Tourism alderman Minou Esquenet summed up the new rules as "a matter of balance and quality".

What changes for passengers on an electric canal boat?

Very little you have to plan for. Same five jetties, same 30-minute route between Jan van Eyck Square and the Beguinage, same open boats and the same price set by the city. The ride is quieter, with no engine smell.

You cannot choose an electric boat when you buy a ticket: you take the next boat at your jetty. By 2028 the question disappears.

Some things the switch does not change. The boats stay open, with umbrellas in rain. The jetties keep their stairs down to the water, so the boats are still not wheelchair accessible; Stael at Katelijnestraat 4 has the fewest stairs. And there is still no online booking for individuals; the prices and tickets guide covers how the jetties work.

Will the skipper's commentary change from 2029?

Yes. From 1 January 2029 the new rules ban amplified sound on the tour boats. The commentary must use a system that only the passengers on the boat can hear.

Today the skipper talks through a microphone, in the languages of the people on board: most speak Dutch, French and English, some German or Spanish. The rules already cap the volume at 65 dB(A) outside during the day and 60 dB(A) between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

How the new system will work is not settled. Operators have doubts: Michiel Michielsens of Venetie van het Noorden told VRT that headsets are hard to manage with about 1,700 customers on an average Saturday, with children on board or in rain. Expect the skipper's stories to stay; the way you hear them may change.

How are the Bruges electric boats built?

To the same size as the old ones. The city fixes the width and length of every boat, so the e-boats carry the same 35 to 40 passengers and fit under the same low bridges.

The first boats of the 2020 generation were built by North Sea Boating in Blankenberge with the Zeebrugge shipyard Vandamme. Lonely Planet reported at the time that each one ran on 20 lithium batteries in sealed, watertight containers and cost about €200,000, roughly twice a diesel boat. Tourism Bruges paid for charging points and jetty extensions.

On board, safety stays as it was: life jackets for every passenger, a first aid box, a fire extinguisher, and a skipper with a sailing licence and a first aid course.

Which Bruges tours put you on the canal boat?

The boat, chocolate and walking tour includes the boat in its price; the guided walk, the small-group tour and the day trips from Brussels and Amsterdam offer it as an option.

A tour that includes the boat is how you get it booked, since the jetties do not take individual reservations. Our pick is the boat, chocolate and walking tour, from $44, with a licensed local guide and the boat in one price. For a lower start, the walk with boat and beer options is from $28 for the walk alone and adds the boat when you book it.

Grainne, in a 5-star review of that walk from Nov 2026: "The boat trip was fantastic to well worth the money." Not sure the boat is for you? Is the canal boat worth it? weighs it up.

A small-group walk with a licensed local guide, a chocolate tasting and the canal boat with its captain.

★ 4.8 · 2 hours 30 minutes · from $44

Explore the boat, chocolate and walking tour → Tour details

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