Rideau Canal Cruises / Croisières Canal Rideau in Ottawa

Update after reply:You did not read my write up very carefully.We were NOT taken to Dows Lake. The route DID change for us.Your website "from" pricing is $0.95 off in pricing. Theres no price for that tour that is $35, so "from $35" is misleading. "From $35.95" would be more accurate.Your math is also off with respect to online vs in person - mine is correct. It came up almost $5 more online for two people after all charges. $86.11 online, $81.25 at the booth. You obviously didnt even check the difference before replying.---ORIG---The tour itself is a great way to see the canal. The "entertainer" on board gives you a few facts, while telling corny jokes along the way.Just to be clear, as their website is not, the route took us as far as the Bank Street bridge, then turned around. Their route map online specifies Dows Lake as one of the "sites" youll see. This was not true for our trip. I found this to be misleading.Be careful about how you pay. We arrived a bit late, so would need to catch the next one as it was sold out. Walking away we asked one of the staff about the pricing, then I asked if it was cheaper online. The guy said no, its actually a bit more online because they add a service fee.I looked on the companys website, where they say "Best Price Guaranteed". They say "Rideau Canal Cruise From $35". On the actual ticket page it says it again, but lower down it says they are $35.95. Not a huge difference, but a mismatch. Yes, they do in fact charge a service fee, and for two people it comes to $86.11 for two people. Their service fee is $4.87.We went to the booth on the bridge above the canal, and bought our tickets there. It came to $81.25, so online is not in fact "Best Price Guaranteed".The line about the service fee online was correct, but strangely on my receipt it spelled out that we were charged $3.82 Service Fee at the booth - BUT if you do the math, the charges are incorrect on the receipt. Despite showing the service fee, they have not actually calculated it into the total. Weird.Their website is misleading when it promises they have the best price. Im not sure why a computer performing a transaction incurs a service fee when a human providing actual service does not.A funny note: as part of the entertainers script, near the end of the tour, he does not ask for a tip, but he does work in a story about a lady who gave him a tip. A gentle hint I guess.These companies would get far more respect if they were not a bit misleading on their websites. Claiming to be the cheapest way to buy, but then adding a service fee, plus stating it is $0.95 cheaper than it actually is - and then saying that you will see Dows Lake, but you dont...these things leave a bad taste when there would be no harm in being completely upfront.

First time in Ottawa, and Brennan the tour guide was amazing, was funny and made the trip a very pleasant one, kept everyone entertained.Thank you!

Rideau Canal Cruise. Very popular activity. You may need to book early. I was not able to get on the boat. I came here one hour earlier but fully booked. Only last time is left for 6:30 pm. I’ll come here again tomorrow morning. There are five times of schedule tat starts 10:00 am. Next schedule is 2-2.5 hours later.

Amazing tour of the canal. Very friendly, polite crew. The guide was amazing too!The ticketing staff was very helpful and understanding! Highly recommended for the experience!

Very overpriced tour. Not much worthwhile views. We were promised to get a guide in the foreign language but had never received one.

Thank you Terry for a fabulous experience today on your cruise.You were an excellent and knowledgeable guide.If your interested in some sites and a view you just dont get from a vehicle highly recommend.

Thanks to Ana for the amazing tour! She’s a great guide - friendly, knowledgeable and very entertaining. We enjoyed the cruise, views, and learning about history. Trip is around 1.5 hours. You can purchase drinks and snacks at the boat and there’s a very clean washroom inside. We had a great time!

First time on the tour, and it was so mind boggling. The bit about the 70 foot eel was so amazing, Brennan was right, should have been named eelvis ;)

Boat ride is good. Slow and steady ride where the guide shows the Parliament, Supreme Court, residences of prominent government people like Ambassadors, Prime Ministers. Boat is good and we went for 7.30 pm ride and the sunset was beautiful. It was a scenic ride.

Very enjoyable 1.5 hr canal cruise. Brennan Richardson, the tour guide, was VERY entertaining in describing the sites. He made it seem like we were actually experiencing a live theatre & comedy club show while quietly (an electric boatcruising down the Rideau Canal. Highly recommend this tour.

Great cruise! Our tour guide provided the history, some interesting facts & stories, but he was super funny too. Only complaint would be the French & English together. He did a great job going back & forth, but I found it rather annoying. Try to get a window seat for better viewing.

Cruise was booked for 6:30, there was a problem with the battery of the boat so v were told to wait for 20mins. Then it was 30 minutes...very annoying 🙄 specially in the sun

Very poor customer service and we aren’t informed that the Rideau canal cruise to river was canceled and our tickets are yet to be refunded . I was not informed prior to the cancellation and tried calling customer service my phone was left to voicemail. This is how they treat the tourists . I am very disappointed .

River boat cruise with informative and professional guidance! Going to Gatinue and return back!

We were booked for 1600 and ended up missing that boat, so we decided to try and get on the 1630 one on the other side. Rather than being upset with myself I thought some things turn out better when they dont go according to plan. Well, Alex was great, he was able to quickly transfer our ticket without a hassle, and then we got Brennan as our tour guide, lemme tell you, you want Brennan folks, hes hilarious! Super entertaining and fun tour I enjoyed every minute of it and Im still googling the loch ness eel 😂

We totally enjoyed the cruise. Brennan is an amazing Guide and made the entire trip an awesome experience. He is funny and entertaining. This is not a historical cruise it is simply entertaining and fun. There is a washroom aboard but bring water/snacks as they are costly on-board. It is worth the price.

Excellent tour - and our Guide was superb! Great sense of humour, dramatic way of explaining the history, sights and stories along the way.

This is really boring boat tour for 90 minutes, absolutely waste of money and time. There is no way to park your car around this 1 Elgin Street or Riduea Street. Please dont waste your money. It was simply boring and not much to see around from the boat except nice big private home.

I’ve been on the boat in the river as well as the canal. The river tour is a bit boring. The canal tour however was much better. Overall a good experience for visitors from out of town.Also, the company should give a raise to the tour guide. He was amazing, engaging and funny. He even made the boring river ride interesting.

Boooooring, 90% people where on their phone. Should have spent my money on renting Bird scooter and touring the city. 2 star for the staff tho but do not do this tour

Not recommended. The tour leader kept talking VERYYYY loudly till the end of the tour. We got a really bad headache. No distance between the chairs. About 80 people in a small cruise. DO NOT waste your money.

We visited Ottawa and had planned to go for the boat cruise to learn more about the city and the Rideau Canal.The boat ride was very fun, it was nice to see the riverside views. It was also entertaining, although, if theres nothing factual to talk about Ottawa, why make up "alternative facts?" Because of the amount of "alternative facts" that were told, I dont know how much of the information from the tour was true. I would say which ones were alternative facts, but I dont want to spoil others experiences.Please tell more factual things about Ottawa and the Rideau Canal. I know this was done to entertain people and let them enjoy their time, but people also want to learn about the history of the city. Like I dont know how/why its a laughing matter when experts, children, and adults end up actually believing the alternative facts, or why its a proud moment for the speaker to find that out. This was glorified throughout the ride. The speaker was proudly saying that these alternative facts help increase Ottawas tourism.

Not recommend.1. Boat was packed. No distance, no ability to hide from the sun.2. Extremely boring. If you have never seen canals or bridges before - you may like it. Otherwise, you have a lot more chances to enjoy the city just walking around. Most of the boat trip you’ll be looking at bikes passing you by, trees, recreational trails.3. Overpriced. It’s too expensive for sad experience you get. Not worth it. Simple comparison: mind blowing museum of nature $17 cad vs boring boat tour for $38 cad.

Unfortunately would only rate this a 2 star boat cruise as the tour guide lacked knowledge about Ottawa, and shared very few stories about the cities history. He also spoke " extremely " fast, converting back and forth in french. We took the tour on July 4th, just a few days ago in the late afternoon. And the tour guide had very little to say on the way back from the tour. It felt as if he was tired from reading the script which definitely lacked in history and overall knowledge. The boat ride otherwise was okay, seats were not very comfortable, snacks and water very expensive. No coupons or token freebie given out to guests. Marketing could do a better job all the way around. Unfortunately would not recommend to friends unless things changed.

Beware that if you get on the boat cruise at 12:30 pm, you are likely gonna miss the Rideau Canel one at 2:30pm as the boat cruise arrives back at Ottawa Lock at around 2:20 pm. Having bigger gap in between is better.Other than that it is a great experience.

Loved it, relaxing and educational. Brennan was the best tour guide I’ve ever had, knowledgeable and beyond entertaining. I laughed until I cried, literally.Is there is 10 star button somewhere I can push? He deserves it! Thank you Brennan!

Hopefully Brennan will be your tour guide because he made this trip 100% amazing! You learn so much of the history, but we were laughing so much our faces hurt! Best money ever spent 💕. Just wish I could give better than 5 stars.

Great date option even if youve been in the city your whole life. Try to go around sunset for the best photo opportunities!

It was an average experience. Locating starting point was a pain as it was 1st day of 2022 season and people were left guessing.

A quite place within busy City

The canal was big and the tour was time taking. At one point it became boring and we could see people sleeping all around. Not worth spending that much of money. But for first timers you should definitely experience it.

Directions for accessible access are confusing. It is a long walk to and from the ramp to get to canal level - leave lots of extra time to get to the boat if you need to go this way. There was a large school group on our tour that was a bit noisy, so it wasnt the relaxing tour Id hoped for. The guide did ask them to be quiet during the first half of the tour so people could hear the commentary. The return journey, when everyone could talk freely, was loud. An evening tour would hopefully be quieter. The commentary was informative but I imagine you could find the same overview on the internet. If you are trying to decide between this and the river cruise, the river cruise is much better.

Seating was uncomfortable and it felt like they packed the boat for profit over experience as it was challenging to move my legs or see through other passengers.

So very hard to find. Was boring. So hard to get any pictures or see anything because of sitting. Had to fight to get pics I did get. Being your own water and snacks.. Water was 4.50 a bottle 😳I was soooo looking forward to this. So very disappointed. Do not waste your money.

Brennan was such a wonderful guide! A tour that otherwise could have been boring he made so full of energy and laughs! The whole family enjoyed it and not to mention we learned a lot. With a group of both locals and tourists it was a nice experience. His story about the mysterious canal eel was crazy, you must hear it for yourself!

Memorable and incredible experience! Turned out to be a 2 hour trip which was even better! Brennen was our guide and was world class! This trip is narrated live by your guide and is packed with such interesting knowledge of the canal, Ottawa and surrounding areas. So many historical and significant locations are passed while on-board. Highly recommend, a must-do when visiting Ottawa. Easy and convenient boarding location right near the Chateau Laurier.

Had a great time. We had Brennan for our guide. Highly recommend him. He says there is a 70 ft eel living in the canal. Be sure he tells the story. Had difficulty finding the boat launch area and had to reschedule. Thanks to Samuel and Thea. It’s near the National Arts Centre (that side of the canal). We had to figure out a way to drive a wheelchair close to the boat. Heading NW on Elgin, after the Arts Centre, turn immediately to the right, partway through the intersection. Easy to miss. Drive down to the bottom and the gate should open automatically. It’s there to protect cyclists and pedestrians. Drive to the bottom of the ramps (couple of these, see mapand unload the wheelchair. Note that there is also a parkade entrance near the bottom. There should be an easy ramp for the wheelchair down to the canal walkway. Loading the boat should be straightforward once you have gotten down there. The parkade is accessible.

Went on the Ottawa Boat Cruise Rideau Canal cruise. It was very nice and relaxing. Terry, our tour guide was very good and informative on the history and was also quite funny. The day was quite pleasant and not hot, so it was very enjoyable. The only complaint we had was the parking. If you own a truck (that pulls a travel trailer or 5th wheelyou cant fit in the parking garages and if you park in a open parking lot you need to know how to use the lots Parking App. But the cruise was enjoyable.

The Rideau canal trip experience was amazing with full information about the canal .. The views are beautiful, the guide were friendly and knowledgeable, explaining thoroughly the history of the canal both in English and French, they even came and chat with us individually which was nice ..

The views were slightly blocked off by trees making it hard for good pictures, the drinks are a bit expensive but thats to be expected, price comes with convenience.Masks are mandatory and are strictly implemented.

Enjoyed the canal ride, its almost 1.5hrs. Guide was really good, explained everything in details (with some fun facts and fictional stuff). Book in advance and note down the boarding point. Be there 15/20 mins before starting time so that you can pick seat of your choice. They do have different packages, i opted for canal and cruise ride.

The highlight of our Ottawa trip. Wonderful guide, Jaime told us captivating stories of the canal, unlike most tours and very engaging and relaxing way to see such a spectacular feat of engineering

This is probably the best part of my trip in Ottawa!I visited here during covid time so I wasn’t expecting this cruise trip still open. I was happy to find out not only this cruise trip is still going on with combo pricing, but the staffs really taking extra precautions to their clients. The boat was being cleaned in between sections.The tour guy we had on the Rideau Canal trip was amazing! He is Brandon and he definitely made the trip a great and enjoyable experience! Wearing a mask for 90 minutes can be challenging sometimes but Brandon was wearing this for the entire time during the trip while still giving a nice tour.The nice lady on the river trip is probably the owner. She is super nice and knowledgeable! You can really ask her any history about Ottawa and Gateno, and she is more than happy to answer any of your questions!Overall this is a must have experience in Ottawa!Attached a few pictures from the cruise trips

Finding the cruise can be a bit tricky so make sure you give yourself sufficient time. The boarding area is just below the Plaza bridge. You can easily locate one of their mobile booths on the Plaza bridge and ask the staff for help. Staff and crew were friendly and provides clear instructions. I had my initial cruise at 4.30 pm but missed it as I could not find a parking upon returning the next day the staff were really helpful and reaccomodated me in the 10 am cruise. The tour guide was just excellent and made the 1.5 hour trip quite fun. Finding a parking can be a bit challenging as well.

Just tried it last night at 6:30pm. Brennan is very funny. I enjoyed the ride but wearing mask for 90 mins can be a bit tough. I can’t imagine riding it during very hot days. I think 6:30 shift is the best choice. Must be a tough job wearing mask as a tourist guide for 7-8 hours.Very peaceful experience. Great view to tour the canal.

Brennan is a great tour guide. Although there isnt a ton to see on the 1.5 hour tour he made the most of it and kept us laughing. The tour is worth it for his seasoned storytelling alone. Its a relaxing tour and something worth checking out atleast once.

We did the canal trip and the all experience was amazing. The views are beautiful, the guide was friendly and knowledgeable, explaining thoroughly the history of the canal in English and French, the important things to see and having fun at the same time.

AMAZING experience to see the famous Rideau Canal on a river cruise with family. Nice to see how many people they host, the lil cantine for bevies & treats and even a washroom. Cruise was on time, easy to find where we embark. Quick and easy boarding but definitely go a little earlier if you are with a big crowd to snag seats together. Took us a bit to get organized and hang with eachother but still not all together. We ended up at back of boat, not horrible but a little close to the speakers so was rather extra noisy. As the emcee was friendly and great explaining history, buildings and sharing tons of knowledge, we did find it long-winded to have approx the entire 1.5hrs of non-stop chatting. Wouldve been great to be able to visit amongst ourselves as it wasnt required to have the emcee over the loud speaker to fill in void air. So this tour is definitely a tour! Happy we experienced it but would explore the canal differently next time. Thx for a good tour!

There is a ton of cultural activities to experience in Ottawa. I never thought about doing a cruise on the Rideau Canal, but it was actually a unique way to view the city from another perspective. Rideau Canal Cruises invite you to travel back in time aboard an electric boat while discovering the wonderful Rideau Canal, from Dow’s lake to the Ottawa River. There are about 30 sites that have marked the history of the city included during this 1-hour and half tour. The guide I had during the tour told unique anecdotes, which you won’t find on Google, fun guaranteed!Find more pictures on my Instagram (kelledstyleand more info on my blog :)

It was great. If you visiting Ottawa you should go staff was friendly and our guide was great.