When you visit a European city for the first time, you wanna get a feel for the place. But where to start? You could take a walking tour, open-top bus, or even a boat ride – great for seeing historic buildings and statues. But for all the fascinating history waiting to be unearthed in Europe’s storied cities, many such tours tell you little about the truly modern currents that keep the city in motion.
We’ve always thought it’s just as special to experience a city’s hidden history; to explore with a guide who has a personal story to tell; and to know you’re helping some of the most vulnerable groups in society benefit from tourism. That’s what our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences are all about. And when you visit Amsterdam with Contiki, you can experience one of our most eye-opening ones of all: touring those dreamy canals with an Amsterdam Refugee Boat Tour, powered by Rederij Lampedusa.
About the tours
Rederij Lampedusa is a collective with members from Egypt, Syria, Eritrea, and Sudan – and their tours are pretty unique. They’re exclusively conducted by migrants, for a start, and they take you along Amsterdam’s iconic harbour in former refugee boats, pulled from Italy in 2015 by the group’s founder, Tuen.
Like any tour group, these guys want to help you discover Amsterdam’s unique beauty. But they also want to tell you a different story: a story of migration, hardship, tolerance and opportunity, that’ll make you see Amsterdam – and the world – from a completely new perspective.
“My first time [sailing] was from Libya to Sicily. It was a bad situation. Many of my brothers died. But I am not dead. I am alive. I am the Captain.” This commitment to employing refugees and teaching travellers about the untold hardships and resilience of many is what makes this boat tour a truly unique and important experience. “Our hope is that travellers who hear our stories will gain a deeper understanding of the migrant struggle and see beyond the headlines and statistics to recognise the individual faces and voices behind them.”
The boats
In order to conduct these canal tours, Rederij Lampedusa make use of two real migrant vessels, which were once used to transport real people to lands they deemed safer.
First there’s the Egyptian Alhadj Djumaa, which means ‘Wise man who has been on a pilgrimage.’ Despite its modest size, it carried 282 migrants – 217 Eritreans and 65 Ethiopians – to Italy across dangerous waters. Nestled in between the life jackets and oil barrels you can still find the painted words: ‘Road to freedom, way of peace.’
The second boat, Hedir, has a more mysterious story. She was picked up by the Italian coast guard in Sicily, and the only clue to her history is the name – ‘thunder’ or ‘roar’ in Arabic – and a pair of diving goggles abandoned onboard. As soon as they brought Hedir to Amsterdam, Rederij Lampedusa fitted her with an electric engine, and now she glides along the canals in silence.
“I learned how to control my boat. I was on another boat once, but I didn’t sail. This is for fun, that was to save my life. There is a big difference.” Not only will you be learning from migrants, you’ll be sat in the very vessels they used, living these stories for a moment.
Image source:Rederij Lampedusa
The crew
But while the boats themselves are fascinating, it’s the crew who make this experience so special. These are migrants who have fled unspeakable horrors and dangers, but they approach each tour with joy, humour and a genuine love of Amsterdam.
“Being able to share our migration stories with travellers is incredibly meaningful to us. It’s not just about telling our individual stories, it’s about humanising the migration journey. After all, each story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the universal desire for a better life,” explains Basak, a member of the team. Trained by Lampedusa to navigate the canals, they speak of the strange contrast between their journey to Europe and getting back out on the water each day.
What Rederij Lampedusa is doing in Amsterdam is the perfect example of inclusive tourism. It’s the kind of experience that enriches travellers and locals alike, supports marginalised groups, and helps us see the world through other people’s eyes. “We want to spark meaningful conversation and build a world where everyone is welcomed, respected, and valued, no matter where they go and where they are from.”
After all, isn’t that what travel’s all about? If you agree, you can experience Amsterdam’s most colourful and inclusive canal cruise on our London to Budapest by Train trip.
Image source:Rederij Lampedusa
Sound like your kind of travel? You can experience Amsterdam’s most colourful and inclusive canal cruise on our London to Budapest by Train trips.
