Schiedam's festival boat is EUR 5 on 26-27 September: the same boats charge EUR 9 on a normal day

Schiedam holds its Brandersfeesten on 25, 26 and 27 September 2026, and the whole historic centre is free to walk into. The one part worth booking first is the Brandersvaarten: a silent electric boat through the old canals, past the tallest windmills in the world and the former jenever distilleries that gave the town its name. Rondvaarten Schiedam turns 25 this year, so during the festival an adult seat is EUR 5,00 and a child aged 4 to 12 is EUR 2,50, with under-threes free on a lap. On an ordinary day the same boats charge EUR 9,00 for the one-hour trip, EUR 10,00 for the 80-minute one, and EUR 4,50 for every child aged 4 to 12. Both festival fares work out at 55,6 percent of the normal price, so everyone on board saves the same 44,4 percent. Saturday sailings run from 11:00 to 17:00 from the Vismarkt and sell out.

• Put your own party into the sum: the festival fare is (adults x EUR 5,00) + (children 4-12 x EUR 2,50), and the ordinary fare is (adults x EUR 9,00) + (children 4-12 x EUR 4,50). Two adults and two children pay EUR 15,00 instead of EUR 27,00, a saving of EUR 12,00; four adults pay EUR 20,00 instead of EUR 36,00, a saving of EUR 16,00. A child under three travels free on a lap but still needs a reserved place.
• The boarding point moves this weekend. The year-round sailings start and finish at Museummolen De Walvisch, Westvest 229, while the festival Brandersvaarten board at the Vismarkt. The two quays sit on opposite sides of the old town, so anyone following the address on the ordinary sailing page ends up at the wrong one.
• Check before you count on a Museumkaart. The Walvischmolen and the Jenevermuseum normally accept it, but the same official page warns that during Molendag, Open Monumentenweekend and the Brandersfeesten the museums often change their entry prices or drop them altogether, so the card may not buy you an extra visit that weekend. Confirm on each museum's own site first.
• Plenty of the weekend costs nothing and slots around the sailing. On Saturday from 11:00 to 16:00 the Scouting and Zeekadetten run water games at the Koemarktpleintje and the Lange Haven, with climbing, a rope bridge and knot work. On Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00 a world market fills the Broersveld, Lange Kerkstraat and Hoogstraat with more than a hundred stalls, and a shanty choir festival runs at the Vismarkt from 12:00 to 17:00. The national water-bike ring-tilting contest that was listed for Sunday 14:00 to 15:00 has been cancelled, so do not travel for it.

Hokimi field note: book the boat first and build the rest of the day around it, because the 11:00 to 17:00 sailings are the only part of this weekend that runs out; the markets, the old crafts and the choirs are all walk-in. The easiest way there is the train to Schiedam Centrum, with trams 1 and 11 and buses 51 and 54 stopping at Broersvest or Koemarkt. Sources: source 1, source 2, source 3, checked on 2026-09-24.