100 Days to SAIL Amsterdam 2025!

SAIL Amsterdam is a festival that truly represents Amsterdam’s spirit: a past (and present) connected to water, to sailing and adventures, a love for exploring and openness to new people and ideas. It’s a maritime festival where, for a couples of days, hundreds of ships from the entire world gather in Amsterdam’s port. These can be tall ships (old and new), historical replicas, luxury yachts or even a submarine!

It starts with the Sail-In parade, when all the tall ships come from the docks on IJmuiden, on the North Sea Canal all the way to Amsterdam. They are accompanied by thousands of boats of all sizes, and it makes for an amazing start of the festival. The tall ships will be moored in Amsterdam’s port for five days, time when the visitors can roam around freely, admiring these boats, visit them with guided tours and participate in various activities. On the last day, the Sail-Out parade takes place — all boats sail back to IJmuiden and to their next destination.

I’ve experienced SAIL only once since I moved to the Netherlands, and I fell in love with it from the moment I’ve seen the Sail-In parade – a line of tall ships sailing into the city. I was eagerly awaiting the next edition after that, but I had to wait more than five years because the Corona pandemic changed everyone’s plans. But this year is the year! SAIL is coming again to Amsterdam, and we will have the joy of watching and exploring tall ships and boats of all sizes for a total of five days in August!

SAIL Amsterdam was first held in 1975, as a way of marking the anniversary of 700 years of Amsterdam’s existence. Since then, the city organised the festival every five years, except for 2020, when it had to be postponed because of the pandemic. Each edition brings millions of visitors to Amsterdam’s port, which makes it the largest freely accessible event in Europe.

SAIL 2025 will take place on 20-24 August and is a triple anniversary: the 10th edition of the festival, 50 years of SAIL, and Amsterdam’s 750th birthday. Under the slogan “United by Waves”, around 20 different nationalities and cultures come together during these five days. You can check on SAIL website which tall ships are coming to Amsterdam this year.

What can you do at SAIL 2025

There are various activities organised for the duration of the festival, and most of them are free to attend. The Sail-In parade will be on 20 August, and the Sail-Out on 24. Don’t miss them, as it’s an impressive view to see all the tall ships that gathered at IJmuiden and sailed on the North Sea Canal all the way to Amsterdam (and back).

During the festival, the ships will be moored in Amsterdam’s port, and you can see them up-close. You can also visit some of the tall ships with a guided tour (on 21-23 August).

Evenings will be for concerts, light shows and fireworks.

Tickets: you don’t need a general entrance ticket to access the harbour area, but there are some activities that require booking a ticket, like special cruises, concerts or visiting the ships. If you are looking for some special cruises, to feel more in the middle of the action, you can get yourself a ticket here:

You can also go to SAIL with your own boat, just make sure to check the rules on the festival’s website (and be ready for very crowded waters).

Where is SAIL Amsterdam?

From Amsterdam Central Station, walk along the IJ to IJhaven. More than 800 ships from 24 countries are announced, so they will cover a large area of the harbour. It will be very easy to find!

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