Rotterdam's Wereldhavendagen is free on 4 to 6 September: two 30 euro tugs, one sails half an hour longer

From 4 to 6 September Rotterdam hands the quays on both banks of the Erasmus Bridge over to the public: around fifty port organisations set up along the water, dozens of ships can be walked through, demonstrations and ship-handling displays run on the river all day, and Saturday closes with fireworks. Getting in costs nothing, the ships alongside cost nothing, and the shows on the water and that evening firework cost nothing either, which the organisers state plainly. Only one category carries a price: the excursions that leave the quay and the tours into the working port. Those are sold online only, with no ticket desk on site.

• All three days run from 10:00 to 18:00, with the culture square open until 20:00 on Friday and the evening show and square until 23:00 on Saturday. (source 1)
• Free of charge: the event area, the ships along the quays, the shows on the water and the Saturday firework. (source 1)
• Excursions and port tours are sold online only, never at the gate, never by phone or mail, and are non-refundable. (source 1)
• A service fee of 1,25 euro is added per ticket, capped at 5 euro for one order. (source 1)
• The 1916 steam tug Furie: 30 euro, ninety minutes, three sailings on Saturday and three on Sunday from the southern excursion terminal, and under-sixteens must have an adult with them. (source 2)
• The 1959 ocean tug Elbe: also 30 euro, two hours, seven sailings across the three days, leaving from Müllerhoofd. (source 3)
• Metro and tram to Beurs, Leuvehaven, Coolhaven, Wilhelminaplein or Rijnhaven leave a five-minute walk to the entrance. (source 1)

The official pages never put those two ships side by side, and it is worth doing yourself. At the same 30 euro, the Furie sails ninety minutes and the Elbe two hours, which works out at thirty-three cents a minute against twenty-five. The Furie is the last steam-driven sea tug still sailing in the Netherlands, built in 1916 and given a starring role in a 1970s television series; the Elbe is a 1959 ocean tug that served afterwards as a pilot vessel and as a Greenpeace campaign ship. Pick the first if you want to watch the machinery, the second if you want longer on the river. The departure points sit on opposite sides of the water, one at the southern terminal and one at Müllerhoofd, so fitting both into one day does not work.

The fee column deserves a sum of its own. It is 1,25 euro per ticket, capped at 5 euro for a single order, so four tickets hit the cap exactly and a fifth or sixth ticket adds nothing. A family that books in several separate orders therefore pays more than one that puts everything in a single basket. Two small costs also wait on site: a euro per person for the toilets, and a euro deposit on the drinks cup that comes back when you return it.

Hokimi field note: if you only have half a day, leave the free half for the afternoon. The moored ships and the stands along the quay stay put all day, while the ship-handling displays on the water and Saturday's firework run to fixed times worth picking a spot for.

Where

Quays on both banks of the Erasmus Bridge, with sailings from the southern terminal and Müllerhoofd

When

10:00 to 18:00 on all three days, with Saturday's evening programme to 23:00

Price

Free to enter, sailings from 30 euro

Booking

Excursions online only, with no ticket desk on the day

Note

No refunds・one euro per person for the toilets・one euro cup deposit・under-sixteens need an adult on board