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Ottawa Tours
Ottawa City Tour by Land and Water
4

Ottawa City Tour by Land and Water

By Lady Dive Tours
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Travel across Ottawa by land and water on this one-of-a-kind "amphibus" tour. Learn about the history and architecture of Canada’s capital with a guide, who points out landmarks you might have missed on your own. After a tour of the charming streets, descend on the amphibious vehicle into the Ottawa River for a rare view of the cityscape—sure to delight travelers of all ages.
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation

Ages 0-99, max of 24 per group
Duration: 1h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English, French
More

Highlights
  • Guide provides an entertaining history of Canada’s capital
  • Amphibus tour: See the cityscape from dry land and the Ottawa River
  • Visit monuments and landmarks often missed by visitors
  • This two-in-one tour is perfect for time-pressed, first-time visitors

  • Amphibus tour
  • Bilingual guide
What's not included
  • Gratuities
  • Food and drink

The tour begins just steps away from Parliament Hill. Climb aboard a convertible land-to-water "amphibus" and settle in for a whirlwind tour of Ottawa and Gatineau. Listen to your guide's live commentary as you pass famous landmarks including the Canadian Parliament, the National Gallery, and the Prime Minister’s residence. The on-board guide ensures you see unmarked and lesser-known points of interest that visitors often miss. Once you’ve explored the city streets, the amphibious vehicle descends into the Ottawa River. From the water, enjoy rare panoramic views of the cityscape. Pass the capital’s three iconic bridges as the guide provides the historical background you won’t find in the guidebooks. After the bus makes its way out of the water, take a scenic ride over the Rideau Canal and end the tour back at Parliament Hill.

Start:
  • Lady Dive Tours, 44 Sparks St., Ottawa, ON K1A 0R7, Canada
    Our kiosk is across the street from the War Monument on the corner of Elgin and Sparks Street. Please be at the starting point 30 minutes before departure
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point.

    • Not wheelchair accessible
    • Near public transportation
    If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 6178DIVE

    • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
    • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
    • Most travellers can participate
    • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
    • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travellers

    • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

    If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 6178DIVE

    From
    C$45.19
    per adult
    Select date and travellers

    Similar experiences

    Itinerary
    • 44 Sparks St., Ottawa, ON K1A 0R7, Canada
      Our kiosk is across the street from the War Monument on the corner of Elgin and Sparks Street. Please be at the starting point 30 minutes before departure
    • Pass by
      Rideau Canal National Historic Site
      National Gallery of Canada
      ByWard Market
      Parliament Hill and Buildings
      Major's Hill Park
      Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica
      Gatineau Park
      National War Memorial
    • 1
      Beginning and end of tour.
      Pass by
      Gatineau City Hall
    About the operator
    Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
    • Lady Dive Tours
      518
      Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
      Joined in May 2011
    • 877elnaram
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      5 star worth experience
      Enjoyed the tour and the views. But the tour guide made it more fun. Loved it! The experience is definitely worth the money and time.
      Written September 6, 2024
    • 292marct
      0 contributions
      4.0 of 5 bubbles
      The "Bus/Boat" Tour
      Despite being a long time local, I still learned something on the tour. I have to say I was primarily interested in the amphibious aspect of the vehicle, but the tour guide was full of local information during the excursion. It was fun, and educational.
      Written August 31, 2024
    • Maps15700208810
      0 contributions
      4.0 of 5 bubbles
      Excellent Tour of Ottawa
      I purchased the Lady Dive Tours with one day hop and off ticket and it was worth it with a short stay visiting Ottawa. Our host Gabrielle and Captin Keith was very friendly and informative during our Amphibus tour dive in the Ottawa River. As well our our guide Alexi [male] on the Hop on On off bus was very kind, friendly, and informative . It was my first time on open air double decker bus and it was amazing. I would recommend to get first few seats in front if available. I would recommend this to any visitor visiting Ottawa and the tour guide allowed us to start our tour earlier than our scheduled time to which was awesome. Tour Date August Monday 28
      Written August 29, 2024
    • DinaDB07
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Fun tour!
      A fun tour of the city from the road and the water! A very neat experience as the bus enters the river. Our guide was informative and funny.
      Written August 29, 2024
    • K4892ALgabriellem
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      A must in Ottawa!
      Highly recommend this tour! Our driver, Keith, and our guide, Cameron, were exceptional and made this experience unforgettable!
      Written August 18, 2024
    • mehdio574
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Amazing experience
      The best team ever...Sara and captain Gabriel was just amazing and adorable....nice user experience and a lot of funy anecdotes through the journey.
      Written August 13, 2024
    • bhT5851FR
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Highly recommended
      Our guide, Alexis, was awesome. His information was well delivered. A very unique and fun experience. And the bus was very nice and smooth on the water and on land.
      Written August 11, 2024
    • Z225LBnadinep
      0 contributions
      3.0 of 5 bubbles
      Factual but not very interesting
      The commentator knew her stuff but she didn't make it very interesting or captivate her audience. I realize that may be hard when she has to speak in two languages but she needs to work on her presentation to keep the attenton of the customers. Corny jokes don't do the trick. By the middle of the trip, some people were just chatting to each other and some were on their phones.
      Written August 11, 2024
    • 86kshitizs
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Amazing land & water ride
      Amazing experience especially for my 4 year old son. Not only you get to see all the major attractions of Ottawa, you also get to have a small cruise in the river. The guide was excellent and knowledgeable about history & other facts of many buildings. Definitely a must do thing when you are in Ottawa.
      Written August 9, 2024
    • ChantalD984
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Great tour for family with young children
      The tour was a lot of fun and just the right length of time for the younger kids (5 and 7). I learned a lot about and enjoyed the special views of both the Quebec and Ontario sides of the river.
      Written August 2, 2024
    • ajayluthra2023
      0 contributions
      4.0 of 5 bubbles
      Nice Scenery, but too hot
      It was really nice. We all had a lot of fun. Only issue was that it was really hot in the bus, it was like 30 degrees. But they had fans every other row. We sat in the front. Wendy the tour guide spoke in both English and French it was about 40 minutes long on land and 20 minutes in the water. Great tour.
      Written July 29, 2024
    • karolanep396
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      A must and if u have the luck of having Alexis as guide even better!
      We went this morning my friends their kid, my 2 kids, my husband and i, we had Alexis as a tour guide and Bruno was the captain! That was amazing! Alexis was such a wonderful guide in both English and French he made the tour so much fun interesting and so enjoyable! I am so glad we had had opportunity to do this with such a great team! I highly recommend to all! And thanks for taking the time to take pics for us Alexis! Worth the money! 👍🏻
      Written July 27, 2024
    • luceniao
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Best ever!
      The Amphibus Tour is the best ever in Ottawa! We enjoyed the tour. Thanks so much for showing us a beautiful and charming city.
      Written July 23, 2024
    • L14RH
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Fabulous Tour
      After reading the great reviews, we booked onto this tour and it did not disappoint. It was a great way to see the city with the added bonus of seeing the city from the water as well. Our tour guide (so sorry I have forgotten his name) was really informative and entertaining. I would recommend for both adults and children. The tour was both in English and French.
      Written July 20, 2024
    • OntarioCanada56
      0 contributions
      2.0 of 5 bubbles
      Not impressed
      The tour was on an old Go train bus. Heat was rising from the floor. Just a couple of open windows on a hot day. The bus was 30 minutes late getting to a pickup spot. We weren’t sure when or if they would be coming back. There must be better tour companies you can sign up for. Not impressed!
      Written July 11, 2024
    See all 518 reviews
    These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

    Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

    Popular mentions

    4.0
    4.0 of 5 bubbles288 reviews
    Excellent
    129
    Very good
    86
    Average
    38
    Poor
    17
    Terrible
    18

    These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
    This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.

    Yvonne C
    Ottawa, Canada420 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Jul 2022
    We were with our friends, visiting with three girls (7, 11, 13), and the tour was just the right length to see the main sights, plus the girls got a kick out of the "bus" going in and out of the water. The speaker volume needed to be higher so everyone could hear the explanations, but the tour guide did a good job at telling stories. A good general tour that I would recommend you do early in your visit to Ottawa to get oriented and see the area from a few different vantage points (from the Ontario and Quebec sides, and from land and the river) so you can decide where you'd like to visit and spend more time on foot.
    Written July 6, 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    David C
    Ne12 9nt23 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Oct 2024 • Couples
    We booked the Amphibus tour on-line just an hour before going on it. They were very efficient and the bus left on time. We paid 10 CD$ extra each to guarantee seats in the first two rows which was super, but even further back on the bus the tour would have been excellent. We saw lots of famous landmarks both on the road part of the journey and on the water, but without doubt the section of the tour on the river was the most fun - especially the big splash as we entered the water!
    Our host and guide Gabriella was amazing, speaking fluently in English and French and full of interesting information delivered with lots of fun and humour. Captain Keith was an excellent driver. Highly recommended and well worth the money.
    Written October 20, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Thriftycrafter
    Norwich19 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    We arrived at the start point within 10 minutes of the tour starting. The staff in the booth were accommodating in so far as to record our names and ensure we could board the bus. On the way, the guide was commenting on the buildings and dates in English and French. My wife was sitting near the rear door/steps, and the guide was good enough to allow my wife to stand and take photographs from them. The guide told jokes at the appropriate times, which were appreciated by the tourists. The whole tour lasted around an hour, but you hardly noticed. All in all a very pleasant experience.
    Written September 27, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    LEALANA
    Martinique1,111 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    This is nice city tour with a dynamic commentator. After a game on the streets of Ottawa, the bus enters the Ottawa River to get another view of the city.
    The tour lasts 1 hour with about 10/15 minutes in amphibious version.
    Nice especially for families with young children.
    Automatically translated
    Written August 28, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    wanda m
    Nottingham, UK159 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    Probably the worst communication ever from a tour operator
    They were unable to wait a couple of minutes for the disabled member of our party to cross the square so we opted to wait for an additional 90 minutes for the 3pm tour
    A little after 3 we were told that there were issues with the vehicle and we were welcome to stay in line as the new one was on its way and the tour would begin at 3.30.
    After 3.30 we had to ask what was happening as no vehicle had arrived
    Apparently it was on its way , eventually we were told that the tour was delayed until 4pm
    I specifically asked if this was actually the case?
    Would the tour definitely go at 4 or would there be further delays but was assured that yes, we would definitely go at 4pm
    Well we began to board at 4.20
    The tour was ok but no more than that, then because of all the delays the traffic was horrendous so several of our party were ready to throw up due to the stop start motion for the last half hour ( where all we saw were embassies )
    Save your money and just have a walk
    See more and much more reliable
    Written September 20, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    JW
    4 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Jul 2022 • Friends
    The ride was fun and long enough to explore both cities. However, the tour guide woman spoke super loudly and fast and in both English and French it made my ears so irritated. The tour is better done in English or French because it’s so annoying listening to both languages. This tour guide is not trained at all and should speak slowly and get that mic out of her mouth!
    Written July 28, 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Lisa G
    8 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    It was a very hot day which made everything a bit uncomfortable (no a/c on the bus) but Cameron (guide) made the tour a great experience which her enthusiasm, sense of humour and knowledge of Ottawa and Gatineau. Keith (Captain) was very friendly and made the ride safe and exciting even though there was lots of construction and busy traffic to navigate. My 12 year old daughter and I had a great time and we highly recommend it. Wish we would have had cash on us to provide a tip!! Thank you Cameron and Keith!!
    Written August 16, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Maps42569383495
    1 contribution
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Aug 2023 • Couples
    Very good and informative tour. We managed to get on a earlier tour as there was space from a no-show, and they held the bus and lowered the steps so we could get aboard, which was great customer service. Good views of Parliament hill from the river and moving around the city. Light and spacious in the bus, windows open to get better photos!
    Written August 11, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Love to hear it! Thank you for the review.
    Written September 24, 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    Mary K
    1 contribution
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Jul 2023 • Couples
    If you are looking for a tour if the city this is not the best way of doing it. The tour guide had some knowledge but we learned a lot more on a walking tour. The boat experience is unexceptional and the tour was shorter than advertised. We did a duck boat tour in Boston which was amazing so the bar was set high, this one didn’t even compare.
    Written August 6, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    We're sorry to hear the tour didn't live up to your expectations. Our guides are always learning more about the city but sometimes the traffic conditions just aren't in their favor. We do hope you enjoyed Ottawa nonetheless!
    Written August 10, 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    Jamie D
    3 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    Aug 2023 • Family
    The guides were obviously nice people. But. They waited until we were a quarter of the way through the tour to tell us we couldn’t do the water part because of the vehicle. The water part was the whole reason I chose this tour! They could have at least told us before and potentially offered refunds because it was lackluster without the water part.
    Written August 21, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Double-decker buses do not go in the water but we are truly sorry that this was not clear when you boarded.
    Written September 24, 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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    *Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

    Ottawa City Tour by Land and Water provided by Lady Dive Tours

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