Joy Ride Tours is a family-owned, family-run bespoke bicycle tour company operating in Amsterdam. They provide exceptional private tours and also operate public City Tours (meeting at 15.45) and Country Tours (meeting at 10.15). They do tours from April to September each year, and are open seven days per week for private tours (no public City and Country tours run on Tuesday and Wednesday). Meeting point is on the Museumplein in Amsterdam. Check out their website here: www.joyridetours.nl and visit their Facebook page.
VENETIAN GONDOLA
How cool is this? Why not traverse the waterways of 'The Venice of the North' in an authentic Venetian gondola. There's room for up to six people, with drinks served on request. A one-hour ride costs €100 and leaves from one of the city's prettiest canals, the Brouwersgracht (other departure points on request) day and night. For more information see: www.gondel.nl or call +31 6 47 46 45 45.
FRIDAY NIGHT SKATE | www.fridaynightskate.com
This isn't a guided tour as such – but it's a good way to get visually acquainted with the city and take in some street and skate culture combined. Every Friday at 8pm (weather pending), a large group of rollerbladers meet outside the Vondelpark's Filmmuseum, for a 15-20 kilometre tour through Amsterdam that lasts approximately two hours. Naturally, it helps if you're reasonably competent on wheels and know how to brake.
MACBIKE TOURS | www.macbike.nl
As well as renting and repairing bikes, MacBike also peddle a variety of 'Great Day Trip' English-language bike tours in and around the city. Using detailed maps you can discover the some of Amsterdam's historic architecture and the cutting-edge Eastern Docklands area, explore the Plantage neighbourhood, or simply the city's canals and bridges which have earnt it the monicker 'Venice of the North'. Out-of-town map tours include trips to the windmills at Zaanse Schans, the Waterland area north of the city – or the seaside town of Spaarndam (made famous by the story of Hans Brinker, the little boy who stuck his finger in the dike). And speaking of dikes, a recent introduction to the thoroughly modern map family has been two gay and lesbian tours of the city (distinctive by a picture of the phallic momument on Dam Square on its cover). The 'Historic' day tour takes you to the Rembrandtplein, Homomument and Vondelpark; while the 'Hysteric' night tour takes you on a cruise through gay areas such as the Warmoesstraat.
MEE IN MOKUM | www.gilde-amsterdam.nl
Two-hour tours of the old centre, Jordaan and Jewish districts, or the city's lesser-known underbelly are taken (in English and Dutch), by fiercely proud Amsterdammers over the age of 55. Tours cost just €4 and take place from Tuesday to Sunday starting at 11am at the David & Goliath restaurant of the Amsterdam Historical Museum. Reservations are necessary (book one day ahead)