I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to tourism. I'm always a bit cagey about tour buses, tour groups and anything that requires that you get into a vehicle with a bunch of strangers and follow someone around with an umbrella. However, this was our thirteen year old daughter's first time in Europe and we felt like a canal cruise would be a great experience for her. The one thing I refused to consider even though it was threatening rain, was to sit in one of those boats with a glass top. First, I'm deathly afraid it will sink and I won't be able to get out, second, it limits your view. We found Eco Tours on Damrak and immediately knew it was the right outfit. I knew we made the right decision when in the refrigerator next to the cash register, they had bottles of wine for sale. We doubled down, bought tickets and some drinkies and boarded our open sloop.
The boat seats no more than ten or so people and we were stoked to see that there were only six of us. Our captain was a sweet older dutch dude who told us about the history of each canal we passed through telling kitschy jokes along the way. Luck would have it that it began to rain, but we insisted on leaving the roof down and steeled ourselves to the wet. As usual, if you want better weather, all you have to do is wait and within twenty or so minutes, the rain stopped and we enjoyed the rest of the ninety minute tour.
We learned a bunch of things we hadn't learned on our previous ten or so visits to Amsterdam, kicked back and cruised the canals with a nice glass of wine.
These guys were great. read more