Take a waterborne bus tour through Amsterdam with new service

Passengers flying into Amsterdam now have a unique sightseeing route around the city thanks to the launch of an "amphibious bus" July 8.

The bright blue bus collects passengers from Schiphol Airport, making the bulk of the journey to the outskirts of Amsterdam by land before it dives into the canals.

From here, passengers are taken onwards on a 45-minute water cruise, taking in sights such as the Skinny Bridge, Royal Theatre Carre, Oude Schans and the Oosterdok.

The bus, which is operated by Dutch boat tour firm Rederij Lovers, has a capacity of 48 and will run tours three times a day, with each one taking approximately two hours 45 minutes.

Rederij Lovers says that the bus is electric and powered by 198 batteries, making the journey carbon neutral.

Unfortunately, passengers can't leave the tour once they're on board, meaning that those needing an airport-city transfer will still be best taking the short train ride from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal station.

Although Amsterdam has to rank as one of the world's prettiest city to see by amphibious bus (Amfibus), it's not the only one -  the city of Glasgow in Scotland launched a similar service last year as a commuter service across a river for the locals.

Later this year, the Dutch company that produces the buses also plans to launch an amphibious car, the " Amfibug" which can carry two adults and two children and could one day be available for tourists to rent.

See the bus: http://youtu.be/tckW5eDvTUA

http://www.greatamsterdamexcursions.com/floatingnew/index.php?lang=en