Amsterdam Big Weekend

You board at a fixed time and the boat runs a set loop, so latecomers are left on the dock. Onboard there is a bar and usually a DJ or a sound system you can plug into. Some are private charters for your group alone, others are shared with other bookings. What is included varies more here than anywhere else: some are entry only, some include a drinks package, some include food. Get that in writing before you pay. Deck shoes or trainers, nothing with a heel. It is colder on the water than on land, even in summer, so bring a layer.

The tour covers how the beer is actually made, through the mash tun, the fermenters and the cellar, and takes about an hour. Then you sit down to a guided tasting of a flight of their beers, usually four or five, with someone explaining what you are drinking. It is a sit-down, talk-to-each-other activity rather than a drinking session, and it works well for a group that has been on it since Friday. Most breweries have a taproom you can stay in afterwards. Working sites mean closed-toe shoes and no flip-flops. Some breweries put on food; check before you book dinner elsewhere.

A restaurant taking a large group will usually want a set menu, a deposit and final numbers a few days ahead. That is normal and it works in your favour: the food comes out together and the bill is per head rather than an hour of arithmetic. Tell them about allergies and anyone who does not eat meat when you confirm the numbers, not on the night. Dress code is the restaurant's. If you are heading to a club afterwards, dress for the club, because the restaurant is the softer door.

You get a briefing, race suit, helmet and gloves, then a session that usually runs about an hour: practice laps, a qualifying run and a scored final. Timing is automatic and the results go on a board, which is where the arguments start. Indoor circuits run all year; outdoor ones are longer, faster and at the mercy of the weather. Both put a podium and a bottle of something at the end. Wear trousers rather than shorts, and trainers. There are height, weight and footwear limits at most tracks, and you have to be sober.