The Duck Tour leaves the Albert Dock every hour in peak season and is one of the best ways to see the city - especially if you're short on time. It's also good to get your bearings when you first arrive. The vehicles are reconditioned ex-WWII amphibious vehicles, meaning they can be used on land and in water. Each holds around 20 people and are wheelchair friendly too.
The first element is the land tour: the tour takes in the major sights with a commentary from the driver, but unfortunatley when in busy traffic this can sometimes be hard to hear. The tour is confined to the city centre so you'll not get to all of the Beatles related sights and has, to stick pretty much to the main roads but as a general overview of the city it's quite useful.
The real fun starts as the Duck comes back round to the Albert Dock, You can leave the plastic windows down here, but for the most excitement, roll them up and prepare for a soaking! The vehicle turns sharply into the dock, speeds down the ramp and before you know it you're chugging happlily round the dock. After a minute or so the driver invites any willing would-be sailors to have a try at steering. The kids love this; I was too nervous (I'm a liabilty on a bike!) -but there's hardly any other traffic and it's pretty easy to steer. It's a great way to see the Docklands area and check out the new penthouse apartments spreading along the Mersey.
Not fantastic value for money but a bit cheaper than comparable trips in London or other big cities and the novelty factor swings it. It's over a bit too soon but you'll be talking about this for ages! You can get a small discount on the price by buying a ticket for all the major dock attractions (including the Beatles Story and Tate Modern Liverpool.)