Laura, De Pijp Escort with an Adventurous Heart

Laura will ride a horse at full gallop in the morning and sit perfectly still over a three-course lunch in the afternoon. That is her contrast: an adventurous, energetic streak that never stops moving, wrapped in a warmth that makes you want to slow down and stay a while. Both sides are completely genuine, and few companions switch between them so smoothly.

She is 25, 169 cm and athletic, with long sun-kissed light brown hair and green eyes that always seem lit by some outdoor plan. She lives in De Pijp, the lively quarter just south of the canal ring, where the Albert Cuyp market hums six days a week and every second doorway leads into a café. Laura loves the noise of it. She knows the market's best stroopwafel stall and will insist you try one warm. She also loves that the Amstel is a few minutes' walk away whenever she needs air.

Weekends often pull her out of town. There are stables around the Amsterdamse Bos, and she rides whenever she gets the chance. Winter means skiing, the steeper the better. Her dream journeys, though, all point south. Travel in Italy is her great love: Tuscan hill towns, lake villages, a slow train down the coast with no fixed return date. Rome, she insists, is best seen at dawn. Ask for her Italian itinerary and you will get it stop by stop, with restaurant tips. Stacy, who lives in the same district and snowboards, can happily trade mountain stories with her.

Her style is breezy garden-party elegance, light fabrics and easy colours that work for a terrace lunch and a candlelit dinner alike. She speaks English and brings an open, direct warmth to every booking. Amsterdam is flat, she jokes, which is why she keeps leaving it for mountains, and why she always comes home. Laura is a strong pick for travellers who want company with a spark, and for anyone who likes a plan with a bit of adventure built in.