I went to Amsterdam a number of years ago and I always intended to go back. I was glad when the opportunity came up to go again with a few friends.
Airport to CityIt was quite simple to get into the city from Amsterdam airport. We took a €6 train into Centraal, then took a taxi to our accommodation, which cost about €35 in total. The other option would be to take the tram from Centraal that costs about €3 per person.
Stayed in an AirbnbFor this trip, we decided to stay in an Airbnb property. There were four of us travelling for four nights, so we stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment close to the centre. It was great to have a kitchen, dining table and shared living room for us to hang out in.
So much to do in Amsterdam!
Canal rideHigh on the to-do list was a canal tour. Amsterdam has loads of pretty and picturesque canals, so we joined the Blue Boat Canal Cruise for €18. We were able to buy tickets on the day. It lasts about 75 minutes and everyone got headphones to listen to the pre-recorded tour information in their chosen language. It was also fully covered and heated, so no need to worry about the weather.
As we purchased our tickets for the Rijks Museum from the canal cruise company, we got to pay €15 rather than the usual €17.50 per ticket. I was really impressed with this museum, there was such a huge range of things to see – from Rembrandt paintings to pocket snuff boxes!
I’m a big fan of the Sandemans free walking tours. I booked us spots for a morning tour that started near the Royal Palace. It was a good way to check out the city on foot and learn about Amsterdam’s history. We covered the National Monument, the red light district, Anne Frank’s house and more. As with all of these free tours, you leave a tip at the end for your guide – however much you feel is reasonable.
Anne Frank’s HouseI’d already visited Anne Frank’s house on my last trip. My friends hadn’t been before, but unfortunately they weren’t able to get tickets! Tickets were temporarily available online only at that time, and it was already fully booked. If you’re interested in going, definitely look into booking tickets online as soon as you can.
Places to eatFood in Amsterdam was really amazing. There’s a lot of Asian influences and international food is available everywhere. Here are some of my favourite places that we went to.
Food Hall – VietnameseLuckily this Food Hall was just around the corner from where we were staying. There was a lot of variety in the food available. I went for the Vietnamese noodles, which was really tasty. Here is the Trip advisor page.
This is a very low key cafe style restaurant with great food and even greater food portions! It was on the cheap and cheerful side, and we were all satisfied with our meal. There was a flower market just across the road too, which we investigated after lunch. Here is the Trip advisor page.
This restaurant was recommended to us by our Airbnb contact for actual Dutch food, since we were enjoying so much Asian food! It’s a nice restaurant near the central area. Turns out Dutch food is quite hearty! My pea and bacon soup was really nice and we all had some version of ‘stamppot’ that includes mashed potato and meat. It was really good. Here is the Trip advisor page.
I’m really sad I didn’t make it to this restaurant because it looks amazing. Fortunately, my friend did bring me some Dutch pancakes (poffertjes) with Nutella and strawberries for me to eat. They were so yummy. Dutch pancakes are like little mini pancakes, that are delicious with Nutella! Here is the Trip advisor page.
Pancake BakeryThis was a recommendation from the tour guide, and I have to say it was a disappointment after the De Vier pancakes. The restaurant itself is small and cosy, the disappointment was that the ‘chocolate sauce’ was not Nutella. It was some generic dark chocolate sauce, which just didn’t taste as good! I’d recommend the De Vier bakery if you get a choice, unless you don’t care for Nutella. Here is the Trip advisor page.
Holiday conclusionI had a really great time in Amsterdam. There’s something very chilled out about it, people are very friendly, it’s easy to get around by tram and the food is great. In fact, I think I’ll go back again one day.
Original link:
https://twoshoestravel.com/category/europe/amsterdam/
Published April 2018
