Amsterdam Trip

IPushButtons

Amsterdam Trip
Hi I'm planning a trip to Amsterdam in the new year and I'm looking or some tips , where to stay things to do places to see etc

It's gonna be mega

henryporter

We stayed at the Citizen M hotel which is a bit south of the city but with a tram stop right beside it which takes about 15 minutes to get to the center of things. Its a new hotel and very comfortable as opposed to alot of the ones closer to the center which can be noisy and not very clean (or if you want quiet and clean it costs alot more). The other nice thing about Citizen M is that its right beside Amstersdam Zuid train station which is two stops from Schiphol airport - about 15 minutes.

As for things to see or do, it depends on what you're into. Art wise theres the Rijksmuseum (which is under renovations as usual), the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum. For gigs when you're there check out the Paradiso and the Melkweg, lots of coffee houses of course, Ann Frank Museum, the Berlage always has exhibitions on, hire a bike, take a day trip to Rotterdam or Utrecht or Den Haag, go to the Vondelpark, wander through Dam Square, check out the pubs around the Spui area....

How long are you going for?

CorkMan

If you want to stay in a hostel I would recommend the flying pig:

http://www.flyingpig.nl/

I was in Amsterdam in 2006 and 2008 and stayed there no problem. For transportation, it depends on how far you want to go. The Van Gogh Musuem, Red Light District (and coffee shops if that's your thing) are all pretty central.

nancy121

As far as travelling is concerned you don't need anything except a tram in the city but when traveling anywhere out of the city I will suggest you to hire a car as it will be more convinient as well as economical. Coming to accomodation part, it will get costlier as you will come towards the central part . But you don't need to worry even if you take a room bit away from the centre as it hardly takes 15-20 mins to get there from tram.

schmig

Don't mind the hotels in Amsterdam, they are not the best. Better off looking at the citymundo website and renting somebody's apartment..much more enjoyable.

keithclancy

nancy121 wrote: »

As far as travelling is concerned you don't need anything except a tram in the city but when traveling anywhere out of the city I will suggest you to hire a car as it will be more convinient as well as economical. Coming to accomodation part, it will get costlier as you will come towards the central part . But you don't need to worry even if you take a room bit away from the centre as it hardly takes 15-20 mins to get there from tram.

I would not suggest hiring a car.
1. Parking is an Arse in lots of places, there is NO free parking in Amsterdam city center. The closest cheap parking from the Center is the Amsterdam RAI at 8 euros / day.
2. Driving rules are different, e.g. Turning right on green you have to give way to pedestrians crossing the road.
3. The whole, driving on the right thing.

IMO The Rail network is fantastic in the Netherlands, I live way down south in Brabant and its a 1hr 45min train journey to Amsterdam Centraal from my place.

Rent a bike or get a Nederlands Dagkaart if you see it in the shops, gives you unlimited travel all around the netherlands for 22 euros

You can get door to door timetables from
www.9292ov.nl *click the english link on the top*

Car rental is more expensive than in Ireland, plus Benzine is around 1.58 / litre.

NoseyMike2010

Check out the Read Light District!!!! Floors of Hoe's! I have no idea what they cost though!!!! lol Some other posters may be able to help with that!