Amsterdam: Vacation
 

So I'm thinking of traveling to Amsterdam for 4:20 this year and wanted to see if anybody here has any experience with the place. Anything would be helpful from destinations to check out, public transportation, good party places, etc.

Thanks!

Was there last year, LOVED it.

stayed at the Bulldog Hostel which was in the center of everything: http://www.bulldoghotel.com/

Cheap, clean, friendly, central.

Had a great time from what i can remember...we just got there and didn't plan anything except our hostel and then just did whatever came up during our stay.

Let me know if you have any specific questions, i'll see what i can remember :)

i heard its actually scary if you go out at night or certain time? Can anyone confirm ?

many people robs the tourists

I guess it could be but I was with 3 other guys so I never felt unsafe. BUT, although 420 and other stuff is legal there, expect to still have a ton of shady guys walking by or in the streets asking if you want to buy charlie (slang for cocaine). Just keep walking and you'll be fine.

Just be smart about it like any other place.

Not really. Just use common sense as you would in any other big city

Thanks for the info so far. Looks like a 420 trip is not in play anymore. Although all it means is I might be going at a different time. Any more news keep it comin! Thanks!

Don't touch hard drugs in Amsterdam...that shit is definitely not legal. There's plenty of other stuff you can have without problems like weed and mushrooms.

My friends and I stumbled around the city stoned and drunk out of our minds, and it never felt unsafe but we're four dudes so I'm sure people would think twice before trying to jack us. However, on the whole, I didn't think the city was any sort of unsafe although I'd exercise precaution when dealing with anything in Amsterdam at night.

the city of dream

:thumbsup:

I loved Amsterdam when I was there. Remember that smoking marijuana on the streets is actually illegal. It's legal in the many so called coffee shops.

It may comes across as obvious but check out the red light district. The degree of liberalness regarding prostitution is definitely a bit of a culture shock. You'll see anything from rowdy teens to families strolling around there.

In terms of other touristy spots, I enjoyed the tour of the Anne Frank museum (I'm a huge history buff) and the Heineken tour was awesome too. We were going to check out the Van Gogh museum but after The Louvre in Paris, we decided to pass and checked out the House of Bols cocktail exhibit instead.

You'll love Amsterdam. Beyond the commonly mentioned prostitutes and marijuana, the city is gorgeous with canals running thing many of the streets

Thanks for all the info. Big decision now whether to go to Amsterdam or another location. Sadly me and my gf don't have the budget to do multiple European destinations and if we go would only manage to go to Amsterdam. But I fear staying here alone for a week might get a little boring and perhaps even a waste. Perhaps go somewhere else and come back when we have a big enough budget to at least hit up a few different spots. The dilemma!

Hey, my recommendation is that if you are spending the airfare to go overseas, then stay the entire week. A few days is okay, but better if it is a week. As for other EU locations, i really really liked the Greek islands as well, and if you go just before the tourist season, it's actually really cheap to stay there. Greek people are some of the nicest people we met in our travels too. And if you do get there, you can always take a relatively cheap ferry from island to island and that will make sure you're not bored. I loved Greece too, it was desktop wallpaper come to life!

If you want something a little cheaper, I think Budapest would be good too. I actually haven't been there, but I hear it's cheaper than the rest of western EU and i've seen my friends pics and it's pretty dope too.

If you are on a budget, don't buy EuroRail / Bahn passes ahead of time. Instead, once you get there, lookout for cheap deals to anywhere on the web from ryanair, easyjet etc (those airlines you will need to pay for bus far to airport as they are not the central ones).

You will see more for the amount of money, sometimes quite exotic eg Istanbul etc.

Get a membership on hostelling international if you want to stay money, but watch out for bed bugs!

You should go even if it is just a week. A week gives you a proper amount of time to soak up and to understand the local culture which is what I enjoy about travelling short-term. :)

That's true too. I don't know the great debate continues but thanks for all the replies so far.