Amsterdam travel tips
Getting from Amsterdam to Bruges/Brugge
The perfectly preserved medieval Belgian city of Bruges (or Brugge in Dutch/Flemish) is a major highlight in this region, and it’s a common next stop or prior stop for travelers who are touring Northern Europe. But as you may already know, finding the details on how to get from one to the other can be challenging. If you are standing in one of the train stations it’s all right there, but online the details seem to be hidden, so for your convenience, even if you are just going to use your Eurail pass, here is how it works.
By plane
There is a small airport called Ostend-Brugge Airport that serves Brugge, but it’s 30 kilometers outside the city and is mostly used for freight. There is limited passenger service, but there is no scheduled service between Ostend and Amsterdam, and even if there were it wouldn’t save any time and would be way more expensive anyway.
By train
Not surprisingly, the best way to go for most people is by train. You have to change trains at least once in Belgium, but otherwise it’s quick and easy. You can buy a train ticket in advance from the USA on raileurope.com, but there really isn’t a good reason to do this since buying tickets when you walk up is always easy, and that site adds a commission to the price, and never alerts you to special deals.
Date: August 17th, 2008 |
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Bike tours of Amsterdam - Mike’s Bikes
Amsterdam is considered to be the bicycle capital of the world by many, and it’s definitely true that in the city center bike traffic tends to dominate on all but the most major roads. If you’ve yet to make it here for the first time you might be considering renting a bike for all or part of your trip, but outside of the novelty value in that it’s not necessarily a good idea for most people. Check out the Amsterdam bike rental page for the pros and cons, but to sum it up quickly, it can be a much bigger hassle than you’d think.
One excellent alternative to renting a bike for a day or two is to join in one of the tours given by the popular and acclaimed Mike’s Bikes company. This will give you the complete thrill of participating in the giant army of cyclists that are on the roads all day, but you won’t have to worry about getting lost, having your bike stolen, or even not being able to find a good place to park the thing. You’ll also be getting a great tour of Amsterdam in the process, and get tips for renting a bike and riding in the city while you are at it.
Date: July 27th, 2008 |
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Amsterdam city tour for cheapskates, including free audio commentary
In spite of its outsized fame, Amsterdam is actually a fairly compact city, at least when considering the town center that contains pretty much everything you’ve ever heard of or would want to see on a short visit. Since most visitors come for just a weekend in Amsterdam, it’s nice that there are a few ways to get a worthwhile orientation in a hurry. Many visitors come through on an Amsterdam layover at Schiphol of between 4 and 10 hours, and it’s nice to know that you can not only make a visit to the city but also have a fairly meaningful tour in that short of time. Check out the Amsterdam layover guide for specifics on how to maximize your time and everything you need to know.
Most of us recommend an Amsterdam canal tour as the first thing to do when you arrive, regardless of how long you’ll stay, but those one-hour cruises cost around €10 so those on the tightest of budgets might be tempted to skip it. Cheapskates who don’t want to just wander around aimlessly now have another choice, which is the #5 Tram Tour with a free downloadable audio commentary produced and offered by the GVB, which is the Amsterdam public transportation company.
Date: June 22nd, 2008 |
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Beer Bike banned in Amsterdam
UPDATE: The Beer Bike has evidently worked out the troubles with the police so as of late June, 2008 it’s on the road again with the problems discussed below solved. Read more about the new Amsterdam Beer Bike situation, including the new karaoke machine option.
(previous information below)
I recently used a photograph of Amsterdam’s Beer Bike when I was discussing itinerary ideas for a weekend in Amsterdam, and I was going to feature the bike itself in a post this week. Just as I was gathering up the facts I came across news that the Beer Bike has just been banned (in early June, 2008) from Amsterdam’s city center, although it seems the bike is still able to operate elsewhere if anyone is interested.
Several different companies seemed to be able to book this thing, although it appears it is owned by the Beerbike.co.uk people, who also operate a Dutch site called partyfiets.nl (party bike, of course). There’s another one that says it seats 17 called the Fietscafe, and there may be even more where that came from. We’ll see if the ban stays in place, but it most likely will because this thing has been known to cause traffic problems along with the kinds of noise complaints you’d expect when you get 19 beer-swilling people together to pedal around the city with only one “sober” guide to stay in control.
Date: June 11th, 2008 |
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Going Dutch - The origination explained in video
If you’ve ever wondered where the expression “going Dutch” came from, the video below does an entertaining job in answering it. Sure, it’s a bit nerdy to care about ancient history like this, but if you are heading to Amsterdam it can’t really hurt to know some of this stuff.
Date: May 28th, 2008 |
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Free things to do in Amsterdam
Amsterdam isn’t as expensive as many major European cities, but it can still wipe out many budget travelers who don’t plan well. If you find yourself low on cash and you want to do something other than sit in your hostel room, you’ve got quite a few options. Several of these are pretty obvious and things you’d want to do whether you had plenty of money or not, so just to give you some ideas of some fun and interesting things you can do for free, we’ve compiled a list.
Stroll through the Red Light District
Many travelers are intimidated by the notion of wandering through the world’s most notorious prostitution district, but they really shouldn’t be. This is also the oldest, most historic, and possibly most beautiful neighborhood in Amsterdam, so wandering through the Red Light District is mandatory on any trip. There are a few smaller alleys with a thin road stretching along a big group of red-lit windows with flirtatious girls behind them. Strolling down those alleys can feel pretty hardcore, but they are quite easy to avoid if you don’t want to join the never-ending herd of men and women who wander through the area. The architecture and canals in this district are stunning, and especially visiting during the day is not even a little weird. You’ll see.
Date: August 3rd, 2008 |
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Amsterdam Beer Bike back on the road, now with karaoke!
Not long ago it appeared that Amsterdam’s famous beer bikes had been banned from the streets by police due to complaints from citizens, but I’ve been assured the problems have been worked out and the city’s world-famous tolerance has prevailed yet again. There are a few new rules these bike companies must follow, but the good news is the party-pedaling fun seems to be back on for the foreseeable future.
Evidently the problems before related to the bikes going on random routes through the city center, which meant they’d be going down some normally quiet and small streets at night, all the while filled with drunken and chanting cyclists. The other problem seemed to involve the fact that the driver, who more or less serves as the captain of the craft as well, would sometimes get drunk himself, and this could lead to more rowdiness than Amsterdam was willing to tolerate.
Date: June 26th, 2008 |
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The Jordaan neighborhood spotlighted in video
Not long ago I wrote about an entertaining video on learning key Dutch phrases in two minutes that is part of the collection from Geobeats. I really hope this company does well and produces more videos because I think these are really helpful. They are more professionally produced than just about anything on Youtube, and they are done by locals who really know their stuff, rather than by random tourists just pointing cameras at things hoping for the best. Right now there are videos of a few dozen cities around the world, and there are 4 total for Amsterdam.
The video below is a nice introduction to the Jordaan neighborhood, presented by the stunning Peggy Vullings (who doesn’t get enough screen time, if you ask me). One reason I like this video so much is that it does well in capturing the charm of the Jordaan, which is otherwise hard to see in photos and even harder to describe. They also show the Anne Frank House, which is just across the Prinsengracht Canal from the Jordaan, but mostly it’s just a nice montage of the galleries, restaurants, cafes, and bars that make the area so nice.
Date: June 13th, 2008 |
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Weekend in Amsterdam: Itinerary ideas
One thing about Amsterdam that is slightly unusual compared to most other great European cities, is that you can have a meaningful visit in only two days. You certainly won’t be able to do everything, but you’ll be able to check out many of the major sites and you’ll be able to leave knowing that you got a good feeling for the place. Pretty much everything visitors are really interested in is located in the compact city center, and as long as the weather is decent and you have good shoes you can probably do it all on foot as well.
If you are one of the many who are doing a quick Amsterdam trip either as a stand-alone weekend or as part of a longer tour of Europe, you’ll be happy to know that the major sites and activities are pretty easy to summarize. Throughout this site we discuss many topics in great depth, so there’s no shortage of possibilities if you’ve got more time on your hands, but if you want to know the major choices that can be conquered in 48 hours or so, you may find the suggestions below useful.
Date: June 1st, 2008 |
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Pinkpop Festival - Netherlands’ largest outdoor music festival
The Netherlands holds its largest and oldest outdoor music festival of the year in late spring, and even though it’s not terribly close to Amsterdam itself, it’s fairly easy to reach and quite popular with both Amsterdammers and tourists to the capital. The event has been held annually since 1970, and until 2008 it had always been held on Pentecost/Whitsun weekend (7 weeks after Easter), but the early Easter in 2008 caused the event to shift back 3 weeks later.
The festival
Spread over 3 days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) the Pinkpop Festival features 3 stages running more or less concurrently. Some of the biggest names on the international touring scene mix with some Dutch stars and lesser-known acts in a lineup that rivals the other top music festivals in Europe. The event is broadcast live on Dutch TV if you can’t be one of the 60,000 or so people who attend over course of the long weekend.
Location
The Pinkpop Festival is held in the small Dutch town of Landgraaf, which is about 200 kilometers south of Amsterdam and very near the city of Heerlen, and also near the borders of Germany and Belgium.
Date: May 21st, 2008 |
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