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Amsterdam lodging question

Posted by (Reston, VA, USA) on

My sister, brother-in-law, and I will be spending 5 days in Amsterdam in late June, and we've found 2 possibilities for a 2-bedroom rental for that time. One is a houseboat on Nieuwendammerdijk, across the IJ from Centraal and the city center, and the other an apartment in Westerpark, about 1 km west of the Anne Frank House in a more walkable location. We've put down a deposit on the houseboat, but I'm getting concerned about the time for traveling back and forth into the city center for our sightseeing; it seems we would spend around 35-45 minutes each way. I'm willing to lose the deposit if the Westerpark apartment will make our trip significantly better (easier access, closer to restaurants, etc). I also have somewhat mixed feelings about spending 5 nights on a houseboat... it might be fun but it might be a bit more togetherness that we want so early in our trip!

Thanks in advance for any advice or comments-

Posted by
1005 posts

Staying in a houseboat can be fun, but there isn't much space, so you may feel cramped. Also, I like to stay in a walkable neighborhood, not somewhere that requires taking a ferry to get to the city center. So I would opt for the apartment in Westerpark over a houseboat on Nieuwendammerdijk.

Posted by
1230 posts

Another vote for Westerpark. You will be beyond the crush of the tourist-focused center, so get to appreciate the city from the local perspective, but still have easy, quick access to everything you might want to see, especially if you rent bikes, which I recommend (I actually think this is a highlight of being in Amsterdam)

Posted by
985 posts

Kathleen, having stayed in Amsterdam three years running, I would not be keen on staying as far as the houseboat across the river. It looks like Bus 32 is about your only decent way to get to the ferry, and restaurants on the map are sporadic. Of course you could plan on mostly eating lunch/dinner in the city before you make your way back for the day. I prefer the canal ring, so to me the Westerpark area is not ideal either, but it is much better in that you should have access to Tram line 10 that you can catch and probably many more restaurants in your area. If it were me I would keep looking and lose the houseboat deposit. jmo

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