Hey! I am 20 years old and thinking about staying in Amsterdam for a couple nights. I was considering the Hans Brinker Hostel in Amsterdam but I would love any suggestions and comments people have about traveling to Europe. This is my first solo international trip and am looking for advice. I am flying into Paris and staying there for a few nights and then had an idea of possibly heading to Amsterdam, but am very much open to suggestions. I will be going in November. I really appreciate any comments and time!! Cheers
Posted by
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
2091 posts
Hi, and welcome to the forum and to international travel!
The prospect of visiting new places can be thrilling, but it requires some common sense and planning. The best way to get help from this forum is to provide as much detail as possible. Vague descriptions like "a few nights" and "possibly heading" make it harder to help you.
- What do you want to do in Amsterdam? Why do you want to go there?
- How many total days do you have? Have you already booked flights?
- Where else do you plan to go besides Paris and Amsterdam?
- How would you travel from Paris to Amsterdam?
- What kind of budget are you on?
- Are you traveling solo?
Depending on what you want to do, I would recommend a minimum of four nights in each city. You could do less, but the less you do the more time you'll spend rushing around and the fewer things you'll have time to do. Both cities have tons of great museums if that's interesting to you. If not, as I said, let us know what you are interested in so the very helpful members of this forum can offer the best advice.
Posted by
Bay Area SF & Uppsala Sweden 🇸🇪
1418 posts
Hi and welcome to the Forum! Adding on to what Lane has already advised, basically the more you investigate what you want to see and experience, the more we can help. And the more fun you will have because you've done the work ahead! I would go to a library and browse Netherlands & Amsterdam guide books, nothing like the pages to bring things alive. I really like DK guides, because you get views from above of streets and areas, lots of museums are in there as well. You can of course look on-line, but nothing will replace doing some research first!
This young backpacker in his 20’s did a great job on a Trip Report about his visit to the Netherlands, he really packed a lot in, might be useful?
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-4-5-days-in-amsterdam-utrecht-zaanse-schans-and-haarlem. Here's a few others -
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/three-nights-in-amsterdam
Good luck and come back to us with more detailed questions!