SAIL Amsterdam August 2020 - worth a visit?

Hello Floris thank you for sharing this information. We will be staying for SAIL 2020!

hey hey mariart
i would definitely stay and watch this event. doesn't come often and a site to see. i've been to amsterdam twice, staying on a canal and other time in a houseboat in the jordaan area. saw all kinds of boats everywhere, huge, big, tall, little and fun to watch with all the people on board.
have you booked or place? if interested i'll send you some info about places to stay, do, and enjoy. was with three other friends and love love amsterdam.
aloha
Hauoli Makahiki Hou

Hi Hauoli,

Thanks for your feedback about SAIL. We are convinced and will be staying in A’dam during this time in order to see this once in five year event.

No, we actually haven’t booked a place in Amsterdam yet, and we welcome suggestions.

I’ve seen many options that appear suitable (we do prefer Jordaan area for the residential atmosphere, and proximity to Centraal). It looks like some hotels are too expensive for our budget ($250 Canadian per night for three people) and most B&Bs (while lovely and more affordable) require payment in full up front. I completely understand that smaller places need to have payment upfront for their security and livelihood though. I’m just a little uncertain about sending the full amount upfront.

So we’re still considering accommodation options, and still finalizing our other European destination accommodations too (we will go to Belgium after A’dam). We would love to hear about accommodation recommendations for Amsterdam.

Ideas?

Thanks,
Maria

hey hey maria
sent you a private message.
amsterdam has a limit of 4 people, do B&B's allow 3? be careful with who you book with, stay within website, if a license number is needed make sure it's listed, if it sounds to good to be true it probably is.
you can email/contact them for half now and rest at arrival. id they want cash euros or credit card okay but a fee will probably added.
aloha

Thanks Princess P.

Yes you’re correct that can’t find a BnB for three people. An apartment is likely most practical and affordable for us compared to traditional hotel. And A’dam is expensive! Will look into your suggestions and will be cautious too. Thanks again. Maria

Amsterdam is lovely during SAIL but it will be full, and expeisive. Consider staying in Haarlem. It is 15 to 20 minutes on the train and a beautiful town, much quieter than Amsterdam but stilll very accessible.

Hello Marco

Thanks yes Haarlem looks lovely and I looked at this place as a base as many RS posts talk about this lovely town too. I’d personally prefer to stay a bit outside the busy A’dam Center as well. The teens actually prefer to stay in the heart of it all though, so for our first visit it looks like we’ll base solely in A’dam.

Well take one or two day trips from A’dam though (one of which will be a short visit to Haarlem to ‘reconnoiter’ the area for future visits) so hopefully we’ll get a taste of the less crowded places in Netherlands too. Possible day trip ideas we have: Zaanse Schans (spelling?), The Hague and Utrecht (can likely only fit in a couple of day trips for this trip). We want at least 3 full days and nights in A’dam Including one day at least for SAIL. So tough to decide!

We are thinking to shorten our stay in A’dam though (6 nights enough with our day trip ideas or too busy?) to reduce costs a bit and spend more time in more affordable Belgium which is our second stop of our Europe tour. Maybe I’ll get to bike ride around there without being run over... but we’re basing in Bruges so the tourists will follow us I think...!

I still welcome all of your great suggestions for A’dam though... Thx. Maria