Amsterdam - Last Minute Help

All of Europe is overpriced these days....not just Amsterdam! I love the Netherlands, and there are lots of day trips to take once you've seen what you need to see in Amsterdam. Delft and the Hague (to see the Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer in the Mauritshuis museum), Utrecht, the gelderland to the North, the beaches around Noordwijk. I'm not sure how they consider it dirty....A'Dam's always seemed to be one of the cleanesst cities in Europe to me.

It's a big city. There's dirt. There's lots of things to see and do, and it's (by most accounts) quite charming. So lots of people come. So the locals cater to the visitors. In other words, yes, it's dirty, yes it's touristy. But it's also cool, charming, and there's great stuff to see and do. Is 4 full days right? Depends on you, what you like, what you've done before. ON my first trip there, we were there 3 days (this was on a fairly fast-paced trip) and that seemed about right. Then again, one more day would have been nice.

If you go expecting it to be trashy, tawdry and touristy, your expectations will probably be met. IF you go looking for a cute, old city with a lot of charm and personality, you will probably find all that too.

I wouldn't worry too much about miscalculating over 3 or 4 days. If you're off to Florence for 4 MONTHS, you won't recall one day either way in Amsterdam.

I spent 6 days in Ams last fall. It was a day or 2 too many but I didn't leave the city. I think 4 days is perfect. See the Riks & Van Gogh museums for sure. Spend lots of time walking around the canal areas. If you get bored with Amt, take a train somewhere. 4 days is not too many. It is rather nasty around Damm square which is where central station is, but get away from there & it's great. Try the brown cafes for a great place to stop, rest & enjoy a glass of something. The Sat I was there was extremely crowded making it stressful. Sun, I went out around 9 & was practically the only person walking around. I loved it. I am going back someday soon.

The area around Centraal Station is fairly dirty these days, as there is a lot on-going construction for new metro line. If you arriving at Centraal Station, Amsterdam currently doesn't make a very good first impression. But walk 15 minutes in any direction you will find the city to be very scenic, and peaceful. Make sure to check out www.amsterdamweekly.nl for the latest listings for what is going on- in english.

In my opinion 2 nights is enough. We flew in and out of A'Dam...stayed 2 nights and really saw all the museums we want to. Canal Taxi from Ann Franks house to the Rijksmuseum was fun. Stayed 2 nights on our departure and just walked around.

There's plenty to see and do in that short of time in Amsterdam. But if you get bored, rent a bike (Bike City in the Jordaan is good) and cross the Amstel on the pedestrian ferry from the central station and ride out into the country. It's beautiful, there are very cool little towns and it's easy riding.

I just flew out of Amsterdam on Tuesday. I was staying south of there in Schiedam near Rotterdam. We went in to Amsterdam twice. We were all over the Holland countryside on Friday and then went in to Amsterdam to go to the Van Gough Museum since it was open until 10pm on Fridays. It looked like any other big city.

Then on Monday I went back in for the Rijksmuseum and did a boat tour. The Ann Frank museum was out of control and since my friend's printer was down we didn't get tickets early. I think the wait was over 2hours. I will be going back to Holland, but I don't think I will go back to Amsterdam, at least not in the summer. My friends who live in Rotterdam, and have all thier lives don't even go there that much and one of them had only been there 2 times before in his life and doesn't care if he goes again.

If you got a good deal on the B&B, use the train system and get out of town. Go to some of the other places around... there is alot to do that is near enough to the city for you to see if you get board.

I spent two nights in A'dam and that was plenty. i did find it very dirty compared to other European cities. If you like spending time in museums you might need an extra day. I don't, so I was ready to leave. Prices I found were comparable to Paris. If I had to stay another day I definitley would need to take a day trip outside of A'dam. Vondelpark was a nice escape from the dirtiness. I think of A'dam as being the European Las Vegas (and I didn't like Vegas). I did think though that it did have alot of charm and I really enjoyed strolling the Jordaan neighbourhood. I don't think that I would ever return.

two nites is plenty. i booked 3 but hated it. dont expect a refund if you booked already.

I returned to Amsterdam and stayed for 5 nights in a B&B in town last summer (2007). I took 2 day trips out of town via train. I can't wait to get back to Amsterdam (Aug 16th but only passing thru) but will stay in Haarlem next time where I have stayed before. You don't say if you have been to Amsterdam before. If not, you will run out of time seeing things while you are there. Happy travels

Check out taking a bus up north of Amsterdam to Volendam (I also saw bus tours online). We rented bikes at a local hotel (on the outskirts of Volendam) and rode along the top of the dikes. There is also a cheese and wooden shoe factory/market by this hotel. Volendam is a fun town to walk around--a bit touristy, but cute. From the coast of Volendam, you can take a boat to the island of Marken. Then, further north of Volendam is the quaint towns of Edam and Gouda. You can ride the bike up there. Edam is a small, quaint town. It's nice to get out into the country and out of the big city of Amsterdam. Have fun and watch out for those "coffee shops".

That's not too long. Plan to do a side trip to Haarlem. That leaves only 3 full days -- do the obligatory Amsterdam stuff, but also get over on the arts-district side, near the Van Gogh museum, and just spend some time. The Dutch are a relaxed go-with-the-flow people. Adopt their pace and 4 days will be just about right.

We're going in about a month to Holland but we're staying in Haarlem (at the Ambassador) and will train it into Am'dam as we find necessary. Otherwise, we'll side trip from Haarlem.

Don't stay in A'dam and take day trips, spend a day in A'dam then move to the nicer places nearby where the lodging is cheaper and the scenery prettier.

I'm not an A'dam fan. There are some worthwhile sites and history but it attracts too many people for illicit sex and drugs, and is much dirtier than any other Northern European city.

One plus of the Netherlands over anywhere in Europe, they are great with languages. Not only can they speak to you in near-perfect English but they can turn around and speak to the next person in near perfect French or German.

We're in a similiar boat for our upcoming travels as well... but we're quite excited. Plus, I live in Chicago, downtown, so dirty cities, etc, aren't at all alarming to me ;-) BUT... we're going into our trip w/ A'Dam being our home base for 3 nights, 2.5 days and plan on taking advantage of the short train trips to different areas around A'Dam! Perhaps you might want to consider a similiar approach... for us, silly as it may be to others... we want to stay at a Marriott due to the enormous amount of points my husband collects w/ all travel for his job... so for us it makes the most sense...

So you may want to consider keeping your 3 nights and just making A'Dam your "homebase" like we plan to do... or maybe just do 2 and perhaps from a little train ride excursion you'll find an area outside A'Dam to explore more and stay the night... it's hard for me to advise I guess, especially seeing as this will be my first trip to A'Dam as an adult...just wanted to share our plans, take on things...seeing as we're in a similiar situation.

We plan to explore the Utrecht, Leerdam areas after our days in Amsterdam...which I'm terribly excited for seeing for me it's very personal, as I'm going back to the lands of my father and to see his childhood home, etc...

If I go back I will also stay in Haarlem and day trip from there. We loved Haarlem.