Having last travelled to Amsterdam just over a year ago, I’m currently planning a trip back for 2023.
Aside from a nice river cruise I didn’t really get the classic tourist stuff done last time, preferring to wander along the canals, and eat. A lot.
Also, between you and I, I wasn’t particularly organised and didn’t look up what I wanted to do before I went.
Some super relaxed trips like this are great; you arrive and then it’s in the lap of the gods where you end up. You might visit fantastic new bars and restaurants and find spectacular little places you’d have never known existed. More often however a lack of planning can mean that you waste a lot of your trip umming and ahhing about what to do next, with a lot of pointless wandering and lost time and spending more money than you’d planned for.
After several European city breaks, I’ve concluded that spending some time before your trip making an itinerary is a good idea.
Even if it’s just a rough list, an itinerary will help you budget and make the most of your trip. After all, very few of us travel with unlimited funds and a couple of expensive tourist attractions with meals thrown in can soon end up costing much more than you planned for.
The easiest ways to find out what the best tourist attractions are is to look on Trip Advisor, or do a google search for travel bloggers who are trustworthy and reliable, and make a list of the things you would be interested in doing.
If you use Google Maps, a good hack is to pin all of the places you fancy visiting and then you can see at a glance what else is nearby should you finish something early or find that an attraction is closed etc. Do the same with restaurants you like the look of, and pin them, so if you find yourself hungry you can look up what’s local rather than going into the first expensive tourist trap restaurant you find.
When using travel apps and websites on your Android device, it’s essential to prioritize your online security and privacy. Consider installing a reliable and free VPN for Android to ensure that your internet connection is encrypted and protected while searching for tourist attractions, using mapping services, or accessing restaurant recommendations.
Another great tip is to pre-pay
If you know what you want to do when you get there, you’d be wise the attractions you want to visit in advance. Some museums etc like the Anne Frank Huis insist that you have a ticket before you go, so booking can save you a wasted journey. It also means you an spread the cost and not be so alarmed when the bill hits a week or so later.
A vacation pass like the Go Amsterdam Pass is also a great idea. You pay one up front fee – which you can do before your Amsterdam City Break and won’t activate until it’s used to visit an attraction – and then you are free to visit any of the listed attractions without further cost.
Although the Anne Frank House isn’t one of the listed museums, you can visit the Rijksmuseum, the Heineken Experience or the Tulip Museum, go on a river Cruise or a bus excursion, go to the the Rembrandts Amsterdam Experience, rent a bike, visit the Houseboat Museum, call in at the Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot and many more, all for one price.
For one day you’ll pay €51 (around £45 currently) for an adult and €21 for a child; the price for a two-day pass is €69/€36. If you’re staying all week, a 5 day all-inclusive pass for Amsterdam tourist attractions is €99/€64.
This makes it a great option if you’re the kind of person that likes to pack a lot in; you aren’t limited on what you can do – and you can also save money doing it.
Pre-planning also helps with location selection
Staying in a cheaper location might be tempting, but if you’re wasting time and money each day getting to your destinations then you could be better off staying in a city centre location. If you create your itinerary before you select a hotel, and pin everything to Google maps, you can then see what’s available in the area rather than booking somewhere which is miles away from the action.
If you’re travelling as a group this is even more important; for stag groups (or any big group) to use a provider that has trusted suppliers and get everything in order before you travel is a must. See this Guide to Amsterdam for Stag Dos for a great guide to the different areas and places you can stay while in Amsterdam.