fetus & fishbicycle, I can’t really answer that, can I? It’s illegal here and I’m sure the SDMB wouldn’t want me to advertise illegal stuff, right?
Heck, it’s illegal in The Netherlands to advertise.
From: http://www.azarius.nl/news.php?newsindex=46
The sale of softdrugs is tolerated in The Netherlands, but advertising is in fact illegal. Publishing a pricelist on a coffeeshop’s website is a criminal offence, the Dutch High Court ruled recently. The Dutch government is planning on sharpening drugs legislation for publicizing on the internet on a short term.
I spent a week in Holland during the summer. Half of that time was in Amsterdam. First time. Great time. Will be back.
I often stay at hostels for the social aspect (and have had good luck with www.hostelworld.com; make sure the web site you use has a RATING system if you wish to avoid diappointment.)
I stayed at two ridiculously fancy hotels in Amsterdam (?Krasnapolsky and Sofitel Grand), and paid maybe 100 euros a night with an Internet deal. You can eat fairly cheaply if you stick close to Chinatown or the train station. As always (having spent years travelling on the cheap) you’re better off hitting the grocery stores and buying excellent bread, cheese, cured meats and fruit for many of your meals. I am no longer on a tight budget and ate excellent (often ethnic) food throughout Amsterdam – the Lonely Planet guide steered me straight.
Travelling through London is often a good deal. EasyJet and RyanAir are good choices, but the cheaper flights are at bad times and you’ll probably have a long Underground ride to an out of the way airport (e.g. Stansted).
In Amsterdam coffeeshops, from what I saw, a joint would cost you maybe 3 euros. An ounce of pot would cost maybe 8-20 euros depending on quality. It would be worth buying Lonely Planet’s “The Netherlands” (about the same price as “Amsterdam” but much more inclusive, and Holland is a very small place).
I went to a repertory theatre in the pretty Vondelpark (consider staying at the hostel there!). Staff were disgusted I hadn’t pre-arranged my ticket for a show I decided to see on the (gasp) spur of the moment. Things aren’t done spontaneously in Holland; folks take pride in being anal and over-organized. You don’t just (gasp) drop by a friends house.
The night clubs in Amsterdam were fun. Most were “private clubs” for “members only”. I found the staff and bouncers polite and professional and had no trouble getting in.
I was much more into the museums than Red Light hoors myself. Most folks said that the going rate is fifty euros, but you probably get what you pay for. I recommend a trip to Haarlem, and was somewhat underwhelmed by Rotterdam. Holland is a better place than Canada to buy Cuban cigars (get a box of 25 Partagas chicos for 35 euros or so – and what more could you want?), Dutch cigars are also good and widely available, if you condone that sort of thing.
Oooh, Amsterdam… I desperately want to go back. When are you going? I wish I knew someone who could afford to go, and I’d be off in a heartbeat. I’ve been there three times, and I met amazing people everytime I went - people from all over Europe. But I’d still be a little nervous alone. I’m just not that gutsy (yet).
My suggestions: Generally things are less expensive during the “low” season. Many websites for hostels and hotels have rates listed for certain months of the year.
I went with STA Travel. If you’re a student, you might want to check them out. I got cheaper plane tickets, and I got a Eurail pass through them (which should be cheaper if you’re a student).
I don’t remember exactly how much my plane tickets were… maybe $1000 round-trip? But that was 4 years ago. Wow… four years ago… Doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. I spent 2 1/2 months in Europe and spent $5,000. I was very fortunate. Are you going only to Amsterdam? Why Amsterdam? (it’s the pot, isn’t it?) :sigh: Good times… good times…
For my vacation next July, I’m going to Paris for a week (my third time there), followed by a week in Amsterdam (first time). I’m using my frequent flyer miles for all the flights, so I can spend a little more for the hotels.
After extensive on-line research, I decided to stay at the NH City Centre Hotel on Spuistraat - a really nice hotel at a perfect location.
This trip is gonna be so much fun! Wish I didn’t have to wait another 8 months.
I’ve been to Amsterdam twice, and I absolutely loved it both times. Great city.
I recommend the Ibis Stopera. It’s a chain hotel, but it’s very comfortable, immaculately clean, pretty cheap (if there are two of you), in walking distance of everywhere central, and there’s a cafe-bar downstairs. This might be too expensive, but some of the student travel agencies can give you a flight/hotel deal that gives you a massive discount.
Although not particularly Dutch, I highly recommend going to see Boom Chicago - a long-running American improv show that is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Also, and this might be the tenth time I’ve mentioned this, if you’re a big carnivore, check out the ribs in Cafe de Klos near Leidseplein. Oh. My. God. The best meat ever, especially if you have the munchies.
Word of advice from a wimp: if you’re going to smoke, I recommend buying a pre-rolled joint, and asking for the mildest one on the menu, and then only having half of that, then seeing how you feel. Some of that Amsterdam weed is ridiculously strong, and might spoil your evening.
I’m sure you could pay a lot more than 20 euros, but for 20 euros the quality is excellent, so why? Amsterdam has 250 “coffee shops” which serve pot (Starbuck’s would be a coffee huis). Most coffee shops serve tea and coffee; a few serve alcohol; several are Internet cafes. I tried Gray Area, Greenhouse (which has an alcohol license and was beside the Sofitel Hotel), Bulldog, Abraxas and Global Chillage among others – but smoking pot was something I wanted to try in Amsterdam; it was hardly the focal point of my trip. I did not go to “Cannabis College”, try to buy seeds, buy large amounts, or try to smuggle anything back. I think this is highly unwise, but I met any number of people who shared (sometimes dubious) smuggling techniques.
I was in Amsterdam last May and it was awesome (I will get back there!), I stayed at the Hotel Europa 92 http://www.hotels.nl/amsterdam/europa92/ , the room was small but comfy and the Breakfast was good, the hotel is located at the intersection of the #1 & #3 Streetcar/Tram thing and about a block from my Coffeshop of choice, Tuinte Je and be sure to have a Falafel Sammich from the Automat place I think it’s called Febo.
I really like Amsterdam too. I went a month ago and stayed on a houseboat for about €50 a night. Our boat was up in the canals north of the waterway, so it was a 5-10 minute taxi ride from Centraal Station.
I can heartily recommend staying on a small houseboat as you get to essentially live in your hotelier’s house and meet some amazingly cool Dutch people. The owners of our boat lived in the room next to ours and we shared meals and living space with them.
I struggle to think of any friendlier people I’ve met than the Dutch. Even people we met in pubs would randomly say hello and want to chat. Coming home very late one night, our hoteliers burst in the (boat) door after us, and cheerfully offered us beers (and a joint) while we sat up and watched the dawn. (Then they cooked us breakfast!)
Second what GorillaMan said about getting a flight out of Heathrow. The other London airports are quite inaccesible if you’ve flown in the from the states. I flew flyBMI for about £55 ($100) return (and this was a peak period–Friday evening.)
The Bulldog is, imho, a bit of a tourist trap though.