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Hi Iam a 48 year old male from the US . I will be Solo traveling to Amsterdam the end of May for 7 to 10 Days. I am planning to stay in hostels a private room with shared bathroom. i will be using public transportation and I walking with a cane. I wont be riding a bike usless they have 3 wheeler.
I planning to get a city card to give me discounts to the Museums and will visit the coffee shops and RLD.
It looks like the Museum and RLD are at two different sections of Amsterdam.
looking for advise on areas to stay in and also good local dinning and shopping.
Also where is the Neighborhood JORDAN.
I may visit Rotterdam and Berlin for a day or 2. Any advise would be great.
Weather wise, you will probably be hard pressed to find a better time to visit, although its hard to predict things like rain.
I'm not very familiar with hostels, but I'm assuming a private room will provide reasonable safety. The only caution regarding your cane is that many sidewalks tend to be cobblestoney, so be careful where you press down your cane. The other thing is that tram tracks are just about part of the streets (as opposed to being raised, or separated from the street surface in some way), which means you'll need to watch that cane once again. Nothing major, but just be careful.
I would suggest getting a transportation pass in addition to the city pass because this gives you total mobility on the trams, buses and metro. Of course, one of my favorite pastimes in Amsterdam is riding the trams aimlessly and deliberately getting lost - a very, nice, genteel way to spend time and discover the city.
You didn't specify the neighborhood you'll be staying in, but while it's true that the museum quarter and the RLD are not in the same general area, Amsterdam is so small that it doesn't really matter so much. With your tram pass, you'll be whizzing between the two on trams 16, 24 and 5.....maybe even 2....hmmm...not sure about that!
The Jordaan is a great neighborhood, and you will just love walking through the side streets and getting lost. There is very little not to like in Amsterdam!
As far as the coffeeshops go, you may want to do a little research online so you avoid the tourist traps, and if you want to avoid crowds of backpacking kids (I'm a fair bit older thn you are, and while I find young people a lot of fun to be around, a little of them goes a long way with me!), you may want to seek out coffeeshops a little outside the central core around the station.
The one thing that won't blow you away in Amsterdam is the food, but there's nothing really wrong with it.
Berlin is quite a ways eastward. Rotterdam is doable though for sure. Hell, anywhere else in the entire Netherlands is doable.
I spent no time in Amsterdam, but flying in from Brussels, you could see the tulip fields from the air. However it was january and they were non-existant. In May it would probably be a nice thing to look out for.
There is a train from Berlin to Amsterdam. About 6.5 hours, but the tickets are very expensive. Leaving today would cost 116 Euros one way. But for February 21st, I find it for 39 Euros per way. If you want to go by train, you better book in advance.That's an IC, though. Do like ICE better, but that's still 79 per way even for February 21st. Flying would be cheaper, and oc course faster.
How old are you? Using a cane because of your age or disability ? Even with great public transportation, you'll have to walk a lot if you want to see things. Just asking, because if it's a disability and you are still somewhat young, it might be ok.
And just look up the hostels online and read the reviews. Look at how they rated the location. That is usually a great indicator.
In terms of long European Train Journeys, Sleeper Trains and Night Ferries, Mark Smith's Youtube site and his website 'The Man in Seat Sixty One' are quite interesting.
In terms of long European Train Journeys, Sleeper Trains and Night Ferries, Mark Smith's Youtube site and his website 'The Man in Seat Sixty One' are quite interesting.
I don't have any experience with hostels but been to Amsterdam plenty of times.
Public transportation on the trams are easy, looks like you are set there. The museam area (with the Rijk and a few other museams nearby) and RLD aren't really THAT far apart, it's walkable, except with a cane of course that's a bit tough. The trams will get you around. You can download the tram schedule on your smart phone or stop by the tourist center and the Centraal train station to get a map.
I am assuming you are flying into Schiphol, you can take a train to the Centraal station easily from the airport.
In May you will just be missing Queens day, which I experienced last year. You will still have fun and should be great weather.
RDL - not sure if you're plan is to sample the services offered or just to observe the scene. The girls in the windows are certainly enticing, not my scene really but from what I have heard, they are very strict on timing and the actual act is about as erotic as paying your electric bill. Forget the "girlfriend experience", these girls are in it for the money and focus on customer turnover. Expect them to have stop watches they are watching during the act. Regardless, I've seen some very pretty girls in these windows, and it's a legal and relatively safe environment. Don't take pictures of the window girls, you will p*ss off the girls and even could get in trouble with the cops. It's also just fun to walk around the area of course, very popular with the tourists.
Coffeeshops - They are all over Amsterdam, and of course in the RLD. Yes you can actually order coffee in there of course, some have separate resteraunts attached. Ironically, you cannot smoke tobacco in a coffee shop - that's against the law. I've been to a few - one called the Grasshopper, the others I cannot remember the names. Most are used to tourists, primarily American. The ones I have been to have all been relaxing, friendly, and no stress environments. Go to the counter and just ask for a menu. You can both order pre-rolled joints or just loose weed and roll it yourself. I think some have bongs available. Some of the prerolled joints mix tobacco with the weed, that is actually a good choice if you haven't smoked the green stuff for awhile. Warning here - The Dutch have been cultivating their weed for decades and have it down to a science, some of it is very strong. If you are used to the standard home grown US sh*t then be advised of the strength or you will get stoned out of your mind. Also be very careful of the brownies - it has a delayed effect.
Keep your smoking within the confines of the coffeeshop. You won't get arrested or anything by smoking dope in public - but it's just not cool.
Hi Iam a 48 year old male from the US . I will be Solo traveling to Amsterdam the end of May for 7 to 10 Days. I am planning to stay in hostels a private room with shared bathroom. i will be using public transportation and I walking with a cane. I wont be riding a bike usless they have 3 wheeler.
I planning to get a city card to give me discounts to the Museums and will visit the coffee shops and RLD.
It looks like the Museum and RLD are at two different sections of Amsterdam.
looking for advise on areas to stay in and also good local dinning and shopping.
Also where is the Neighborhood JORDAN.
I may visit Rotterdam and Berlin for a day or 2. Any advise would be great.
Thank you
Ron
I was in Amsterdam in October, but did a very different trip, so can not give you much info on hostels. We did a lot of walking and purchased tickets for the hop on / hop off bus tour. We ended up using the bus tour as a taxi service, getting from the Anne Frank House back to the Damrak area and then to one of the Diamond places. Personally I found walking in Amsterdam very easy, but can was glad we had the bus ticket when it started to rain.
One bit of advice I can give, is check out the Maritime Museum. It has been recently redone and is really interesting. We also liked the Anne Frank House and the Heineken Experience.
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