• Travel

Amsterdam is one really popular destination for vacationers. The spike in attention is not only due to movies like The Fault in our Stars but also due to it’s young and hip scene. This summer I went on a 4 days trip to this beautiful city in the Netherlands and in this post I’ll give you the best recommendations on where to stay and what to do while you are in Amsterdam.

Where to stay in Amsterdam

For our stay we picked an absolutely beautiful hostel called “Ecomama“. We loved that place! There ist a sort of open living room, acommunal kitchen-table even two indoor swings and an indoor tent. This charming hostel also has a cute littel terrace. 

The place is as the name suggest eco-friendly. They use fair trade materials, natural stone heating an environmentally friendly water system and waste recycling.

They also donate 1 euro for every night/guest. The donations go to Niños de Guatemala – an NGO located in Guatemala, providing quality education for disadvantaged children and to Artis Zoo. They describe Ecomama as an hotel as you can also book private accommodations.

The crowd was really young and all held the same spirit of just having a good time. If you’re looking for a quiet but young crowd this hostel ist perfect for you!

They also offer daily changing activites like Alternative Pub Crawl or a Tour through the Red Light Disctrict.

Free Walking Tour

There’s plenty of tours in Amsterdam but one that I can highly recommend is a Free Walking Tour. Wait what did I just write: free? Jupp I did! These tours are in general two hours long and are held by someone familiar to Amsterdam. We even had a guide who grew up in this charming town. 

The concept is, that they want to provide you with the best tour experience possible. This is why in the end you pay whatever you think the tour was worth. And if you didn’t like it or if you’re having a bad day (we don’t judge) you can also just leave withouth paying anything.

Our Tour Guide provided us with great history insights as well as where to go for food and drinks. He even got us a cheese sample. Who can resist that?!

Rent a bike!

Luckily eco mama provides bikes that you can rent pretty cheap on a daily basis. But don’t worry, there’s many bike rental shops all over Amsterdam where you can get a bicycle. 

We can totally recommend to rent a bike. You get around so much faster and it is a ton of fun too! The bike lanes are very well maintained and you can get around very easily. It’s takes a few minutes to get familiar with all the other bike riders around but once you get the hang you know how to roll with the locals. 

Visit the Red Light District at night

The red light district is just something you have to visit at least just so you can check it off your list. 

Be sure to not take any pictures as it is forbidden and you can get in trouble for it. So because of that please enjoy this other scenic night few I took while wandering not around town. 

Things to eat in Amsterdam

Here’s just a few things I dare you to try while staying in Amsterdam. I’m a big fan of the first three dishes on the list and it’s definitely something I usually eat when traveling to Amsterdam.

• Matjes (raw hering)
• Poffertjes
• Stroopwafel
• Bitterballen
• Dutch fries
• Kibbeling
• Croquettes from a vending machine
• Indonesian Rijstaffel

Wander around the Van Gogh Museum

We also went to the famous Van Gogh Museum. Be prepared to stay in line or book in advance and skip it. It’s quiet expensive but if you’re truly a Van Gogh lover you will enjoy this musem. It provides a lot of insight to Van Goghs life and how he developed his style. 

Take your time as you will probably spend about 3-4h in this 3-level high museum. Also close to the Van Gogh Museum you will find the Amsterdam sign which is a very popular photo stop.

Visit a traditional bruin café (brown café)

A so called brown café is a traditional Dutch pub. The word brown in the name comes from the dark wooden interior that is a big part of the authentic experience. 

You can order some local beer and a light snack and just enjoy the feel of those oldish local spots. 

What are your favorite tips for a trip to Amsterdam? Leave them in a comment below! We can’t wait to read them.