I’ve learned a lot in my travels, and I’m still racking up the knowledge and lessons with each stamp in my passport! I thought putting together a ‘Need to Know” for the cities around this world would be a great service to all you fellow travelers, so let’s get to it!

Amsterdam is a miraculous corner of the world; full of creativity, kind people (shout out to my friend Mandy who saved the day and showed me her version of ‘dam’, with a sprinkle of my tourism!), delicious food, and loads of fun on every street. You’re hard pressed not to have fun during your visit here, but there are a few things you’ll want to know before you book your trip.

Language: 

Most Dutch people know English, so you shouldn’t run into much difficulty when asking for directions, recommendations, and so on. However, knowing a few words and phrases shows that you are courteous and respect their culture. Below are a few phrases I used on a daily basis, they’ll help you create a rapport with locals and maybe even make a new friend or two!

Hello – Hallo (Hal-low)

Goodbye – Vaarwel (Var-vel)

Please – Alsjeblieft (Al-je-bleeft)

Thank You (Very Much) – Danke je (dank-you-val)

Nice To Meet You – Leuk je te ontmoeten (Luke un du un mooten)

Safety:

The RLD gets quite a bad reputation from people whisking up stories and making ignorant comments. In all reality, it’s simply another ‘borough’ of Amsterdam, just like any other city in the world. However, sex work is legal in the Netherlands and Amsterdam is where it’s popular. The RLD is not brothels of women there against their will, but rather a place of sexual revolution. Sure, you’ll pass buy shops with adult toys, doorways with women flirting with men, and clubs with more than just dancing going on, but you’d be hard pressed to feel unsafe while doing so. 

As a solo female traveler I had no intentions to visit this area, but I did stumble into it (as this can be easy when getting lost in the sights and stretching canals), but I didn’t have a single moment where I thought the movie Taken was about to be my own life story. I would (and did) steer clear when the sun set, but during the day you don’t have anything to worry about.

Transport:

I stayed just outside of Amsterdam in Zaandam. It was magical; think gingerbread houses and shopping, truly a dream. If you stay outside of Amsterdam proper you’ll most likely be using the trains from Amsterdam Centraal to get you to and fro (it costs about seven euros for a 24 hour pass). Just know that the metro lines run from 6:00 to 00:30 (6:00 am to 12:30 am), busses are available during this time, but I never made that endeavour so I can’t tell you much of what that’s like or the reliability of it. However, Europe is lightyears ahead of US standards of public transport, so I imagine it’s perfectly fine as well. 

Activities:

Museums! Amsterdam is crawling with artwork and history, and it’s just begging to be seen and understood! I booked my flight two weeks before leaving the country; so honestly, museums were low on my totem pole of planning needs. This was a mistake though; when I arrived, I came to find that the two museums I was most excited for (The Anne Frank House and The Rijksmuseum) not only had ‘day of’ lines that stretched forever, but even had waiting lists for tickets going back six weeks! If you’re wanting to see a museum in this fabulous country, you ABSOLUTELY need to reserve/buy a ticket well in advance. Guess I’ll just have to visit again, huh?

Rent a bike! The Dutch use bikes more than anything for transportation, so you should give it a shot and see what it’s like to dive into life with the locals! Just as you would in your own town, be on the lookout for cars and pedestrians; although, cars are really not much to worry about when riding around the canals. You can find rental shops all around, just look for signs with the word ‘fiet’ (bike) in them, and you’re good to go, but here is a site for the largest bike rental company in Amsterdam.

Take a canal tour! For just fifteen euros, you can be sailing through the city and outer bank for an hour. It’s definitely worth it, offered in dozens of languages, and such a great way to learn the history of the city; I’d recommend doing it your first day to get better acquainted with Amsterdam. You’ll find plenty of boats ready to take you out right off the Amsterdam Centraal train station, so get lookin’ and you won’t be disappointed!

I’ll share more about Amsterdam in another blog (don’t worry!), but I’ll end with this: It’s a wonderful city in a beautiful country, and you MUST visit it soon! 

Safe travels and lots of love,

Candace