Amsterdam

OtistheGuard

Me and my friend have talked about going to Amsterdam. Does anyone have experience on the matter? We live in Texas, USA. I'm a college student (wonder why I want to go?) and can not afford to pay premium for the visit. During our brainstorm/dream session I thought of:

-Getting a job on a merchant ship to get us there-
And nothing else...

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

KMFurDM

How long do you want to spend there and what are your goals?

OtistheGuard

We were thinking about going during Christmas break, so no more than two weeks.

And our only real goal is to enjoy all things legal that otherwise are not in this country. Unless it's not much more expensive to go to other countries in Europe to sight-see.

ViolentChemistry

That objective is a colossal waste of money. I advise you to find more reasons than that before you work out how you're getting there. Doing so may even help you find ways to get there.

Edit: It's like paying a grand for a bottle of Cuervo and a seat at a bar. Even if Cuervo were illegal that would be retarded.

#14

I am from Amsterdam, so if you have any specific questions, i'll help you.

KMFurDM

If that's the only goal then two weeks might get a little boring. Not that you couldn't spend two weeks in the 'dam but I was there for 4 days, smoked 3 or 4 different types (huge amounts especially how cheap it is comparitively) of weed a day at different coffee shops (Find the Grey Area) and found myself unfulfilled after I left. Check out the Van Gogh and Rembrant museums. The Heineken "factory" is interesting and the beer is good. Try some sweet and savory pancakes. Explore the city a bit because it is pretty interesting but I would probably avoid going to the Redlight District at night if you are high. Having creepy Africans whispering "Ecstasy, ecstasy" or "Cocaine, Cocaine" in your ear can be a little disconcerting if you are stoned out of your mind. Honestly though you could do this all within a week and not rush.

I would suggest jumping on a train and going to Germany or France for the second week.

Fallingman

I'd second going for a few days then trying elsewhere. The central bit of amsterdam is:
a) Beautiful
b) A blast (yes, you know what I mean)
c) The red light district is hillarious.

After that? Its just the most densely populated city in Europe, and I didnt feel particularly safe in places.

I'm not saying it sucks, I'm saying that if you had 2 weeks and thats all you saw... it would be a real shame.

rannelvis

Me and my buddy stayed in amsterdam for 11 days 4 years ago, before the smoking ban went into effect. It was my 3rd time there, my buddy's first. That being said, we ran out of stuff to do after the 5th day. Our days mostly went like this:

wake up. walk to coffeeshop for morning doob and coffee. walk around red light district to see if there's anything good on display. hit up casino and gamble. go back to coffeeshop, smoke a doob and have several beers. get some lunch. go back to coffeeshop, smoke a doob. do something cultural (heineken brewery, anne frank house, van gogh museum, etc). go back to coffeeshop and smoke. check red light district again to see the new offerings. get dinner. go back to coffeeshop, smoke and drink. stumble back to hostel to sleep it off. rinse and repeat.

so, with all the gambling included, we spent $200 a day each for 11 days. plus the cost of tickets. if we cut out the gambling, it would've been more like $40.

that being said, if you can afford to hop a train to other cities in europe, do it. get a train pass. europe is way more than just amsterdam. I love the place, but still, there's plenty more to do than sit around and get stoned all day.

KMFurDM

I could pretty much quote rannelvis. It was just a shorter length of time for me, and no gambling. Just change "gambling" for "seek other coffee shop" and look for decent mushrooms.

Actually, Belgium is right there. Go on a beer adventure. All that "Beast", Natty, and Miller Light you drink in college will taste more or less like piss after three good Belgian brews.

kaliyama

Given the cost of plane tickets, et cetera, this is a losing proposition - i think VC hits it on the nail. IMO, there are lots more exciting things to do if you go to europe anyway, in terms of culture people and activities. If you're in college i'm not sure why you feel compelled to go elsewhere to drink and party at a huuge premium when you could put those hundreds of dollars towards having killer parties where you are.

Even in amsterdam, the architecture, biking opportunities, and killer football are better propositions for your time + money.

If you really want to have a good time and go party, then go do study abroad in europe, and hit up amsterdam for a weekend. You're still splurging a little for a vegas-like experience, but your bang-buck ratio is much better if you're flying easyjet to schipol or taking a train than flying your ass across the atlantic.

saint2e

Plan on 3 days in Amsterdam, that's how long I went, and that was a sufficient amount of time.

There are many Hostels there, I personally suggest the Bulldog Hotel, as it was nice, clean, and it was easy to meet people to go around with to see the sights and... all that other stuff.

kaliyama

I think that's my point. At best, you're paying $800 for your plane ticket. So for three days, let's say you're spending $400 on food, travel to and fro airport, hostel, and party. That's $1200. That means you paid $400 a day to be in amsterdam. That's a lot of partying if you just stay home or even went to vegas.