AMSTERDAM 101: the ONLY guide you’ll need ✈️🚴🥞

hello zesties 🍋

today, i’ll be doing my travel guide on: AMSTERDAM, the capital city of netherlands! 🇳🇱 personally, i don’t quite like amsterdam but i’ve been there on countless trips ✈️ so i’m super qualified to write this 🤭 SAVE THIS IF YOU’RE PLANNING ON GOING TO AMSTERDAM — i promise you’ll need it!

if you’re interested in other countries in europe, i’ve likely been there already LMAO & the country-specific guides will be under #sarahineurope!

firstly, TRANSPORT! 🚎🚝🚋 there’s so many modes — tram, metro, bus etc & they can all be paid by applepay/contactless card payment! 💳 you can get in & out of amsterdam to surrounding cities like Zaanse Schans or Zaandam by NS trains 🚆(a lot more costly though)

second, do note that amsterdam is kind of the WEED HAVEN… 🚬 so there WILL be high/drunk people at all times, and smoking a joint in broad daylight — the entire amsterdam smells of weed tbh 🤣

thirdly, do note major holidays like Kings Day (27 apr in 2025) bc people party HARD in amsterdam and crowd the canals & throw trash everywhere 🥴 — my family narrowly missed kings day & came back to amsterdam the day after & there was trash everywhereeeee and puke and piss and drunk people 🤣 but do join in for the experience if you’d like to, it’s just not my cup of tea

fourthly, the weather… netherlands has shit af weather 😬 & barely any summer, so please take note! & the weather changes as and when it wants to… so it may be 25 degrees and suddenly drop to 18, please bring a jacket at all times, DO NOT trust weather forecast 🌤️!

and now that we’ve settled the basics — onto my reviews & specific tips!

𝙰𝚃𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂!

Canal Cruise:

🚤 first one i took w my friends was solid leh… small boat! & we bought it last-min on gyg! came with free flow of beer & wines ~ n had 1 staff to interact w us & pour drinks & another staff to actually man the boat! let us peek our heads out of the boat to see the canals bc it was supp to be an open boat tour but soooo rainy… alot of interesting info actually! and then i won us 2 shots bc we guessed the answer correctly 😎

🚤 second one w my parents by pureboat was a larger boat! less intimate setting which im nt that much a fan of, but free flow of all alcohol & a cheese platter (was alot of goat/sheep cheese tho im Not A Fan.) n less info, more seeing stuff! i liked the first one alot better & it was cheaper too (but no cheese)

Floating Flower Market

💐 went in spring but still few fresh tulips?? more bulbs and like fake ones than anything i was quite disappointed!

Mama Duck Store

🐣 no idea why this is a thing but SO CUTE OML if it wasnt so expensive i would have bought one or two… say reals bro…

Cannabis Museum

🚬 um got a free weed lollipop & some tin thing for doing weed 🤣

🚬 was interesting cos abit tipsy so was doing stupid stuff like staring at a weed plant growing for 5 mins

🚬 but otherwise damn boring im not interested in the history behind weed and the difd variations… we only came here to hide from the rain

Anne Frank House

🏠 impactful! best parts were the bookcase behind which they hid & also anne’s diary itself — seeing it irl and the OG version… altho i nvr read before oops…

🏠 pls book tix like exactly 6 wks before on tuesday when they release otherwise u r not getting it 😃🙏 or camp exactly 1 wk before tuesday at 10am cos thats when they release last min tickets

Heineken Experience + Rooftop

🍻 came w 3 BEERS TOTAL & a beer cocktail for the rooftop… ums… abit too much i didn’t finish the cocktail or claim the 3rd beer

🍻 damn cool tbh… i rly enjoyed it! theres a lot of interactive elements & the guide for some parts was super funny and lively and interactive! made the whole experience even better! also got some 4D exp thing which was rly rly cool! n some virtual photobooth super cute

🍻 rooftop bar view is SOLIDDTT but be warned it closes p early like 6 or 7 or smtg so i didnt hv time to fin my drink (i did not want to chug…)

Red Light District (De Wallen)

💋 what ams is known for & really a MUSTSEE. like omg i was fangirling over how hot the women were sia

💋 brought my parents to seesee also but they say after awhile all look the same 🤣

💋 watched a peep show twice w friends (i think €1 or 2 per pax so q affordable) and the girlie was HOT

Zaanse Schans

🌬️ really touristy windmill place! can tell its very catered to tourists so not very authentic la but still loved the vibes!

🌬️ entrance fee to enter windmills so we didn’t… but the vibes

🌬️ cool to see how they made clogs & the miffy in clogs was such a highlight keke so cute!

🌬️ henry willig cheese! got to see them make it & also some goats and sheep for the cheese! also such a wide variety of flavours and no one to monitor ur sample intake i eat until i damn shuang

🌬️ FIRST ALBERT HEIJN! was closed when i went but inside soooo vintage

Inntel Hotel

🏨 think the only thing zaandam is known for… ok lor cool building das it

Countryside Bike Ride

🚴 30km! was so so nervous for this and was anxious about it the entire trip but it was fine la 😆

🚴 superslow pace! the guide adjusted the speed to our pace also & a lot of breaks otw!

🚴 saw a few towns & amsterdam waterlands! super quaint i loved the mix of architecture & nature!

🚴 stopped for apple pie at holyspoot (supposedly the best in netherlands) & it was good! not as good as winkel though hehe (& hot chocolate was GOOOD tho probably chocomel LMAO)

🚴 was cycling w a slovanian family and super cool hearing about their experiences in amsterdam vs ours bc they r frm a small town so ams is WOW whereas we from sg is like orh ok lor

Dam Square

▪️just a square… buskers here r super cool though!

Amsterdam Royal Palace

👑 super chio totally my style i love grand things so i loved this palace! interior is super nice wahh but exterior like meh only

Amsterdam Begijnhof

🏘️ not sure what its supposed to be but very old & nice houses! n its now a residential area so theres people telling u to be quiet! also no pics of the houses directly cos thrs people living in it! also history behind it was p cool why only women get to live in this neighbourhood

Tony’s Chocolonely Superstore

🍫 cute concept & cute setup, not as WOW as people on tiktok make it out to be

🍫 j a rly big shop lor & v crowded

🍫 at the counter got samples ❤️ i took a handful of it and left

𝙵𝙾𝙾𝙳!

Van Stapele

🍪 SO YUMMY THE COOKIES! esp if u make them hot! i’ve never tried it before fresh from the store but u shd. expensive tho but q worth lols 😆❤️

Van Wonderen Stroopwafels

⚪️ so expensive & did not taste freshly made… toppings were yummy tho i got the salted caramel & it also got q gelat after a while

⚪️ not worth the money or the hype… can miss la…

Henry Willig

🧀 superfamous cheese chain in ams! i alw go in and nomz the cheese samples and dont buy anything cos its legit damn good bruh

🧀 my parents bought a few from the Zaanse Schans outlet! they said was expensive tho like alm 2x the price from albertcuyp mkt…

🧀 n i ended up buying truffle cheese home, was a huge hit w everyone!

Fabelfrites

🍟 omgs! so YUMMYYYY i lurV! but controversial opinion: doesnt top fries atelier in belgium whoops

🍟 truffle parmesan fries r rly the best! highly recco if u try fabelfrites

🍟 typically long q but if u go at odd hours the line isnt so bad!

Winkel43

🥧 my FAV apple pie. legit. but service sucks ass dont expect to be treated nicely & also expect a damn long q all the time unless u go at 12am 🤣

🥧 crust is hard (i like it) but take note cos some people dont like it hard! n apple pieces r huge i lurv & also get whipped cream w it! must.

🥧 dont get 1 per pax… is huge… u will suffer no matter how hungry ur feeling cos it gets abit gelat after awhile also

Rob Wigboldus Vishandel

🐟 superyummy kibbeling! in the heart of amsterdam, and price was quite ok tbh for the location whr it was!

Dutch Pancake Masters

🥞 superGOOD omg! mine was the savoury super thin one and the cheese was like mixed in with the pancake batter which made it crunchy-ish and super crispy! bacon was nice toooo & serving was huge! also the small chocolate ones were good! abit pricy tho but bopes its amsterdam… €16 for a pancake…

AlbertCuyp Market

🍽️ tried a lot of things so will give my ratings for each (forgot the shop i bought from tho oops…)

🍽️ herring was better than i expected, had no bad/funny smell! maybe cos i eat sashimi so i wasnt fazed but like i liked the pickles he used more… pickles damn crunchy n fresh i loved it!

🍽️ kibbeling bought from the shop near the herring (i think the cheapest in the market?) was super freshly fried & yummy eh!

🍽️ fresh fruit juice: so good i got another cup later, legit taste like the barcelona market one, super fresh

🍽️ stroopwaffels from a random store; got 1 w nutella & caramel and 1 traditional one… still liked the traditional one better & it was super good fresh & hot! damn yummers I LURV! (ended up trying rudi’s original stroopwaffels, its one of the better ones)

🍽️ poffertjes w butter & kinder bueno sauce were THE BOMB. legit damn good! yummy yummy YUMMY.

🍽️ traditional fried dutch snacks idk the name of except sausage & bitterballen… i cnt rmbr the taste but it was fried n i like freshly fried things so it was damn yummy

Hap Hmm

🍛 rly affordable dutch food! and the service was excellent omg

🍛 actually need to reserve… dont think they take walk ins… can call & email but must do in advance! restaurant v small so dont blame them la HAHA

🍛 loveddd the beef stew & the chicken, both were super tender & flavourful!

Loetje Amsterdam Oost

🥩 omg the STEAK DAMNNN GOOD LEGIT!!!!!! but the sauce abit salty lmao we tried some indonesian sauce

🥩 satay was goooood my dad say q authentic i think cos netherlands colonise indonesia

🥩 burger also SOLID honestly damn good

🥩 drinks ALSO!! got 3 variations of the tea, all 3 were good but the iced tea it was literally just lemon tea lor…

🥩 soft crust apple pie! my dad loves it more than winkel cos of the soft crust

T’Zwaantje

🥘 service was pretty good here too! & food was good! tried stamppot but dont think its for me… loved d beef stew tho damn delicious & came w so many veggies i was so happy

🥘 shared 2 mains but too full for dessert… superfilling

Pancakes @ Amsterdam Centraal

🥞 yummy! but not as good as dutch pancake masters that one was GOATED

that’s all from me i hope you enjoy amsterdam! (even tho i didnt 🤣)

#europe #travel #amsterdam #exchange