Layover Guide: Amsterdam

Overnight layover in Amsterdam?

 Here is a quick guide to help you make the most of your short time in this pretty city.

 

Transportation

Our flight arrived around 10pm at Amsterdam Schipol Airport (AMS) and we followed signs to the train station located on the lower level of the terminal.  It was €5.20 each for a single use ticket.  If you need help planning your route, visit the official transportation website at http://www.ns.nl/en/travel-information.  We caught the train to Centraal Station in the city centre.  The journey only took less than 20 minutes.

Accommodation

We booked a room at the Ibis Amsterdam Centre which is located right next to the train station.  We decided on this hotel since the location was super convenient, especially with our luggage, and we would be able to explore more of the city being so close to everything.  The room was probably the tiniest room we’ve ever stayed in, but it was clean and comfortable, and the price was decent (€117) considering the location. 

Sightseeing

After dropping off our things in the room we set out to explore!  Despite being past midnight, we felt safe walking around. 

Now, this is Amsterdam, and they are most well known for their Red Light District (RLD) so naturally we had to check out this infamous area.  Photos are not allowed in the RDL so don’t even try to take a photo of the girls in the windows – your camera might end up in the canal.  You can take photos facing the canal but I played it safe and didn’t take too many pics. 

Since photos aren’t allowed and are not readily available online you really can’t get a good sense of what the RLD is like until you are actually there.  It felt pretty surreal walking up and down the canals and witnessing it all in person.  It really is just as they describe with the women in the windows lined up and down the streets.  We really didn’t know what to expect until we got there.  It sounded like a seedy place – but honestly, to us, it didn’t feel all that dirty, seedy nor uncomfortable while we were there.  Many people were walking around, many of them celebrating bachelor parties.  I couldn’t help wonder, though, what these women must be thinking and feeling having so many tourists gawking at them and how they ended up in this profession….

We decided we needed to check out one of the coffee shops Amsterdam is so famous for.  There are so many all over the city that it is hard to know which one to check out.  We decided on Green House as it had good reviews and is where Rihanna went when in town!  Again, it’s just one of those “must dos” while in AMS because, really, where else can you get an experience like this?!

PS. Watch out not to get run over by a cyclist!  Bikes are king in Amsterdam – we had never seen so many in our lives!  We got the impression that locals don’t have patience for tourists doddling in the way of the bike paths. 😉

Food

Afterwards we headed to FEBO which is an interesting style of fast food joint.  They have heated vending machines that serve up all kinds of hot snacks.  There are a few of them dotted around the city.  We quite enjoyed trying out a variety of options, not knowing what we were ordering since the labels were in Dutch.  The machines only take coins but don’t worry if all you have are bills.  There is a change machine! Once we discovered that, we changed a €10 note and tried even more items! 

There were tons of late night food stalls still open when we were headed back to the hotel around 3am.  Tons of pizza, waffles and all kinds of pastries and desserts that looked delicious.  Beware of the costs, though.  We ordered a tiny, plain waffle and were charged €6 for it which felt like a rip off!  Guess it is a tourist district = tourist prices.

Breakfast

We slept for about 5 hours and were up again to see a little more of the city.  It was difficult to find a place to have an early breakfast before heading to the airport.  We really wanted to head to a pancake house for some Dutch pancakes but most places didn’t open until later, around 10am.

We ended up deciding on Prins Heerlijk because it was only a short walk from the hotel and was open the earliest (7:30am).  Ryan and I both ordered the Dutch pancakes.  He got banana and I got apple.  They were both good but not amazing, although it might just be my preference that I prefer a thicker pancake rather than thin like the Dutch style.  The coffee was good too but also not amazing.  Prices were somewhat high but probably average for Amsterdam.  I would eat here again but it wouldn’t be my first choice.  It’s definitely good if you need an early start to your day, though!

Next time in Amsterdam we definitely want to check out one of the more famous pancake houses, such as Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs.  We’d also love to experience one of the lovely canal cruises, check out the famous museums and try out more good food!  On our list that we didn’t get to try are: Stubbe’s Haring and Bojo’s (Indonesian food).

So, as you can see, even if you have a short overnight layover, you can still manage to see some of the popular sites of Amsterdam!

Helpful maps for the sights mentioned above:

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