Backpacking Amsterdam

This article was written by Amy Rogers, a student from London who went backpacking Amsterdam in August 2010:

Backpacking Amsterdam the City

Now with this being a free country and everything if you go you obviously have to accept everything that is going on around you. I felt great in this city, it was welcoming and easy to get around. The Dutch were lovely and the atmosphere was just so relaxed. In regards to tourist attractions, definitely go to Anne Franks house, as I think it is a real eye opener and reminds you of what actually happened in this area and how it was affected by the war.

I also would definitely recommend going to the red light district, even if it isn’t your cup of tea, it is an amazing culture shock and I think that if you have travelled that far to Amsterdam, why not experience all it has to offer, plus the girls are there on their own choice, so they don’t mind it! Also we got a pedalo and went around the canals for an hour, which was great fun as it is a different way to travel and it isn’t too expensive. Other things which are there that we didn’t do are some museums, like the Rembrandt museum and also there is a hanging flower market which is meant to be pretty.

Backpacking Amsterdam the Accomodation

We stayed in a hostel just outside the centre, so it was around a 10min walk into the main part, the hostel was called Hotel Linda and because we were there for the weekend nights, it was a little bit more expensive, so we paid around £29 per night, but for the Sunday night it went down to around€23 per night and I am sure it was even cheaper for the rest of the week. Amsterdam wasn’t too expensive, pretty much the same as the rest, although it was cheaper to get a spliff than a pint… but the drinks were around €3/€4 and the food wasn’t too bad either.

I think in every place, if you want to go cheap then supermarkets are the way forward, but there are cheaper restaurants and there are more expensive ones. The best thing is to not go to the main roads or streets and go to the smaller ones and the food is generally cheaper in those. Another hostel that we had heard of were the Heart of Amsterdam, which is right on the edge of the red light district so it is very central, we knew some boys who were staying there and they said it wasn’t too bad, great location.