Today dear readers, we are right in Amsterdam, a city historically, geographically and culturally of huge significance. Amsterdam is one of those cities that rewards the traveler who puts down the guidebook, begins the tours and starts exploring. And we’re going to give you everything you need to do just that. Amsterdam is served by Schiphol, an absolute monster of an airport located about seven miles southwest of the city. This really is a huge airport, the fifth biggest in the world by area, and it has six runways. So it can make for some absurdly long taxi times from the terminal onto the runway. I guess the neat thing about Amsterdam Airport is that despite being so huge, it only has one mega terminal that’s divided into three interconnected halls.
So this makes transiting through Amsterdam actually really, really easy. And it’s something that the airport has built its reputation on. And if you are transiting through Schiphol and you’re a plane nerd like I am, then definitely check out the Panorama Terrace. It’s a free, open air viewing terrace with its own little fucker. Come on, man, It’s a fucker. It’s an airplane. Look, little fuckers right there. Royal Dutch Airlines, a personal, courteous service continuously surrounding all those who travel by air. So when you’ve had your fill of airplane geekery, how do you get into town from Schiphol? Good news. It is easy. There is a train that runs every 10 minutes from the airport into central Amsterdam. The journey only takes 20 minutes and it’s usually on one of these awesome double decker trains. Is it weird that I get excited by double decker trains? Yes, it is. If it’s weird to be excited by double decker trains, I don’t want to be like anyway, to find these magical double decker trains, you need to find the double decker train. Do you need to go to the Schiphol Airport Railway station, which is located directly below the main airport passenger terminal. You can buy a ticket from one of these yellow kiosks or from a ticket counter, but if you use a counter, you’ll be charged an extra euro for the privilege ticket from the airport into Amsterdam will cost you €4.20. But if you’re planning on using any public transport in Amsterdam while you’re here, it’s well worth getting one of these. And Amsterdam travel ticket. Not only will it get you from the airport into town and back again, it will also give you unlimited travel on all trams, metros, trains, buses and ferries operated by GB for €25 for three days. That is a no brainer. Are there other ways to get to the airport?
Yeah, but you don’t get to go in a double decker train. So what’s the point? Taxis will cost ten times as much as trains. Same with Uber, and the bus takes twice as long as the train. So you know what to do, folks. Amsterdam’s public transport system is comprehensive, cheap and easy to use with trams, trains, metros, buses and boats. You have plenty of options to get around this great city. The tram is the main form of transport here in Amsterdam. There are 16 lines that spider out from the centre of this city across the entire place, and there are tram stops everywhere. All the tram stops like this one have local area maps as well as full network maps. So getting around using the tram is really easy. One last thing about the trams. A lot of the tracks are at the same level as the street and it is alarmingly easy to just walk straight onto the tram tracks and that could ruin your day. So keep an eye out when you’re crossing the street, especially in a lot of traffic when there’s stuff lying by your head. One of those things flying by our head isn’t a tram.
There’s also a metro system with four lines, three of which start right here at Amsterdam Central Station. Now, the Metro predominantly serves the neighborhoods in southeastern Amsterdam, but it’s still a worthwhile way of getting around those parts of town. So when you’ve got your Amsterdam travel ticket or your chip card, which is their equivalent of the oyster or octopus card, the kind lady here at Slaughter station reminded us that you have to tap in and tap out not just at the beginning and end of your journey, but whenever you change from a train to a tram or a tram to a bus or anything like that, to make sure that you don’t make the mistake that we just did for planning your public transport adventures. Amsterdam is the very handy 9292 app, which gives you route planners and scheduling for all of the city’s public transport options. And of course, Google Maps, which I don’t know what we would do without on these adventures, covers the city well and includes most of the public transport options in its directions. Arguably, Amsterdam’s most popular form of transport is the bicycle or bike. There are more bikes in Amsterdam than there are people in the city is incredibly bike friendly with bike lanes along almost every major street. Contrary to popular belief, bikes do not have the right of way over other traffic in Amsterdam.
So don’t go ploughing through intersections thinking you’re invincible because you’re not. I have angered the guard. And remember, Amsterdam years have been riding bikes since the day they were born, with many of them having cycled right out of the womb. So don’t get in their way. They’ve got places to be and people to see. And if you get in the way, you’re going to know about it. Amsterdam Cyclist The Silent Killer. But here’s the thing. Amsterdam, like most of the Netherlands, is very, very flat. It’s also pretty compact, which makes it a very walkable city. Most of the major tourist destinations are within no more than 30 minutes walk from Amsterdam Central Station. So next time you’re planning a route, take a look at the walking directions on Google Maps before you look at the transportation directions. Oh, and if you’re a strong swimmer, feel free to navigate the city using the city’s canals. Don’t don’t do that. That was a joke. Don’t do that. You’ll die. When you think of the great food cultures of the world, you don’t automatically think of the Dutch. But there are loads of Dutch contributions to our global kitchen. More than you might think. How Dutch cheese alone should reserve the Netherlands place at the table. Gouda, Edam Leerdam. All Dutch. But it’s not just about cheese. There is so much great food across this city. Arguably the Netherlands national dish is raw herring.
Stay with me. It’s delicious. It’s actually salt cured and usually served with onions and pickles. And you can find it on street stalls like this or in the fanciest restaurants in town. But either way, it is amazing. It’ll either come in one big piece and in that case, just pick it up and dangle it in. Or sometimes it’ll be chopped up and given to you in a in a paper plate like this or in a napkin. But no matter how you get it, get it because it is a part of Dutch cuisine. Oh, it’s like Dutch sushi. Another favorite bite sized treat are bitter ball. They’re round balls of beef, ragu covered in breadcrumbs and then deep fried. They’re usually served in bars as snacks and almost always arrive in groups of five. And they always come with mustard. You’ve got to try these.
They are a Dutch favorite. Rest our good friends over on the Amsterdam subreddit of Reddit as this tradition to point us in the direction of their favorite Amsterdam Eats. And as always, Redditors were extremely generous with their tips and suggestions of where we should eat in this city that is fanatical about its food. I want to thank User Lock, Stock and Elle for pointing us in the direction of this unique Amsterdam dining experience. Thibault. Now, this ain’t exactly fine dining, but it’s the fast casual fuel that Amsterdam runs on. It’s basically a giant vending machine with hot and cold snacks. There’s a bunch of different choices to make. My personal favorite is this The CAF Sprocket, which is basically the beef ragu covered in breadcrumbs in this portable bite size format. It’s sometimes easy to forget that Indonesia was a Dutch colony until 1949, and during that period, a lot of Indonesian people came over to the Netherlands, and when they did, they brought their incredible food with it. So all over Amsterdam you can find these amazing Indonesian dishes like Nazi going, which is one of my absolute favorites.
A great way to end your Amsterdam day is with this capsule on, which weirdly means barber shop in Dutch. And while it’s not strictly in Amsterdam thing, apparently it was invented in Rotterdam. It’s still incredible. And it’s french fries covered in doner or swarm of meat, then covered in melted gouda cheese and then salad and spicy garlic sauce. We’re talking 1800 calories of Dutch madness here. Brilliant. Brilliant. Like most of Europe, the Netherlands uses the euro. And because of all the recent Brexit nonsense, the value of the euro has been all over the place. So keep an eye on it before you come over because it could drastically change the cost of things for you. And with that in mind, let’s do the rundown. A cup of coffee costs around €2.20. The pint of beautiful Dutch beer will cost you around €5.50. And for the most reliable indicator of a nation’s cost, the good old Big Mac, you’re going to pay about €3.55. Amsterdam is generally a very safe city. Violent crimes, especially against tourists, are very rare. But pickpockets do roam the tourist heavy areas. So like the savvy travelers I know you all are. Watch your pocket, stow the bling and you’ll be fine. So now it’s time for the uncomfortable conversation in our relationship tipping. The good news is it’s actually pretty simple here. When you’re at a restaurant, you’re looking at the menu.
I really do hope you enjoyed this guide through Amsterdam, specially if you still have to visit it!
