Have you ever been on holiday to Amsterdam?
One of our Customer Advisors, Vicki, recently visited and shares her experience of a summer trip to Amsterdam…
Summer was approaching slowly but surely (well it is the English summer after all) and it was time for the stressful last minute holiday booking for me and my partner. We are yet to learn our lesson as we always say next time we will book in advance; we never do and booked this a week before we were due to depart! This was after the Ibiza package fell through from Ice Lolly.com. We found it to be too expensive with too many hidden extras and this incident will forever be known in my house as Lolly-gate! As such, we decided not to go back to Barcelona as we could not seem to get a competitive deal and set about choosing a different destination.
Scouring the Easy Jet website for flights we found a very cheap flight to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport so it was decided we were going to Amsterdam! We booked the Hotel Beethoven Amsterdam (Hampshire Hotel) separately (to avoid paying a third party) which was very nice and accommodating and the staff were always on hand to help us. 
The hotel was just outside the city centre but right near a tram stop (which continued all night I might hastily add). This is a great and cheap way to get around the sights of Amsterdam but I am not good with small spaces and crowds and with my fear of the London Tube we set off on foot.
The first day we walked for the whole day exploring the city and taking in the sights of the canals. There are many boat trips you can take and this is another great way to see the city. With multiple bars, pubs and restaurants, you’re spoilt for choice and the beers on offer (Heineken being the favourite) were all reasonably priced. There is a Heineken Brewery located in the city as well which offers tours. This was an excursion we were looking to partake in however be warned that this is a tourist hot spot and we always found the queues too long no matter what time we went.
It was such a surprise to be confronted with boiling hot sunshine for more than one day, so we did spend the majority of the time outside. A particular favourite was visiting the Flower Market where you are sure to find a souvenir or two (or lots in my case and my travel bag handle broke). Look out for the cheese shops as they offer a great variety of Dutch cheese. I also came across some great book shops hidden down small backstreets slightly off the main shopping strip.
Whether you agree with it or not, the Red Light District is worth a visit when you are in Amsterdam. There are many tours on offer and even a museum or two which explain the controversial history of this iconic area.
Amsterdam has many things on offer to suit everyone from the Van Gough Museum, Anne Frank Museum as well as multiple shopping areas and great places to eat and drink. You will find it difficult to fit everything in!
By Vicki Moore
