While planning last year’s Eurotrip, I suggested Amsterdam as our second leg.  Funny that at first, I didn’t give a damn when my friends say it’s the prettiest city in Western Europe (I’ve already had that spot for Paris).. But it all changed at the first sight of the city — Amsterdam is indeed hauntingly beautiful.  In fact, for me, it’s the fusion of the charming Paris and vibrant Venice.  Read on to find out how to travel Amsterdam with ease yet still on a budget 😉

Amsterdam is Netherlands‘ capital and since this is our second leg after traveling to laidback Iceland, it feels kinda fast paced, but when you think about it, I’m grateful that it isn’t as touristy as Rome nor Paris, plus this city is safe (ranked as 5th safest city in the world in 2015). This 2016 Eurotrip is indeed a milestone as it’s the only time I visited Europe that I did not have any pickpocket encounter haha!

Day 1

The truth is, Amsterdam is the most spontaneous trip we’ve had in Europe.  It’s probably because we got too exhausted on planning our Iceland trip, that we ran out of energy to even make rough itinerary, but you don’t have to fret about it — it’s very easy to plan a trip to this city.

What I love about Europe is that we get to stay at an affordable place via AirBnB (listed by Rolf & Claar), for AMS we chose the one that’s somehow in the middle of the airport and the city, with its own garden, waterfront terrace and even a rowboat.

After enjoying the comfort of our AirBnB home, we went straight to the city via train — yes, Day 1 was all about exploring the city, enjoying the bright lights and canal, and taking a peek at the Red Light District.

Day 2

Aside from my ultimate AMS bucket list, there is one more mandatory experience in this city: biking. You can spend a few hours biking at Vondel Park, which was what Des and Sel did (while Ca and did in our neighbourhood on our last day).  This is walking distance from the train station and near Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum.

Just almost in front of Vondel Park, we caught the hop on-hop off bus, paid for our 24-hour ticket (that’s  how spontaneous we were) and enjoyed the sights. We purchased the bus and boat combination which costs 28 EUR from City Sightseeing.  I remember purchasing from the same company when we were in Paris and well, normally, we would DIY travel as much as possible, but when you’re in Europe where transpo is expensive and you don’t have so much time, the best way to wander around is by taking an affordable hop on-hop off bus.

Day 3

Another good thing about the hop on-hop off tour is that the ticket is valid for 24 hours, and since we started on Day 2 afternoon, we were still able to use it for the next day.  After finishing the trip, we alighted at Museum Square to see the Van Gogh Museum, entrance originally priced at 17 EUR (City Sightseeing offers ticket a cheaper value, as well as for other museums so we were quite happy to save despite not planning ahead haha!).

While in Amsterdam, I suddenly remembered that I used to be so eager to go to this city for Van Gogh museum and so I gave it a try.  Did you know that Van Gogh (also known as the quintessential misunderstood genius) was already 27 when he got his calling as a painter? Though he got really famous after his suicide, his determination was so inspiring that it makes me want to think it’s never too late to start for anything that you feel so passionate about.

And what would you do on your last night in the city? Of course, drop by the red light district and tick more items in the bucket list. Haha! I remember that absurd moment when I suddenly heard a church bell ringing then turning my head to see a lady stripper dancing in the window. How odd could that get?

Day 4

It would be a shame to leave Amsterdam without even trying to bike, so on our last day, we asked our AirBnB house owner if we could borrow their bikes and they were very nice enough to lend it to us.  Biking around the quiet neighbourhood on a cold day, not to mention passing by the Instagram-worthy houses was just a perfect ending to my eurotrip.

Recommendations:

De Vier Pilaren – There’s this pancake house in front of Vondel Park that I was itching to go to. Definitely a good find, the taste is as amazing as how it looks!

Italia Oggi – At past 9pm, we were starving and randomly picked an Italian restaurant with TripAdvisor recommendation at the city and were very lucky to have tried one of the finest Italian cuisine in Europe (thank God this is open until 11:30).  From pastas to yummy desserts such as tiramisu and ice cream, not to mention the wine (a glass only costs 3 EUR), we only ended up paying 23.7 SGD each!

Destination	Provider	Cost in S$
Manila to London (return)	Philippine Airlines	1049
Reyk to Amsterdam	Wow Air	178
Amsterdam to London	British Airways	136.6
Schengen Visa	VFS	94
hop-hop off (bus & boat)	City Sightseeing	32.7
accommodation	AirBnB	189.2
food	various	57.5
Van Gogh Entrance fee	Van Gogh	22.3
transportation	train & cab	50.3

Total Eurotrip Cost (Iceland + Amsterdam):  about 3,300 SGD (Though I felt poorer after traveling to Iceland, this eurotrip seems to be least costly because there were few destinations, which I prefer.)

I have come to realize that Amsterdam is much more awesome that I have imagined it to be.  It’s the kind of place that would make you want to live there, plus, it also ranked as 2nd most bike-friendly on the planet. This trip (Iceland + AMS) is the most refreshing, laidback, and stress-free vacation I’ve had so far.