girl fashion blogger and travel blogger wearing striped full length bodycon dress by Jeremy Scott and siiting in front of the colourful houses in Amsterdam, Holland

Amsterdam Travel-Guide for first-timers

by Rasi

Amsterdam just happened without annnnyyy planning whatsoever. I realised that is actually the European way to travel, since everything is practically next door! A quick 3 something hour train ride at the crack of dawn from Paris, my friends and I just made it a day trip. So read-on for the Amsterdam travel-guide for first-timers. I have included details in the map towards the end. So check out the map, save a copy for yourself and use it to plan your own trip to Amsterdam!

girl fashion blogger and travel blogger wearing striped full length bodycon dress by Jeremy Scott and standing in front of the colourful buildings at the Inntel hotels in Amsterdam, Holland

This place is just unreal with all its colourful structures! If we had time, I would have checked out more of this place too. Admittedly we just went for the photo-op. You will see further that we got our trip’s worth at this place, lol.

Packing for Amsterdam:

September in Amsterdam is slightly cool so light layers are a good idea. As are super comfy shoes. There is just loads of walking involved because the place is basically a paved-city-version of Dutch pancakes! i.e. sweet and gives you that warm fuzzy feeling of cosiness. Be prepared to get lost a couple of times and walk a lot because many roads seem to just go in circles. And also because in some areas it would be almost impossible to get an Uber to come. For a day-trip, I chose to carry the basics as advised on my blog post here under out and about; and wear something super comfy and just warm enough.

girl fashion blogger and travel blogger wearing striped full length bodycon dress by Jeremy Scott and siiting in front of the colourful houses in Amsterdam, Holland

These are the first thing you see right out the train station and such a picture perfect scene too..sigh…

Accommodation in Amsterdam:

I would stay in the centre close to the Amsterdam Centraal train station because that is well-connected. I already have plans to rent a houseboat for the night when I visit next with sceptical co-traveller*.  Booking.com also has some houseboat rentals. I would read the reviews thoroughly before booking because plumbing issues  and cleanliness appear to be common with houseboats. Otherwise the usual airbnb/hotel situation is always reliable.

girl fashion blogger and travel blogger wearing striped full length bodycon dress by Jeremy Scott and standing in front of the colourful buildings at the Inntel hotels in Amsterdam, Holland

I would DEFINITELY consider living here for a night or two because OMG why won’t you? This is a hotel after all.

Commute in Amsterdam:

Since we only did the day-trip, we thought getting a day-pass with all the possible ways to travel in the city was a good idea. It wasn’t. We didn’t realise that we would end up taking the tram just a couple of times in the whole day! So get the cheapest option and then figure out because walking happens a lot more. You could also hire a bike and experience the place like the locals do!*

girlfriends fashion bloggers and travel bloggers wearing striped full length bodycon dress by Jeremy Scott and standing on the streets of Amsterdam, Holland

Example of what happened just before the cyclist thought it was easier to swerve rather than tell us that we were being weird!

You will have at least one near-death experience because you WILL miss watching out for a bike that came out of nowhere! In our case, the giggly and lost-in-our-own-world girls that we were being, the biker just changed paths and disaster was averted. We saw him shake his head as he passed us though.

Take the Thalys train to Amsterdam and Brussels. The same train that goes to Amsterdam in 3-3.5 hours, stops at Brussels mid-way. So, you could do both Amsterdam and Brussels as day-trips while you are in Paris

girl fashion blogger and travel blogger wearing striped full length bodycon dress by Jeremy Scott and standing in front of the canals in Amsterdam, Holland

The canals and the bicycles and the flowers: ALL signature Amsterdam too and never not a delight to look at in photos or in person..

Food in Amsterdam:

Amsterdam continued to please us with their readily available and delightful fresh juices at every café. I also indulged in the baked and savoury vegetarian delights at the café. People are super nice and helpful to advise on the food too, so do try a few different things safely in Amsterdam! Curiously many small food shops and cafes seem to have extra thick and fluffy slices of pizza in their windows and they look like they are straight out of a retro cartoon!

girl fashion blogger and travel blogger wearing striped full length bodycon dress by Jeremy Scott and sitting at a cafe table in Amsterdam, Holland

Both of these things we tried were seriously yummy. Baked goods with cheese of different kinds and total awesome of all kinds!

Amsterdam also happens to be popular for their novelty baked goods like waffles with sprinkles and the fries that you get in a cone, the apple pies. Oh and also the noodles. Noodle places like Wok to walk have great vegetarian and vegan options too! Noodle places were recommended to us as a great option to try and I am glad to say we were not disappointed.

girl fashion blogger and travel blogger wearing striped full length bodycon dress by Jeremy Scott and standing on the streets in the city in Amsterdam, Holland

I don’t think there is any corner in the city that is not photogenic. It is interesting how a few spots appear a bit crammed and weird and then the next second it is all sophisticated historic chic after you get out of the alleyway!

Attractions and Sights in Amsterdam:

There are many small places that you could find on a list if you google places to visit and I highly recommend just walking around the city and the residential places all day like the area where Anne Frank’s house is. This holds the signature colourful-fun-houses-in-a-row aesthetic that we see on postcards for Amsterdam, along with the canals. Popular museums, the floating flower markets are all great attractions to visit. The vibe of the place is everything. EVERYTHING.

girlfriends fashion bloggers and travel bloggers wearing striped full length bodycon dress by Jeremy Scott and standing at the dam square amidst pigeons in Amsterdam, Holland

DO NOT let the dude with the rice grains throw grains in your hair; my friend got serious scalp scratches and a headache because the pigeons were just digging into her scalp looking for grains!

*Clearly biking wasn’t an option for me on the day because of what I chose to wear, sigh. But I did find the perfect balance between not layering and yet staying just warm enough in the weather!

*because the first instinct my better-half has, is always having a doubt that it would be a scam or a kidnapping case, or both.

Where’s the hygge?

Amsterdam has the vibe of being designed by a super-imaginative and dope young person. It has art-meets-nature feel down to the last detail and it is every bit as dreamy as the hype makes it sound. I felt like the air has the dope that the place is famous for. I think I have never felt this relaxed and high just being in a place! The way this place made me feel is pretty much the word “hygge” come to life.

Laters, people!
XoXo

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14 comments

Siddhesh 08/12/2019 - 4:29 pm

Pictures taken are beautiful and you look gorgeous! Amazing blog post! Got many travelling tips too! And I hope you had fun in Amsterdam 🙌✌

Reply
Rasi 08/12/2019 - 4:47 pm

Thank you very much for checking out the post!
I did have a lot of fun and sure plan on going back soon to explore more at leisure.
😀

Reply
Kristin Jesha Mari A. Sandig 09/12/2019 - 10:34 pm

I wish I can go to Amsterdam. Anywhere outside the Philippines would be nice….

Reply
Rasi 09/12/2019 - 10:46 pm

Oh you would love it once you do visit, I am sure!
🙂
I hope you get a chance to visit soon! Thanks for checking out my post babe!
😀

Reply
Hannah 09/12/2019 - 10:44 pm

You take such gorgeous pictures! Amsterdam is definitely on the list of places to go one day, and you definitely made me want to go see it even more! Great post as always 💕

-h.

Reply
Rasi 09/12/2019 - 10:48 pm

Thank you very much for all the love! I sure enjoy fashion and taking photos, and most importantly editing them. I haven’t seen it all myself so a second trip will definitely happen!
😀
I hope you get to go soon too and get to enjoy the vibe. And find these tips useful of course.
💕

Reply
Brenda West 09/12/2019 - 11:34 pm

I love this post!! I’ve always wanted to travel to Amsterdam and reading this takes me there!! Plus your pictures are great!! Thanks for sharing!

Reply
Rasi 10/12/2019 - 7:55 pm

Thank you for taking the time to check out the post, dear!
The place is absolutely one of the most relaxing places I have ever been to. I am definitely going again. Possibly multiple times too, hehe!
😀

Reply
Angie 12/12/2019 - 1:06 am

Amsterdam looks amazing. The photographs are perfect and it sounds like you had a great time. Makes me want to go for sure. Thank you for sharing this.

Reply
Rasi 12/12/2019 - 8:00 pm

Thank you so much! Do try and plan to go soon and with plenty of time to relax and enjoy it too!
🙂
Thank you for taking the time to check it out!

Reply
Sahara 13/12/2019 - 1:08 pm

I love spontaneous trips! Must be so fun to just hop on a train to visit a new country in Europe, everything is super close by! One thing I always pack when traveling are sneakers, comfy shoes are a must for walking around.

OHH I’ve never heard of Dutch pancakes before but I am half tempted to look up some recipes on Pinterest to see how different they are from American ones. One thing I’ve noticed when traveling in Europe is how everything kind of seems to go in a circle almost maze like when walking around – I remember once in Spain if I walked down this one street long enough I’d end up back where I started!

Bike riding sounds like a lot of fun especially in a new place to explore – sounds like you had an amazing time, maybe if you find yourself in Amsterdam again, you get to try bike riding around!

Reply
Rasi 13/12/2019 - 1:54 pm

Oh absolutely agreed about the sneakers-no traveling without them!Europe is fascinating for spontaneous trips and I actually didn’t know how convenient it is till like a week before going to Amsterdam!
Also totally true about going in circles haha! I like that about these European cities though😁
Dutch pancakes care called Poffertjes and they are like tiny fluffy delights!super popular at food festivals here in Australia haha! Definitely try some!
I am DEFINITELY visiting Amsterdam again hands down😄 and would be totally riding a bike to complete my Amsterdam fantasy haha!
Thank you so much for taking the time to check out the blog and showing it so much love! I absolutely appreciate!❤🙏🏼🤗

Reply
Sophie Wentworth 14/12/2019 - 6:22 am

It sounds like you had an amazing time! I love that it was a spontaneous trip. I’ve never been to Amsterdam, I need to visit at some point. It’s great that they had plenty of veggie/ vegan options too x

Sophie

Reply
Rasi 14/12/2019 - 3:51 pm

Thank you very much, Sophie! It was one of the most awesome days indeed. I promise you when you do visit, you will have the best time ever! 😀
Veg options are such a blessing and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Hope these tips help you planning a trip in future too!
🙂

Reply

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