See, I could offer some recommendations, but I should really ask .. what type of holiday are you planning?

Just wondering...

But it does remind me, need to start planning my own trip to the 'Dam. For my yearly .. pilgramige, you understand.

LOL Dutch guy here can tell you a lot about Amsterdam.... but what do you really expect to be doing on your trip.... Are you planning on visting a lot of shops where they say you can get coffee or are you actually there for the nightlife... or just to see the nice sights

We're looking for a bit of everything really. Ok, so we'll definately be visiting some coffee shops. But we wanna check out whatever else Amsterdam has to offer, day and night, and be annoying and touristy. I'll generally just be happy being out of the country, but I'll also try and pack as much into 5 days as I possibly can.

Don't have to even tell you where to find a coffeeshop as if you go towards the city center I'm sure you'll run into 1 or..... 11

Well have a look at the Amsterdam Website <--- has a whole lot of info on all the different sites to see etc also a whole bundle of city guides (the urban guide to amsterdam etc etc)

Also there is a Themepark (Sixflags Holland) relativly closeby it's ashame it takes about 2 hours by public transport to get there as you have to wait 30 minutes for the Bus to actually drive you from the station to the entrance.

Just outside Amsterdam there is a big Bungee Jump center above water of "het Ei" (which is the egg, but if you read the guides you'll know why it's called that) so if you don't mind washing your hair and you are into that kinda thing...

Cruises on a boat through the channel..... Normal guides speak Dutch, English, German and French so shouldn't be too much of an issue to pick something you can understand

Of course there are museums (17 of them)... If you are interested in that kinda stuff you might want to visit the Anna Frank house. Also 9 cinema's (almost all movies are subtitled so you can just basically understand what they are saying as it will be in English). But pick the right one as there are also small cinema's that just done cult stuff etc.

Also Amsterdam has a "wild" nightlife especially on the Saterday and Sunday....

Some nice parks (they even recorded some Jackass Episode there so if you want to hit your head against the same tree as Johnny Knocksville this is your chance) which on sunny days are packed with all kinds of people sporting sunbathing relaxing and preforming arts (music / dance / painting)

Ooh and there is a lot of shopping to be done in Amsterdam

If you want to see more of The Netherlands than just Amsterdam keep in mind that there are in the summer special discounts on train travel etc which might make it a bit less expensive. Also be carful with the taxies as they can be very pricy but I guess you already know that with being from the UK and all).

Also the people in Amsterdam normally speak pretty good English especially in shops etc but also the people on the street can normally help you out if you take a bit more time and explain stuff simple and speak a tiny bit slower than you would normally do when you are drunk and talking to one of your girlfriend

Lots to see and do in Amsterdam so have a look around on those website (yes lots of broken links on the english one I'm afraid ) and see what you like and plan ahead

Actually, I heard the Anne Frank thing was pretty poor, and has one of the longest queues ever just to get in. But then what do I know, I don't go to the 'Dam for museums.

Now coffee shops, that I know a little about. Don't bother with the Grasshoppers, over-rated not very chill. Do go to Hill Street Blues, as it is my favourite place in the 'Dam. Specially cool when hanging out downstairs on the Japanese style seats, staring at the grafitti covered walls and ceiling. However, I don't have my map with me so I can't give you the address, or directions. I'll try and bring it in tomorrow night.

However, as Chambler says, finding Coffee shops is not a problem. Walk out the station, over the bridge and keep going. Best ones are down the pedestrianised alleyways. Buy a map and wonder around, the centre isn't that big and it can be fun just bumbling along.

Do only one porn museum. There are loads but the novelty wears off. The Venus museum, not far from the station, is particularly funny.

Travel everywhere by tram. It's cheap and you can buy a book of tickets from the TIC at the station.

As Chambler says, everyone speaks English. The Dutch usually speak it better than the abundance of Yanks there. And everyone is very friendly. Tried to learn Dutch from the locals first time I went but they just told me not to bother. However, there are bridges everywhere, being built on a series of canals, and on every bridge there will be a group of dodgy people offering to sell you things. Keep your head up, eyes forward and keep walking. Do not stop, do not talk, and definitely do not buy. The only time you'll see police they'll be dealing with these people.

Five days? Definitely spend at least one day out of the 'Dam. Trains are cheap compared to us, and regular and fast. There are loads of beautiful places nearby. Most of them have coffee shops too.

Thanks guys Now I just need to find my passport....

banana bar is well worth a visit

I was over there a month ago- was there three days and could quite happily have stayed another week.

I'd recommend buying an Amsterdam Pass, whatever you decide to do. The one I got was 24 euros for 2 days and included a tram/metro ticket. You get most of your museums for free, a couple of canal cruises and discounts in other places (like the Amsterdam Arena tour, which I did). The good thing about it is that because all your museums are included, if you go somewhere and aren't enjoying it, you can just go somewhere else.

One other piece of advice- when trying to catch a tram somewhere, remember they run on the opposite side of the road (says the guy who tried to catch one from the van Gogh museum to the Resistance Museum and ended up going a mile out of his way).

If you're into steaks, there's an Argentinian/Brazilian place which our project team collectively decided had some of the best steaks we'd ever tried (team included a Texan, no less), best sampled with caipirinhas (moderately lethal Brazilian brew of sugar cane alcohol, fresh limes, sugar and crushed ice). It's called the Iguacu and is at the intersection of Prinsengracht and Leidsestraat, on the inner right-hand corner if you're on Leidsestraat facing towards Leidseplein. I used to frequent this place so much the head waiter there started greeting me with "Welcome back, Sir" and giving me complementary caipirinhas!

Another place we used to frequent for great ribs (and huge portions thereof) was Chicano's on Korte Leidsedwarstraat, off Leidsestraat, not far from Leidseplein, turn left off Leidsestraat as you're walking towards Leidseplein. It's rather confusingly close by a similarly named place called Chico's!

Caveat: this was a few years ago...

Oh another thing: if you find the middle of the street is clear, it's probably because it's used by cyclists so don't walk down the middle. One of the project team had an unfortunate and painful encounter with a cyclist.

(Edited by Ming 03/08/2003 21:44)

I went there about a month back and had a fantastic time

The first thing I'd suggest is that you try and get some change before you try to get out of the airport, as it gets very difficult to by tickets for the train into the centre of Amsterdam if you don't have the cash!

And unless your hotel is very close to the centre, I wouldn't try doing what we did and walk there

If you want to get out of the city centre then the best way is by cycle. They're pretty cheap to hire from a place in Waterlooplein (although the staff are bolshy) and there are cycle lanes absolutely everywhere. It's an ideal way to get to the Amsterdam Arena too, which is worth seeing. Vondelpark, just southwest of the city centre is well worth going to aswell.

At night one of the liveliest places is Rembrandtplein. There's tonnes of bars and the restaurants are quite cheap. The red light district (just east of Dam Square) is worth seeing too and is pretty safe as long as you go in a group and stay on the main two streets. Some of the quieter sidestreets contain the same sort of people Jay Jay was referring to and should definitely be avoided. It's best not to try and take any photos there either, as the local 'staff' get pretty irritated by it.

Canal cruises are a good way to see the sights, but you can also hire out peddle boats which you can take around pretty much anywhere you like. If you get to the harbour then have a look in Renzo Piano's boat/discovery centre type thing.

If you want to avoid queues then the best time to go to museums is late in the day. Anne Frank is open until 7pm and if you go an hour before you shouldn't have to wait more than 5 or 10 mins to get in. We got to the Rijksmuseum half an hour before it closes (4.30pm) and got in free! Also, if one of you can pretend it's your birthday then they, along with a friend will get into the Van Gogh museum free The Heineken museum is pretty good and you pretty much make back the entrance fee in free drinks and gifts

One thing you shouldn't expect though is for everything to be dirt cheap. Since the Euro came in prices have shot up and now everything is either the same price as the UK or (especially as far as alcohol is concerned) more expensive.

Hope you have fun!

Wow. That's a shame re: costs. One thing we loved about working in Amsterdam was the huge concentration of very good but surprisingly reasonably priced restaurants. Then again, we were all on expense accounts so I suspect our definition of reasonable might be open to debate...