Things You Need To Know For A Mini Break In Amsterdam

We booked our weekend to Amsterdam six weeks before and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious about it. It has been 12 years since I was last on an aeroplane and you just cant help but feel guilty about leaving your family behind.

Park near the airport using Just Park

We flew from Luton airport and instead of paying for expensive parking there we went through an app called ‘Just Park’ where you can rent somebody’s driveway. Parking cost £15 instead of £65. I’ve never been to this airport before but it was lovely and easy to navigate around. We didn’t get lost, we didn’t miss our flight and had time to grab some lunch before our gate opened.

Easy Jet hand Luggage case and where to buy

We only took hand luggage with us. I was a bit worried about fitting everything it the bag but I had plenty of room. We flew with Easy jet, I had gone onto their website to see cabin bag size and then just copied and pasted the measurements in Amazon and got a really cute pink bag for £17.99. I could have got one cheaper from Temu or Shein but I left it too late for delivery. Tayo brought hers from Temu for less than a tenne. Make sure you buy a bag with a shoulder strap.

Check in was easy although Tayo got stopped and they took her trainers to be scanned through separately which made me giggle as she walked towards me in her socks.

Flight time

By the time we had taken off, we were landing. The flight time to Amsterdam Schiphol airport is only 50 minutes and their local time is one hour ahead of UK.

We found the I AMSTERDAM sign just outside of the train station where we took a few photos before heading off to find the free shuttle which the hotel provide to pick up and drop off every 30 minutes from 6am till 1130pm.

Steigenberger airport hotel

Steigenberger airport hotel is only a 10minute car journey away from Schiphol airport. The hotel is very nice. Again, check in was straight forward. They do ask for you to pay a €50 deposit which you will get refunded upon check out if you have not ordered anything on tab.

There is a Albert Heijn in walking distance just up the road from the hotel where you can grab drinks and snacks.

In the lobby you can help yourself to a glass of lemon infused water or plain water which was well needed as we were both parched from the travelling. They also have a restaurant/bar and a flower wall for photo opportunities.

Our room was lovely. We booked a superior twin room and it came with free slippers which sadly I left behind. The beds are really comfortable and they have the following amenities:

• Kettle with tea/coffee/milk sachets
• x2 hair dryers
• x2 pairs of slippers
• Safe
• Shampoo/condition/ hand soap/ body moisturiser
• Iron and ironing board
• Spare pillow in wardrobe
• Complimentary bottle of water.

As stated above, this hotel offers a free shuttle service back and forth to the airport, every half an hour from 6am till 23.30. We saw many different shuttles turning up to pick up passengers so make sure you check when you book to see if your hotel offers this. We booked with Love Holiday.

Get your Guide & Top cashback

The Get your guide website/App was fantastic for booking activities in Amsterdam (and elsewhere) the trickiest part was working out timings and the distance between them. I used Top Cashback for this and it gave me £2.75 back in my savings pot. You can pay on arrival to activities but you pay a little extra and risk it being full.

Your bookings are in one place and so are your tickets. Directions are also on each booking which helped us when using google maps.

Brothel tour with a former Sex worker.

Now, I find stuff like this really interesting and I was not let down. We were actually running a bit late for this as I had misread the map and missed our stop . On the Get your guide app, you can send the organiser a message or even call them. I rang and explained that we were close and they waited for us.

The brothel tour was really good. You have a welcome drink when you arrive which can either be a house wine or a soft drink. The former sex worker doing the tour that day was called Merci. She told us the history behind prostitution and strip clubs in Amsterdam and how Bonton Strip club came about. We then went upstairs on our own to explore and look at the private rooms

There are 3 levels to this club and the stairs are steep so for people who use a wheelchair, this would be a no go unless you can mobilise for a short while. After the tour, we all sat back down in the bar area for Questions and Answers with Merci which was very interesting. I wont go into this as I really thing you should experience it for yourself when you visit Amsterdam.

We had the last tour of the evening which was 18.30 and then it opens to the public at 21.00 and door entrance fee alone is €50.

How to get to the Brothel Tour using public transport

The quickest way for us to get to the tour was to take the free shuttle back to Schiphol airport and then get the train from the train station (which is also in the airport so its very easy to find) to Centraal Amsterdam. We used our bank cards to check in for the train but make sure you do this when leaving the train station as well because we didn’t and got charged a lot. There are many apps you can download to help you with directions and cost of travel.

We needed to use the Metro and that was also easy to find as there are logos on the signs above where the information boards are with arrows showing you which direction to go. It’s like our London underground system. To get the the brothel tour, you need M2 which is the light blue line which can either go to Noord or Zuid, You need to get on the Zuid side and get off at Vijzelgracht and then it’s just a short 6 minute walk from here. You can walk to these places to but we couldn’t be bothered.

Wondr Experience & Public transport

Our next activity was Wondr, and this time we needed to go towards Noord. We only needed one stop the Noordpark and then it was a short 10 minute walk to the venue. Again, could have walked but didn’t want to.

Wondr is located in a less touristy area and is a literal pink haven. Our girls would have absolutely loved it in here, it was like nothing we had experience before. We also booked this through Get your guide and there were options to add Roller skating and the pink beach. If I get the chance to visit again, I would book the extra’s.

You are asked to pop your email address on their I pad and a QR code will be generated and sent to your inbox, I screen shot it so it was easier to scan. You are also given a locker magnet to keep your belonging safe during your visit.

Now, when I say this was fun. It was amazing! Each room is full of excitements. My favourite would have to be the flower room, it was so colourful and aesthetically pleasing. Staff are in a few of the rooms next to the photo op displays. They will scan your QR code and take your photo for you on a professional camera which is already set up to get the best shot. Your pictures are emailed to you after leaving however, you can check them on the machines at the end.

As we came to finish we were gasping for a drink from all the fun and excitement we had just had. Fortunately, the last door you open leads to their café. There are QR codes on the table where you can order a drink and snack directly to your table. This finished the activity and our photos were sent to us within 20 minutes.

This is all we had time to do whilst staying in Amsterdam as it was a flying visit. Next time I visit I will have a whole itinerary planned out now that I know how the public transport works.

Cyclists

Be very careful of the bikes. We were warned about the volume of cyclists in Holland and the amount of times Tayo wondered into their lane and I had to save her life. Well, I’ve lost count haha. She did save mine a few times to, to be fair.

Supermarkets

The main supermarket we saw whilst in Amsterdam was Albert Heijn. This is where we picked up our Stroodwafels to take home to the family, they are everywhere and sell everything supermarkets sell. This will save you some €€ when wanting drinks, instead of popping into a shop on the streets.

Hyper Jar Bank account

We are already Hyper Jar account users. Hyper Jar is a pre paid account I set up so that the girls have a free bank account each. This account became very useful to me In Amsterdam as there is no extra charges when using it, whereas when I used my bank card to begin with they were taking extra fees off on top. If you would like to join Hyper Jar then I would appreciate it if you could join through my referral link.
https://click.hyperjar.com/dHNL/dcwyt3s1

Do not forget to check out when using Trains/Metro

But, if you do, do not worry as you can get a refund.

We did not realised we did this until the next day when checking our bank accounts. Public transport in Amsterdam is one of the best in the world as well as it being cheap. Make sure you tap in and out with your card or you will be charged for whole line like we were. You can request a refund on their website which is what we are currently trying to do.

Amsterdam Travel and tips group on Facebook

This group has been incredible for helping me not only plan but also ask stilly questions about what to wear. Lots of locals on this group who want to help you explore their country and get the most out of your trip. If you are on Facebook then check this one out.

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