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Our Top 7 Things to Do in Amsterdam on a Budget
Our Top 7 Things to Do in Amsterdam on a Budget
1. Rent Bicycles
One of the first things you’ll notice in Amsterdam is the sheer number of bikes; whilst here we were told that there are more bikes than people in the city! It’s also a very bike oriented city, with bike lanes and separate traffic lights to ensure the safety of cyclists.
If you want to really experience Amsterdam like the locals do then we highly recommend hiring a bike to explore! We even used ours to cycle out to the windmills at Zaanse Schans. This route takes about an hour each way and there are dedicated cycle lanes almost all of the way. We enjoyed being able to see the Dutch countryside and the more rural setting that we wouldn’t have been able to experience if we had stayed in Amsterdam centre.
We rented our bikes with Mac Bike. They have several bike pick up/drop off locations around Amsterdam, allowing you to use the most convenient store for your itinerary. Rental options start at €10 an hour but we recommend paying €25 and selecting the whole day option, better value for your money! There are several bike types available: a simple adults bike or a tandem bike for two or an electric bike for people less accustomed to pedalling all day! Childrens bikes and child seats are also available.
2. Anne Frank House
Even if you haven’t read her diary, the Anne Frank House is a really interesting place to learn about the role Amsterdam had in World War 2, as well as the life of Anne Frank. There is a free audio tour provided at the reception which guides you around the premises, through the warehouse and into the secret annexe where Anne Frank and her fellow Jews hid from the Nazis. There are also lots of visual experiences throughout the property in the form of videos, pictures, letters and official war documents.
We highly recommend a visit here. Both myself (who has read Anne’s diary) and Will (who hasn’t) found the experience educational but also very personal in the way that you can really understand the lives of the people who lived there.
Entrance costs €10 for an adult and in order to get a ticket for the Anne Frank House you must book 1 month in advance due to the popularity of the museum; there are limited tickets and they sell out very quickly! But don’t worry if you miss the one month slot, 20% of the tickets are also released on the day they are valid for. I recommend going to the Anne Frank House museum website at about 8:55am as the tickets go live at 9am. I logged on at 9am exactly and there was already a virtual queue and I was 200th in the line! You need to keep the webpage open and it will update regularly, telling you what your queue position is. I waited about 10mins to be first in the queue and then I was able to choose how many tickets and what time slot I wanted to arrive at.
3. Canals Tour
The canals in Amsterdam were all hand built as an efficient way to transport goods around the city and were a vital part in the economic development of the city. Nowadays, a classic tourist activity is to take a canal tour and view Amsterdam from the waterways.
However, rather than partaking in a crowded tour boat where a guide tells you facts through a microphone, we recommend a quieter and more personal version of the Amsterdam canal tour. We booked an early morning boat tour on airbnb. At that time in the morning the canals are all but deserted and the group size is limited to 15 people so you can ask the host as many questions as you want. We chose this tour as it was recommended by one of my sisters who visited earlier in the year; she came back raving about how quiet and picturesque the canals are in the morning. We totally agree with her! The host of the tour was very knowledgeable; he gave us general facts as well as pointing out his personal favourite parts of the canal. There are several versions of this kind of smaller, more intimate boat tour on airbnb. Most options include breakfast or a snack and the prices typically range from £30-£40 depending on the time of year you visit.
4. Walking Tour
We always do a walking tour when we arrive in a new city. It’s a great way to learn about the local history and culture. On our Amsterdam tour we learnt about the origins of the city and the history behind the canals and the red light district, as well as finding out about the culture of modern Amsterdam. Our favourite fact of the tour was how many bicycles end up in the canals each year, and how the local council just fish them out and sell them back to the locals!
If you want to take a walking tour (which we highly recommend you do!), we suggest booking it for the first day you arrive, so that you can understand a bit more about the landmarks and things to look out for whilst wandering the streets. Often the tour guide will also give you local tips about where you can find good food for a cheap price or which tourist traps to avoid!
We booked a ‘free tour’ for our Amsterdam trip which is not, as the name suggests, completely free. It just means that you don’t pay anything upfront to go on the tour, it operates purely on tips. We prefer these kinds of tours because you know the guide will give you their best tour each time in order to get the best pay! It also means you pay how much you think the tour was worth and won’t end up paying an extortionate amount for something you didn’t enjoy. We usually give £5-£10 each depending on how much we enjoyed the tour and how big the group is.
5. Red Lights Secrets Museum
This museum is a great way to see what’s on the other side of the windows in the red light district without getting up to no good! You can learn about the history of the red light district and the steps that have been taken to legalise prostitution in Amsterdam in order to improve the safety of everyone involved. There are also interesting stories from some of the women that have worked in the red light district over the years.
We paid €12.50 for an all-day ticket; this means you can go during the day if you want to avoid seeing the red light district in full swing (we understand it’s not to everyone’s taste!) or you can go late and see the red light district when it’s open and running as the museum is open until midnight. Note: the minimum age for entry is 18yrs.
6. Windmills
If you’re like me then the classic image of a windmill is what comes to mind when you think of Amsterdam and seeing a Dutch windmill was definitely on my trip bucket list! If your visit to the Netherlands is Amsterdam based like ours, then the best place to see some traditional windmills is at Zaanse Schans.
It’s completely free to walk around and explore the outside area of Zaanse Schans where there is a collection of small traditional houses, workshops and souvenir shops. The views of the windmills from the village are exactly what I had hoped for! There is also the option to buy tickets to enter some of the windmills if you fancy getting up close or you could visit one of the surrounding museums to learn more about the history of the local’s daily lives. There is also a chocolate factory close by that you can visit which makes the whole area smell amazing!
The easiest public transport option from Amsterdam centre is to take the sprinter line train for 20mins to Koog-Zaandijk station and then walk the remaining 10mins to Zaanse Schans. There is also a bus option; route 391 takes 50mins, longer than the train, but will drop you right outside. However, we decided to opt for a more scenic option: we cycled from Amsterdam centre. The ride took us about an hour each direction and we were able to see lots of the countryside along the way. The route is not clearly signposted until you are nearly there so either a map or a phone with data is highly recommended if you do want to cycle!
7. Day Trip to The Hague
Why not add a day trip to the seat of the Netherlands government? It’s about an hour from Amsterdam and well worth a visit. This city has a mixture of historical buildings, museums and modern shopping streets.
We paid £8.80 each for return bus tickets from Amsterdam city centre. When we arrived we did a free walking tour (don’t forget to tip though!) and our very knowledgeable guide was able to tell us all about how The Hague was founded and some facts about the modern history of the city. My favourite fact was about the small island right outside the parliament building that has to be protected from people due to the wild marijuana that grows there! We were also lucky to be able to visit the Christmas market, due to the time of year we visited, which was decorated with fairy lights and had very delicious pastries for sale!
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