i don't think a lot of people know this (including dutch people), but i wouldn't recommend the "Vending machine restaurants", because sometimes there are these drunk students who thinks it is funny to go there and pee at the food and then watch someone eat it. It doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen especially in the evening.
As long as you pull off of the bike path you should be fine. As a recent biking tourist I made the mistake once and after that I always waited for a place to pull over. As long as you get out of the way you should be fine. After I started doing that I was in nobody's way
@@nicschintee1511 Yeah Nick, that's not going to happen bro. For cyclists to get back to speed again takes longer than it does for pedestrians. So in general it is accepted that cyclers won't stop. Cars should stop though, but they won't always, so be carefull.
My number 1 dont for Amsterdam.... Dont stay in Amsterdam your whole trip. There are lots of beautiful towns and cities, beaches , lakes etc etc... There is so much to do and its really a waste to spend all your time in the tourist ghetto. Trains are very clean, cheap, frequent and go everywhere. Visit Haarlem, Utrecht , Leiden or Delft and enjoy the countryside while going there from your comfy train seat. You can get to all those towns within the hour from Amsterdam Central Station. Go out there and go see stuff!
@@keesvandermeer8156 For a tourist on a tourist budget I consider 26 euro's for a daytrip cheap yeah. If you think about what hotels , food and drinks in Amsterdam City Center cost at least. And the quality you get for that money is great, at leats compared to the UK for example where train tickets are even more expensive and the trains are usually alot older and less comfortable.
@UC00z2v3KbRcqNvjqtynjonA It has a nice castle with gardens. Renting a bike and tour the countryside is always nice, especially along the river. Its a bit out of the way but if you need a larger city to do some shopping Nijmegen is very nice, and has an historic old town. I would avoid Venlo if possible, they have a problem with people from Germany looking for drugs. Was there recently and saw some pretty dodgy stuff going on at the railway platforms.
Yes, I love the american use of the word restaurant. We in the Netherlands use restaurant for the leisurely long dining establishments where you can dine for hours. Febo is just a fast-food joint. A cafetaria. Americans might even call a foodtruck a mobile restaurant.
So glad you mentioned the bike thing it's super annoying for locals. We use our bikes to go to work/school or whatever and for tourists it's often just a fun thing to do. We take cycling very serious.
That’s something that I really like about the Netherlands. In Germany we also cycle a lot and there are a lot of bike lines but the cycling infrastructure is not nearly as developed as in the Netherlands.
Another dont : DO NOT THINK ITS FUN TO BIKE IN AMSTERDAM. You dont know the rules. You dont know the biking culture. And lets be honest. These people come from a culture where they bike maybe few times a year. Then how busy amsterdam is + people walking everywhere... You willl die when unexperienced on that bike. Im dutch and i dont eaven wanne bike in amsterdam centre and i bike everyday to everywhere
AMEN, it should be forbidden to ride a bike in the city centre for tourists. They really don't know the rules and it's extremely annoying seeing them biking on the roads for the cars, where people walk, like there in England and driving on the left side. People don't seem to understand how dangerous it is to bike here (especially in the centre). I know Dutch people who don't like to bike here. That says a lot.
I've never seen a beggar in Amsterdam, maybe it's because I'm not a tourist. But begging is illegal in Amsterdam and there are enough organizations to help homeless people.
Two tips, if you're a north american don't complain about the small hotel rooms or lack of lifts. Many buildings are old and narrow, and you are in Europe now so expect things to be different and embrace it! Also don't take photos of the prostitutes because ultimately, it's pretty disrespectful. These women are working; and while it's legal they are still sometimes still exploited and treated badly enough by clients.
@@JM-fo1te Interesting comment, however it has nothing to do with the topic under discussion. And how many of the video viewers know enough Dutch history to even begin to understand it?
DjofDeVos Idk where you are from In the netherlands, if you have a €122.32 check, and the stuff was good, you’ll say ‘make it 125’ that’s it Not 10%, that is a lot
Also a don't: If you're going to rent a bike, that's fine. Have fun with it! But don't go biking in clutters of six people expecting not to get yelled at by a burnt-out salaryman who's trying to get somewhere.
Haha, going to Amsterdam next week so I'm trying to become prepared and not be seen as one of those irritating tourists, these things really do help thank you ❤️
I will say one of the best memories I had was sitting on a canal at sunset after enjoying my €5 purchase. I think I sat there for a solid hour just people watching and it was marvelous. But agree - if you don't regularly do it, this is not the time to start. :)
There's parks,museums,libraries in our home countries. So you think we would get on a plane just to visit the Van Gogh museum or Heineken production warehouse!? You are out of your mind. 😴
@@MarcoTube98 nope. It's quite normal to do. It's just that the drugs culture isnt appreciated much by people that dont do drugs. Just smoke your weed if you want to smoke weed, no one will stop you
@@jamie36 i thought this as well but I hate that the poster of the comment has to define himself as normal just for not using weed. I felt like he addressed marijuana users as weird or as abnormal and I don't think it's a correct definition.
Yeah but don't buy them off the street like he said. Hash on the street is often this bunk-crap called "Soap-bar" that contains dirt, tobacco, hard drugs and fk knows what else - fentanyl even!! :o My advice is not to do the drugs at all, but be smart if you do and buy from a coffeeshop/smart-shop and don't *I REPEAT: DON'T* try to bring anything like that back home what-so-ever.. you *WILL* get caught, there is not getting around it
Nice video man, i am born in amsterdam and live right next to it in a village. And you are totaly true about everything. You doing great giving tourist this info. They think we all dutch peaple take drugs. But that's is totaly wrong. Maybe 10 procent or less does weed or something different😂
As always your advice is wise, practical and worldly. I find your travel videos are the most realistic and personable on RU-vid. Thank you for making them.
I've tested this strategy with some of his other videos. This one is the best because he is talking about the drugs at the very beginning. It's a a great start for the effect to be so funny as the video continues to different topics.
when did you visit Amsterdam? as the "IAMsterdam" letters on the background have been removed since December 2018 ;) So, must be somewhere around no later than september '18? and next to that: go see the rest of the Netherlands, in Example, the Oldest town of "Holland", Dordrecht! it's a REALLY beautifull city, with a very nice city core, and A LOT of history!
@@abel5695 yes... But I was stating, the oldest town of "Holland", not the Netherlands ;) that, indeed is Nijmegen :) Which, by the way, is ALSO a very beautiful city to visit!
also if you are riding a bike you don't always have the right of way when dealing with cars like you don in North America - almost found this out the hard way just outside of Amsterdam
There are little triangles indicating priority. If they point at you, you don't have priority, and have to let the others pass. These triangles are on both, the car and the bike lanes. So watch out for these!
Great video Mark! I'm from Amsterdam and always love to see the perspective from an outsider in to my city. I do think theres so much more then the things you say. Amsterdam is a beautiful city as you say. And the cheesy canal tour is a must! I think things people should do (because 90% of the tourists do the same things with in the city centre) is: - Going to other neighborhoods in the city (de Pijp: hip/student district, great food places and a lot of amazing places to grab a drink), Oud-Zuid: the poshest area of the city, a bit quiet but with amazing food places and just around the corner with the biggest park, the Vondelpark and it's at the Museumdistrict, Noord: for more industrial sight seeing and a lot of art and hidden bars, The Amstel, it's the biggest river and i love most of the bars there) - Grab the tram/subway. The system is great in Amsterdam and almost every place is within 30 minutes from the centre. - Go to a 'bruine kroeg', or a typical Dutch café. If you want to meet and really know the locals, it's a must-see - Don't go out in at the touristy bars/clubs. They are awful. Amsterdam has a great club scene and festival scene. If you like clubbing or going to festivals, in the summer there are A LOT of great festivals around the city. djguide is a site where you can find clubs and in the summer the festivals. - Go to festivals across the city. Amsterdam has a festival almost every week somewhere in the city. Can be something as a food festival, neighborhood festival, wine festival, kids festival. Don't think Amsterdam is an 24/7 city. It isn't. Cafe's and bars close around 1 outside the city centre and a lot of them also do within the city centre. Clubbing is more a thing in the weekend, 80-90% of the clubs are not open from monday til thursday/friday. Don't ask every Dutch person if they smoke weed (90% don't, it's quite boring to be asked every time). Don't ride a bike if you don't want to follow the rules. It can be really dangerous and i've had a lot of accidents because a tourist suddenly stops on the middle of the road, suddenly turns or just don't know how to ride a bike. We use a bike for transportation and not for fun (most of the times), so be cautious about that. You don't like it when somebody in the car is driving on the pedestrian side or suddenly stops in the middle of the road in rush hour. I think Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful city's in the world. But only if you try to do more then the Heineken experience, visiting Damsquare and the Red Light District.
@@cianelt9963Pot is a drug yes but it is not illegal inside Amsterdam's Coffee Shops. Each shop is permitted to sell the customer a certain amount per day. In addition each coffee shop is only permitted to have a certain amount on hand to sell. This is heavily regulated by local government. It is illegal to consume pot on the streets but not at home. The Dutch view pot as a "soft drug" similar to how nicotine and alcohol are viewed in the United States. I posted that it's important to say pot (or marijuana) because other drugs are illegal. People (by in large) don't come to Amsterdam to consume drugs besides pot.
@@Kevin_Finch Cianel had it right: www.government.nl/topics/drugs/toleration-policy-regarding-soft-drugs-and-coffee-shops. "the sale of soft drugs in coffee shops is a criminal offence but the Public Prosecution Service does not prosecute coffee shops for this offence." Permitted = technically legal.
@@cianelt9963Pointless arguing. Go visit Amsterdam and walk by the coffee shops, particularly if they have a window open. It is legal in the Netherlands just as window prostitution is. In places like Sweden they have made it illegal to pay to visit a sex worker.
@@atheistweirdo for me the beauty of amsterdam is just in the streets, i recommend to walk the city centre and just see all the wacky and awesome stuff amsterdam has to offer
As a law enforcement officer doing a lot of first aid, I have an addition. Guy and girls, if you take spacecace only eat a small peace. It can take up to 2 hours to feel the effects of it. So take it easy on the cacke! Or you gonna have a bad day.
We were just in Amsterdam three weeks ago at the Ann Frank house and they were telling everybody in line that you could not buy tickets there you had to buy them online. Love your videos.
Susan Doeberl yes, that is true. Thank goodness someone told us this before we went to Amsterdam the first time because that was one of our main reasons for going. And they won’t even let you get in line before the time on your ticket. Of course, we found that we loved the city enough to go back!
good video Mark...I visited the Nederlands last year and I confirm all you said. If I might suggest one more thing I did rent a city bike in Amsterdam and cycled through Waterland up to Volendam...I am not a biker and the bike wasn't great so I was a bit tired when I came back....but guys if you can give it a try...the landscape is beautiful...the air is so fresh...green fields all around with cows and a couple of mills on the way...
I've been to AMS twice and the first time I went in early June and it was wonderful. The second time was the end of July during a heatwave and it was incredibly crowded and hot. Lesson learned.
justinvh depends on the year really. last year july hit 38° degrees in my hometown, Zutphen. I have lived in Indonesia and did my internship in the Philippines but there’s something about Dutch weather that’s making you feel so dirty and energy drained throughout the whole day...
DO NOT, under any circumstances, visit a bakery whilst under the influence of the infamous munchies. I swear, I almost had to remortgage for all the sugary goodness!
Don't harm or annoy the ducks/ birds or any animals in the parks in the city or outside and around. Some people visit Amsterdam just to have some peaceful time in the nature please don't ruin it for them - you can party without making others suffer :)
Another don’t: Don’t just take the first taxi you see. Dowload Uber on your phone and book your taxi that way. The regular taxidrivers ask way too much for short trips. Uber is reasonably priced.
Really good video mate it's my favorite place, but people do a lot of stupid stuff like take truffles and jump the canal very stupid. I've been twenty tIme a plus and not used a bike leave it to the locals there dangerous, get a rickshaw there crazy Bastards but exhilarating. Me and my missus love the canals and the stroopwaffles are awsome. Bikers will not stop they crash in to you and it's your fault . Once you except the cost and the mayhem it's the best place on earth
Awesome city, full of high culture and nice people. My problem was that the two guys I went with just wanted to trawl the red light district all day and night. Not to employ the girls but just to look like they were two children in a sweetshop instead of grown men. You'd have thought they'd never seen a scantily clad woman before. I mean, you've got to see the red light district but once you have either use the place or leave. I'm no prude but I got irritated at that. There's more to do. Next time I'll go with different mates who'll embrace more of the city. No weed for me. Drug tests at work and blow stays in your system able to be detected for ages. Beware of this. Your job might depend on it.
@@tomli5416 cause our culture is getting whiped away by our government. Like changing the name of our golden age. Or pretending that without the EU we'd be starving to death cause we as a country don't have any leverage. Also mass immigration without a integration program. This will effectively whipe out our culture
@@hendrik457 Thank you for your insights. For sure I noticed some complaints like this after I studied a little further about this topic. Just in terms of tourism tho, it seems like the government did quite a bit of effort, things like banning beer bikes, strict rules on Airbnbs, and limitation on new tourism centric businesses like souvenir shops in the city center, and so on. Do you think these can help preserve the local identity?
Tourist tours in Amsterdam. I have noticed frequently how consistently touristic walking tour guides, mainly tell negative lies about the Netherlands. Every time I hear a tourist guide on a walking tour talk in my neighbourhood (around municipal office), he is telling negative propaganda. It can no longer be a coincidence. Touristic tours are hardly ever given by locals anymore, so the info he gives is provided by his company as the "story to tell". I stopped today to confront the guide, he became physically threatening and told me he studied History in the Netherlands. I asked him what country he originally came from, but he refused to tell me this (even after asking several times). He told me I was ruining his tour. I told him he was ruining my country. My conclusion? It is good to hear the point of view on your history from other countries, perspectives, mainly to enrich understanding of own history. It is STUPID to let foreigners tell your history, since (often not always) they tell not your history, but perhaps tell whatever is the agenda of the foreign country they work for.
The most important Don't: Don't go to Amsterdam. There are so many beautiful places in The Netherlands that are worth a visit - you don't have to waste your time in that overrun tourist trap.
Im Dutch and last week i have been in Amsterdam and i didnt feel good by only the smell of drugs. Before you go to Amsterdam BE SURE YOU WATCH YOUR STUFF ALOT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT STEALS YOUR STUFF wow my english is bad. But one day come to amsterdam but be carefull with yourself and your stuff
Even if you do smoke weed, be very careful what you buy in Amsterdam. The strongest weed in Amsterdam is very likely stronger than anything you've ever smoked. Start with some mild hash and work your way up. The first time I went I made the mistake of going into the first coffee shop I saw and ordering the strongest weed there - it wasn't a pleasant experience.
Graham Black not only that, he also forgot to mention be careful with scams. I went to that bulldog coffee shop and I got a pack of joints for 12 euros, I gave the woman a €50 bill and I got distracted by my friend, she didn’t give me the change. When I realised it I went back to her and asked for my money but she didn’t want to give me the change. So you need to be very attentive, learnt a hard lesson.
@@Riyoshi000 Absolutely, Amsterdam is an amazing place but you have to be very careful. People are trying to rip you off or get you into some dodgy situation.
"Don't skip out on the foodhalls so you can eat 20 times". Bro you look like you ate Amsterdam..."20 times"....and the rest. Sorry my apologies I couldn't resist, sure I'm on the large size myself so yea I can't really talk.
My friends and I were there 3 weeks ago, and whenever we will cross a bike path, I'd call out "red is dead" to remind them to watch out for bikes. Haha I remembered your warning in another video! Thanks, Mark!
Don’t take cabs from Schiphol airport without checking the rate. I got scammed paying more than double what the fare should’ve been. Lots of scams with taxi cabs in AMS
Just returned and this was on point. Be careful of bikes, and scooters. Scooters are a menace. Rent a bike a see the city. A damaged ankle prevented me from renting a bike, but on a previous trip i explored. Truely the best way to see city. The "IAmsterdam" Sign...has been moved to another location...thankfully. Too many tourists. Used 'Flagship" boat tours for 2 boat rides and loved them. Boat leaves opposite Anne Frank house. Did "Watertank" for a late sunset beer. We took a small tour to Giethoorn... The wife did damage 2x's at the Noordemarkt. Really ..too much to list. Great city. Ill Be Back!
7 is simple. They try it one time, after that they will never do it again. 😂😂 8 be clear to them. Don't talk with them, just send them away. It is trash, treat them like that! 9 get a place outside Amsterdam. It is cheaper and you can easily visit Amsterdam if you want, but there is more and better outside Amsterdam!
The most overrated city in the world may it be as a tourist destination, business location, etc. my take is Amsterdam is merely an obsession from the English-speaking world, especially the UK. I personally think Frankfurt to be just as great as Amsterdam
Be careful with getting a taxi, they seem to get lost and you have to pay for the privilege. 45 euros for a very long ride which wasn't supposed to be. Sorry Amsterdam never visiting you again.
I'm from Belgium. I went to visit Amsterdam 2 years ago, since Amsterdam is a neighboring country from Belgium. Alot of people come for the weed.( The weed is very good!). You can enjoy visiting museums, or friends and at the same time enjoy the weed.
My favorite day trip from Amsterdam would be Scheveningen, the beach outside Den Haag (the Hague). Although the locals will laugh at your pronunciation of it (and they used that in the war to ferret out Germans who also can't pronounce it) there is a palace there, and lots of other neat stuff. If you don't know where you want to go, Medurodam is also in Den Haag. It's everything in the Netherlands worth seeing in miniature. You could plan where you want to go by what you see there.
Question- when is tulip season in Holland? And I totally agree about taking the canal tour! I can’t imagine going to Amsterdam and not seeing it from the canals.
Jake Dean that’s not correct. Holland is the two provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland. www.holland.com/global/tourism/information/netherlands-vs-holland.htm
Majority of those beggars are imported from eastern european countries like Bulgaria, Romania and Albania. They are forced to handover most of the money they get to people who provided them transportation (from their homecountries to the Netherlands) and shelter while staying in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands you get money and housing from the goverment when your un-employed and have Dutch nationality. So dont have to feel sorry for those beggars, they are part of organised crime, are not Dutch and are capable of looking after themselves (they travel halfway through the continent to scam tourists, are healthy, choosing to make a career of begging from tourists in a country which is not theirs). BTW: when you come via Schiphol airport and want to take a taxi.........TAKE THE OFFICIAL TAXI. There are alot of douchebags there who will approach you offering a ride to Amsterdam. If you do that be prepared to loose hunfreds if not thousands of euros because they WILL rip you off!!!! Any airport employee/official/railway cleck can tell you were the official taxis are. If those douchebags approach you and behave aggresifly, make alot of noice and alert the security or an airport employee, the douchebags will back off garanteed. Because they are NOT allowed to offer a taxi ride (only licensed taxi drivers are) and Schiphol airport is activly chasing after them. Edit: best way to Amsterdam is to go to the railway station (entrance and loket can be found in the mainhall) and take the train to "Amsterdam CS" it is a very short ride, is cheap and when you step out you are in the centre of Amsterdam (and at Amsterdam CS you can also find taxis). * trains are operating from about 06: 00 till about midnight (depending on destination)
Another tip for taxis in the Netherlands: they have BLUE number plates, instead of the standard yellow. You can recognize them that way. Also, if they have the TX-logo (www.google.com/search?q=tx+keurmerk&client=ms-android-motorola-rev2&biw=360&bih=592&tbm=isch&prmd=sinv&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwihmI-f1bfiAhWFKVAKHX30BSIQ_AUIESgC#imgrc=4Ua2547MG2nDBM), they are certified as a good taxi company.
Ive only ever been there 1 time , deffo DO NOT take any photos of the prostitutes , i saw one guy get a cup of piss thrown on him because he had his camera out
There is quit good accomodation available for a decent price if you think out of the box. The public transport is great and a lot of towns are within 20 minutes with Subway, light rail or train. Amstelveen, Haarlem, Amsterdam North, Almere for example. And just half an hour from Amsterdam is another beautiful city: Utrecht, its city center is much older and it has very special old canals with warfs: platforms that are just on water level. And intercities are going at least four times an hour from Amsterdam CS as well as Schiphol Airport. Travelling is cheap so you can even combine several towns and cities and still have much more value for your money. Another tip if you don't like long lanes and want to visit the top museums in Amsterdam: travel outside the busy season. September is for example a very nice month will still acceptable temperatures (no it is not Spain or Italy) but a friendly 15-20 degrees is still very common. Notice that no other city in europe has so much art galeries and just a very few have the combination of having really top museums (Centraal, Stedelijk, Van Gogh) next to one of the best classical orchestras in the world (Concertgebouw), ballet next to a popular music scene that is absolutely top. Whatever your taste is, you can find it in Amsterdam. Drugs and right light districts are also in lesser and cheaper cities available around Europe.
Don't know if someone already said this, but just in case don't hang around drinking beer (or any other alcoholic drink) in public. Even in parks that is forbidden, unless you stop at some picnic area.
