so I’m going to try and surprise the misses this year and take her to amsterdam (and no not the red light district as we will have the kids with us) for her birthday…
I have been looking around and deciding to go by ferry as is by far the cheapest and is only an hours drive the other end to amsterdam.
however I cannot find a hotel I can afford does anyone know any areas that are close by that are nice? I’m talking say 30 mins on public transport I’m driving there but want to leave the car once I get there.
I would avoid taking the car anywhere near Amsterdam - it is not very vehicle friendly. Almost all the tourist destinations are within walking distance of the central station. The Dutch railways are also efficient and cheap. I would therefore consider staying in one of the nice quieter Dutch cities like Leiden or Utrecht and getting the train into Amsterdam.
FFS dont go by ferry:w00t:Mrs CM’s bruv lived and worked in Amsterdam and we used to visit on a regular basis;)
One time i was feeling a bit tight and instead of the usual KLM flights I decided to go by ferry and it turned into a living nightmare:hehe:
When you’re over there, its public transport all the way, the trains and trams are pennies and run like clockwork.
We did stay in a hotel once called Acacia in the jordaan (garden) district which is very pretty and right near the city centre. I will dig out some info.
If you book in advance you will get very cheap flights to Amsterdam. When I lived there both my parents and brother all got their combined return flights for less than £100 with Easyjet over the xmas period.
The ferry is a mission this side, unpleasant while on it and a mission the other side. Driving in the centre of Ansterdam is way way worse than driving in central london as you have a lot to look for, pedestrians, cycle lane, cars/buses and trams, not to mention some different rules such as if you’re going straight ona road you have to give way to cars coming from turnings ontghe right if the road has some triangle markings on it :crazy: . If you’re not familiar with it stick to public transport.
Wow Amsterdam. When I fly there to visit my parents it usually costs about 100 pounds flying with Bmi. Easyjet might be cheaper though, it’d be worth costing up before choosing the ferry.
With respect to driving rules I did my test in Holland (car and bike) so the priority rules are:
“You must give way to traffic approaching from the right where the junction is unmarked and there are equal drivers on equal roads”
“You must take priority from the left where the junction is unmarked and there are equal drivers on equal roads”
With respect to the rank of drivers there are:
Trams. God amongst drivers. You must give way to a tram approaching from the right or the left. To be honest it’s in your interest.
Vehicles, Bicycles, Invalid carriages (I think), Equestrians. These are all equal.
Pedestrians including rollerbladers.
With respect to equal roads:
You don’t have to give way to drivers approaching from the right if they are approaching from an un surfaced road (such as the exit of a field)
You don’t have to give way to drivers approaching from a raised pavement (such as the exit of a drive way)
When to give way:
On Dutch roads they have warning triangles like in the UK and they also have sharks teeth on the ground. The point of the sharks tooth points towards the party who has to give way. This is really important on roundabouts as sometimes the cycle lanes have priority and sometimes they don’t so you must check the triangles.
Final note on bicycles:
In Holland the cyclist is king. If you run one over and kill them then unless you can prove that it was an act of god or suicide then you are at fault. Both of which are hard to prove.
Bells and Holland:
When you hear bells in Holland this is a sign that you are about to get run over by either a tram or a bicycle neither of which (especially the tram) will make any attempt to stop.
I drove a Transit mini-bus over there for New Year (a few years back) with eight people on board. We had no problem, and parked in the centre near to our digs, which was a basement under a coffee shop called “Lucky Mothers”. It was a lot of fun!!
FFS dont go by ferry:w00t:Mrs CM’s bruv lived and worked in Amsterdam and we used to visit on a regular basis;)
One time i was feeling a bit tight and instead of the usual KLM flights I decided to go by ferry and it turned into a living nightmare:hehe:
When you’re over there, its public transport all the way, the trains and trams are pennies and run like clockwork.
We did stay in a hotel once called Acacia in the jordaan (garden) district which is very pretty and right near the city centre. I will dig out some info.
Have fun;)Edit: Found it:Dhttp://www.hotelacacia.nl/index_eng.php?page=1[/quote]I would but here is the cost.Ferry + petrol for car + additional insurance = £175Plane = £432does not really take a rocket sicentest to work out the nest deal.I know the ferry will be pooo but I have no choice to be honest as for the price of the plane, I could get the hotel included!
Leave the kids at home with family and take her on ya own!
I took Dave to Amsterdam as a surprise for his Birthday back in August. We flew with KLM and the flights weren’t to bad. I did book into Swissotel though but you can get nice places for cheaper if you look further out.
As mentioned, don’t drive, its a nightmare and the public transport out there is excellent. The city ain’t that big so is easy to walk from one place to another.
Red light district is worth a visit at night, sex museum is a laugh, canal trip is nice, pedlos are fun, stay off the main streets for drink and food and use the bars and restaurants in the back streets as they’re much cheaper and the staff are friendly. Also visit the torture museum so the missus can get some ideas for when you’re bad!
We loved it there and Dave’s sis and partner joined us and we all said we’ll go back soon.
We’re looking at Budapest, Krakow and Berlin as possibilities for our next trip!
