5 Tips to Plan an Amazing Girls Trip to Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one beautiful city that oozes charm and will make you fall in love with its design, architecture, and numerous colorful attractions along the canals. If your plan is to have a girls’ trip to Amsterdam, then this is a perfect guide for you.

Despite Amsterdam being a small city, it has lots of sites to tour, and multiple fun activities to enjoy on your girls’ trip. This, however, can make the girls’ trip to Amsterdam quite daunting as you try to figure out where to start and what to do once you are there.

Deciding on the right tours, hotel bookings, where to visit, where to eat, or even how to get there, can easily turn out to be overwhelming. Nonetheless, planning a girls’ trip to Amsterdam can be a perfect weekend getaway or even a trip of a lifetime.

To make the whole trip worth your while, here are some basic tips that you should incorporate into your planning.

How to Plan for the Best Girls’ Trip to Amsterdam

If you’re wondering how to plan the perfect trip to Amsterdam, follow these steps to maximize your time visiting the “Venice of the North.”

Know how to get there (efficiently)

If it’s your first trip to Amsterdam, you need to understand the various means available for you to get to the city. Amsterdam has the third busiest airport in Europe, Schiphol Airport, with over 108 airlines flying to and from various worldwide destinations. This, therefore, means that the city is quite accessible from any point in the world.

It’s, however, advisable to research your local airlines and choose the best option. Once at the airport, you can find taxis and rideshares that can easily get to your hotel/accommodation.

Besides, if you are in Europe, Amsterdam is a short train ride from various points such as London, Cologne, and Paris. But to minimize your travel expenses, it is important to understand the various transport means, as well as their rates.

While various airlines might have some discounted rates for this beautiful city, on other occasions, a train would be much cheaper and enjoyable.

Determine the best time to visit

It is essential to consider the seasons and weather when planning a girls’ trip to Amsterdam. This helps you arrange the activities that you might undertake, what to pack, and what to wear. Amsterdam is a good place to visit all year round, but the ideal tourist season is between April and September.

These months have mild temperatures, blooming flowers, and longer days, which provide a perfect opportunity to fully enjoy the city’s daytime activities. However, the other months should also not be ignored. If you want to avoid overcrowded sites and city streets, cold months are a perfect choice.

During the holidays, you can also get a chance to enjoy the city’s ‘winter wonderland’. This is when the lights in homes, businesses, and streetlights lighten up the city while the canals reflect the lights, creating quite a spectacle.

Besides, during the cold season, airfare and hotel accommodations are less expensive, thus making the girls’ trip to Amsterdam less expensive.

See Related: Pulitzer Hotel Amsterdam Review

Find Fun, Reasonable Accommodation

Amsterdam has various accommodation options either for long vacations or short stays. The city booms with five-star hotels to budget-friendly bookings and hostels. Booking options such as Booking.com are among the cheapest ways to secure hospitable and safe accommodations. But is Amsterdam safe for girls? Well, I guessed you might ask.

The city is pretty much safe from crime, but you need to watch out for pickpockets just like in any other city around the world. Although some neighborhoods, such as the Red Light District, used to be unsafe, the authorities have done a great job in ensuring that safety issues have declined over the decade.

If you are looking for cute and safe neighborhoods in Amsterdam for girls, Jordaan is a beautiful neighborhood to consider. The neighborhood is characterized by its narrow alleys, 17^th– century houses towering over leafy canals, designer boutiques, cafes, and quirky specialty shops.

Jordaan is a perfect neighborhood to spend a night while on a girls’ trip to Amsterdam since it is relatively cheap and close to the city center. Additionally, it harbors several fun clubs, nightclubs, and restaurants that will help wind down the day as you have fun with the girls.

However, this does not mean that the other neighborhoods are any bad. You might want to check out some other affordable accommodations and hotels such as Canal House, Oud Zuid, Kimpton DeWitt, and De Wallen in the famous Red Light District. If you need a longer list, check out these best hotels in the Netherlands.

See Related: Best Things to do in Haarlem, Netherlands

Things to Do in Amsterdam

After planning your accommodation, make sure you have enough places to visit during the girls’ trip. The city has several attractions, and it would be good to plan beforehand, rather than arriving and feeling confused about where to go and where not to.

To fully enjoy a trip, whether as a group or an individual, it’s advisable to first list down various activities that you intend to do and then prioritize the sites you intend to visit.

This helps you not feel overwhelmed and also maximizes the limited time of the trip. Here are some of the activities, as well as what to see in Amsterdam.

Explore the Canals

Amsterdam is famous for its extensive canal system that curls its way within the city. There are over 165 canals that form a unique layout for the city as the streets follow the canal belt. While visiting this beautiful city, you definitely cannot afford to miss out on the fun of a canal cruise.

There are always several cruises and boats ready to give tourists a ride around the city through the water-filled canals. By hopping on to a cruise, you give yourself a chance to relish the breeze as you explore Amsterdam’s most notable architecture that towers alongside the canals.

Enjoy your trip while exploring Amsterdam by getting a guide for a canal tour for as low as €13.65 per person. The city’s view, while exploring the canals, is breathtaking!

Walk and Shop the Nine Streets

These are nine streets that are located in the heart of Amsterdam and the middle of the canal belt. They are tiny streets but are full of life, as well as little shops and cafes. You can freely take a stroll as you get to interact with the locals and experience some authentic Dutch lifestyle.

Besides, it is a perfect place to go shopping with the girls, take iconic photos, and also enjoy some bites in local cafes. A walk through De 9 Straatjes can never be boring as the streets are awe-inspiring and infused with the swirling canals across them. You may enhance the experience by having a personalized tour guide through De 9 Straatjes.

Visit the Floating Flower Market of Bloemenmarkt

Girls and flowers are inseparable. This makes Bloemenmarkt such an interesting and fun place to wander during a girls’ trip to Amsterdam. Bloemenmarkt happens to be the only floating flower market in the world as it has several shops inside a row of floating barges.

When visiting the flower market, you can purchase flower bulbs and tulips to take back home with you as souvenirs. Even though you won’t buy any flowers, it’s a good spot to wander around as you admire the tulips and take cute pictures to share with friends.

Enjoy the Museums and Art Galleries

Amsterdam has a rich cultural background and has quite a large number of museums, art galleries, and theaters. The city has more than 50 museums to spice up your trip and is argued to have the most extensive museums per inhabitant around the globe.

These museums vary from big to small, featuring domains such as beer, art, history, and sex. Some great museums to spice up your girls’ trips include the Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, The Van Gogh Museum, and the Sex Museum. Other interesting art galleries worth your time include Herman Brood Gallery, Galerie Delaive, and Galerie De Appel.

See Related: Best Irish Pubs in Amsterdam

Snap a pic with the I Amsterdam Sign

If you want to flash up your Instagram, why not do so with a cute picture while standing on the I AMSTERDAM sign with your fellow girls? The sign is located just in front of Schipol Airport, and it’s free to climb and take pictures.

It is an iconic sign that is always busy with tourists trying to get a perfect snap. If you want to peacefully take pictures of the I AMSTERDAM sign with the girls, it is advisable to visit the site early in the morning or later in the day when the place is less crowded.

Ride Bikes Around the City

The city is quite known for its bike-riding culture as it has more bicycles on the road than cars. Feel free to discover and tour around the city on a bike as you can easily hire one from the various bike rental spots. You can have fun as a group as you cycle through the streets and experience Amsterdam’s famous cycling culture.

If you are planning to travel to Amsterdam for a girls’ trip, you can enjoy a guided tour around the city on a unique Amsterdam Bubbly Bike. This can be among the best Amsterdam tours for girls as it’s a fun way to burn calories as you pedal along while sipping your bubbly glass.

See Related: Best Beers in Amsterdam

Money-Saving Tips for Visiting Amsterdam

Finally, let me share with you some hacks for saving a few coins during a girls’ trip to Amsterdam. One of these tips that might come in handy if you are traveling on a budget is purchasing an I Amsterdam City Card.

The card grants you free access to major highlights of the city, canal cruises, bicycle rent, as well as major museums. The card’s price is dependent on its validity period. For instance, a 24-hour city card sells for around €50, while a 48-hour city goes for €80.

Purchasing a city card is a great way to minimize expenses as you get free and unlimited access to most attraction activities and sites within Amsterdam. While taking taxis and rideshares around the city can be quite expensive, you can utilize public transportation or like the locals – ride a bike!

Another tip to minimize expenses would be booking accommodation in cool neighborhoods beyond the city center. This could include places such as Haarlem, Plantagebuurt, and De Pijp.

The neighborhoods have quality accommodations for a perfect girls’ trip to Amsterdam and are less expensive compared to those in the city center.

Related Resources

• Amsterdam vs Copenhagen
• Travel Hacking 101
• Reasons Why Traveling is Important
• Travel From London to Amsterdam
• Where Should You Travel for Your Birthday?