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Amsterdam (an' first time abroad)
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
The only time I have traveled was in 2006, volunteering with friends in Nepal and apart from that, I have never been on holiday abroad. My last holiday was seven years ago with family, but the only time I went on holiday with friends, was ten years ago (camping in North wales lol!)...
And so this year, I'll finally have the money to go abroad somewhere, but I really have no idea how to organise a holiday as I haven't really been on one alone so to speak and haven't done a holiday abroad either...
I have thought about going to Amsterdam, as it's relatively close and I have heard it's pretty cool... I'd only be going for a weekend as well...
I have thought about Couchsurfing, but also about maybe getting a hostel and then seeing who I meet when I get there, as I'm a pretty friendly person and have absolutely no issue talking to strangers.
My main aim is just to chill out, meet people, see somewhere new and absorb some culture.
Does anybody have any idea how much I need to budget for this? Are hostels very expensive?
Any advice for a first time traveler?
Note: I'm a woman, going it alone... Is Amsterdam safe?
And so this year, I'll finally have the money to go abroad somewhere, but I really have no idea how to organise a holiday as I haven't really been on one alone so to speak and haven't done a holiday abroad either...
I have thought about going to Amsterdam, as it's relatively close and I have heard it's pretty cool... I'd only be going for a weekend as well...
I have thought about Couchsurfing, but also about maybe getting a hostel and then seeing who I meet when I get there, as I'm a pretty friendly person and have absolutely no issue talking to strangers.
My main aim is just to chill out, meet people, see somewhere new and absorb some culture.
Does anybody have any idea how much I need to budget for this? Are hostels very expensive?
Any advice for a first time traveler?
Note: I'm a woman, going it alone... Is Amsterdam safe?
Post edited by JustV on
0
Comments
http://goamsterdam.about.com/od/planatrip/f/safetyquestion.htm
I found a health food shop as well, so didn't have to live off chips and salad the whole time I was there
When I went, the people there seemed really friendly (but not always willing to speak English). The centre of Amsterdam, Dam Sqaure is really touristy and therefore a lot more expensive, but the quieter areas aren't bad in terms of price.
If you were wanting to visit places such Anne Frank's house I'd say go early in the morning, it's really busy later in the day.
I would go for a hostel i've not stayed in one for years but i can' imagine they are very expensive and i imagine there are loads - however i suspect in amsterdam you probably need to choose where you stay wisely - as i can imagine that there are lots which may well be full of people who just want to get stoned all day and have raucous parties so if thats not your sort of thing you might need to do a bit of investigating and make sure you read the reviews.
Hostels are good for meeting travellers and in my experience there is a good mix of single travellers and people travelling with a friend and a lot of hostels are very friendly so you'll probably find people to hang out with.
That's something to think about too!