I Amsterdam City Cards
When Flyfour and I first started thinking about going to Amsterdam, we did it with the idea that we would do it as cheaply as we could. Cheap because, well we're a family of four living on one wage and we try to do almost everything frugally (apart from gadgets, we do spend a lot on gadgets). We found a fairly cheap, but decently reviewed hotel, booked it and then started on a list of things we wanted to do and working out if we'd drive or fly. We decided to drive as it was cheaper, and well Flyfour loves a road trip.
There was a long list of places that we wanted to visit, to stand outside of, to eat food at, to walk around, to shop at, to look at, to soak in the atmosphere of and of course to take selfies at. Then there were the places that you can't miss if you are going to Amsterdam. Things like the Museums, going on a Canal Cruise, and of course stereotypical Netherlands stuff like Windmills and Clogs and Cheese and people on bikes and Tulips!
Luckily, because Flyfour has been so often/researched a bit he knew about the I Amsterdam city cards, which you can either buy in advance of your trip, or at the Central Train Station or Airport and they then cover the cost of your journeys on public transport, (so Trams, Buses and the Metro but not trains) and entry into several Museums (so you don't have to queue to buy tickets!) and other attractions around the city, give you discounts in several places (to visit or eat at) and on top of that you get a "free" Canal Cruise too.
These cards, are such an amazing idea and although expensive as an initial outlay, do mean you can save a small fortune on your trip to Amsterdam if you are into visiting the attractions, rather than just going to soak up the atmosphere. We certainly saved a small fortune, as Top Ender (who is into this sort of nerdy stuff) decided to add up the cost for entry to the various attractions we went to and realised that based on ticket prices for entries to the attractions we went to, our City Cards had paid for themselves after four attractions and so technically our travel around the City, and any other attractions we went to were free.
Which is super frugal, which apparently all Dutch people are.
If you are planning a trip to Amsterdam, I honestly recommend you check out the city cards!
There was a long list of places that we wanted to visit, to stand outside of, to eat food at, to walk around, to shop at, to look at, to soak in the atmosphere of and of course to take selfies at. Then there were the places that you can't miss if you are going to Amsterdam. Things like the Museums, going on a Canal Cruise, and of course stereotypical Netherlands stuff like Windmills and Clogs and Cheese and people on bikes and Tulips!
Luckily, because Flyfour has been so often/researched a bit he knew about the I Amsterdam city cards, which you can either buy in advance of your trip, or at the Central Train Station or Airport and they then cover the cost of your journeys on public transport, (so Trams, Buses and the Metro but not trains) and entry into several Museums (so you don't have to queue to buy tickets!) and other attractions around the city, give you discounts in several places (to visit or eat at) and on top of that you get a "free" Canal Cruise too.
These cards, are such an amazing idea and although expensive as an initial outlay, do mean you can save a small fortune on your trip to Amsterdam if you are into visiting the attractions, rather than just going to soak up the atmosphere. We certainly saved a small fortune, as Top Ender (who is into this sort of nerdy stuff) decided to add up the cost for entry to the various attractions we went to and realised that based on ticket prices for entries to the attractions we went to, our City Cards had paid for themselves after four attractions and so technically our travel around the City, and any other attractions we went to were free.
Which is super frugal, which apparently all Dutch people are.
If you are planning a trip to Amsterdam, I honestly recommend you check out the city cards!