Hey all! New to the forum, but I have been reading posts for about a year now. I have done a lot of "basic" research to plan our trip, but decided to post some questions now (yes, I have done some searching on here and a few other forums, but I like this one the best). Here is some information regarding the trip planned so you all can have a good idea of what's going on for my trip. There are between 10-12 of us planning our trip the last week in March '07. One female will be joining us and she doesn't smoke, but is cool with the coffee shop visits and us smoking non-stop. Three of us are heading over on sky-miles, and the others are booking their flights seperately. We are all in out mid 20's and none of us have been here before. 1.) Is there a Hotel that will allow for more than two guests per room? We are looking for a place that will allow four people to a room. 2.) Our plans are to walk pretty much everywhere we go and if we need a ride somewhere, then we will spring for a fare...is this an economical way to do it? 3.) I heard there is a really cool pass that you can pre-purchase that allows you to visit several of the "attractions" (Anne Frank House, VG museum, tulip gardens, Heini Brewery, AMS canal cruise, walking tour, and historical museum...Feel free to add things to the list. What is the name of the pass and is it really worth purchasing? 4.) We are still up inthe air about a hotel, but we will stay somewhere centrally located, but would like some advice on the best bang for the buck, and preferrably a place that is "smoke friendly". 5.) Is it reasonable to think that we will be able to do all the tourist stops and in-between, head to different shops to sample their goods? 6.) Food: I have heard that the pricing for food is all over the place. Most of us are trying to do this trip on a tight budget, so recommendations for some innexpensive places are welcomed. 7.) Should we plan on packing our own red-bull or is there something even better that will give us our energy boost while we are there? 8.) What is the most accurate website to give us a prediction of what we can expect weather wise so we know what to expect? 9.) Where can we find the most inexpensive way to travel between countries if we decide to take a trip somewhere outside of Amsterdam. I once read it's pretty innexpensive to fly between different european countries. Also, as crazy as it might sound, is it pretty easy to sneak a spacecake in our lunch box while traveling outside of Amsterdam? haha Please feel free to give us your thoughts and opinions about anything. Thanks!
Right ON! Sounds like your group is gonna have one helluva time. Ain't nothin' quite like the "1st" time either. Gettin' lost and everything that it entails. Check out the Hotel Abba for your multiple persons per room request. Great place with a nice location outside of the Centrum, but don't let that scare you as it is smoke friendly as the day is long. Tram stop out front to get ya where you wanna go and back with ease. Grocery store downstairs and a awesome park a block or two away. Hotel Abba For getting around on trams is a great way to do it, but bikes RULE. Look into renting bikes for sure. My suggestion is as follows... Bike City The Pass you're referring to is known as the I Amsterdam Pass. More information can be found HERE. It's well worth the euro for your "1st" trip especially. Don't expect to get EVERYthing in in terms of tourist stops. Each one takes time and above ALL else you've gotta have something for the next trip. Which you WILL be planning as soon as you board the plane for home. LOL! Trust me on this one. Albert Heijn grocery stores are all over the city and the biggest piece of quick advice I can give for saving euros on food is to hit up these grocery stores for some sandwich goodies to get you by for a few days at the least. If you've got enough for Take-Out check out Wok To Walk and Kantjil To Go Indonesian. "F" Red Bull. Hit the Smartshops located all over town for your "Upper" needs and shroom if you're so inclined. My favorite is Kokopelli (Conscious Dreams). Weather.com Amsterdam is your best bet for weather forecasts imo. As for travel between countries, the train would be your cheapest option I believe. Hit up Centraal Station and check out your options. Or you could go HERE for more information. Above all else... Have a grande trip and look for more advice from others soon. You only have a small incling of what awaits you mi Amigo! Good times to say the very least. Check out this thread for a great FAQ concerning Amsterdam. Rock ON
Thank you for the very thorough response. We all appreciate it. My roommate just picked up some books abouut the city with maps and everything...so it's giving us a really good visual of where things are in reference to each other. As far as shrooms, I am not opposed to them. As with smoke, I am a Sativa lover myself...and am not after the strongest stuff....I love to be elevated, but not to the point where I can't function..and the Indicas tend to make me on the sleepy side towards the end of a day..haha. I was at a friend's house last night whose sister is in from England and loves her visits to A-Dam. She said it's got to be the coolest place on earth, so I am sure many more visits will be planned! Thanks again...keep the info. coming!
I'm a sativa lover also, Edge, so this I can help you with since I was just there for the Cannabis Cup. The Martian Mean Green is one of the best sativas I've ever had, but it could be a little strong, not sure how your tolerance is. You can find that at Grey Area, which is one of the best places to buy your weed in the Dam. Nevilles Haze is also wonderful and not as strong, you can get this at Grey Area or Tweede Kamer... I bought it at Tweede Kamer in Nov. and bought some from Grey Area back in June. Good strain wherever you buy it! My favorite of all... NYC Diesel. It's not as strong as the others, but one taste and you'll fall in love. It has a taste and smell I have never experienced with any other weed. DON'T miss that strain!!! I promise you're gonna love it. You can buy it pretty much anywhere, but I'd stick with Amnesia, Grey Area, Tweede Kamer, Dampkring, Barneys and Pink Floyd for your gear. Siberie can have nice stuff as well. Don't know where you're staying but if you're close to Bluebird, that's also nice... try the Blue Cheese. Doesn't look like it's good, but it IS. Barneys also has some awesome sativas... try the G13 Haze, the Willie Nelson and Laughing Buddha Pink Floyd has Buddhas Sister, which is also a very nice one. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure Morning Glory is a sativa because I loved it as well (got it at Barneys). The flavor... YUM-O! Those are off the top of my head... Ill give you more as I think about it. Hope you have a BLAST!, islandgurl
I've got a few strains that are dear to my heart and always "try" to hunt them down during my Springtime visits. Unfortunately, or probably fortunately to be honest, there are some killer strains that get thrown to the wayside to keep menus changing and fresh. "Cheese" from Homegrown Fantasy is a prime example of a great strain that has disappeared. For current information on what's hot and not, I suggest checking out the Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory Forum. The members there seem to focus more on what's good and where to get it. Specifically a member known as "jbomb" has even posted weekly weed reports. ACD Forum NYC Diesel is definitely a favorite. You can in fact find it at most shops. In reality though, the quality of the same strain, Diesel and others, can vary greatly depending on the grower and which particular batch a shop has at the time. IMO, your best bet is to find someone from the ACD Forum or elsewhere that is there or has been "recently". Ask their opinions on what and where. Your chances of finding "the best" of a given strain will greatly improve. Even better is to ask the budtender at your shop of choice what's the best they have on offer for your tastes. Many will gladly take the time to point you in the right direction and will be more than happy to show off their wares if it's not too busy. Grey Area is probably my favorite shop for consistently righteous gear and good service, although it's a tiny place and not the best hang when it gets crowded. They certainly had the best Diesel of last years' trip, known as Grey Diesel. Not sure if it's on the menu anymore. I posted a few pics of my favorite gear from last years' trip HERE and from past trips in my HIP Forums gallery. Just to give you an idea of what you're in for. Ain't nothing like planning and researching for a trip to our beloved city. It's sure to pay off once you guys arrive. Have a grande trip mi amigo!
Thanks for everying guys. A few of us have pretty much decided to stay at the Fying Pig for our trip (some are going to stay at a hotel). I am leaning towards the Downtown FP because it seems like more of a party atmosphere than Uptown - your comments are welcomed. Do most of the shops take credit cards for our smoke purchases? I also read the the grocery stores/food marts might not take cards...is this true? Thanks again!
Glad to hear you've got your pad arrangements in order. The Flying Pig downtown is in a great location to experience the Centrum area and RLD. If you an all get the same room then it'll lessen the hassle of trusting your roomies. As for Credit Cards... Some Coffeeshops do the CC thing, others don't. I know Willie Wortel shops over in Haarlem do, and I think Dampkring, but I could be mistaken on the later. IMO, your best bet is to use Debit Cards and ATM's exclusively. Save interest fees and get the best exchange rate for your $$. Although the thought of having a CC receipt for purchasing gear is a good one. LOL!
1. yes, try the crowne plaza if u want; im sure there are plenty of other places as well. 2. depends what you want to see, id recommend walking everywhere. 3. museumkaart. its like 20 euros, you can pick it up in any major museum. 4. me and my friends had a smoking room in the crowne plaza, the hallway smelled like bud about 20 feet from our door. we got a few comments on it, none really negative. so basically a smoking room means you can smoke tbco. or green although it may be poor decorum. 5. each shop sells at the smallest a G unless you buy a prerolled J, you'll probably have too much to try every shop; you're tolerance will become astronomical adn you'll lose alot of money. i just got back from a week there and i probably spent 150-200 on bud/hash alone. with my two friends we probably spent around 500 on green total. and this was smoking like 3x a day usually.
for real. the best i smoked in a-dam was probably white widow but i forget which shop it was from. me and a friend went upstairs in the shop and kind of drew a look of contempt from the locals (we were using a bong, i guess that's rude) so we left after only a few packs, but i was pretty high. the white widow i bought from somewhere else wasnt quite as good though, i forget the name of the place.
You guys have given us some awesome information. We are on the phone with Delta booking our flights as I am typing. We leave from Florida on March 28th and arrive into Amsterdam on 3/29 @ 11am (we fly through Zurich, Switzerland). The "couple" who's going over there is staying at one of the 4-star Best Westerns for $180/night (for a 4-star, that's pretty good in my opinion). I will be staying at the Flying Pig Downtown. It's amazing how many people say they are going, and then when it's time to actually book things, it turns into a, "Well, I'm not really sure now...." So I might be staying alone at the Flying Pig. I hope to meet some awesome people to party with all night. I hear it's pretty easy to hook up with some cool hotties while there too...looking forward to that. I will keep you all posted as soon as I get more planned. Thanks again!
ill be there march 23-31st for less then 500eur the week. Where did yous book your flights at? Im leaving from PA
