Sips & Trips with Molly

Amsterdam, a place you can never get bored of. From the history to the nature, there’s so much to explore that you will need multiple trips if I’m being honest. I have been twice and I still need to go back to do more stuff.

I spent 4 days away in Amsterdam which was a great amount for a city break over the weekend and this guide will help you to plan out your weekend break.

How to Get There

One of the quickest ways to get there is to fly, you can usually get cheaper flights from London or one of the main cities in the UK. The one thing to consider is the time to get to the airport, waiting there and then getting to your hotel from Amsterdam.

This time, we opted to get the Eurostar because it was cheaper. Yes, it takes 4 hours but we were extremely comfortable, there was a bar on board and it drops you right in the centre which I loved.

Where to Stay

There are different types of hotels you can stay at in Amsterdam at different budget options. The more I go to Amsterdam I will update this list. The one we stayed at recently was called the Ciao Papa Hotel right in the centre about 5 minutes from the airport.

For 3 nights stay for 2 of us we paid £551.59 – about £90 a night which was a good price for what we got. We didn’t want anything too cheap but also affordable that had nice rooms.

Be aware if you go, the steps are steep. We also got an upgrade which was lovely and the room itself was so so modern. The two things I found odd were the bathroom door didn’t reach the floor and you could hear people outside the room quite easily. To be honest both wouldn’t put me off coming again as it was a great hotel with everything you needed.

Day 1

We opted for a 11am time Eurostar to get to Amsterdam which got us into the city for around 5pm. You can get an earlier train but as we were travelling from Southampton, we wanted to give ourselves time to get to London before our train.

By the time you check into the hotel, we wanted to go out straight away to explore. Amsterdam at night is so so beautiful, especialy if you go closer to Christmas time. The lights beautifully light up the streets and the whole architecture at night is just as beautiful during the day. If you head towards the Red Light District you will find streets of restaurants and bars which usually are busy but you can find a spot easily. The restaurant we went to was Gusto Italian Steakhouse – we just needed a good pasta and pizza dish to finish the day off. There are also plenty of late night bakeries for a pastry to end the night.

Day 2

Day 2 we wanted to pack the day in with activities. First up was the Anne Frank House. This was my second visit to the house and I was much more prepared for it. The first time I went I was overwhelmed with the amount of people in there and it feels very crammed when you are there – perhaps thats how you are meant to feel when you are there. It is extremely emotional as you learn even more history but a must visit if you are in the city.

After Anne Frank House, you might want to do something to lighten up the day because you do take in a lot of information. Grab yourself a coffee & croissant and head to this vintage viral photobook at The Hoxton. Costs about €6 a go but I saw it on TikTok and I had to go. Beware of the flash it caught us out a few times!

Wondering around the city can take it’s time so you might want to head to lunch. Yes, we went to the famous TikTok place Fabel Friet – there was a queue but it went quick. We only waited about 10 minutes in total and it was worth it.

There are so many topping options it was hard to decide. My cousin went for cheese and ketchup, and I went for ketchup and truffle mayo. From what I remember the price was very reasonable.

It’s time to explore the centre of Amsterdam. You don’t want to pack too much into one day because you will be knackered. I recommend visiting Dam Square and from there you can have a drink at one of the bars & do some shopping – the shops are absolutely incredible.

We chose that evening to make it our ‘wild’ night. So yes, we went to some bars and explored the city at night. We met some incredible people and everyone is so friendly. Due to our budget, we stuck to beer, but I felt sick so I said sorry to my bank account and had rum and coke – the beer is just too much for me!

Day 3

The last full day – so you want to plan stuff to do before you leave the city. Did you go to Amsterdam if you didn’t go on a cruise? I love a canal cruise, it’s the best way to explore the city and meet people. Classic girls trip, we opted for a bottomless booze canal cruise. There ended up being me, my cousin, 2 girls from Australia and one girl from America. 10 minutes in we all got chatting and the tour guide ended up joining in on our conversation – it was brilliant.

You can also visit the Heineken Experience. It was a lot more educational than I thought it be. You spend around 20-30 minutes understanding the history of the beer brand and knowing about the ingredients that make the beer.

Then you head up to the room in the picture below, where they used to produce the beer and learn about the manufacturing process. We are all there for the beer right? You get around 3 free beers and you get the chance to get a personalised bottle.

At the end, you go down to the main bar and we ended up getting chosen to go to the VIP bar and get a free beer cocktail. We lucked out on this trip! Word of warning – it gets very busy here.

We ended up meeting the girls from the canal cruise and went on one night out. Our chilled Sunday plans turned into chaos and it was brilliant. There are so many fantastic bars you can go to with deals on. My personal favourite, we went to a karaoke bar. We ended up hogging the microphone but I tell you what it was great, and we met so many brilliant people. I get scared at karaoke but screw it, its fun.

Day 4

The last day. There’s so much you can do in Amsterdam I might have to do a whole guide on it or separate it out into food and activities. Before you jump on your plane or train, grab some pastries for lunch – they do pastries well in Amsterdam.

Our night out on the Sunday is the reason why I’m glad we got the Eurostar, being hungover on a plane (which I did the first time I came back from Amsterdam) is not fun.

I hope you enjoy your next trip to Amsterdam, it truly is an incredible city that you must visit. I’m going to create a more indepth guide for Amsterdam – thank goodness for Apple showing the exact place the photo was taken – makes it much easier!