Amsterdam is one of those cities that everyone has to go to at least once. Similar to Las Vegas or Paris, it has almost a mystical quality that draws tourists from all corners of the earth just to see what all the fuss is about. Not to mention the promise of weed cafes, the gorgeous canals, and the legendary red light district that many of us outside the Netherlands have only heard about in movies.
Needless to say, we were eager to explore Amsterdam, and jumped at the opportunity. Keeping an eye on flight prices from Boston to Amsterdam, we were able to find a great deal for a 5-day trip to Amsterdam that was super affordable. Here is what we found when we got there!
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We found a bunch of hostel options online, and wanted to find a balance between partying and comfort. Being in our early 20’s, we were eager for a good time, but still wanted to be able to sleep! The Flying Pig hostels were exactly what we were looking for. Yes, you read that correctly, plural hostels. They actually have 3 options: downtown, uptown, and beach. We opted to check out the downtown and beach hostels and had the time of our lives!
We started at the Flying Pig Beach Hostel in Noordwijk
- We caught a bus from the airport which took about an hour to get there
- The staff was super friendly and fun and made us feel like old friends right away!
- We opted for a 6-bed dorm that was simple and comfortable, consisting of 3 bunk beds
The best part of this hostel is that it is literally across the street from a huge beach. While it was still too chilly for sunbathing and swimming at the time, we walked the coast line a lot, loved the views, and even built a beach fire late one night with some hostel friends!
The hostel also provides free shuttles to downtown Amsterdam multiple times a day, and there are other public transport options if you want to explore some of the other nearby cities. We opted to rent bikes for a day and rode around Noordwijk, Noordwijkerhout, and Hoofdstraat. The nearby downtown area is filled with delicious restaurants, awesome shopping, and fun nightlife options within walking distance.
After a few days on the beach, we were ready to hit the main attraction: Downtown Amsterdam
- We took one of the free shuttles and were dropped off right at the downtown hostel
- The downtown hostel is right in the city center near Amsterdam Central Station, Dam Square, the Anne Frank House and the Red Light District
- There is a restaurant downstairs that had a basement pub type of feel and they have super cheap drinks compared to the rest of the city
- We were in a larger dorm this time that had about 20 beds. The accommodation was a bit more basic here which made falling asleep difficult, so we may opt for a smaller dorm size if we went back.
We spent our days doing everything we dreamed of: strolling along the canals, walking through parks, checking out shops filled with art and antiques, and stopping at every possible cafe we could find! Needless to say, this made us enjoy the sites, activity, and people all the more!
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We absolutely loved our time in and around Amsterdam and can’t recommend the Flying Pig hostels enough. Being able to explore the coastal area as well as downtown Amsterdam was so exciting and we were so grateful we got to see as much of the Netherlands as we did!
We hope you found this helpful! Let us know if you have any questions or thoughts, we would love to hear from you.
Happy traveling, friends!
Summer & Jackson
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