1st Visit, many questions, Love this site

[JonnyBags]

Hey all....

I am 30, been smoking since I was 15, been smoking everyday since I was 18. So I am very well versed in the good good and don;t have many concerns buying.

My friends and I are making our first trip to Dam on Feb 20th. SO F'ING EXCITED!!! I have been doing a TON of research because this is all I can think of.

Here are the questions I still have after reading and finally finding this forum. (Which is great, thanks to all of you who contribute useful, positive information.)

1) We are thinking of making a day trip somewhere outside of Amsterdam. Day only, not spend the night. Brussels is the obvious choice..... is it fun, worth it?

2) My friends (6 total of us) rented an apartment just off the 4th canal by rozengraccht st. What is the best shop in our area? From what I read Paradox is a hidden gem and we will be putting in some serious hours over there. But where else? Grey Area is a bit of a walk but close, so is Abrax.

3) Is the 24/48/72 iAmsterdam card worth it? It seems so if we plan on hitting all the museums.

4) With 6 people, what is a good shop or two that we all might be able to eat and smoke and chill out at a table? I know many are small and better for groups of 2 or 4.

5) What else??? Any good advice for a solid group of smokers and travelers??


Love the site. Wish you all the best. Less than one month until I get to go to a place I have dreamed about for 10 years!!!


Peace

[tbk420]

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[JonnyBags]

Thanks bro.

not looking for an answer to everything. If ya got a bit of advice on any of them, I'll happily take it.

[westerkerk]

Where you're staying the best place to smoke is paradox in my humble opinion. Good weed, good drinks and they some nice food too. It's very laid back though, not built to accommodate large groups but in no way are large groups unwelcome, the staff are extremely friendly. If you catch it in a busy day you may have to move on, there is only one, possibly two tables that could acommodate 6 people. The others are more suited to 2-3 people.

You'll find you do a lot of walking though away from where you are staying. A good choice for groups could be Rookies, it's pretty big in there or possibly siberie where the tables are long and wooden and it's fairly spacious.

Sometimes, when Amsterdam is busy, it can be a bit disheartening for large groups when you can't find a place to accomodate you, many of the coffeeshops are small
and a group of six can almost fill it themselves (little, grey area, stix etc) but if you study the maps on here and find a few logical routes you will always find somewhere

sometimes even the wife and I have to move on from coffeeshops we've walked miles for due to lack of seating!

[blueridge]

You've certainly found the right place to get your information; the folks on this site are great and very helpful. I would second the choice of Harlem as a great day trip. I also enjoyed Utrecht with the cool sunken walkways along the canal but I think Harlem has more coffeshops. My last trip I flew into and out of Brussels. While I did not spend much time there; it is certainly beautiful with an excellent choice of restaurants, bars and shopping. However, the train ride to Amsterdam is three to four hours as I remember so it is not a practical day trip choice from Amsterdam in my opinion.
While I can't imagine six people being able to sit together in Grey Area, you should make a point to go there as they have excellent weed and its run by two really cool and friendly guys.

[StonedSince67]

My friends and I are making our first trip to Dam on Feb 20th.

welcome to the forum ...

1) We are thinking of making a day trip somewhere outside of Amsterdam. Day only, not spend the night. Brussels is the obvious choice..... is it fun, worth it?

why not go to Haarlem ... it's only 20 minutes away by train, a lot quieter than amsterdam, good coffeeshops, slightly cheaper weed, things to see and visit ... and you can spend the time smoking or doing stuff rather than sitting on the train for hours

2) My friends (6 total of us) rented an apartment just off the 4th canal by rozengraccht st. What is the best shop in our area? From what I read Paradox is a hidden gem and we will be putting in some serious hours over there.

paradox is a lovely locals cafe with lots of regulars chatting and arguing in a lively but friendly mannerr ... it's on my a-list of shops and is well worth a visit ... good toasties too if you get hungry

5) What else??? Any good advice for a solid group of smokers and travelers??

i just want to double-check that each and every member of your party have read the document How not to get hit by a bike from the excellent S G Collins website recommended by FlyByNite

if you have already read the document, then thanks, but if not, then please please read before you arrive to ensure your safety in the crazy amsterdam traffic, and thanks

it is only 3 or 4 pages to print, so then you could have a copy to read on the way over ... but be ready when you first hit the streets

Love the site. Wish you all the best. Less than one month until I get to go to a place I have dreamed about for 10 years!!! Peace

have a great trip ...

[Dave near London]

Paradox and Stix (in my limited experiences) - are excellent places.

Amnesia has a quality vibe in terms of superb , friendly staff - and Dolphins is wonderfully comfortable downstairs. Enjoy - especially the Paradox cake

[JonnyBags]

Blue, Stoned, West & Dave - Thanks for the info.

I think we will see how froggy we feel re: Brussels. Didn't know how long the train would be. 6-7 hours of train time for 6-7 hours of visiting seems like a bit much.

Haarlem might be our new choice based on your helpful information.
Grey Area & Rookies are on my 'must-visit' list for sure.... even if we can't get a table. Paradox seems like a no brainer. we love great weed, great edibles, and great food.... which I read that Paradox has in bulk.

Stix is a new one for me... I'll have to look that up. I am on the fence about whether or not to buy a 96 hour tram pass or the iAmsterdam card. We will definitely be hitting the major museums but not sure if we need to be locked into a timed card.

Peace

[Epsilon]

Your post doesn't say how long you're in town for ...and walking about , getting lost , is a fun part of it all . But you can extend yourself - say to the Tropen Museum , (which was our favorite) Dapperstraat Market area with a tram pass and do it all in a few hours ...
If you're in town for a while ,the new wave is .
http://www.gvb.nl/english/travellers/ti ... ducts.aspx

Good for five years ,ya charge it up and go, we got these last summer ,no pressure to "use 'em or lose 'em". And we'll hit the town with a nice charge on them this summer...Agree with the folks about Haarlem over Brussels ...Not sure if you're from USA , UK or elsewhere ...As a Yank I enjoy the being in Europe feel ,but wasn't taken by Brussels ,compared to Ghent , Brugge or Antwerp , (if you feel you must leave the NL ) ...Our favorite other towns within the NL would be Leeuwarden ,'s_Hertogenbosch and Zutphen...

White Chocolate from STIX was awesome last summer , not a hang out shop for us though. (too small , uncomfortable )Agree Paradox is a good one . To pick a few favorite shops - Basjoe , Hill St on the Market -their Hill St. Special was our private Cup winner , and de Graal and Katsu in the Albert Cuyp area ...

Enjoy your planning and trip. Lots good viewpoints on this forum

[repent]

hey mate and welcome

420 is a good shop to go to, it might be out of ur way but its also more or less in the centre of amsterdam so if u wanna do other stuff in the centre it could be good
they have some nice weed nev haz is always good u can use there bongs and volcanos, the hot choc and bottles of coke are 2 euros each and there is a large table at the bottom that seats around 12 ppl i think

around the corner from there is the amazing burger bar with the best fresh made burgers u will eat in the dam if you havnt heard of it theres alot about it on this site along with the dam map

enjoy

[Stoner79]

Its a good question are they any coffeeshops that allow for big groups say 10 to 15 heads to sit together and smoke? All the shops seem small, some have 2 or 3 floors but are not the big on each floor. I am going soon (first time in over 2 years now) and will need to take a group of guys around the high and lows, will need somewhere to park them all. Idealy with pool table. Anyone??

[westerkerk]

10-15?? I'm racking my brains trying to think of somewhere even when empty.... Man.... those places are small?

When are you going? If the weather is ok maybe you can find a quiet corner of the vondelpark???

Otherwise, you could try Rookies... possibly Rokerij off Leidsestraat, and dare I say it, the big Bulldog?

[Dave J]

Does'nt Green Place have a big room?. I've not been there myself but recall some saying there is loads of space inside?.

[JonnyBags]

Epsilon - staying for 8 days.... so getting lost and just going with the flow is the general plan.

What's the general rule about going somewhere to eat and smoking your gear? I know a few cool places that are friendly... but are most others that way too? If our group can't get a table but can find a place to eat, and smoke, that would be cool.

Peace

[Balou]

Its a good question are they any coffeeshops that allow for big groups say 10 to 15 heads to sit together and smoke? All the shops seem small, some have 2 or 3 floors but are not the big on each floor. I am going soon (first time in over 2 years now) and will need to take a group of guys around the high and lows, will need somewhere to park them all. Idealy with pool table. Anyone??

Prix d'Ami is pretty big and spread out over 3 floors. Also Hill St. Blues has plenty of room for you to spread out as well. Both have pool tables as well. You'll have trouble finding room in some shops for all of you to fit in at once. Actually your group could fill up an entire shop!

Does'nt Green Place have a big room?. I've not been there myself but recall some saying there is loads of space inside?.

The smoking room in Greenplace is not that big, it might sit 12 or 13 comfortably. I have never seen it empty though, so a large group might not fit.

What's the general rule about going somewhere to eat and smoking your gear? I know a few cool places that are friendly... but are most others that way too? If our group can't get a table but can find a place to eat, and smoke, that would be cool.

Your best bet is to ask if smoking weed is allowed. La Grotte on Haarlemmerstraat could be a good spot for a smoke and bite to eat.

Peace,
Balou