Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory Forums

My friend may be dropping out of the trip we planned, any advice or tips for travelling to and through amsterdam on your own?
It will be my second trip to the dam but the first time I was completely lost and so it may as well be a first trip.

Same thing might have happened to me for my September trip and the more I think about it the more I like it. I can go where I want and when I want.

There are quite a few people on here who regularly make solo trips hopefully they'll pop in with some helpful advice...

Advice man? Dont stress yourself too much, travelling alone can have its benifits, you get to see the city the way you want to, you get a chance to meet new people. The only advice i can give is dont be afraid to talk to new people and go on an adventure with them for a day, its a fantastic meeting someone in a coffeeshop, having a smoke with them and being invited for another smoke in another shop. Or just enjoying your smoke with them, and when they leave smoking with another group of people. Safety wise i wouldnt worry too much, keep your wits about you and possibly stay within the areas you know while your getting your boundries. And make regular contact with people at home, letting them know where your going, how your getting out. If your planning going out to the early hours of the morning, email/text/ring etc them and let them know when your going out and when your coming back. I made my sister do this when she was there with her friends and it helped keep my mind at rest more than anything. It may be a step too far though for you.

Traveling solo is best, normally travel solo but last trip i took two mates NEVER AGAIN! total pain in the arse!

and dont worry about getting lost, its all part of the fun. I have lost count of my trips but i konw i get lost on them nearly every visit

Kermit wrote:Traveling solo is best, normally travel solo but last trip i took two mates NEVER AGAIN! total pain in the arse!

I'll second that, setting your own Agenda is the way to go.
I often travel with my good smoking buddy, but even then, he can get on my tits sometimes.

Only thing I dont like about traveling solo, is eating alone in restraunts and cafes.........makes me feel like a right Norman no mates

A good book helps when eating alone.

I am usually a solo flyer. The only way to go as far as I am concerned. You really can just please yourself. It doesn't even matter if you have smoked your self to death during the morning and spend your whole afternoon in bed!

Travelling to amsterdam with others is all about co-ordinating schedules, decisions become many more times as complicated and can be a royal pain in the arse.

I have also noticed it is when I have travelled alone I have had the greatest adventures. You just don't seem to meet as many people when travelling with others. As Sir Niall said, keep open to new situations, welcome new opportunities and you will have a blast!

Oh and I always get my self lost, a trip to amsterdam is not a trip without hours of lost wonderings...

Iv only been once and i went with 4 other lads! By the end of the first day i had had a guts full of one of the boys and of wandering around doing what every other fcuker wanted to do! When i go in September it will be great to have my partner there with no worrys about desision making and walking around doing what everyone else wants to do etc.

If im perfectly honest going solo would be my first option over going with friends.

If i was solo though i would defnitly stay away from small ally ways...Creepy

I went in Sept. 07 with 2 friends, but I am going back this Sept. solo. One problem was one of my travel-mates was on a strict budget so anytime there was mention of a trip out of town (Delft, Apeldoorn, Haarlem,ect..) the one friend would say "Go without me, I'm on a budget." I mean yeah I could have gone on without 1 or both of them, but I would feel guilty leaving my friends in Amsterdam while I went off adventuring. (On second thought that is not such a bad thing.) This time if I want to go to Belgium to find out if "Belgian Waffels" are just called waffels there, I can jump on a train and go.

Solo is great..In many ways it makes for new experiences and many new friends..

I have made so many friends in AMS now that traveling solo is just being with my new family..

The only other way to experience Amsterdam is with someone you are truly in Love with..it makes for a magical almost dreamlike adventure..as No one else seems to be around...and the Romance is just part of the history...

Tutti

my next trip in October sometime I will be going solo. Friend are ok but they just slow me down, esp if like last time they collapse after 30 mins of arriving

I've been to Amsterdam as part of a group, and also on solo trips. As with anything in life, both have pro's and con's. Personally, I would have to say that the solo trips have been the preferred options. I was last there in May 2008, as a 'leaving' trip, having just left work. I went with a group of (ex) work colleagues, most of whom were going for the first time. I ended up going off on my own on most days, and just meeting up with them sporadically. Some of them didn't even venture out of the 'stoner's rectangle' in the week that we were there.

rks0 wrote:Some of them didn't even venture out of the 'stoner's rectangle' in the week that we were there.

That was the biggest problem i had when i was there with my mates! we lingered around the red light district constantly. I wanted to explore the amstel beer museum, Vondel Park and Mellow Yellow for its history but no one was interested!

Going Solo is defnitly the best option

I've never been solo, before every trip i plan i text 10/20 of my mates asking them if they ywould like to come, normally some1 pipes up quickly and comes along with me, this time i almost was gonna make the journey on my own, but at the last minute my mate and his cousin booked up and now there is 3 of us.

I would love to go on my own, but i always offer around, the only problem is that friends can slow you down, especially when lean, no-one knows what to do and i normally get people looking at me for something to do next, sometimes i like to be a follower, not a leader, like doing what every1 wants to do.

As for eating on your own, i normally have breakfast on my own because im up hours b4 my mates, ready for a new days adventure in Amsterdam

Thanks for the advice guys, im still a little nervous about it since i have a slight anxiety thing but I should be ok, theres now a tiny chance of a diff friend coming but as I said the chances are tiny, so looks like i'll be making my first solo trip

Just don't go to the abandoned factory on the outskirts with the naked women from the hostel, whatever you do.