This was a long time coming… I had a place booked in March of 2020 when everything came to a screeching halt. This time was a total last-minute decision to go, but seemed like as good a place as any to spend 4/20!

My first trip to Europe, many years ago, was to Dublin Ireland, and Amsterdam, so I was interested to go back and see what it looked like now. The place is still an incredible mix of beauty and chaos. I absolutely love the canals and coffee shops, but there’s a bit I could do without; I found it easy enough to experience what I wanted though, and had a great time!

I’m already thinking about a return to the Netherlands, but I do think my next visit will focus on other cities; any suggestions?

This was a 5-night stay…

• Accommodation –  $655.64* (additional information below)
• Getting around locally – $31.96  (I bought a 120 hour, 5-day, pass through the GVB app. There are plenty of options for passes, and where to buy; check out the options on their site here https://www.gvb.nl/)
• Living expenses – $403.46 (groceries and eating out. Yeah, this includes munchies and such…)
• Activities – $0
• Mobile phone/data  – $12.44 (I use Google Fi which provides service in most countries. If you’re interested and based in the U.S., you can use this paid link to sign up, which will give me a referral fee at no extra cost to you.)
• Medical insurance – $11.52 (I’m using SafetyWing; rates are determined by age, and mine is slightly above the base. If you’re interested there is a paid link/banner on the right side of the page)

Total $1,115.02 / 5-nights = $223.00 per

*Hotel info

• I booked XO Hotels Couture through Booking.com; this is one of the XO Hotel outside the center, looks like they have a few in Amsterdam. The hotel was pretty nice and the room was a very good size; it was actually kind of huge compared to a lot of the others I’ve stayed in lately. I really liked staying outside the center. I would often take the tram into the center and then make my way walking back; sometimes catching public transport and others just walking the whole way. Speaking of public transport; there’s a tram stop just outside the hotel and a metro station down the street. I used the metro to get from and to the train station. The 51 goes kind of around the city and seemed like less of an issue with my bags than the tram would have been. The #12 tram cuts straight through town so it gets pretty full.

Transportation to and from varies a lot, so I left it out of the above breakdown along with most incidental/one-time personal costs. But for those interested, in this particular case, I took a direct train booked with Deutsche Bahn (DB) from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof to Amsterdam Centraal. My seat was in 1st class and the cost was 59,90€ ($65.99). All other standard day to day expenses are included to give an idea of how much basic living costs in the area are. Groceries will sometimes include personal care items (i.e., toothpaste, deodorant, etc.).

** I try to use Rakuten whenever it’s an option; why not take the money. It works with a browser add-on, and there is also a mobile app. Note from the Ratuken site, “Stores pay us a commission for sending our members to their websites, and we share it with you. It’s that simple!” If you haven’t signed up yet, and are interested, please consider using this referral link to help support me, and get a signup bonus. I use it regularly and recommend it, but take a look for yourself to decide if it’s right for you. When you sign up using the link, use it spending $, we each get $! The $ varies, I’ve recently seen at $40 and $30. They state “Offer may be modified or canceled anytime.” Payments are made by PayPal, or you can have a check sent to you.

*** Of course, the currency exchange varied during the stay, so for simplicity, I used a rate of 1 USD = 0,905€ for cash transactions. The accommodations and some daily purchases made on cards were entered at the converted cost charged.

**** Since this is my living situation, I don’t go to top-rated restaurants or paid entry to tourist attractions too much. I do eat out a lot, but nothing too special; to some extent, it’s somewhat more cost-effective this way… at least that’s what I’m telling myself. I try to be cost-conscious, eating as a local would… maybe you could say like a broke college guy that is LOL! I try to note any differences to this above.

I’m striving to provide useful information for people planning trips or a nomadic lifestyle, so if you have any ideas to make these posts more helpful, please let me know. You can comment/DM on social media, in the comments below, or email at (MeanderingMax@gmail.com). I appreciate your support!