Amsterdam has to be one of the top 10 places most stoners want to visit
As it’s one of the few countries where smoking Cannabis is tolerated
I’ve visited the city on lots of occasions over the years and I look forward to more visits
But this is a rough guide for those who haven’t been before

Most likely you’ll arrive at Schiphol Airport which is a large international terminal
The easiest way to get from the airport to Amsterdam is by train to Centraal station
You can buy tickets from the counter or ticket machines by the escalators that lead down to
Station platforms which are below the Airport its self a single journey ticket is €3.60
The journey takes about 20 minutes and trains run every 20 minutes from early morning
Till late evening

The ticket machines are easy to use as long as you have change. You punch in your destination
In this case the code is 1000 then there are choices to make but just press the 4 buttons on the
Left hand side in the sequence they light up
the display will say €3.60, just put your money in and your done (they do give change as well)
This is for a single journey, second class etc and then your ticket will be printed out for you

When you arrive at Centraal station your at the bottom of the main street in Amsterdam, Damrak
This leads to Dam square and the royal palace. My first stop is normally the Central Coffee shop
This is only 100 yards from the Station (see the coffee shop map link for details)
Normally I buy a gram of bud and roll a joint before I go on my way

Next up is to get to your hotel and check in. it’s best to book your hotel in advance
Rather than turn up hoping to find accommodation
A good site to book through is ****, they have good deals on advance bookings
They supply maps of the hotel location, pictures of the room and info about city tax, and breakfast charges etc

Now you have arrived and settled in to your hotel you’ll want to explore your surroundings
Most people in Amsterdam speak English so language isn’t a problem if its your first language
And other languages like French and German are common as well

Your first visit to a coffee shop can be a strange experience as it’s mostly not what people expect
When you enter look for a menu which will tell you what hash and bud they have and how much it costs
You can only buy 5g maximum from any one coffee shop so don’t go grabbing the biggest bit
You can get, better to buy one or two grams at a time
Prices vary depending on the type and amount you buy. Bud sells from €5 – 15 a gram
And hash from about the same, some bubble hash or isolator hash can be over €20 a gram

Once you have decided just ask the person behind the counter for what you want
They will show you the bud’s if you ask but don’t touch as it’s frowned on
and damages the tricomes
They will weigh it out in front of you and bag it up, don’t feel obliged to buy a coffee
But if you want to smoke something you bought in another shop that’s OK as well
But at least buy a coffee while your smoking it (coffee is only a euro or two)

I’ll list some of the better coffee shops at the end of this for you to try out

Now you have your stash its time to think about munchies
Amsterdam has lots of places to eat and a very wide variety of food is available
There’s your fast food joint’s for a quick fill up, or restraints if you want a proper meal
On average a meal is about €20 a head for a steak and fries etc
But you can go to more expensive restaurants if your budget allows or eat cheaper if your
On a tight budget, shop around till you find something that suits your taste and pocket
Lots of restaurants do Specials for about €15 for a meal from a fixed menu, some even include a beer

Ok so you’re well fed and stoned, its time to go walkabout
Most people head to the red light district at some point so here are some pointers to help
Keep you safe and enjoy your self
First up Never talk to the crack heads or coke dealers that hang around the bridges
Esp around the bottom end of the red light district
Keep all valuables in a safe place, also your passport which you need to carry at all times
My advice is a zipped inside jacket pocket as there are pick pockets about
Don’t take pictures of the girls in the windows as it’s not allowed and they get really annoyed
And never go with the street girls, stick to the window’s as there regulated and clean
Best off to join an official tour if you want to get a real insight into the red light district

General points
Some pub’s allow you to smoke some don’t, feel free to ask as they won’t be offended
Same with the hotels some allow smoking in the rooms some don’t, best check when you book
And specify you smoke cannabis as some allow cigarette’s but not cannabis
The cops won’t bother you for smoking on the street but be sensible don’t walk about
With a 3ft bong toking your head off

Places to visit
Gypsy Nirvana’s seed boutique shop on Singel 163
Two blocks behind the royal palace on the Singel canal
It’s across the bridge from the grey area coffee shop, it’s not a coffee shop but a great place to meet other stoners and chill for a while, it has a great selection of smoking accessory’s as well as seeds

The Cannabis collage 11 AM to 7 PM, free admission! O.Z. Achterburgwal 124
(near Dam Square) Lots of great info and it has a grow room you can visit It’s a must do for any stoner visiting Amsterdam

The hash marihuana & hemp museum
O.Z. Achterburgwal 130 open from 11:00 – 22:00 daily
50m down the street from the Cannabis College and well worth a visit if you’re in the area

Pollinator Company Nieuwe Herengracht 25 1011 RL
Run by Mila, this place has thousands of samples of bubble hash you can see
And maybe a demonstrations of the pollinator working

Coffee shop guide

Best bet is to get a map of the shop locations; the link below has an excellent map and guide
https://www.coffeeshop.freeuk.com/
all shops listed below can be found on the map
Some of my favourite coffee shops to visit are listed here (in no particular order)
And links to there sites if they have one

Dampkring https://www.xs4all.nl/~dampweb/
Grey Area https://www.greyarea.nl/
Abraxas https://www.abraxasparadise.nl/index.html
Barney’s https://www.barneys.biz/
Hill St blues (no link available)
Tweede kamer https://www.channels.nl/amsterdam/twkamer.html
Dutch flowers (only an E mail addy on the site)
Bluebird https://www.coffeeshopbluebird.nl/
Amnesia (no link available)
The other place https://www.flexnet.nl/~theotherplace/

Another I like that are not listed is Hunters (just down from hill st blues)

I hope this will help anyone planning a trip to Amsterdam
I’ll be adding to this when I have more info

Oldpink

[Jalruza]

Somebody should post a guide to clubbing in Amsterdam. There are few clubs and Amsterdam keeps it virtually unknown to tourist. They have amazing night life when it comes to clubbing. Usually they have organised outdoor/indoor raves / club nights all over the country but Amsterdam also got few secret places where the locals dance the night away after week of hard work.

You might have heard of Paradicio... better stay away from commercials venues like that.

The place you really got to try and visit is Club 11. Its in an old post office /railway station building. As you exit the main central station you can go up and you will come to Dam square, instead turn left and walk for about half a mile then pass the river boat hotel and cross the river, You will see a huge tall building, and on the top floor (!!!) , the 11th floor theres the club, hence the name.

You best bet is to give them a call on 0031 206255999 and ask when is the next major club night, and then arrange your visit. If you hit a good night your up for quite an experience... You can freely smoke joints in there, so pre roll several dozen (that’s how much my friend rolled last time for a night!), you can also score molly or bring some shrooms with you and do both. Last time I hippie flipped and went to club 11, I was coming up on the way there and boy, what an amazing sight to see light special FX blasting out of a last floor of a sky scraper at night on approach! And when you get there the music is awesome – electro, that’s what the Dutch call it. From 11th floor you can see all Amsterdam… and they also have amazing visual FX on massive projector screens. I’ve been to a few night in UK, Gatecrasher, Cream, Godskitchen, Sundisential, etc ... this one on the same level if not higher.

[hom]

Thats some good advice there but you cant forget about katsu... savage quality hash and grass. Bit of a bastard to find tho....

[JamieShoes]

5 years later and that's all still pretty much spot on... I think the train to A'dam from Schiphol is more like a fiver these days... but besides that it all stands.

I would add Boerenjongens to that CS list, but it's such a pain in the arse to find.. lol

[Dutchgrown]

Not much changes in the dam....even years after this was originally written. The only exceptions to this writeup I find now is the tobacco smoking policy which has changed, as well as Seed Boutique no longer having a physical shop in the dam.

[JamieShoes]

quite right DG ... though don't you find most shops are ignoring that rule? (or have found some way around it)

[Dutchgrown]

Originally Posted by JamieShoes

quite right DG ... though don't you find most shops are ignoring that rule? (or have found some way around it)

Being in Spain rather than NL these days.....and not having visited the dam in over a year...I'm not really sure what the shops are getting away with....lol....although I'd venture to guess they are as most Europeans prefer to smoke hash+tobacco spliffs. Surely they haven't hired a bunch of tobacco police to go around the many shops sprinkled all about the dam! LOL

[belgowiet]

DG do you grow in nl or spain

[Dutchgrown]

Shhhhhhh, it's a secret! I do an inordinate amount of travel....so excuse me for not wishing to disclose information that could in some way be gleened and perhaps used to jeopardize my security.

[JamieShoes]

tbh I don't get up there as much I used to either... and I only live 30 km away so have somewhat less of an excuse

In the hope of adding to this "rough guide" then, maybe it would be an idea to list the ones we know "turn a blind eye" to tobacco smokers...

recently I've smoked tobacco in..

Rokerij (opp. Dampkring shop)
Kashmir Lounge (inside and outside the special smoking area)
GH Utd (when they were very busy, not sure if that's usual)
Wille Wortels (Haarlem)
Leidseplein (Leiden)


Please use your common sense when smoking tobacco in these places.. ie. put all the left overs out of sight and your cigs/baccy in your pocket