The Best Western Amsterdam hotel is a 3 star hotel located in a nice and quiet residential street in Amsterdam, away from the hustle and bustle and noise of the city yet close enough to all the action.

One thing to note about Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is not a 24 hour city -- rather quite the contrary.

Most establishments open late and close early.

Food

A nice thing about the Best Western Amsterdam hotel is that it has 24 hour food service, which is pretty rare for an Amsterdam hotel.

So if you get the late night munchies, no problem.

The hotel has you covered.

You can also stock up on cheap munchies nearby.

There is a shopping area about 100 yards away from the hotel.

When you leave the hotel gate and look to your right, you will see the freeway overpass pictured below.

Simply walk under the overpass and on the other side will be a shopping area.

Also tap water is just fine to drink in Amsterdam and has been rated quite highly

Smoking

Amsterdam has a law that bans smoking inside public establishments, including hotels.

Be aware that if you're out and about and a foreigner passes you a joint, it will most likely contain tobacco.

Amsterdammers and other Europeans like to smoke their cannabis in cone shaped joints (with a little cardboard filter on the end) and plenty of tobacco mixed in.

The Dutch varieties of cannabis and hash are typically quite strong.

If you have too much cannabis or magic truffles and get too high, have something sweet to eat or drink.

It's amazing how many times a supposed heart attack has been cured in Amsterdam by simply drinking a Pepsi.

Magic mushrooms were made illegal a few years ago so the innovative Dutch replaced it with the magic truffle (same high, different fungi).

Magic truffles are sold in Smart Shops throughout Amsterdam.

Adults are allowed to possess up to 5 grams of weed or hash, which are considered soft drugs (as are magic truffles).

Hard drugs such as cocaine are strictly prohibited.

And this goes without saying but don't try to take any cannabis home with you on the plane!

Coffeeshop Bullwackie

Closeby the Best Western Amsterdam hotel is cannabis coffeeshop Bullwackie.

Coffeeshop Bullwackie is open every day, most days from 10am to midnight.

Bullwackie is not a sit-down-and-smoke coffeeshop. Rather it is a buy-and-go coffeeshop.

Points of Interest

C = Centraal Station, L = Leidseplein, H = Hotel.

CENTRAAL STATION is the main train station of Amsterdam. Outside the main entrance of Centraal Station is the white VVV Tourist Info building (pictured below). Some of our tours meet up in front of the VVV Tourist Info building.

VVV Tourist Info building - located in front of Centraal Station

Leidseplein

LEIDSEPLEIN is a town square and the main entertainment and nightlife center of Amsterdam.

The Leidseplein has many shops, restaurants, bars, and cannabis coffeeshops.

Leidseplein is the recommended place to go and hang out your first day in town. Go to Leidseplein immediately after checking into your hotel and you'll find everything you need there to make you happy!

Getting Around

Amsterdam is a compact city so any site in town is never very far away.

Renting a car in Amsterdam is a very bad idea. Parking is hard to find and expensive. If you park in a no parking zone your car will be towed and it'll cost you a lot to get it back. Also Amsterdam is designed to be more of a pedestrian city, so many streets don't allow cars.

Taxis in Amsterdam are expensive.

Bicycles are everywhere. It's a great way to get around, especially since the city is so flat. But it can be confusing for newcomers to navigate the spaghetti layout streets of Amsterdam.

Trams are highly recommended. Amsterdam has a very efficient and reliable public transportation system. You really should use it. It's the quickest way to get around town (it's the way the locals travel). And once you start using it, you'll be a pro in no time and feel really proud of yourself!

The easiest way to get from your hotel to Leidseplein or Centraal Station is to take tram #2.

TRAM #2

BONUS: Tram #2 is listed by National Geographic in the World's Top 10 tram routes!

Tram #2

Trams conveniently come to the tram stops about every 10 minutes or so. They operate daily from about 6am to half past midnight (busses run the rest of the night so you're covered 24 hours).

There is also a metro (subway) in Amsterdam but that's mainly for travel to outlying suburbs.

You will be provided a tram/bus map so you can see how to get to anywhere in the city at any hour.

Westlandgracht (tram #2 stop)

Tram #2 stops near the hotel at Westlandgracht, which is about a 5 minute walk from the hotel. From Westlandgracht tram stop you can get to Leidseplein or Centraal Station.

Map of how to walk from Best Western Amsterdam hotel to tram #2 stop Westlandgracht

How to get from Hotel to tram #2 stop Westlandgracht

1 . Exit the hotel gate and TURN LEFT. Walk to the end of the block (opposite direction of the freeway overpass).

2 . At the end of the block is a fire station (see picture below). TURN LEFT (Poeldijkstraat street).

Walk straight for about 2 blocks. It's a nice scenic walk with some nice Dutch architecture as seen below.

The street ends and you come to the main cross street, where you'll see the lovely Cedars restaurant across the street (pictured below).

3 . TURN RIGHT at the main cross street and walk to the tram stop (about half a block away).

The tram traveling to Leidseplein and Centraal Station will have CENTRAAL STATION displayed on the front of the tram.

General Tram Tips

• The tram number and its final destination are always displayed on the front outside of each tram.
• Enter and exit trams only thru doors marked in green (not red).
• To open a tram door (from inside or outside), push the button near the door.
• Tickets (valid for 1 hour or 24 hours) can be purchased inside the tram from the driver or conductor. Tickets can also be purchased at several locations such as Centraal Station, which also sells multi-day tickets.
• When you enter or exit a tram, you need to scan your ticket on the scanners inside the tram. IF YOU FORGET TO SCAN AS YOU EXIT, YOUR TICKET MAY STOP WORKING. IT THEN NEEDS TO BE RESET BY A SERVICE EMPLOYEE. TOO MANY RESETS CAN PERMANENTLY DISABLE A TICKET!
• Each stop is announced and displayed on a screen ahead of time inside the tram.
• IMPORTANT -- To make sure the tram stops at your desired stop, press one of the Stop buttons inside the tram after your stop is announced.
• Every tram stop has a sign at the top of the shelter displaying the tram and bus route numbers that stop there. Tram stops also have a city map on display. So if you ever get lost wandering the streets in a drunken stupor, just look around for a set of tram tracks and follow them until you reach a tram stop so you can look at the map!

Tram #2

• When going from the hotel to Leidseplein, catch tram #2 with CENTRAAL STATION displayed on the front. Get off at stop Leidseplein. It's about a 10-15 minute ride.

• When going from the hotel to Centraal Station, catch tram #2 with CENTRAAL STATION displayed on the front. Get off at Centraal Station, which is the end of the route. It's about a 20-25 minute ride.

• When returning back to the hotel, catch tram #2 with NIEUW SLOTEN displayed on the front. Get off at Westlandgracht.

Night Busses

Trams stop running at about half past midnight. So if you're out partying later than that, you can catch a night bus back to the hotel. With trams and nights busses, you're covered 24 hours round the clock.

At Leidseplein, catch night bus 288 with SCHIPHOL-CENTRUM displayed on the front. Get off at stop Westlandgracht.

The hotel lobby has bus schedules and maps available.