From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
Dec 15th 2006, 12:58 am
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
Not if if anyone can help with this.... But my friends and I are
planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
Factory.
Any comments from an experienced travler would be great!
Thanks!
planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
Factory.
Any comments from an experienced travler would be great!
Thanks!
Dec 15th 2006, 1:11 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
[email protected] wrote:
> Not if if anyone can help with this.... But my friends and I are
> planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
> never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
> roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
> maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
> a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
> and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
> spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
> Factory.
>
> Any comments from an experienced travler would be great!
>
> Thanks!
>
start with cheaptickets.com
use the "advanced search" features and check for flights to and from
amsterdam, but check the "also use other airports within 80 miles" box.
this will return flights from newark and new york as well, in case
you are open to flying from those airports if the price is right.
you won't need a car. schipol has a train station right in its
basement, and besides that, public transportation in the netherlands is
wonderful. i went to den haag on business a few years ago, and it's the
first place i've ever been for work where i did not rent a car.
i haven't been to amsterdam other than to fly in and out of schipol, so
i can't give you any advice there, but i'm sure you will get suggestions
from others on this newsgroup.
i have taken my family to europe every summer since 2003, and done it
all myself by searching the web for hotels and flights and car rental.
it has helped that my sister has lived in switzerland for 30
years, but even without her tips from time to time, i have been
successful at finding great places to stay just by searching the web.
by the way, learn some duthch phrases just to be polite. you won't need
them, as the dutch preatty much all speak perfect english, but it's fun
to learn new languages, and people always appreciate that you make the
effort.
good luck and have fun,
-eric
(wallingford, pa)
> Not if if anyone can help with this.... But my friends and I are
> planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
> never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
> roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
> maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
> a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
> and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
> spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
> Factory.
>
> Any comments from an experienced travler would be great!
>
> Thanks!
>
start with cheaptickets.com
use the "advanced search" features and check for flights to and from
amsterdam, but check the "also use other airports within 80 miles" box.
this will return flights from newark and new york as well, in case
you are open to flying from those airports if the price is right.
you won't need a car. schipol has a train station right in its
basement, and besides that, public transportation in the netherlands is
wonderful. i went to den haag on business a few years ago, and it's the
first place i've ever been for work where i did not rent a car.
i haven't been to amsterdam other than to fly in and out of schipol, so
i can't give you any advice there, but i'm sure you will get suggestions
from others on this newsgroup.
i have taken my family to europe every summer since 2003, and done it
all myself by searching the web for hotels and flights and car rental.
it has helped that my sister has lived in switzerland for 30
years, but even without her tips from time to time, i have been
successful at finding great places to stay just by searching the web.
by the way, learn some duthch phrases just to be polite. you won't need
them, as the dutch preatty much all speak perfect english, but it's fun
to learn new languages, and people always appreciate that you make the
effort.
good luck and have fun,
-eric
(wallingford, pa)
Dec 15th 2006, 1:25 am
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
[email protected] wrote:
> Not if if anyone can help with this.... But my friends and I are
> planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
> never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
> roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
> maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
> a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
> and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
> spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
> Factory.
The plane tickets will vary by time of year. If you fly on a Tuesday
or Wednesday in the winter, you may get one for $500 or less. If you
fly in the summer, it could easily be $1000.
The coffee houses charge (this was in 2003) about $16 for a bag, and
depending on the quality the amount in the bag will vary from 1 to 5
grams but the price stays the same. They will only sell each of you up
to 5 grams at one time, but there's nothing to stop you from walking
into the next one and buying another 5 grams. AFAIK they are not
allowed to sell alcohol.
Many hotels will let you put a cot in a double room, so that is
probably a better bet than a hostel since you are travelling with a
group. If there are six of you, and you get two rooms at $100 a night
each, that's about $233 each for six days.
So $500 for the plane ticket, $233 for hotel, and $30 per day for food,
alcohol, weed and sights, is about $1000 per person total for one week.
> Not if if anyone can help with this.... But my friends and I are
> planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
> never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
> roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
> maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
> a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
> and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
> spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
> Factory.
The plane tickets will vary by time of year. If you fly on a Tuesday
or Wednesday in the winter, you may get one for $500 or less. If you
fly in the summer, it could easily be $1000.
The coffee houses charge (this was in 2003) about $16 for a bag, and
depending on the quality the amount in the bag will vary from 1 to 5
grams but the price stays the same. They will only sell each of you up
to 5 grams at one time, but there's nothing to stop you from walking
into the next one and buying another 5 grams. AFAIK they are not
allowed to sell alcohol.
Many hotels will let you put a cot in a double room, so that is
probably a better bet than a hostel since you are travelling with a
group. If there are six of you, and you get two rooms at $100 a night
each, that's about $233 each for six days.
So $500 for the plane ticket, $233 for hotel, and $30 per day for food,
alcohol, weed and sights, is about $1000 per person total for one week.
Dec 15th 2006, 1:36 am
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
Thanks so much for the input! My dream of Amsterdam may not be such a
dream afterall.
dream afterall.
Dec 15th 2006, 2:07 am
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
On 15 Dec 2006 06:36:44 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>Thanks so much for the input! My dream of Amsterdam may not be such a
>dream afterall.
Remember to lower your expectations before going there. It's a nice
place, but has some very grimy aspects to it!
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--
>Thanks so much for the input! My dream of Amsterdam may not be such a
>dream afterall.
Remember to lower your expectations before going there. It's a nice
place, but has some very grimy aspects to it!
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--
Dec 15th 2006, 2:24 am
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 16:07:48 +0100, Deeply Filled Mortician
<deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:
>On 15 Dec 2006 06:36:44 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>>Thanks so much for the input! My dream of Amsterdam may not be such a
>>dream afterall.
>Remember to lower your expectations before going there. It's a nice
>place, but has some very grimy aspects to it!
He could read the Blog first :-)
--
Martin
<deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:
>On 15 Dec 2006 06:36:44 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>>Thanks so much for the input! My dream of Amsterdam may not be such a
>>dream afterall.
>Remember to lower your expectations before going there. It's a nice
>place, but has some very grimy aspects to it!
He could read the Blog first :-)
--
Martin
Dec 15th 2006, 3:44 am
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
eric zwicky wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > Not if if anyone can help with this.... But my friends and I are
> > planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
> > never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
> > roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
> > maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
> > a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
> > and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
> > spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
> > Factory.
> >
> > Any comments from an experienced travler would be great!
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> start with cheaptickets.com
> use the "advanced search" features and check for flights to and from
> amsterdam, but check the "also use other airports within 80 miles" box.
> this will return flights from newark and new york as well, in case
> you are open to flying from those airports if the price is right.
I'm not familiar with cheaptickets.com, but I have found that the best
offline discount travel agents generally have better fares to Europe
than the online airfare sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Yahoo, etc.). In
the major Philadelphia newspaper's Sunday edition, look in the travel
section for small box ads that only list cities and prices. Those are
discount travel agents called "consolidators", and airlines use them to
dump large blocks of unsold seats cheaply. They usually have the best
fares of all.
> [email protected] wrote:
> > Not if if anyone can help with this.... But my friends and I are
> > planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
> > never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
> > roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
> > maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
> > a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
> > and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
> > spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
> > Factory.
> >
> > Any comments from an experienced travler would be great!
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> start with cheaptickets.com
> use the "advanced search" features and check for flights to and from
> amsterdam, but check the "also use other airports within 80 miles" box.
> this will return flights from newark and new york as well, in case
> you are open to flying from those airports if the price is right.
I'm not familiar with cheaptickets.com, but I have found that the best
offline discount travel agents generally have better fares to Europe
than the online airfare sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Yahoo, etc.). In
the major Philadelphia newspaper's Sunday edition, look in the travel
section for small box ads that only list cities and prices. Those are
discount travel agents called "consolidators", and airlines use them to
dump large blocks of unsold seats cheaply. They usually have the best
fares of all.
Dec 15th 2006, 4:00 am
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
Iceman wrote:
<snip>
> I'm not familiar with cheaptickets.com, but I have found that the best
> offline discount travel agents generally have better fares to Europe
> than the online airfare sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Yahoo, etc.). In
> the major Philadelphia newspaper's Sunday edition, look in the travel
> section for small box ads that only list cities and prices. Those are
> discount travel agents called "consolidators", and airlines use them to
> dump large blocks of unsold seats cheaply. They usually have the best
> fares of all.
iceman, thanks for the tip. i will check that out this weekend. do you
have any idea how far into the future you can plan with these
condolidators? i am starting to plan our next july trip to france.
thanks,
-eric
<snip>
> I'm not familiar with cheaptickets.com, but I have found that the best
> offline discount travel agents generally have better fares to Europe
> than the online airfare sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Yahoo, etc.). In
> the major Philadelphia newspaper's Sunday edition, look in the travel
> section for small box ads that only list cities and prices. Those are
> discount travel agents called "consolidators", and airlines use them to
> dump large blocks of unsold seats cheaply. They usually have the best
> fares of all.
iceman, thanks for the tip. i will check that out this weekend. do you
have any idea how far into the future you can plan with these
condolidators? i am starting to plan our next july trip to france.
thanks,
-eric
Dec 15th 2006, 4:50 am
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
On 15 Dec 2006 05:58:13 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>Not if if anyone can help with this.... But my friends and I are
>planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
>never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
>roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
>maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
>a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
>and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
>spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
>Factory.
>Any comments from an experienced travler would be great!
>Thanks!
Stay at a 2 star hotel and it will be as cheap or cheaper than many
hostels. I would try to go some time other than mid April to late
September. Your costs for flights and hotels will be lower.
I have gone to Amsterdam the last 6 years and the hotel I prefer is
http://www.kaphotel.nl/ reasonable rates and it includes breakfast and
they don't mind if you toke up in your room, some places do and will
throw you out if you get caught. I'll be staying there again for
NYEve. 47 euros a night for a single with a shower in the room and
shared toilet down the hall, breakfast, taxes and service charges
included. Unlike at hostels you don't need to bring sheets or towels.
For transportation buy a 15 or 45 strippencart. That will allow you
to use the trams and buses in Amsterdam or anywhere else in The
Netherlands.
>Not if if anyone can help with this.... But my friends and I are
>planning a furture trip to Amsterdam from Philadelphia. We have all
>never traveled by plane before and we were wondering ... round trip,
>roughly how much a person would we need? I was thinking around $1500,
>maybe $2000 a person... we were plainng on staying about a week, maybe
>a day or 2 less. Its just I have no experience with travel, and hotels
>and we are getting an idea. Just planning on seeing a musem or 2,
>spending some time in the coffee houses, and maybe touring the Heienken
>Factory.
>Any comments from an experienced travler would be great!
>Thanks!
Stay at a 2 star hotel and it will be as cheap or cheaper than many
hostels. I would try to go some time other than mid April to late
September. Your costs for flights and hotels will be lower.
I have gone to Amsterdam the last 6 years and the hotel I prefer is
http://www.kaphotel.nl/ reasonable rates and it includes breakfast and
they don't mind if you toke up in your room, some places do and will
throw you out if you get caught. I'll be staying there again for
NYEve. 47 euros a night for a single with a shower in the room and
shared toilet down the hall, breakfast, taxes and service charges
included. Unlike at hostels you don't need to bring sheets or towels.
For transportation buy a 15 or 45 strippencart. That will allow you
to use the trams and buses in Amsterdam or anywhere else in The
Netherlands.
Dec 15th 2006, 5:18 am
#10
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
Yea I know it is probally a very old city and I'm sure it has some bad
places... I'm not expecting heaven, but I think it will be a great
experience.
Deeply Filled Mortician wrote:
> Remember to lower your expectations before going there. It's a nice
> place, but has some very grimy aspects to it!
> --
> ---
> DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
> ---
> --
places... I'm not expecting heaven, but I think it will be a great
experience.
Deeply Filled Mortician wrote:
> Remember to lower your expectations before going there. It's a nice
> place, but has some very grimy aspects to it!
> --
> ---
> DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
> ---
> --
Dec 15th 2006, 5:54 am
#11
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
eric zwicky wrote:
> Iceman wrote:
> <snip>
> > I'm not familiar with cheaptickets.com, but I have found that the best
> > offline discount travel agents generally have better fares to Europe
> > than the online airfare sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Yahoo, etc.). In
> > the major Philadelphia newspaper's Sunday edition, look in the travel
> > section for small box ads that only list cities and prices. Those are
> > discount travel agents called "consolidators", and airlines use them to
> > dump large blocks of unsold seats cheaply. They usually have the best
> > fares of all.
> iceman, thanks for the tip. i will check that out this weekend. do you
> have any idea how far into the future you can plan with these
> condolidators? i am starting to plan our next july trip to france.
Most of them will sell a ticket up to one year in advance, but the best
deals are normally in the period from three months in advance to 21
days in advance of when you plan to travel.
> Iceman wrote:
> <snip>
> > I'm not familiar with cheaptickets.com, but I have found that the best
> > offline discount travel agents generally have better fares to Europe
> > than the online airfare sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Yahoo, etc.). In
> > the major Philadelphia newspaper's Sunday edition, look in the travel
> > section for small box ads that only list cities and prices. Those are
> > discount travel agents called "consolidators", and airlines use them to
> > dump large blocks of unsold seats cheaply. They usually have the best
> > fares of all.
> iceman, thanks for the tip. i will check that out this weekend. do you
> have any idea how far into the future you can plan with these
> condolidators? i am starting to plan our next july trip to france.
Most of them will sell a ticket up to one year in advance, but the best
deals are normally in the period from three months in advance to 21
days in advance of when you plan to travel.
Dec 15th 2006, 6:30 am
#12
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
On 15 Dec 2006 10:18:55 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>Yea I know it is probally a very old city and I'm sure it has some bad
>places... I'm not expecting heaven, but I think it will be a great
>experience.
The 'old' aspect is not the worst to expect. It's the newer problems
that will strike you, like drugs, efficient thieves, and general
tourist traps.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--
>Yea I know it is probally a very old city and I'm sure it has some bad
>places... I'm not expecting heaven, but I think it will be a great
>experience.
The 'old' aspect is not the worst to expect. It's the newer problems
that will strike you, like drugs, efficient thieves, and general
tourist traps.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--
Dec 15th 2006, 7:22 am
#13
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
I have a feeling that most of my week will be spent in the coffee
houses and bars. But thanks for the warning. Actually thank all of
you for your input, Leaving the country blindly for the 1st time is a
hard thing to do. I want to make sure I am prepared.
Deeply Filled Mortician wrote:
> On 15 Dec 2006 10:18:55 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
> >Yea I know it is probally a very old city and I'm sure it has some bad
> >places... I'm not expecting heaven, but I think it will be a great
> >experience.
> The 'old' aspect is not the worst to expect. It's the newer problems
> that will strike you, like drugs, efficient thieves, and general
> tourist traps.
> --
> ---
> DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
> ---
> --
houses and bars. But thanks for the warning. Actually thank all of
you for your input, Leaving the country blindly for the 1st time is a
hard thing to do. I want to make sure I am prepared.
Deeply Filled Mortician wrote:
> On 15 Dec 2006 10:18:55 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
> >Yea I know it is probally a very old city and I'm sure it has some bad
> >places... I'm not expecting heaven, but I think it will be a great
> >experience.
> The 'old' aspect is not the worst to expect. It's the newer problems
> that will strike you, like drugs, efficient thieves, and general
> tourist traps.
> --
> ---
> DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
> ---
> --
Dec 15th 2006, 11:21 am
#14
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:50:29 -0600, itsmine <[email protected]> wrote:
>For transportation buy a 15 or 45 strippencart. That will allow you
>to use the trams and buses in Amsterdam or anywhere else in The
>Netherlands.
Personally I think renting bicycles would be the way to get around. But
after the coffeeshops, Amsterdam's intense bicycle, car and tram traffic
may be too much for many tourists.
Don <www.donwiss.com/pictures/#travel> (e-mail link at page bottoms).
>For transportation buy a 15 or 45 strippencart. That will allow you
>to use the trams and buses in Amsterdam or anywhere else in The
>Netherlands.
Personally I think renting bicycles would be the way to get around. But
after the coffeeshops, Amsterdam's intense bicycle, car and tram traffic
may be too much for many tourists.
Don <www.donwiss.com/pictures/#travel> (e-mail link at page bottoms).
Dec 15th 2006, 2:31 pm
#15
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: From Philadelphia to Amsterdam... costs?? $$
On 15 Dec 2006 10:18:55 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>Yea I know it is probally a very old city and I'm sure it has some bad
>places... I'm not expecting heaven, but I think it will be a great
>experience.
>Deeply Filled Mortician wrote:
>> Remember to lower your expectations before going there. It's a nice
>> place, but has some very grimy aspects to it!
>> --
>> ---
>> DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
>> ---
>> --
What city doesn't have those bad areas. It has seemed a little worse
the past 2-3 years because of all the construction going on.
>Yea I know it is probally a very old city and I'm sure it has some bad
>places... I'm not expecting heaven, but I think it will be a great
>experience.
>Deeply Filled Mortician wrote:
>> Remember to lower your expectations before going there. It's a nice
>> place, but has some very grimy aspects to it!
>> --
>> ---
>> DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
>> ---
>> --
What city doesn't have those bad areas. It has seemed a little worse
the past 2-3 years because of all the construction going on.
