One Day in Amsterdam

Amsterdam - Sept. 2025

In late June, I booked a direct, round-trip flight from Halifax to Amsterdam. As of the booking date, I had plans to spend a few days in Amsterdam, probably at the end of the trip, before returning to Halifax. I thought it would be convenient to be in my city of departure on the day I needed to fly home. However, my initial plan changed.

The city is immensely popular, with millions of visitors each year, and during the peak summer season, it becomes extremely crowded. Amsterdam is also not that big, and the main concentration of visitors is relatively small.

Amsterdam’s accommodation prices, whether for hotels or Airbnb, can be steep. Amsterdam has strict rules and regulations for Airbnb rentals that aim to protect residents, and hotels are limited overall. For example, under Dutch regulations, homeowners on Airbnb can rent out their primary residence for a maximum of 30 nights per year. Permits are required, safety standards must be met, and additional requirements apply. There is also a further 12.5% levy on accommodations. That is mandatory and has been implemented to offset the extra costs associated with the influx of tourists and their impact on Amsterdam’s infrastructure.

For hotels, accommodations come down to space. Amsterdam is compact, and there is really nowhere to build new hotels. What’s there is basically what they have, and there aren’t many of them.

In summary, my stay in Amsterdam came down to cost. Do I want to spend that money to stay there, or pay close to the same and fly and stay somewhere else? After some research, I decided to spend only the arrival day there. That gave me about six hours in Amsterdam before I flew to Zagreb.

Getting from the airport to the city center is very easy: take the train to Amsterdam Centraal, which takes approximately 20 minutes. It’s cheap and convenient. I arrived in the city around 11 am to start exploring. The weather was good; some clouds in the sky, but it was warm. I had a couple of checkpoints on a Google Map, but aside from that, I had no plan and wandered around for a few hours, taking in the city for the first time.

With only a short time in Amsterdam, it would be unfair of me to give a strong opinion on whether it’s a place I recommend visiting. When you’re only there for a brief time like me, you are at the mercy of the current weather and time, meaning areas are usually concentrated. It also affects photography. It can take some time to get into the groove of creating photography, as you need to familiarize yourself with your surroundings and determine the best approach. That doesn’t happen immediately.

When I arrived, keep in mind that I had flown overnight and didn’t sleep much on the plane. After walking thousands of steps with minimal rest, I was starting to feel it. I wouldn’t see an actual bed until late that evening when I arrived in Zagreb.

I want to return to Amsterdam with more time at my disposal. I didn’t even get to spend one night in Amsterdam! If the direct flights continue from Halifax, I can see myself booking again. Accommodations will always be pricey, but to get a full impression of Amsterdam, I’ll need 2-3 nights.