Amsterdam attracts tourists with its reputation as a city of free morals and a large number of establishments for night fun. But they come here not only for this. The city is home to numerous museums, canals and narrow streets that invite you to stroll.
See the sights of Amsterdam on foot, by bike or using water transport. Here you can wander for a long time, admiring the buildings and looking at the views. A trip to this amazing city delights and is remembered by the vast majority of tourists.
How to get to Amsterdam from the northern capital of the motherland, read in our material.
Airplane
Flight from St. Petersburg to Amsterdam is the fastest and most convenient way to travel. Aeroflot and KLM Airlines offer several direct flightsin a day. The flight time is approximately 3 hours, and the cost of the trip is from 550 euros.
For those who prefer saving money at the expense of time, numerous flights to Amsterdam from St. Petersburg with transfers are suitable. Ticket prices start from 160 euros, and travel time increases by 2-3 hours. The transfer takes place in other European cities, it can be Warsaw, Munich, Copenhagen, Riga or Minsk.
To be sure of a safe journey, it is recommended to select flights from one airline, this increases the responsibility of the carrier for a transfer during a connecting flight. In any case, the gap between arrival and departure should be at least an hour, preferably two.
From St. Petersburg to Amsterdam, you can make a combined route. For example, offers for flights from Helsinki to the capital of the Netherlands are very attractively priced. And you can get to Helsinki Airport from St. Petersburg by regular bus, fixed-route taxi or using the services of the BlaBlaCar service. Such a trip can become very cheap, an air ticket from 100 euros and about a thousand rubles for a land trip. This is a great option for the budget traveler.
Tips for finding flights
To buy tickets for the St. Petersburg - Amsterdam plane, you can use the services of Skyscanner, Aviasales and others. To find options at the best price, use the advice of experienced tourists:
- Flight prices are constantly changing. But howas a rule, with earlier booking, prices are significantly lower, with the exception of last-minute offers with a departure in the coming days. Therefore, the first rule is to book tickets in advance.
- Seasonality must be taken into account. Ticket prices go up in the summer and around Christmas, and go down in the off-season.
- Check options not for one day of departure, but plus or minus three days. Significant price change possible.
- Review offers for nearby cities like Cologne or Brussels. You can get from them to Amsterdam quickly and inexpensively.
Train
It is inconvenient, long and expensive to get to Amsterdam by train, because, unfortunately, there is no direct connection. The route can be laid through Moscow or Warsaw. You can also buy tickets for running trains to Berlin or Brussels, and from there you can get to the capital of the Netherlands by train or bus.
Travel by train St. Petersburg - Amsterdam will take at least 1.5 days, the cost of the trip - from 15,000 rubles. It is quite long and expensive, so it is advisable to choose this type of transport if there are objective reasons that each person may have.
Car
For lovers of long trips on their own car, you can consider the possibility of such a trip. The distance from St. Petersburg to Amsterdam is 2300 km. When preparing for such a long trip, you need to take care of the serviceability of the car, the availability of a driver’sinternational identity cards.
The route should be laid through the following cities: Tartu (Estonia), Riga (Latvia), Siauliai (Lithuania), native Kaliningrad, Torun and Poznan (Poland), Berlin and Hannover (Germany). As we can see from the route, you need to be ready to cross the border of different states many times.
When traveling by car, you will have to spend more than a day on the road. The cost of the trip depends on the fuel consumption of the car.
Traveling in your own car means freedom of movement. You will be able to see not only one city, but also the surrounding area.
Bus
Some companies, such as Ecolines, offer comfortable travel from St. Petersburg to Amsterdam by bus. Travel time will take almost two days. But thanks to the equipment of the provided transport with everything necessary, the trip is quite pleasant and comfortable. For the convenience of passengers, the bus has a toilet, TV, video system, 220 W sockets, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, free drinks and the opportunity to buy snacks. Flight attendants accompany passengers on long flights.
The average travel time along the route is 47 hours, the bus makes short stops in cities along the route.
Visa
To travel to the Netherlands, Russian citizens need to apply for a Schengen visa. For up-to-date information on the size of the consular fee and the required documents, it is better to check the website of the Netherlands Visa Application Center in Russia.
For timely clearanceIt is worth contacting the visa center 3-4 weeks before the start of the trip. Most often, a visa is issued for six months and gives the right to stay on the territory of the Schengen countries for 90 days.
Tours to Amsterdam from St. Petersburg
You can plan and organize a trip to the capital of the Netherlands on your own, for this you need to buy tickets, book a hotel and outline a travel plan for attractions.
Tourists who want to buy a package tour that includes all of these aspects, turn to tour operators who take responsibility for organizing the trip.
Tour price usually includes:
- air travel on a regular or charter flight;
- transfer to and from the hotel;
- accommodation and meals according to the chosen system;
- he alth insurance.
Also, many companies offer bus and ferry tours from St. Petersburg to Amsterdam and to nearby European countries. By purchasing such a package, you get a turnkey trip, you can visit several cities and countries.
Where to stay?
When planning a trip, it is better to decide on a hotel in advance in order to book it at a better price. Hotel prices in Amsterdam break records for the most expensive in all of Europe. The city is very popular with tourists, and high demand, as we know, generates high prices. And this is definitely not the option when you can count on a successful accommodation upon arrival. It might cost too much.
Looking at the map of the city,it may seem that it is quite small, but this is an erroneous impression, because Amsterdam is huge. The city is divided into 7 districts. The most preferred for tourists, of course, is the central area, where all sightseeing tours can be done on foot.
Lower prices but high comfort is offered by the southern district of Zeid, which is located a little further from the center.
Art lovers will be happy to settle in the Museum Quarter, which is also located in the Zeid area. Here is the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the famous Vondelpark and the abode of fashion - the P-C. Hooftstraat.
In the De Pijp quarter, low prices for housing, cafes and restaurants are in almost every home. The Albert Cuyp food market is located here. There are fewer tourists than in the city center, and this quarter will appeal to noisy youth.
For tourists who want to at least temporarily feel like a resident, not a tourist, the Oud Zeid or Rivierburt quarters are suitable. They are remote from the center, here you can find comfort and peace.
In order to make a choice and determine which areas of the city you like the most, try the 11-question test on the official website of Amsterdam.
Best time to travel
The doors of Amsterdam are open to tourists all year round. But the high season is considered the time from the end of March to mid-September. The main events in the life of the city, which you should focus on:
- opening of the Keukenhof flower park (end of March);
- Europe's largest flower paradeBlumenkorso (April-May);
- Queen's Birthday (April 30);
- Flag Day (first Saturday in June);
- International Cannabis Festival (late November);
- Christmas (late December).
Amsterdam is different and different for everyone, it cannot be described in a few words. The great masters Van Gogh, Rembrandt and other artists of the Flemish school worked here. The city boasts not only the famous coffee shops and the red light district.
And it doesn't matter what time you prefer to visit the capital of the Netherlands. Amsterdam is sure to enchant you.
