I went to Amsterdam because I saw plane tickets were cheap and I thought “why not?” I booked a trip for 7 days but I honestly had no idea what to do, so naturally I went to the internet for ideas. One of the first things that come up when searching “things to do in Amsterdam” was the I amsterdam City Card. I’m actually really glad I got the card, because it gave me some ideas of places to see.
How Does It Work?
Their website explains how it works (quite thoroughly), here’s a short explanation: choose the amount of time you want the card to be valid for, buy the card, and get access to museums, attractions, public transport (for free or with a discount), and other freebies/giveaways around the city. ***A lot of cities have one of these types of tourist passes now***
Is It Worth It?
The answer to most questions in life: It depends. Look at the list of attractions you get with the card and see which ones you’re interested in going to, search up the individual ticket prices, and see if you will break even. If you’re going to attractions JUST to break even, then I wouldn’t recommend getting the card. My own opinion: you shouldn’t waste your time doing things you don’t want to do just to get a deal.
My Experience with the Card
I got the 48-hour card and broke even. I probably could have better maximized the benefits (by going to more attractions) but I spent more time at certain attractions than I thought I would and didn’t want to rush. I also didn’t utilize the public transit (I walked everywhere) nor did I get any of the freebies/giveaways (they weren’t worth it for me to go out of my way to get them). I think two days was a good amount of time (at least for me). Like I mentioned before, I hate wasting time. One of the things I loved about the card was that it gave you fast track entry, so you can expedite your time in lines.
My favorite attractions that the card gave me were the canal cruise and the Rembrandt house. I HIGHLY recommend the canal cruise, being able to see the city by boat was amazing (I did the canal cruise at sunset and it was beautiful). The canal cruise tour briefly went over the history of Amsterdam and pointed out interesting facts across the city, it was fun learning these little tidbits of information.
TIPS TO MAXIMIZE USE (that are pretty common sense… so these may not actually be tips)
- Don’t visit non I Amsterdam card activities during the time your card is valid for.
- Strategic planning: Map out your interested activities that are valid with the card, and visit them in clusters so you’re not wasting time traveling back and forth across the city.
- Go to the most popular attractions early in morning: I went to Amsterdam in November and because of jetlag I was awake at 5am in the morning. I went to the Van Gogh museum and Rijksmuseum right when they opened and had little to no line to wait in, so I had more time for other things in the day.
GETTING LOST EVERYWHERE 
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