While not as pricey as Paris or Venice, Amsterdam is generally considered an expensive city. As a popular tourist destination, hotel prices can soar, especially in the high season. So before you book your tickets, let’s dig into how much a trip to Amsterdam costs.
We visited Amsterdam in January and found it much less crowded than in the summer, the hotels were cheaper, and the attractions weren’t as sold out or crowded. I’ll break down how much we spent on our trip, as well as offer the average cost for various seasons to detail an Amsterdam trip cost.
This Amsterdam trip budget includes how much I spent on airfare, lodging, transportation, activities, and food for a three-day trip to Amsterdam. I know you are anxious to know the total Amsterdam trip cost, so before I go into details, here is the bottom line.
A three-day trip to Amsterdam for two people costs approximately $2,525 for two people traveling from the U.S., or $420 per person, per day, including airfare or $234 not counting airfare. But keep reading to see the breakdown.
Amsterdam Trip Cost
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Before we jump into the Amsterdam trip cost breakdown, let’s discuss a few ways to save money:
- Traveling in the winter will give you more options for affordable hotels and airfare.
- Midweek travel will also help the budget because Amsterdam is a popular weekend getaway.
- Look for local, ethnic food options to save money (Indonesian is popular in Amsterdam!)
- If you want to pack in a lot of museums and attractions, consider purchasing the I Amsterdam City Card, which includes access to over 70 attractions, a canal cruise, bike rental, and local transportation.
- Staying in central Amsterdam near one of the tram lines or main canals will make it easier to explore the city on foot and avoid additional transportation costs.
- An Airbnb will likely save you money compared to a hotel, but there are plenty of American chain hotels that make it an easy destination to use your loyalty points.
Airfare to Amsterdam Cost
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) is a major airport hub in Europe, with many direct flights to the United States. It is largely serviced by the SkyTeam Alliance of Delta, Air France, and KLM. If you have American Express Membership Reward points or Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you should be able to transfer them to Delta or Flying Blue (Air France or KLM) if you are interested in using points. Pro tip: you can often find a better points deal on Flying Blue versus Delta.
If you want to find the best way to accumulate points and miles through credit card spending and sign up bonuses, I’d suggest downloading the Travel Freely app to track your credit cards and learn how to earn points.
We were actually able to get from Boston to AMS for only 36,000 Delta Medallion points (plus about a $50 fee per person.) This was a great flight deal but if you don’t have points, you can still find flight deals. I highly recommend signing up for a flight deal subscription service such as Going.
Just a quick search on similar dates in January show $560 for a direct flight from Boston to Amsterdam and $408 if you connect through Iceland on Play Airlines. But for that price differential, it is worth it to book the direct flight, especially if you are just going for a short visit. But don’t forget that once you are in Amsterdam, you can easily get economy flights or take the train to other destinations within Europe such as Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Vienna, and more.
Total Airfare Cost: $1120 ($560 x 2 people)
Amsterdam Accommodations Cost
We stayed at the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht, which I booked using my World of Hyatt points for 21,000 per night. If we had booked that with cash, it would be a pricey $429 a night. This was an excellent hotel with amazing service, stylish rooms, and a perfect location. I’m so glad we were able to utilize points for this stay!
If that isn’t an option for you, there are plenty of other more affordable hotels. For example, the Hyatt Regency on the same dates is $252 and the Hilton is only $150. Keep in mind that if you are traveling in the summer, the prices will likely go up by $100-200 per night.
Find more places to stay in Amsterdam:
Cost for 3 nights in Amsterdam: $780 ($260 x 3)
Transportation Costs in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a very walkable city, or you can use public transportation as they have a good tram system. You can also take a train from the airport to the Amsterdam Central train station for about $6.40. From there, depending on where you are staying, you will need to take a tram or walk a while (dragging your luggage.)
A one-hour bus or tram ticket costs about $3.70, or you can purchase 24-hour or 48-hour tram tickets. Since I don’t like dealing with public transportation after an overnight flight with suitcases, I booked a transfer service using Welcome Pickups (I’ve used them in many cities and they are always on time, with great drivers and cars) and that cost about $53 each way.
We actually enjoy walking so we didn’t use any other public transportation during our trip, but clocked about six to nine miles a day!
Total transportation costs in Amsterdam: $30
Activities in Amsterdam
There is so much to see and do in Amsterdam. And while it is fun to just stroll along the canals, admiring the architecture and people-watching, you will want to visit some of Amsterdam’s top attractions too. Keep in mind that many of them need to be booked in advance as they sell out (such as the Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum.)
A few must-see attractions and their related costs include:
- A visit to the Anne Frank House: $17.37 per person
- Canal boat cruise and tour: $21.45 per person
- Visit the Van Gogh Museum: $23.88 per person
- Visit the Rijksmuseum: $24.42 per person
- Optional: Amsterdam food tour: $77 per person
- Optional: Van Gogh Museum tour: $96 per person
Total Amsterdam Activities Cost: $175
Food Costs in Amsterdam
Food costs in Amsterdam can range from over-priced stroopwafels at €10 a pop to affordable Dutch cuisine at €25 a person. Of course, you can find plenty of fine cuisine, but to save money I would focus on the more casual restaurants like Moeders, where dinner for two cost only $50, or Asian cuisine like the Indonesian Kantjil & de Tijger, where a multi-course dinner for two including two beers cost only $91.
A traditional Dutch pancake breakfast for two will cost you only about $25 at a place like the Pancake Bakery or Pancakes Amsterdam, or you can pick up a coffee or juice at the local Joe & the Juice. Snacks like frites from the famous Fabel Friet run only about $7.00.
In general, you can estimate approximately:
- Breakfast: $15.00 per day
- Lunch: $15.00 per day
- Dinner: $25-50 per day
Total cost for food: $70 per day x 3 days x 2 people = $420
TOTAL Amsterdam TRIP COST
A three-day trip to Amsterdam costs approximately $2,525 for two people traveling from the U.S., or $420 per person, per day, including airfare or $234 not counting airfare.
| Category | Expense |
| Airfare | $ 1,120 |
| Accommodations | $ 780 |
| Transportation | $ 30 |
| Activities | $ 175 |
| Food | $ 420 |
| The total cost of a trip to Amsterdam for 2 people | $ 2,525 |
STILL DECIDING Where to Go? FIND MORE AVERAGE TRIP BUDGETS FOR:
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Tamara Gruber is the Founder and Publisher of We3Travel. A former marketing executive and travel advisor, Tamara is an award-winning travel writer and recognized expert in family travel. Tamara is a member of SATW and the Adventure Travel Trade Association, and serves on the Board of the Family Travel Association. She is also the publisher of YourTimetoFly.com and the co-host of the Vacation Mavens travel podcast.
