I just looked at today's rate .73 Euro for 1 U.S. dollar...The lousy dollar has started going down again and I am leaving for Europe on thursday..Going to the Dam a week from tomorrow. I am losing 950.00 U.S for the entire trip if it stays this way.. Im so depressed..

I feel your pain. No really! I'm due to arrive on the 29th. I just re-booked my hotel in $$'s instead of Euros to hedge against this while I'm enjoying myself. I was also able to get a bigger room for less money while I was at it.

The increase was due to the US Treasury basically printing off more money to buy back their notes (whatever that means). What I do know is that the timing is very unfortunate.

What it means is that our gov't is just doing business as usual. They're printing money out of thin air with nothing solid enough to back it to the extent that it needs. In simple terms, it's just bad economic policy with short-term effects and long-term ramifications. Bad ones.

Unfortunately, you can expect the dollar to slip to about $1.40 to 1 before all is said and done. Hey, it's still better than $1.60.

There are things that can be done to lessen the load.


Get an airline FF credit card and work extra hard at flying free some day down the road. Even if you hardly fly enough to rake in the miles. Flying free certainly takes the sting out of my 2 weeks in the Dam cost wise.


Consider a really basic 1 or 2 star hotel. or to save money book your hotel thru Priceline bidding and pay in dollars (and not all that many of them) Why pay 75 euros for a 2 star when you can pay 75 dollars for a 5 star? And less for a 4 star.

There is a great thread on tripadvisor-amsterdam forum with all the recent prices.


For the smart traveler there are still ways to save a lot of money.

Its not just the Euro, its the price of things in the Dam, I thought food and drink was expensive in England, but its not a patch on price in the Dam, took and spent 650 euros in 3 nights, a tomato soup cost me 7 euros at one place (San Thomas Steakhouse in the Chinese area), had a small Steak for 24 euro and just to have a jacket potato with this was 5 euros, the waiter kept trying to upsell Garlic bread and side salads everytime he came to our table, didn't see price of that !!!
Even in McDonalds, I ordered a large QP meal, they asked me what dip I wanted for my fries, I said tomato, she threw 6 sachets on my tray, when I looked at the bill I had been charged 0.4 euro a sachet 2.4 euros for some ketchup, I only used 1 ! lol, could have bought 4 full bottles in some supermarkets back here.
No wonder I had no money left for the ladies in De Wallen.

I would've made them take some of the ketchup back at McDonald's, especially when they didn't even ask you how many you wanted. They just decided for you and charged you as such? Wow.

I've also had to deal with stupid garlic bread upselling at a restaurant or two myself. It's pretty annoying. I also find it annoying that you can't look at any of the menus that many of the restaurants in the Dam Square and Leidseplein areas display outside without having the host come out and try to sell you in.

"a tomato soup cost me 7 euros at one place"





Not a knock but this has less to do with the exchange rate or how expensive things are in Amsterdam. It has to do with the real time choices we make as to where we spend our money.

I can come pretty close to being able to eat for a whole day on 7 euros.....after stuffing myself at the free breakfast buffet at the hotel. Maybe 3 or 6 euros over on an average day.

But then I stay away from what I see as expensive eating places. A grab and go of good filling food (Walk to Wok as an example) can do the job for under 7 euros.


Its a bit like hitting in baseball. You get an inside pitch or a slider and you adjust. And adjust is what we do when things seem to be more expensive.


Although with these priceline rates we are seeing now this is just about the cheapest travel time hotel wise I have seen in decades.

Have to agree with Bac si , we normally fill up on the free breakfast , buy a piece of bread at one of the markets for lunch and eat a cheap meal in the evening .

We do not go to Amsterdam to eat so we could tell you nothing about the great food , but the swinger clubs !

Just ask us

make sure your hotel includes breakfast and then eat like a demon! I'm saving for an upcoming trip and you'd never believe how long you can eat beans and pot noodles before scurvy sets in!

"make sure your hotel includes breakfast "


Great advice when going for a 1 or 2 star hotel. But the other option is to bid on PL, save a fortune on a 4 or 5 * hotel, and go out and treat yourself to breakfast with a portion of the money you saved.


Even if I have a hotel breakfast, and certainly if I do not, I put about 2-3 of those small instant oatmeal packages in my suitcase for every day I am in the Dam.

Some hot water. Plastic spoons. And some use and throw away bowls I buy after arrival. For pennies a day I can have a filling, healthy, and oh so very cheap breakfast that will keep me full for hours. It also serves as a late night snack.

Guys you worrying bout breakfast/ food in dam???? dam is cheap as citys go try dublin or london, any major city in
europe, girls here in ireland charged 150 euro for 1/2 hr, can have 3 for that in dam, beer 4/5 euro in middle of dam, try
dublin or london, 6/7 plus
If you are off to dam enjoy, forget bout money, that what dam is all about.
only time i think i seen breakfast was on the way to bed one morning LOL,
My breakfast bout 2am molly malones big irish heart attack fry and a few beers do not ask me what it cost.
Eveing late kam yin Warmoesstraat best chinese in rld, and 1/4 price of home.