I'm going over to Amsterdam late July with a couple of friends, they have never been big smokers, I have in the past but was never too knowledgeable about different varieties. So we may not be smoking a huge quantity, so I'd like buy maybe 5 grams in one go and see if that's enough to see us through three days (probably not). We're staying at the Hotel Alexander on Vondelstraat, I know Easy Times is nearby but we'll be spending a bit of time in De Wallen too. Obviously don't want anything that will freak them out or send them to sleep too easily either, can anyone recommend amywhere and anything?

If you are not big smokers best might be to buy pre-rolled joints. Make sure you have eaten so have sugar in your blood stream. We all have our favourite coffee shops so probably best to just find one and ask what the mildest joint is or what the effects are of each type. Most will have 4-5 different pre-rolled joints.

I used to smoke it a lot for a couple of years, and still find I can smash it fairly hard when I go back periodically (for this reason....will avoid pre-rolled as are they not a bit of a rip off in the sense of potency to money paid? in comparison to rolling oneself...maybe my old stoner principles are blinding me) .....will be seeing how I feel initially and probably taking in a bit more than them. Been to amsterdam once before and smoked a hell of a lot but all with people that do/where doing so anyway....and even one of them ended up in a state for being hungover/tired. I've seen too many people whitey in the presence of myself and other friends in the past and whilst it can be funny it's not something I'd like to cause, it might traumatize them.

This said will consider a pre-rolled. I'm thinking amnesia haze might be a good option...? somewhere with nice, well-lit surroundings and a knowledgeable budtender..

Pre-rolled joints get a lot of stick on forums however if you aren't used to smoking much and don't care too much about the quality then I would just go for them.
Fairly simple to work out the potency (more expensive the more likely you'll get totally stoned) but if in doubt just ask the bud tender.

I guess everyone has his own preferences, but I would never buy 5g of 1 strain when you can try different ones for many different situations/time of the day (pre-rolled can be a way to "try before you buy"). Maybe is not great in term of money you end up spending, but you get more out of the overall experience.

I would suggest you go to a quiet coffeshop (like Amnesia or Siberie) and engage with the bud tender.

I have to second the Amnesia recommendation - its perhaps my favorite coffeeshop for friendliness and herbage. I almost always love the Amnesia Haze, and had a chance to try the Liberty Haze which I thought was very very good. Besides, they have three Volcanoes, which you may want to try out.

Thanks for the help! Will probably head to Amnesia first but buy in smaller quantities... and try a few pre-rolled if wanting to experiment.

I was there for a week and tried some stuff, here are my ¢2.

The strain that really got me the highest was "Mango Haze" that I got at "La Tartulia" (I think it was €12/0,9g). My favorite out of what I tried during my visit was however the "Super Silver Haze" from Greenhouse. It was quite expensive (€15/g), but felt great! (Especially when enjoying it in Vondelpark while watching the birds.)

I was actually quite impressed by the pre-rolled pure white widow you can get at bulldog. (4 "reefers" for €12, each containing 0,4 g.) To me, that was the best value I got - the quality was quite good and the price was low.