jss1018's VirtualTourist Home Page
| Page Views: 1,309 | If I were rich, I'd have more travel pages! by jss1018 - last update: Jun 29, 2008 |
Hi, my name is Stan, and my wife and I are in our mid-forties at the time of this writing, and are from the U.S. We live in Tennessee, near Nashville. I'm originally from Georgia, close to Atlanta, and she was born in Alabama. I feel a bit like a rookie when creating this site, after viewing some of the amazing travels by others listed here. I had only been out of the country once, to Germany, several years ago on a business trip, and my wife had never traveled outside the U.S.
We took a 7-night trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands the week leading up to Christmas, 2004, that was so fantastic I wanted to post something about it. That plus the fact that I might be able to contribute something more for the first-time traveler to there, or for those considering such a trip but possibly hesitant about it. We only started thinking of doing it a few weeks before we went, and had to cram a lot of research and planning into a short period of time.
If you're considering travel to Amsterdam for the first time, just do it. Find a way and make it happen. It is an absolutely incredible city, and we had the best vacation of our lives there. We would very much like to go back, preferably in the Springtime.
A couple of possible helpful notes if making short-notice travel plans:
We used a passport expediting service named American Passport Express to order a renewal for mine and a first time issue for my wife. It's pricey, but was well worth it for us, since it was one of our major hurdles in making travel plans with little time. They have different levels of expedite speed for different pricing, and in our case delivered exactly as stated. A good service that gets the job done. They are located at:
American Passport Express
Another great company we used was for ordering an expedited certified birth certificate for my wife, needed for the passport, from a company named VitalCheck. We received it 48 hours after ordering via FedEx, a critical thing for us in doing all the planning so quickly. I still don't know how they were able to do it that fast. They're at:
Vital Check
For flight arrangements, we booked online using Expedia. They had the best pricing and flight arrangements for our particular trip compared to the other big services. A note for potential travelers that are unfamiliar with online discount travel services would be that flight costs may vary wildly depending on the particular days selected for the trip, with changing the dates by only a day or so possibly giving you a much better rate. Also, you of course will get better rates by booking further in advance, and higher ones for short-notice bookings. You might want to pay close attention to layover times if not a direct flight from your city. Too long a time between plane changes will have you twiddling your thumbs in an airport for hours, too short a time will be a disaster if the slightest delay in your flight coming in, long taxi times to the terminal, or a long trip to another terminal at your connecting flight airport. Allow ample time to make a connecting flight.
For our hotel choice, see our Accomodations travel page. We booked an apartment at the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, right on Dam Square, for a great price directly through this link, and for us was a perfect choice for our first visit:
Hotels.nl
I hope you enjoy reading my travel pages about our Amsterdam trip, and feel free to contact me if questions about going there for the first time. We saw a lot, and learned a lot, while there, and I would be glad to share our experiences with others. It's a joy to write something about it, being one of those very few times in life where it was just so good you have to tell someone else! Check out the Travelogue page and individual pages under Travel Tips for Accommodations, Must-See Activities, etc., for much more. |
The VirtualTourist travel pages You may find these VT sites a little tricky to navigate if a first-time visitor here. If so, clicking on my member name will take you back to my Homepage. The Travel Pages tab will take you to the link for our Amsterdam trip, with an Intro page, Travelogue with a bit about our week there, and a Tips section with pages for the various tips topics. If you get lost or onto other peoples' sites, doing a Member search for "jss1018" will take you back to my Homepage. |
 Comments for jss1018 | | | | |
margaretvn Sat Nov 18, 2006 14:38 UTC
hi been trying to mail you but without luck - I will try again tomorrow. | zazatann Wed Oct 18, 2006 15:07 UTC
I wish you have a very happy Birthday!!! Greeting from Bangkok, Teya | mary2u99 Wed Oct 18, 2006 04:03 UTC
Happy Birthday to you. Hope you have a fabulous day and keep travelling.:-) | seabree1001 Sun Jan 2, 2005 18:22 UTC
Almost made me cry! You captured how it feels for me to be over there. I hope you see some other cities and villages while you are there next and don't be scared of the train or the buses! They are an excellent and efficient way to get around the country. |
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