Should You Buy the I Amsterdam City Card?

I am always intrigued by cities that offer some type of ‘city pass’ to most of the city’s top attractions. While in concept they seem like a great idea, I’ve learned the city passes aren’t always for everyone. We recently spent 4 days in Amsterdam and had the opportunity to try the 72 hour City Card.

If you are like me and have an ‘Amsterdam Pinterest board‘ filled with to-do lists and must-see recommendations, then you might want to think about getting the I amsterdam City Card- just make sure your to-do items line up with the attractions available on the card. If you are contemplating buying the pass, you can find my tips and suggestions below.

My favorite options with the pass:  Guided canal cruise, Van Gogh museum, Tulip Museum, Rembrandt House Museum, Botanical Garden, Amsterdam Museum, Canal Museum, Jewish Cultural Quarter, Houseboat Museum

Some of my favorite discounts with the pass: Rijksmuseum, A’DAM Lookout, Candlelight/Cocktail Cruise, Heineken Experience, bike rentals, boat rentals

Who should buy the I amsterdam City Card?
If you want to visit more than two museums, take the guided canal cruise, and visit a few of the smaller museums/attractions- then you may want to purchase this card. If we didn’t have the card I don’t know that we would have visited the tulip museum or the canal museum and I’m so glad we did! The smaller attractions ended up being some of my favorite museums. I also don’t know that we would have figured out how to purchase & use the public transportation {they don’t have kiosks or people to help you like in NYC, London & Paris}. The passes made transportation incredibly simple, which I was beyond thankful for.

Who shouldn’t buy the I amsterdam City Card?
If you plan on spending 7+ days in the city and want to spread out the museums & sites, if you don’t enjoy museums, or if you prefer leisurely walking around & not planning what you want to see- this pass probably isn’t for you. If you don’t plan on visiting at least two museums a day, this might not be your best option.

How to  get the most out of your I amsterdam City Card.
I amsterdam used Google Maps to map out all included attractions on their website, so I would start there and see where everything is located. Then, I would visit Amsterdam one neighborhood or section at a time. Try to hit everything you want in each area. If you visit at least 3 museums a day {some of the smaller museums take less than an hour} and take the public transportation, you can easily get your moneys worth. Please also note, you do get discounts at additional places- I only listed a few of my suggestions above!

You can learn more about the I amsterdam City Card here.

Have you ever purchased a city pass like this?
What were your thoughts or suggestions?

 

**Two I amsterdam City Card passes were gifted to me by Accor Hotels