Car Hire Amsterdam

Amsterdam Mini Guide

Holland’s capital Amsterdam is a city of contrasts and attracts many different types of tourism. This fine city of art, architecture and culture with its beautiful canals and cobbled streets also has a seedy underbelly.

Thousands of people go to Amsterdam every year to partake of its coffee shops where marijuana is sold legally, and they also go ‘window shopping’ through its red light district as prostitution is also legal there. This policy of tolerance is very attractive to many visitors especially as the Dutch are well known for being very friendly and excellent at conversing in English.

However tourists should be aware that although the authorities there are relaxed it does not mean that anything goes. In fact recently there has been a drive to clean up Amsterdam by closing many of the coffee shops and also windows in the red light district.

They should also be wary when walking through this notorious part of Amsterdam which rings the central station as there have been many reporting muggings and robberies there. While the latter activities of pot smoking and prostitution have made Amsterdam a favoured destination for students and stag parties, this beautiful city has some other fine sights to see.

Amsterdam, whose one million people live along the banks of the River Amstel is also highly multi-cultural. One place which must be seen is the house of Anne Frank where this little Jewish girl hid from the Germans during World War II all the while keeping a diary of events.

Flying into Amsterdam you will arrive at one of the world’s most modern airports, Amsterdam Schiphol, which is well connected to destinations across the whole world. You will find the car rental desks on Schiphol Plaza as you come out of arrivals.

Once you have picked up your Rhino hire car you should be aware that driving in the city takes some getting used to because of the massive amount of cyclists on the road as well as an intricate tram system which criss-crosses the city. If you are driving to Holland from neighbouring Germany you will take the A1 road, from Belgium in the south you take the A2.

Amsterdam is well connected to other Dutch cities such as The Hague and Utrecht by road and the speed limit is 120 kilometres per hour. It is also easy to take the ferry across to Holland, pick up your Rhino rental car, and drive to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam gained a reputation during the 1960s as one of the most liberal places on earth and that liberalism in turn spawned a huge tourist trade. However Dutch people have become tired of people swarming into their capital city for stag parties lured by the prospect of legal highs and prostitution.

The city has cleaned up its act massively in recent times and there is so much more to see and do in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has several amazing museums, such as the Van Gogh Museum, and also the Anne Frank house where she hid from the Nazis.