Amsterdam Classic

Your weekend, day by day

1. 1

   Day 1

   

   Boat party & cruise

   From about 15:00 · 1.5 hours

   Arrival day. Make your own way to the hotel, then the private canal boat in the afternoon with the group on its own. Board on time and bring a layer for the water. Airport transfers can be quoted separately.

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   Boats in Amsterdam are canal boats, not party ships. The usual booking is a private boat with a skipper, picking up in the centre, for 90 minutes to two hours round the Canal Ring with beer, wine and soft drinks included. Variations add a pizza each, a barbecue cooked on board by a chef, or a stop at two Dutch bars along the way. Shared one-hour cruises suit a smaller group. Many operators take a security bond per boat on boarding, and minimums of eight to ten are standard. A late-afternoon slot finishes you in the centre in time for dinner.

   You board at a fixed time and the boat runs a set loop, so latecomers are left on the dock. Onboard there is a bar and usually a DJ or a sound system you can plug into. Some are private charters for your group alone, others are shared with other bookings.

   What is included varies more here than anywhere else: some are entry only, some include a drinks package, some include food. Get that in writing before you pay.

   Deck shoes or trainers, nothing with a heel. It is colder on the water than on land, even in summer, so bring a layer.

   

   Club entry, VIP & booths

   From about 23:00 · 3 hours

   The first night finishes with guest-list club entry, past the queue. The late clubs run properly late at weekends. Dress codes are enforced on stag groups: no sportswear and no matching shirts.

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   The key Amsterdam rule: the clubs used for groups set a minimum age of 21, not 18, so check everyone's age before you book. Guest-list entry gets the group past the queue but usually has to be used before about 11:30pm, and the venue is often confirmed only a couple of weeks before travel. Clubs are in the centre or about ten minutes out. Smart casual is expected, and fancy dress or matching stag outfits are refused. A VIP table adds waiter service and a bottle with mixers, and the bigger clubs stay open until around 5am.

   Standard entry gets the group past the queue on a guest list, which matters because large male groups are the first ones a door turns away. A booth adds a reserved table, a set number of bottles with mixers and a host who looks after the table.

   Booths are sold on a minimum spend rather than a flat fee at many clubs, so the bottles you order count towards it. Ask what the minimum is and what it includes before you agree to anything.

   Dress code is enforced hard on stag groups. No sportswear, no trainers at some doors, no matching shirts, and nobody visibly drunk gets in regardless of the booking.

2. 2

   Day 2

   

   Beer tasting & brewery tour

   From about 14:00 · 1.5 hours

   The beer tasting in the afternoon: a look at how the beer is made, then a guided flight at the table. It is a sit-down activity rather than a drinking session, which suits the day after the first night.

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   The big draw is the self-guided experience inside the city's famous former brewery, now an interactive attraction in the centre. Allow about two hours, with two beers each at the end. Entry slots run from mid-morning into the evening, but on Saturdays groups must be in by about 11:30am, so it usually works better as a Friday or Sunday plan. The more relaxed alternative is a 90-minute tasting of five Dutch beers, blondes and darks, hosted by a bartender in a central bar or at a working local brewery. Both are 18-plus, with ID checked.

   The tour covers how the beer is actually made, through the mash tun, the fermenters and the cellar, and takes about an hour. Then you sit down to a guided tasting of a flight of their beers, usually four or five, with someone explaining what you are drinking.

   It is a sit-down, talk-to-each-other activity rather than a drinking session, and it works well for a group that has been on it since Friday. Most breweries have a taproom you can stay in afterwards.

   Working sites mean closed-toe shoes and no flip-flops. Some breweries put on food; check before you book dinner elsewhere.

3. 3

   Day 3

   

   Guided bar crawl

   From about 20:30 · 3 hours

   The guided bar crawl: meet the guide at a fixed point and work through a run of bars, finishing with club entry, with the guide handling the doors. Eat first so the group makes the start time, and dress for the last venue: no trainers and no sportswear.

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   Amsterdam crawls start promptly at 8pm and run three to four hours. The public crawls are centred on either the red light district or Leidseplein, take in up to five bars, finish with club entry and open with half an hour of free shots, so pace the start. Private crawls for your group visit three or four bars, with a shot in the first. Dress codes are strict: no fancy dress, shorts, joggers, beachwear, flip-flops or backpacks, so the stag outfit stays at the hotel. Bring ID, as crawls are 18-plus, and be at the meeting point on time.

   You meet the guide at a fixed point and move through a run of bars across the evening, usually four or five, finishing at a club. The guide knows the doors, so you skip the queue and the group is not turned away for being too large.

   Most crawls include a welcome drink or a shot at each stop, and entry to the final venue. The rest is on you. Groups from several bookings are often merged, which some stags like and some do not, so ask whether yours is private.

   Dress code is the club's, not the guide's. No trainers and no sportswear at the last venue, and matching shirts get refused at some doors.