Amsterdam (Netherlands) is at the same time an utopia for wellness travel, as well as a popular destination for drinkers, Red-light district sex tourists, and weed smokers. In this post, we focus on the unique health food options, fitness and spa scene, and the smart shops with their fascinating herbal products.
Contents
European Capital of Marijuana
Marijuana is legal in the Netherlands. Its use is nowhere else more prevalent and unobscured in Europe, than in Amsterdam. If you can’t resist the temptation to give it a try, there are plenty of “coffee-shops” around every corner in this city. These cafes provide the opportunity to order, eat or smoke products containing cannabis, in a comfortable indoors environment.
In addition, weed is sold at the “head shops”. These stores stock marijuana products to take home with you (or to your hotel room, at least). This includes bongs for smoking, marijuana jelly beans, marijuana cakes, tea, chocolate, and basically any other product containing this trippy plant.
If you’re very interested in this topic, also check out the Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum at Oudezijds Achterburgwal 148, to learn about Cannabis species, Hemp’s industrial / nutritional uses, and medicinal cannabis.
It’s worth mentioning a warning or two about Marijuana use. Studies point towards negative impact on academic performance of pot smokers 1. Secondly, it appears to increase Cardiac risk factors 2. Thirdly, some studies warn of negative impact of marijuana on brain function 3. Lastly, studies have shown that heavy Marijuana use leads to relationship (social) and economic difficulties in its users 4.
However, for medical experimentation, marijuana should be legal. Many medical conditions are much worse than the negative side-effects of this soft drug. In any case, rather find other ways to “de-stress” instead of smoking pot.
CBD oil
As an alternative, check out the CBD oil, sold everywhere in Amsterdam. The Marijuana plant has 2 main active compounds. The first is THC (short for “Tetrahydrocannabinol”), responsible for the psychoactive mind-altering effect. The second component is CBD (short for “Cannabidiol”), which is believed to have health and medicinal benefits.
CBD oil contains close-to-zero THC, thus has no psychoactive effect. However, its medicinal benefits are said to include anxiety and pain relief. Researchers are also investigating it’s potential in alleviating cancer symptoms, epileptic seizures, and Alzheimer’s disease.
I bought and used CBD oil when I visited the Netherlands. I didn’t experience any benefit – but this may simply be because I’m in good health. Thus in my own opinion, you need to have some specific condition which you wish to treat with the CBD. Otherwise I don’t see much point to use it. Still, CBD should be legal in all countries.
Amsterdam Food Scene
Healthy Quick Service Restaurants
Amsterdam has a wide range of food options available. Aside from the typical expensive restaurants, you’ll find budget healthy street food at the Maoz vegan branches. Choose a whole wheat pita and fill it with as many vegetables as you like, along with sauces and falafel. There is also the vegan Shawarma option with mushrooms (or aubergine), but falafel tastes better. Maoz is great for a late-night snack when everything else is already closed. Some branches are open until 1 am. The price is 8 Euro.
Wok to Walk is a healthy Asian food takeaway alternative in Amsterdam. Choose a base ingredient e.g. whole wheat noodles or rice, and add vegetables plus optionally meat. Adding extra ingredients to your wok, e.g. more vegetables, can be expensive – easily 10 Euros in total. Of course Amsterdam is an expensive city. They add an egg to every dish. Thus its only a Vegan meal (as opposed to vegetarian) if you ask them to leave the egg out.
Eazie “build-your-own-meal” wok restaurants is another healthy food, quick-service, option in Amsterdam. At Eazie Amsterdam it’s relatively affordable to get a tasty meal with around 5 different vegetables included in the purchase price (which you can choose yourself). Thus, its better value for money than Wok To Walk. The price is around 7 to 8 Euros. There’s a branch close to the Albert Cuyp Market mentioned further below.
Hummus House cooks up Israeli vegan options in the center of the city: Although it’s higher quality food, the prices are also higher while the portions are small.
The kiosks selling Dutch french fries are popular with tourists, but it’s unnecessary fat and empty calories (thus wise to avoid). Other foods to be wary of include the very high-in-calories Dutch syrup waffles (“stroopwafels”), as well as the pastries. Plus, you’ll find plenty of energy-dense foods such as hamburgers in Amsterdam. Instead, opt for the nutrient dense options, such as a salad at SLA (a health-food restaurant chain).
Amsterdam Health Shops And Supermarkets
Quality vegan restaurants are lacking in Amsterdam (unlike for example Berlin – a better city for vegans). Yet, the natural health shops, for example Ekoplaza, offer good vegan snack options along with other wholefood products. Once you’re tired of Ekoplaza, also check out De Aanzet Organic Supermarket, close to the Albert Cuyp Market. They’ve got a wide range of natural and healthier products.
Albert Heijn and Marqt are good local grocery stores for the health-aware traveler. There you’ll find amongst other healthy snacks: Carrots & hummus, ready-made meals like pre-packaged salads, wholewheat bread, dark chocolate, green juices, and smoothies. Albert Heijn is the largest healthier food supermarket chain in the Netherlands. Marqt only operates in Amsterdam, and its worth visiting one of the branches when you’re in the city.
Amsterdam Food Markets
Albert Cuyp Market is a famous tourist-friendly market close to the city center. It’s situated in the pedestrian Albert Cuyp Street. I was surprised to find both fresh coconut water and green smoothies for 1.50 Euro in this otherwise expensive city. However this was mostly only during the weekend, when its busier.
It’s also a great place to buy other tourist accessories e.g. a travel suitcase for around 30 to 40 Euros. Prices are good in this market, and not as inflated as in the touristic heart of the city. There’s not that many healthy food options at the market itself, but you’ll find quick service restaurants in the surrounding area. At Albert Cuyp market you’re much more likely to find for example, a lot of Dutch Stroopwafels, rather than a salad. However, there is a lot of relatively cheap fresh produce on sale, e.g. fruits, vegetables and nuts. The market is open from 9 am to 5 pm every day, except Sundays.
A better market to grab food than Albert Cuyp, is the Foodhallen at De Hallen, with typical street food. Its good for grabbing a meal, but there’s not much more to do there, other than checking out the very decent Amsterdam-West neighborhood.
Amsterdam Spa’s
For the health-centric traveler, it’s worth checking out the saunas. The unusual thing about these sauna-spa’s is that mixed gender nudity is mandatory on most days of the week. However, no cameras (nor cellphones) are allowed inside these complexes. Plus, you can keep a towel wrapped around you, or choose to come on a swimwear day.
The reason Amsterdam’s spa’s are so popular may be that it gets extremely cold outside, especially in winter. Thus, your body never breaks a drop of sweat, but if you’re in the sauna you can sweat all you want. With the warm temperature inside, you forget the snow in the city.
There are different types of saunas available – some for the hardcore sauna fan of around 90 degree Celsius and others more relaxing at 60 degree Celsius.
Spa choices in Amsterdam include the small Sauna Deco (in the city center), Sauna van Egmond (medium-sized, and a short train ride from central Amsterdam), as well as the large Spa Zuiver (a short tram ride from the central station). Read my full Spa Zuiver review here.
Amsterdam Fitness
Some fitness clubs in central Amsterdam would let you work-out for a decent price of 15 Euros – which includes all the other fitness classes offered that day. One example of such a club is Sportcity Waterlooplein. You can drop in to a free Yoga, Pilates or a Yoga-pilates combo class, before or after your 15 Euro gym workout. There’s also a sauna and showers in the locker rooms. Sportcity does sometimes offer a free day-pass in low season, if you fill a form in on their website before visiting.
Some other gym’s try to rip off tourists by charging 30 euros (or more) for a workout, which is too much if you’re on a budget.
Also check out Fit For Free, one of the largest fitness chains in the Netherlands. This was the most tourist-friendly gym I found in the country. They currently offer a free intro day pass (this is a temporary arrangement for the low season). Normally you have to pay something like 10 Euros. Some of their branches also have gender-separated sauna facilities, plus a free coffee machine. Their equipment is new and good quality – but still its advisable to avoid peak hours e.g. after 5pm during the week.
Basic-Fit is an unstaffed gym in Amsterdam. Daypass can be bought at the computer in the reception hall with your credit card for 10 Euros. Then use the receipt to scan at the entrance gate, and voila you’re inside at a great gym.
Using your search engine, you’ll find plenty of tourist-friendly yoga studios around the city as well.
It can be inconvenient going for a jog in the heart of the city. Its very congested, and not that easy avoiding traffic, trams and tourists all the time. As an alternative, Vondelpark is a great place to go for an uninterrupted run, reasonably close to the city-center.
The Amsterdam Smartshops
There are more than 30 different Smartshops in Amsterdam. Notable ones include Azarius, which also has a strong vaping section at the back, and knowledgeable staff. As well as the very central Kokopelli, with their own friendly tripping lounge and small café, where you can even drink coca tea.
Smartshops focus on selling unconventional herbal products, and plant medicines, which are usually banned in other countries. The philosophy in Netherlands seems to be “if it’s a plant, we won’t make it illegal“. This makes a lot of sense and opens up access to nature to the everyday consumer.
Ask the smartshop employees all your questions and use their products responsibly. For example, I wouldn’t attempt to try all their different products in a very short time-frame of around 3 days, without taking time in between to reflect on the experience, positives, negatives (and potential side-effects) of each herb. Some herbs are more compatible than others though.
Interesting herbs available include Sceletium (Kanna), Ayahuasca, Salvia, Peyote, Magic Mushrooms (only grow are kits available), Magic Truffles, Kratom, Syrian Rue, Guarana, Gingko Biloba, and Valerian. Most of these herbs can be subdivided within three or four categories. For example, Valerian or Passionflower would be sedatives. Magic Mushrooms or Ayahuasca are psychedelics. While Guarana or Kola Nut are stimulants.
Moreover, they sell “Herbal Ecstacy” tablets, which are marketed as a type of legal Ecstacy. But these have very mild effects. They would contain, for example, caffeine, for energy, or Kanna and Kratom, to produce a relaxing effect. I didn’t bother trying these out since you can simply use the original plants instead of buying these “mixes”.
Also read my Magic Truffle Trip Report in Amsterdam.
Health Travel Junkie Challenge
Go to an Amsterdam Spa. Try out all the different sauna’s. Although you only sit (or lie down) in the sauna, it’s still a form of exercise. The extreme heat helps you burn calories, and gives you a mild “workout” since your heart rate will also increase. Furthermore, you become more adaptable to high-heat training environments, with obvious benefits for endurance sports. Plus, if you sauna after a workout, it’ll help muscle relaxation and recovery.
Health Travel Junkie Scale
Fitness activities: 8/10
(Not cheap, unless you get a free daypass. However, it’s still cheaper and easier for tourists to work out in Netherlands than in Germany.)
Food: 8/10
(Good variety and plenty of healthier options – especially at some supermarkets. Restaurants are expensive though.)
Cost of traveling here: 5/10
(With regards to supermarket food and entertainment – it’s affordable. But quality accommodation in central Amsterdam is very expensive)
Other Wellness-related activities: 9.5/10
(Such as the Spa’s and Sauna’s, Smartshops, and generally a very health-aware culture)
Overall rating: 80 %
Have you ever been to Amsterdam? If you have any further tips or questions, comment below!
References
1. Arria, A., Caldeira, K., Bugbee, B., et al. (2013). The academic opportunity costs of substance use during college. College Park, MD: Center on Young Adult Health and Development. Available at www.cls.umd.edu/docs/AcadOppCosts.pdf
2. Marijuana (Cannabis) Use is an Independent Predictor of Stress Cardiomyopathy in Younger Men. Amitoj Singh, Sahil Agrawal, Mark Fegley, et al. http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/134/Suppl_1/A14100/
3. Amen D, Darmal B, Raji C, et al. (2017) Discriminative Properties of Hippocampal Hypoperfusion in Marijuana Users Compared to Healthy Controls: Implications for Marijuana Administration in Alzheimer’s Dementia.
4. Magdalena Cerdá, Terrie Moffitt, Madeline Meier, et al. Persistent Cannabis Dependence and Alcohol Dependence Represent Risks for Midlife Economic and Social Problems: A Longitudinal Cohort Study. Clinical Psychological Science, March 2016 DOI: 10.1177/2167702616630958
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