If you are planning a visit to the Netherlands, I would personally suggest coming down at the end of April for Koningsdag or King’s day as it’s known to the non Dutch speaker. Held every year on the 27th of April - it marks a day to celebrate the monarchy and the nation of Netherlands, but honestly it’s just an excuse for the Dutch to party!
Having lived in Belgium for 5 years I never had the opportunity to celebrate kings day; luckily for me this year it was on a Friday n I decided to go to Amsterdam to see what it was all about.
Although it is celebrated all through the Netherlands 🇳🇱- Amsterdam is where the party is at.
The streets are a sea of orange. Everyone is dressed in the colour, some from head to toe. You can feel the party atmosphere. I arrived by train at 12 pm n people were already pretty drunk and dancing.
If you are like me and are looking to party, the KINGSLAND festival is the place to go. It’s held at the Amsterdam RAI which is a little out of the city, but still accessible using public transport (getting off at Amsterdam zuid station and walking) and we had bought tickets online beforehand for both the concert and public transport (it’s cheaper than last minute tickets). Though it seemed expensive; it was totally worth the money for the line up. Three stages featuring the best of Dutch and international djs and musical artists- Hardwell, de jeugd van tegenwoordig, lil’ Klein, DJ snake (who unfortunately couldn’t make it on time because of flight delays), lost frequencies, Ronnie flex, Kris Kris, Sam Feldt and many more.
The stages were great for a one day event and the crowd was amazing. My only complain would be them not allowing us to bring in our own drinks as the festival drinks were too expensive.
All the djs and artists were at the top of their game, mixing some of the best tunes and as a tribute a lot of avicii was played. A special shout out to Hardwell for his mix of the Dutch national anthem.
The festival lasted till about 8pm, after which drunk and pumped up we decided to head to the city Center and we were not disappointed. The streets were packed with people still partying. Beer could be bought at every street corner from special stalls and all the bars and pubs were packed. We also noticed a lot of kids inhaling balloons and decided to try it- balloon vendors were walking around with large tanks of nitrous oxide and filling balloons and selling them -3 for 5 euros. We bought three and decided to inhale them. Honestly it was fun- it was such a quick high that doesn’t last too long! Am I going to do that again? Probably not, nevertheless I am glad I did.
As the night progresses the streets got messy- drunk people throwing up, people screaming , street fights, we even saw a girl get handcuffed and arrested!
The red light district was a sight to behold. It was packed with drunken tourists and loads of men trying to cut a deal with the ladies of the night. We also manage to get into watching a live sex show and it definitely was not something I liked or will ever do again. But if you are in Amsterdam you might as well experience every aspect of the city.
For the lovers of the herbal stuff- coffee shops are open till 2am on kings day and you can choose to buy a pre rolled joint or just weed. The variety of weeds available differed from store to store, large chains like bull dog offer around 50+ types. Fair warning as with everything on kings day, coffee shops can be packed so it may be best to buy your stash earlier in the day. We bought some pre rolled joints and sat by the canal to smoke, soaking up the atmosphere and just enjoy the movement. Luckily the weather was great, unlike normal Dutch weather, I would still advise bringing a waterproof jacket or a rain jacket if your planning on visiting in April as the chances of rain ☔️ is way higher than a chance of a sunny day.
The great thing about the Netherlands is that the trains run all night in the weekends (something Belgium could learn from them) and one should take advantage of this. Hostel and hotel prices in Amsterdam during kings day weekend can be crazy expensive. Some hostels we looked at were charging 80 euros a night for a 10-12 person shared room 😱😱😱. We booked hostels in den Haag which is just a 20 minute train ride away and bought weekend train passes which allowed us to freely move around in the Netherlands without having to pay crazy prices for uncomfortable beds and crowded rooms.
All in all it was great but exhausting day, one where you get to truly experience the Dutch revelry and let loose. Plus you will never see so much of orange in you life.
Tips:
Pre book rooms in hostels / hotels in Amsterdam or better yet stay in a city near by and take advantage of the Netherlands amazing public transport connectivity. A 24 hour pass is pretty handy.
Just buy beer from a supermarket and drink, as the stalls, pubs, bars are very expensive and crowded during King’s day and drinking on the streets is legal.
Definitely go to Kingsland festival.
Get gear to protect from the rain.
HIP HIP HOERA!!!
