5 Reasons to Love Amsterdam with The Little Backpacker

I recently spent a whirlwind weekend in Amsterdam and loved every minute of it. When you first think of Amsterdam a lot of people instantly think cannabis, coffee shops and the red light district however I experienced none of this during my time. There is so much more Amsterdam has to offer and I thought I’d share my five reasons to love Amsterdam. 

Amsterdam is such an easy country to get to from the UK the flight I took from London was shorter than a flight from Gatwick to Glasgow! Providing you book flights a few weeks in advance you can get some pretty cheap seats too. 

Shopping

Amsterdam has an amazing array of markets, boutique stalls and thrift shops as well as all the normal shops you find all over Europe like my favourite Desigual. The Albert Cuypmarkt was the best market, located not far from the Heineken Experience. It was a real locals place with such a wide rage of goods for sale. I also found an awesome cafe called Trust here. The market I was most excited about seeing however wasn’t open on a sunday! The Waterlooplein Markt is a huge flea market located not far from the Nieumarkt which I did visit - although a little small it still had a nice vibe to it. I also found myself wandering through the thrift stores in an area called the ‘Nine Streets’ where you will find those fancy boutique stalls too. 

Architecture

The buildings in this city are amazing. Every picture you have seen of this city just won’t do the buildings justice until you are wandering the canals and having to remind yourself to look where you are going not at all the buildings. Most of them are your typical tall and skinny building with some dating back hundreds of years! If you wander down Kloveniersburgwal to number 29 you will find a huge overblown mansion built by one of the cities richest families and is one of the widest buildings in the whole city. In contrast number 26 opposite is one of the narrowest buildings. It isn’t just the residential buildings that are worth a mention even Amsterdam Central Station is beautiful. Also worth a mention are the art museum of Rijksmuseum and the Koninklijk Paleis in Dam Square. 

Canals

After cannabis and the red light district the canals are probably the next most famous thing about Amsterdam although shadowed by the fact Venice is famous only for its canals. I still loved wandering along these beautiful canals. They are easy to get totally lost among and on the first day I certainly did just that by bike! The second day I took things a lot slower, wandering around on foot and stopping every two minutes to take a photo. I wasted several hours among those canals and could easily have wasted a few more hours if I hadn’t gone off shopping! Taking a canal boat is also a fantastic way to see the canals and find out a lot more about the history… 

History

Amsterdam is full of history: from how the canals used to work - the buildings on the edge of the city were used as warehouses, the bigger ships would bring goods in to that point and unload them off in the warehouses before smaller boats would distribute the goods around the city - to Anne Frank’s House which is open to the public and remains the most popular tourist attraction in the city. I decided to visit her house but before I could do so had to stand in a queue for 40 minutes, yes it is that popular everyday! If you are lucky enough to book a ticket in advance online you can save yourself the time. 

Autumn

Autumn is the perfect time of year to visit. I was there during a late September weekend and the weather was perfect. I was completely overdressed in my long sleeve top and coat! With clear blue skies and the sun streaming down it was perfect exploring weather. The trees around the canals had just started to change colour and begin dropping their leaves. What made autumn even better was the light, as a photographer we talk about something called the ‘golden hour’ well Amsterdam’s lasted for about three hours and I managed to snap some beautiful images during this time. I also found because the main ‘high’ season was over the city was a nice level of busy.

Amsterdam is a great place to visit for a cheeky Europe weekend away from the UK, I loved my time there and was surprised by how much I found to do. You can read more about my trip over on The Little Backpacker.

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Road trip Tips and Essentials with The Little Backpacker

Summer is upon us and one of my favourite pastimes of the summer is to take a road trip. I have been lucky enough go on a fair few in my time: two weeks around the West States of America, four days along the Great Ocean Road and 10 days around the Highlands of Scotland. All incredible in their own way but only so successful because of my preparation and packing. So today I wanted to share with you my top tips for taking a road trip but first I have a road trip competition to share with you.

Enterprise are running an awesome competition called #openroadessentials and it couldn't be easier to enter. All you have to do is share your open road essentials with Enterprise and you could win a road trip for two worth £1000

Want to get involved? Here’s what you need to do:

1. Take a photo of at least one item (although you can include as many as you like!) and upload to either Instagram or Twitter, using the hashtag #openroadessentials. (Try and take your shot in a clean, top-down format so everyone can see your item(s) clearly.)

2. Write a short description about what your item is and exactly what makes it special within your Tweet or Instagram caption.

3. Make sure you’re following us on the platform you choose to enter! We’re @UKenterprise on Twitter and @enterpriseUK on Instagram.

To inspire you a bit more here is my entry for the #openroadessentials competition and if that isn’t enough check out one of my favourite travel bloggers entries The Travel Hack 

Top tips for taking a road trip

Carry a map book - No matter how good you think your sat nav is, or how well your mate in the back knows the way I can guarantee you will still get lost or end up on a no entry road. A map book is trust worthy and providing you have someone who can read a map it will get you out of any sticky situation. I have also found a map book leads to awesome detours because you suddenly spot something you knew nothing about before hand.

Good Music - No matter how many times people say it, music makes a road trip. If you have bad music it can completely change the mood in the car. We once rented a snazzy Chevy in the States with a ipod connection built in this made for a far better road trip than the time we only had a radio and barely any signal on the radio. When all is said and done it’s the time you were all singing along to that song that you will remember.

Be prepared - My essentials are by no means the rules but they are a good starting point. I would recommend above anything that you carry water because if the car has a problem it will probably need water and if it doesn’t then you could be in for a long wait, in which case you’ll need the water. Be prepared for everything, I always carry a blanket, food, water and a phone with my breakdown cover number stored. You might want to think about spare petrol to which leads me on to my next point…

Keep an eye on the petrol light - We found driving around the north of Scotland there were far less petrol stations that I imagined. This resulted in us heading over ‘the pass of the cattle’ with our fuel light on. If we didn't find fuel in Applecross we wouldn't make it back to the main road and if anyone knows this road you will understand my worry - if not go google it you will be in for a shock. Anyway you get the idea, petrol is especially important when driving across the outback in Australia or the desert states of America.

Plan for distances and driving times for the day ahead - I have been know to plan out an entire road trip’s itinerary so that we weren't driving too much on any given day, but saying that I have also taken road trips where we just drive as much as we feel like and find somewhere to stop. I wouldn’t recommend the second one as you could end up driving for far too long without realising and driving tired is one of the most dangerous things to do.

I hope you find these tips and essentials helpful if you are planning a road trip this year - it is a great way to get some travelling done in your home country too. Good luck to everyone who enters the competition, just remember you have to be in it to win it!

Visit The Little Backpacker for more travel inspiration and tips.

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10 Photos Which Will Give You Wanderlust with The Little Backpacker

I have been thinking, dreaming and aching travel this week,I have now lived in Glasgow for seven months and that is the longest these itchy feet have been based any where for YEARS! So my guest post this week is all about the photos of places I've been too that are giving me wanderlust!

Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Australia

Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

Railey Bay, Krabi, Thailand

Marina Bay Sands Infinity Pool, Singapore

Mountains in New Zealand - North Island 

Sandwood Bay, Scotland, UK

Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

Kos Island, Greece

Koh Rong Island, Cambodia

Great Ocean Road, Australia

Each photo is my own, and if you'd like to know more about any of the places then hit me up on twitter or head over to my blog.

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5 Ways to Work Abroad with The Little Backpacker

 With the current economic and employment state in the UK more and more people my age are turning to other options than staying put and struggling to find a job. There seems to be more and more ways you can get yourself employed abroad – much of this depends on your nationality; all information below is based on a British nationality.

1. Camp America – Available to Europeans, Australians and Kiwis – Camp is generally a two month stint working during June and July. They offer many different jobs from being a camp counsellor, to working in the office or being a kitchen hand. The only experience you need for Camp America is working with children and then that is only for the camp counsellor position. Flights, accommodation and food is included in the price of this experience and can be booked online with Camp America. I spent two months teaching kids to ride during a summer at Camp Walden in Northern Michigan. Although the work was tough at times and we had to work six days a week, the friendships made and the days off we had completely made up for it. Not only that but the visa then allows you to travel after camp (including camp and travel this amounts to a total of four months).

2. Working Holiday Visa – This is available in Australia for 12 months with some nationalities eligible to a second year upon completing 88 days of regional work, New Zealand for 12 months and Canada for 12 months twice. With a working holiday visa you are allowed to work in that country for as long as the visa is valid. Some visas however have conditions on working – like in Australia you can only work for the same company for six months. And Canada you have to have been in the UK 18 out of the last 36 months. So plan carefully if you want to work in all three - go to Canada first.

3. Teach English as a Foreign Language – The course will cost you money to compete and as I have read in several blogs, to get a decent qualification you will have to spend a decent amount. However once you are certified this enables you to work in a wide selection of countries. This includes South America, Asia and Europe with contracts being anything up to 12 months. The only drawback with this one is some countries state you must have degree level education to work there.

4. Summer/Winter Season Jobs in the EU – As a citizen of Europe I am eligible to work all over Europe – obviously knowing the language would probably be a need however there are a handful of companies which run winter and summer season jobs all over Europe. Working in a ski resort over winter and a holiday complex in the summer is a great way to get yourself abroad and earn the pennies. With jobs in several different areas you don’t just have to be a good skier to get a job at a ski resort and what a perfect place to have as a base to travel Europe.

5. Sponsorship – This one is a bit trickier than the others and depends a lot on your line of work and what country you are looking to get sponsored in. Australia has some tight rules on who can gain sponsorship, however if you have a trade then chances are you will be welcomed with open arms. New Zealand runs on a similar policy but with a few more options of what your skills can be. One alternative is working for a company which will pay to send you to work around the world – now wouldn’t that be everyone’s dream.

Many people often ask me about making money off of my blog, but the truth is I don’t and the likelihood that you could make money instantly off of a travel blog isn’t high so I wouldn’t make that your primary source of income unless you really know what you are doing and have spent many years building up the content and traffic of your site. These five ideas are not the only ways you can work abroad; I know there is also an au-pair program running between the UK and USA/AUS along with an internship program for the States. There is also volunteering as an option but obviously like an internship this option wouldn’t pay you. 

If you want to know more about the above content or where to look at getting started with it all feel free to contact me on my social media accounts! 

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Top Tips For Visiting A Whisky Distillery with The Little Backpacker

I'm Jodie a travel blogger over on my site: thelittlebackpacker.com - I talk all things travel and photography. I started travelling around three years ago and have since lived in four continents - twice being in Scotland (Edinburgh and now Glasgow). I seek adventure and unique experiences on a budget and hope to share some of my tips and experiences with you guys.  

I spent some time travelling around Scotland in March and during this time I wanted to visit a whisky distillery. Not because I’m a huge fan of the taste but because I wanted to see what a distillery was like and how the whisky is made. It is such an important part of Scottish culture and I felt I should really know more about this famous drink. We passed dozens of distilleries on our road trip however the first one which took our fancy was the Talisker one on the Isle Of Skye. Unfortunately we arrived 15 minutes after the last tour started and the next tour started too late the following morning. Thinking we had learnt from our first lesson I phoned ahead when we decided to visit to the Ben Nevis distillery. Unfortunately what they failed to tell me on the phone was that they had stopped production for the weekend and we wouldn’t see very much. Luckily it was third time lucky and we managed to visit the Oban distillery on our last day of travelling. 

After getting it so wrong before I got it right I want to give you the tips to get it right the first time!

· Phone Ahead – check the opening times of the distillery and the tour times as these are not the same.

· If you haven’t phoned ahead remember – Tours last an hour so allow enough time before it closes.

· Book the tour ahead of time – some distilleries get very busy especially during the summer so there may not be space on the tour you have in mind

· Check what production they have going on that day – If the distillery doesn’t have any production going on you aren’t really going to see much. Nor will you get a real feel for the way the distillery works every day. The guys working there can also give you a better insight in to the techniques used and answer any questions your guide cannot.

· Chose a smaller distillery over a big manufacturer – The smaller the distillery the better your experience will be. The big companies like Famous Grouse for instance run their tours like clockwork and it feels like a tourist attraction. Whereas the smaller ones that have kept old traditions really give you an insight in to everything that happens and make it more personal.

· Sign of for the ‘Friends Of The Classic Malts’ campaign – Offered at 12 different distilleries, this campaign gets people signed up after one tour and then gives you free entry in to 12 other distilleries. If nothing else it is a great money saver, but if you like whisky then they will email you offers and special events too.

· If you do mess up like me, don’t be afraid to ask for a taste anyway, chances are you’ll get a sip

I learnt all of these tips the hard way but I’m hoping you don’t have to and can get it right first go. There are distilleries dotted all over Scotland all though one of the best areas to head to is Speyside where there is a good bunch of places, close together. Even if you hate whisky and have little interest in the drink I urge you to give at least one tour a try. I’m not a whisky lover however do have a keen interest in alcoholic drinks from my hospitality days. I didn’t expect to enjoy the tour that much but I found my myself loving it. Fascinated with it all: our guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour fun, the processes described were interesting and I thought differently about whisky as a drink after. 

I visited the old tradition distillery of Oban where they produce a 14 year malt which is shipped all over the world. Despite being a huge product the distillery is tiny and it really feels like a unique experience with a family business instead of an internationally recognised product. 

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Have you visited a Whisky Distillery in Scotland? Do you have any more tips to add?