Guides · Amsterdam · 34

Guides for the traveller planning an Amsterdam evening

The first four guides take the planning apart, from the first message weeks ahead to the hour of the knock. The shorter pages after them answer one question each, about the hour, the room, the district, the format, the length or a busy date, and every one of them ends with the questions it tends to raise.

Where to start

Each page stands on its own, so begin with whichever answers the question already on your mind. Words such as deposit, arrival window or one-move rule have short entries in the glossary. Reading a guide holds nothing: an evening is yours only once half has gone ahead and the thread has confirmed the booking in writing.

The shorter pages, one question each

For the hour: a late start, an early morning, the same day or booked ahead, a few days before the flight and writing from another time zone. For the room: what private means here, planning around the room, choosing the hotel, a holiday rental, a houseboat and a canal belt hotel. For the district: Rembrandtplein, Dam Square, the Vondelpark and Oud-Zuid.

For the booking itself: WhatsApp from abroad, keeping it discreet and what the night looks like. For the format: a salon or an outcall, four hands or one, nuru or soapy, oil or tantra and one therapist or two for a couple. For the length: how long to book, ninety minutes and three hours. For the date: a business trip, Pride week, Christmas and New Year's Eve.