When in Amsterdam last weekend (as the first #STA Travel Insider), the best travel tip I received was from Ashley (AmsterdamBlog.co.uk). Rather than explore the more touristic areas of A’dam near the Centraal Station, we ducked underground and crossed to the ferry port on the opposite side. There we took one of the free (seriously: FREE – how cool is Amsterdam?!) ferries to Noord (NDSM-werf).

Upon stepping off the ferry in Noord and seeing a Green Peace boat on one side and a submarine painted with graffiti on the other, it was pretty apparent this wasn’t your stereotypical Dutch ‘hood. And after following some colorfully painted signs leading us to the beach (just a 5-minute walk away), we were at the super cool Pllek bar & restaurant.

Exploring Amsterdam’s Hipster ‘Hood in the North

Watch the video below to see what Ashley and I got up to in Noord. Basically it involved some organic food at Pleek, some urban exploring at a warehouse full of artist studios (including a giant sandbox) and some quality chill-out time on the beach. WATCH!