Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is one of electronic music's best known and important events not only in Europe, but in the whole world.
It’s both electronic music conference and festival started in 1995.
This year Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) will take place from the 17th to the 21st of October 2018. These gonna be 5 days filled with seemingly endless sets, hours upon hours of dancing and lots of fun. For the line-up, check out the site of ADE.
If it’s not your first year, then you probably know all of this already. But if you’ll be travelling to Amsterdam Dance Event for the first time, here are few of the most important practical things you should know about this 5 day event.
Here are our 6 top Amsterdam Dance Event tips for first-timers.
First things first, there is no one venue.
Amsterdam Dance Event isn't happening in a single place. Actually there are going to be more than 100 venues all across Amsterdam. And each venue has an entry fee. What you should do is to look at the list of the venues and events, and choose.
If you can’t choose or don’t want to think about it now you also get an ADE Pass for about €450, giving you access to all events and shows.
If you haven’t done it yet, book your accommodation now.
Not tomorrow. But now. Because this event is really HUGE. It's like a World Cup of electronic music. Every year it attracts several hundred THOUSAND people from all corners of the world. And, as you can imagine, it means hotels and hostels are going to be fully booked on these dates. If they aren’t already…
Another option available - you can buy a combo, a hotel package including an ADE Pass or ADE Conference Pass. A really good option if you haven’t bought your ticket yet and were going to buy an ADE Pass anyway.
Where to stay during Amsterdam Dance Event?
Anywhere near public transportation will be good, if you want to save as much as possible. If you are planning to visit only a couple of clubs, try to book something as close to them as possible. If money isn’t a problem try to stay within the centre of Amsterdam (Inner Ring), where there are more transportation options. When planning to be outside all night long, you may as well not book a room at all for that night and leave your belongings in a locker at the train station.
If you have more time and aren’t leaving the country right away, think of a possibility to visit at least a couple more cities not only Amsterdam. The Netherlands is a small and very well connected country. You can get everywhere using its modern trains. It’s not going to be cheap, though.
Because cash may not be an option.
In some clubs in Amsterdam cash isn’t accepted anymore.
There are trams, metro, free ferry, Uber, taxis and buses.
Get yourself an anonymous OV-chipkaart for €7,50 if you plan to travel around using public transportation a lot. Ferry departs from a port just behind the Amsterdam Centraal station and can take you to the other side of IJ river, to the other part of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Noord.
One more option - rent a bicycle and travel around like a local.
What's the weather like in Amsterdam in October?
It’s cool and in the mornings same like at night it can also be chilly by mid-late October. On average it usually means an afternoon high of 14 C and overnight lows of 8 C. During the 5 day stay in Amsterdam most probably you’ll also experience rain at least once.
So a rain jacket or poncho is a must, as well as quality shoes.
The rest is up to your preference.
During events as big as Amsterdam Dance Event, possibility of flight disruptions is always higher. If something like that happens, if your flight to or from Amsterdam gets delayed, don’t forget about that. Save your boarding pass and after the party is over and you’re back home, go to refundor.com and register your claim.
You may be entitled to compensation of up to €600.
Or do it right away, once you arrive to Amsterdam.
As it takes only about 5 - 10 minutes.
Have a great party!