Locals and long-term in Amsterdam

Imagine spending a summer afternoon on a boat, cruising through Amsterdam’s canals, enjoying cold drinks, meeting new people, jumping in the water for a swim, and ending the day watching the sunset together.

⚠️ (If you sign up keep an eye on your Meetup messages)

The plan is simple: a relaxed day on the water with good conversations, drinks, sunshine and a small group of people who enjoy meeting others and enjoying summer. If the weather is as good as predicted, we’ll find a nice spot to anchor and go for a swim. Later we’ll continue cruising and enjoy the sunset together.

Maybe pizza, maybe BBQ, depending on the mood and what the group feels like.

This is NOT a commercial boat tour. I organize these trips because I genuinely enjoy being out on the boat and meeting new people. I’ve been doing this for years and it’s always been a non profit passion project.

A few details:

• Meet around 3:00 PM
• Drinks will be provided
• Feel free to bring snacks to share
• Bring swimwear and a towel if you’d like to swim
• We simply split the actual drinks, ice, etc costs between everyone, usually around 20 euro per person
• To avoid people reserving a spot and not showing up, I ask for a small commitment deposit after approval
• Meeting point will be shared after approval

There are only 13 spots available.

Join the waitlist if you’d like to come and I’ll contact people with details. (Keep an eye on your messages)

See you on the water

Event full? Sign up anyway, we often pull people in from the waitlist!

We're a group of locals and immigrants/expats intending to stay in Amsterdam long-term, looking to make friends and connections. ​We aim to create a small, close-knit, and welcoming environment where it's easy to find friendship and good conversation, and you're always looking forward to the next event.

We keep the number of attendees low (20-ish) to create a more intimate atmosphere with a diverse crowd. In order to maintain this, we please ask you to respect the waiting list and not show up unannounced if your attendance has not been confirmed. Meetup often fails to send a notification/email when you're approved from the waiting list, so it may be smart to double-check on the day of the event - if the app/website says "you are going", then your attendance is confirmed!

Our event is international, and the official language of the event is English, in order to encourage and allow the most number of people and nationalities to participate.

Cafe Lust is a cozy, low-key neighborhood bar. We've been organizing meetups here since 2021. We're usually the only large group in the bar, but you can always ask the bartenders if you can't find us. Think of this less as an event and more as just a group of friends and acquaintances hanging out over drinks. This also means you don't need to show up exactly on time, but we usually leave around 11.

We ask people to pay for their drinks immediately at the bar, as keeping a tab for up to twenty people gets challenging - people have (accidentally or not) ran away from their bill in the past.

We kindly ask you not to post this event on other platforms like Couchsurfing, or invite people to the event in large Whatsapp groups. If you want to invite specific individuals to this event, send them a link to this Meetup event page.

We have a zero tolerance policy for sexism, racism, homophobia, harassment or creepy/inappropriate behavior at our events. Our meetups are NOT singles/dating events, do not assume other attendees are here for this reason. If you notice any behavior at our events that make you or anyone else uncomfortable, please do not hesitate to reach out to the organizers or bar staff - we have experience resolving issues without causing confrontation or drama.

NOTE: If there's a high chance of rain, we will cancel/postpone the event!

In the summer months, several meetup groups in Amsterdam come together to bring everyone together for picnics in the park. Meet old friends and make new ones alike.

This time we'll be hanging out in Oosterpark - the exact location will be announced later. We'll share pictures of the group in the meetup event as well as our Whatsapp group so you can find us on the day.

You should bring (at your own risk, keep an eye on your belongings):

• Food and drinks for yourself - of course, if you bring enough to share with others, you do gain karma points
• Whatever you need to make yourself comfortable; a blanket, foldable chair, layers of clothing...
• Entertainment for yourself or others; games, bluetooth speakers, musical instruments...
• A smile and a good mood!

What to expect from the event:

• We officially start at 14:00, but lots of people are "fashionably late", so don't worry about being exactly on time. However, you will get kudos from the organizers if you are 😁
• People usually start leaving around dinner time, 19:00-20:00.
• There are usually a total of 60-90 people at the event, with lots of groups mingling.
• The age group is very diverse, but most are 25-45 years old.
• English is the primarily spoken language, but feel free to seek out speakers of other languages (maybe practice your Dutch?)
• Organizers will be there and can help you if you're having a specific issue, but meetups are ultimately just an opportunity to meet fellow community members and make friends. Put yourself out there and make the best of it yourself!

As always, reach out to any of the organizers is you are the victim of or notice any inappropriate behavior, including but not limited to: Sexual harassment, racism, sexism, homophobia. Our events have a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior, but we can only act on it if we know about it.