If you’re a man who likes to have sex with other men in public places, you’ve landed on the perfect page. If you’re under 18 or have no interest in this topic, you’ve probably ended up here by accident. Feel free to go back to our main Amsterdam page.
Amsterdam is Europe’s own Sin City. The famous red-light area (while predominantly straight) has set the tone for a city where anything goes, you just need to know where to find it. There are seven cruise clubs, a bar with a dark room, a sauna, and two club nights with a dark room.
For outdoor enthusiasts, 8 km southwest of the old center gayborhood is the world-famous De Oeverlanden park, the city’s official cruising zone. If you’re in Amsterdam and looking to get laid, you’re in the right city for it.
Cruise Clubs
Sex on premises venues (SOPV) are very popular in Amsterdam; there are seven. They’re mostly found in and around the old center gayborhood.
Bears Amsterdam
Formerly The Web, Bears Amsterdam is the best place in the city for bears and their admirers to get together, drink, and play. The venue is in the north of the old center gayborhood and is open nightly. There’s no cover charge to enter the playroom; all you need to do is buy at least one drink at the bar. Bears Amsterdam promotes safe sex, and condoms and lube are provided.
The Cuckoo’s Nest
The Cuckoo’s Nest is a gay cafe and bar that happens to have a dark room. It has extensive hours from 1 pm daily until 1 am or 2 am, depending on the night of the week. You need to be over 18 to enter the bar, and there’s a one-drink minimum to enter the dark room area. It’s a men-only venue, which also promotes safe sex and provides condoms and lube from the coat check desk.
Club Church
Club Church is Amsterdam’s premier gay cruise and fetish club. Four nights a week, it’s a men-only cruise bar with themes like naked, spanking, underwear, and sex parties. The exception is the Thursday night dance party BLUE (see below), where everyone is welcome, but the cruise zone is men-only. There are two floors, bars, dance floors, showers, and fetish equipment such as slings and a Saint Andrew’s cross. Club Church is in the old center gayborhood.
Dirty Dicks Amsterdam
Dirty Dick’s is Amsterdam’s most notorious gay cruise and fetish bar. The venue features two floors; on each level, you’ll find a cozy bar and dark rooms. There are private cabins, a bathtub, and a variety of play zones. Dirty Dick’s has the wildest themed parties, such as Fist Factory, Naked Dark Cruising, Men Cave, Fuckboxxx, and Golden Shower nights. Leather, rubber, uniforms, and fetish attire are encouraged, and nudity is especially welcome. Entry is always free, but a drink purchase is required. Special events may have a cover charge with a two-drink minimum.
EAGLE Amsterdam
EAGLE Amsterdam in the north of the old center gayborhood is the city’s oldest gay leather and denim cruise bars. The building’s interior dates back to 1485. It’s an impressive venue split over three floors: the ground floor has the main bar and chillout areas, including a smoking room; the second floor is the primary cruising area; and the basement contains a darkroom and private cabins. While the crowd is predominantly local leather and fetish enthusiasts, international visitors pack the joint during the summer season. There are theme nights every Thursday to Sunday, accompanied by DJs playing a mix of dance, techno, disco, classics, and pop music.
Drake’s Cruising
Drake’s Cruising is so popular that it’s even won awards. It’s in the north of the old center gayorhood above a sex boutique selling gay fashion items and sex toys. It has a relaxed, nightclub-like atmosphere, only with well-equipped cruising areas. There are 30 private cabins, each with video screens where you choose what porn to watch. There is a cozy, dark room and single-person video booths on the upper level, complete with mirrors and glory holes. Drake’s cruising gets a mixed crowd of gay men, including locals and tourists, but primarily the younger demographic, thanks to free entry for visitors under 26 (€13 if you’re older). If you’re on Grindr, add @drakescruising to your profile and get discounted entry every Tuesday.
Free Willie
Amsterdam is all about the hedonistic vibe, so it makes sense that there’d be a bar where being naked isn’t just optional, it’s mandatory. Free Willie on Amstel isn’t technically a cruise bar; it’s more of a place to socialize and meet others, except that nobody is wearing clothes. There are dark and curtained areas for those wanting to play, plus every Saturday, it hosts a jack-off party. There’s cock everywhere, from the nude customers and staff to the brass penis-shaped coat hooks, and neon dick lights. Single entry is only €6.
Gay Bars and Club Events with Dark Rooms
There is one gay bar with a dark room and play areas at two of the city’s hottest gay events.
Spijker Bar Amsterdam
Spijker Bar promotes itself as being the best venue in Amsterdam for freedom, sex, and nudity. Most days of the week, it’s your standard gay bar with drag bingo on Sundays and happy hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday nights, however, are naked nights and a men-only orgy tends to be the way the night ends up—and the best part is the free entry. You’ll find Spijker Bar Amsterdam in the old center gayborhood.
BLUE @ Club Church
Every Thursday night, Club Church goes off with BLUE; it’s campy, decadent, and outrageous. It’s split over two levels, and you’ll find bars, a giant dance floor, and dedicated cruising areas. If you’re brave enough to walk through the doors naked, there’s no entry fee; for everyone else, it’s €12,50. BLUE @ Club Church is a dance party for everyone; all genders are welcome.
Bear Necessity
Six to seven times a year, bears from across the globe descend into Amsterdam to attend the epic Bear Necessity dance party at Panama Club in the city’s Eastern Docklands. This massive venue has bars, a dance floor, chill-out lounges, and cruising areas. There’s no strict dress code, but leather and fetish tend to dominate. Bear Necessity is usually every two months, beginning in February, with the occasional pop-up special event.
Saunas
As cruise clubs and dark rooms dominate the scene, Amsterdam is left with one remaining sauna. It’s a fantastic venue, and for cruisers who like their sex clean, it’s the place for you.
Sauna Nieuwezijds
Sauna Nieuwezijds, or Sauna NZ as the locals call it, is an event-style bathhouse with themes most nights. For example, on Mondays, there are free head and shoulder massages for the after-work crowd, Tuesdays everyone gets naked, and the last Saturday of the month is dedicated to bears and their admirers. Wednesday night is queer night, and all genders are welcome. The venue has all you’d expect from a sauna with steam rooms, showers, cubicles, a video lounge, and an 8-man jacuzzi—that’s an orgy invitation right there. You’ll find Sauna Nieuwezijds in the north of the old center, next to the river.
Parks and Beaches
Amsterdam has two official nudist areas, and one of them is an official cruising zone, something you won’t find in any other city in Europe.
De Oeverlanden
De Oeverlanden Park is located 8 km southwest of the city center, and is Amsterdam’s official cruising zone. Look out for the signs that let you know where you can and can’t cruise. Nude sunbathing is permitted, and when the sun’s out, the buns are out too. It’s almost all men, all the time. Guys walk around the small sandy beach and little pathways completely naked, looking for some fun. Another hook-up opportunity here is on a boat, it’s true! There are tons of small boats anchored here; just look for the ones displaying the rainbow flag, swim up, and see if a friendly captain invites you on board.
There aren’t any shops nearby, so be sure to bring food and drink, bug spray, condoms, and lube.
Zonneweide
Another officially designated nudist zone, 27 km south of the city, is Zonneweide Park. Unlike De Oeverlanden, it gets a mixed crowd, and cruising isn’t officially allowed. While some guys like to take some risks, it’s well-known that your dating apps will go off like the fourth of July fireworks, so it’s a great place to check out the merchandise, then take your favorite(s) home.
Is Cruising Legal in The Netherlands?
Amsterdam has one of the few officially designated zones in the world in which cruising (including nudity and public intimate encounters) is tolerated. The city, with its famous red-light district, has always promoted sexual encounters, so it’s no surprise that there are some freedoms here. Places like beats have all gone, and cruising is limited to bars, cruise clubs, saunas, and the official cruising area at De Oeverlanden park (see above).
De Oeverlanden has a neat story; it’s always been a place for hook-ups, and the city council did try to shut it down. In the end, due to the extreme number of guys who continued to go there, they ended up making it an official zone. The main condition in this area is to keep your cruising to the dedicated place; if you go outside there and continue doing what you’re doing, you may get into some grief. So follow the rules, and have fun. If outdoor sex doesn’t do it for you, there are a ton of indoor SOPV where it’s also perfectly legal and above board.
