Bring your passport or ID — every time
This is the one thing you cannot skip. Dutch coffeeshops are legally required to check that every visitor is 18 or older, and the rule is enforced at the door regardless of how old you look. A passport, an EU identity card or a driving licence all work. A photo of your passport on your phone does not.
Staff do not have the option to let it slide. A shop that gets this wrong risks its licence, so if you forget your ID you will be turned away, however far you have travelled.
In short: passport, ID card or driving licence. Physical document, not a photo. Everyone in your group needs one.
How you pay
Many visitors assume Dutch coffeeshops are cash-only, which used to be true but mostly is not anymore. At Het Ballonnetje you can pay with cash, debit card (what the Dutch call pin) or credit card, so there is no need to find an ATM first.
That said, it is worth checking per shop. Not every coffeeshop in the city accepts cards, and some charge a small fee for them.
The rules that apply everywhere
Dutch coffeeshops operate under a set of national conditions. They are the same across the country, and they are not negotiable:
- Nobody under 18, no exceptions
- A maximum of 5 grams per person per day
- No hard drugs, and no tolerance for anyone trying to sell them
- No alcohol on the premises
Beyond that, each shop sets its own house rules. Bringing your own drinks is usually not allowed, since coffeeshops serve their own. If you are unsure about anything, just ask at the counter — it is a normal question and staff hear it all day.
Take your time at the counter
The menu changes regularly, so what was available last month may not be there today. Rather than arriving with a name in mind, tell the person behind the counter what kind of experience you are after and how much experience you have. They will point you to something that fits.
This matters more than people realise. Strength varies a great deal, and a first-time visitor who orders based on a name they read online often ends up with something far stronger than they wanted.
Edibles work differently
Space cakes take considerably longer to take effect than smoking — often an hour or more — and the effect lasts much longer too. The classic mistake is deciding after thirty minutes that nothing is happening and having more.
If you have never tried one, start small and give it time. There is no rush.
Settling in
A coffeeshop is not a shop you walk in and out of. Most people buy something, order a drink and stay a while. Het Ballonnetje has been on Roetersstraat since 1978 and has the worn-in feel of a place that has had the same regulars for decades.
You will find a wide range of teas and coffees, free WiFi if you ask the staff for the details, and tables that people actually sit at. Laptops are the one exception — they are not allowed at the tables, because the room is meant for unwinding rather than working.
Finding us
We are at Roetersstraat 12, about five minutes on foot from Weesperplein metro station and right next to Artis Zoo. There is parking in front of the shop at €7.50 per hour, though in this part of Amsterdam you are usually quicker on foot or by tram.
We are open every day from 09:00 until midnight, weekends and holidays included. We do not take reservations — it is a small place, first come, first served.