Amsterdam Public Transports

Amsterdam, being one of the top five European tourist destinations , as well as being a hub for many of the world's airlines has , as you would expect , an excellent public transport system .

Schipol airport is one of the biggest and best of Europe’s airports and is located just 15 minutes from the city centre , and with trains every ten minutes,  it's easy to get to the centre of Amsterdam

Getting from the airport

Schiphol has a direct train link to Amsterdam's main central station.
The trains run from the arrivals plaza. If you have have euro coins or a credit card , you can use one of the many ticket machines, which are also in English.  If you want to be served by a live person you have to pay 50 cent extra per ticket for the privilege. A one way ticket to Amsterdam will cost you 3.70 euro. Getting caught without a ticket will cost you a fine of Euro 35 + the cost of the ticket and as there are often inspectors on the train, it's not really worth the gamble.

Trains run every 15 minutes or so to Amsterdam Central station between 6am and 12.30am and the night service runs once an hour right through the night.

The airport shuttle operated by Connexxion runs every 10-30 minute from 06.00 to 23.00 and visits over 100 hotels around the city. Tickets are around €15 one way, € 25 return, and can be purchased in the main arrivals hall or on board.

Taxis / Limousines. We can arrange for you to be collected at the airport or ferryport and driven to your accommodation. The cost is a fixed €40.  Just send us an e-mail with your details and we will arrange the rest. You can also grab a cab outside arrivals.

Getting Around The City

Amsterdam is a city for the biker or the walker  as most of the things the tourist wants to visit are located in or around  the city center. Public transport is excellent with trams , buses and metro being both frequest and inexpensive. Renting a bike is the best way to get about and driving is not advised within the canal ring, getting parking alone is a nightmare and it not cheap. The current cost for on street parking is 5 euro per hour in the centre. A day ticket costs EUR 30.00 (09.00-19.00 hours) , an extended ticket  is EUR 45.00 (09.00-24.00 hours). A parking garage will set you back around Euro 48-55  for a 24 hour period .

Public Transportation - The GVB (www.gvb.nl) is in charge of all public transport for Amsterdam including the metro, the trams and the various bus services throughout Amsterdam and the surrounding areas.

Disposable card

This is your best choice if you are likely to make a lot of use of transport

You can choose between a 1-hour card or  day cards, available for periods of 24, 48, 72 or 96 hours. Within the chosen period the card allows you unlimited travel, day and night - by bus, metro and tram.

You can buy disposable cards from the  Vending machines at metro stations and metro stops

Prices in 2011
24 hours (1 day)       €  7.00
48 hours (2 days)     € 11.50
72 hours (3 days)     € 15.50
96 hours (4 days)     € 19.50
120 hours (5 days)   € 24.00
144 hours (6 days)   € 27.50
168 hours (7 days)   € 30.00

Trams are the next best thing to a bike and a good way of getting around and avoiding the traffic. Trams run to all areas of the city and the service is excellent with most routes running every few minutes until midnight

City Buses The bus is most suitable for travelling from the Central Station to neighbourhoods which are further from the city centre and not served by tram. The buses also run through the night after the tram service has stopped and have routes connecting to the major locations like Dam Square, Rembrandtplein, Leidseplein and Central Station.

The Metro (tube) The metro in Amsterdam is a combination of an underground metro and overground trains called sneltram .It is mainly used for gettiing to the suburbs so is of limited use to most travellers

Canal Boats

The Canal Bus (www.canal.nl) operates 10am to 7pm and  runs every 30-40 minutes and has 14 ports of call (stops) around three different routes around the city, you can hop off and hop back on the next one. They visit all the top attractions , so you can get off visit the attraction and just get back on the next canal bus. Day passes cost €20 .

The Museumboot (Museum Boat) is similar to the canal bus and also costs €20.00 per day. Your ticket price includes half price entry to several of the cities museums.

Bicycles

Amsterdam has as many bikes as people if not more. Cycling is a Dutch way of life and is simply the best way to get from A to B .

Bikes have their own lanes, their own traffic lights and very few hills, a bikers dream !Renting a bike in Amsterdam is easy . There are numerous diffrent  companies charging about €10 per day . Passport is required for bike rental.

Taxi

To get a taxi you have to go to a taxi rank which are located at most tourist areas including Leidseplein, Dam Square, Nieuwmarkt, Central Station. Hailing a taxi is not really allowed but more and more taxis will stop if you hail them.

You can phone a cab on 6777777. Taxi fares are quite high compared with other European cities and there is already Euro 7.50 on the meter when you get in.

There are also Tuk Tuks and bicycle taxis around the city at Euro 1 per minute for bike taxis and Euro 3.75 for Tuk Tuks ( charged on a Zone basis).

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