Getting there
From the airport
If you arrive at Amsterdam Airport (Schiphol) and need to go Amsterdam there are a few options that you can consider:
- Train - Cheap and fast. Right from the Airport to the city center in 20 minutes for less then 4 euro. If you are travelling without much luggage and you need to be in the city center this is a good option. Check out the Dutch Railways website (click on English) or the Dutch public transportation website (Dutch only, but easy to understand) for exact time tables. The train station is located in the center hall, buy your ticket at the counter or from one of the yellow machines. Buying a ticket in the train is much more expensive. The trains run 24h, but between midnight and 5 am just once per hour.
- Taxi, costs about 40 euro and takes around 30 to 60 minutes to get to a location in the center. Taxi stand is outside the main hall. A taxi driver is not allowed to approach you in the main hall to offer his servcices, people who do this are most probably illegal taxi drivers. Walk outside to the official taxi stand.
- Train / Taxi combination - Take the train to the center and get a taxi there, this saves some money and maybe some time. Taxi drivers will generally not drive you to a location that is only 5 minutes away, as this will cost them their front position in the taxi waiting line for just a small fare.
- Connexxion schiphol hotel shuttle - A shuttle bus service that runs every 10 minutes and will go basically any hotel in Amsterdam. The bus seats about 10 persons, so chances are that you'll board some of the other hotels before the bus goes to your hotel. At 12 euro (one way) it is not a bad deal. Estimated travel time is something like 30 to 60 minutes. Buy your ticket in the main hall at the Connexxion Desk. Buses run between 6 am and 9 pm.
- Car rental - We would discourage renting a car to drive to and in Amsterdam. Parking space is difficult to find and expensive (parking rate in the center is about 5 euro per hour). Wheel clamps are attached to your car within minutes after the meter runs empty.
By international train
Amsterdam has good connections to many major cities in Europe. Especially when travelling from Germany, Belgium or France a train can be a good alternative to flying.
France / Belgium
France and Belgium are connected to The Netherlands with the High Speed Train network called 'THALYS'. From central Paris to Amsterdam it takes about 4 hours with 7 trains a day. Cheapest fare is less than 40 euro for a single ticket when booked at least 14 days in advance. Prices can run up to over 100 euro for a single ticket when bought on the day of departure. Brussels is about half way from Paris, so travelling times and prices are 50% of those of Paris. Check out the THALYS website for more information and booking. Tip: for cheapest fares it is essential to buy as early as possible, remember that most tickets can be rescheduled for free or a nominal fee.
Germany
From Berlin to Amsterdam the train needs about 6,5 hours and your ticket will costs a minimum of 30 euro for a single ticket (when booked well in advance). If you buy the ticket on your day of departure it will cost around 100 euro. It is essential to book as early as possible. Click on NS for more details and booking.
By car
You can drive to Amsterdam, but driving in and around Amsterdam can be quite frustrating as traffic is heavy and parking rates are 5 euro per hour with very strict parking police that will clamp your vehicle within minutes after the meter runs empty. The local government advises to park in one of the large parking garages at the city border. Parking in one of those garages costs about 6 euro a day and gives you the right to reduced public transport rates or even bicycle rental. Check out the city transportation web site for more details.
Getting around town
There are so many ways to get to see the city, and Amsterdam being the 'Venice of the North' this means by land and by water! One of the easiest things to do is to walk around the center, many of the main attractions are within walking distance of each other. But if your feet need some rest or if the weather turns bad then you can hop on one of the trams. For the tram you can buy discounted tickets for one day up to a week at the white wooden GVB building across central station, also take a look at the GVB web site. Tram cards can be bought on the tram itself, be it at a higher rate.
A fun thing to do is to rent a bicycle, it is cheap and allows you to go anywhere anytime you want to go there. There are also many bicycle tours available, check the bicycle page on our web site.
If you want to explore the city by water then you have many options to choose from, there are water taxis, museum boats with a hop-on-off system, historic boat tours, candle light cruises, canal bikes, etc. Check out some of these web sites for more information: