Transportation
Arriving by car
When you arrive in Amsterdam by car, the best thing to do is to leave your car in a parking garage outside the city and travel to the center by public transportation. There’s a system in Amsterdam called ‘P+R’ (Park and Ride), it works like this: you park your car in one of the P+R garages, you get free public transportation tickets, and if you use them (they have to be stamped on the public transport you use), you will get a special P+R rate for your car that is much lower than the regular parking rate when you return. For more information, please go to this website and choose a P+R garage. In the garage details, there’s a link to the P+R rules.
Arriving by air
When you travel to Amsterdam by air, you will arrive at Schiphol airport, which is outside the city. You can travel to Amsterdam Central Station very easily by train; this takes about 15 minutes. You can walk straight to the train station from the arrival hall, through the shopping center Schiphol Plaza. You can buy train tickets from the yellow ticket machines or at the ticket offices, both located close to the platforms. Watch the signs above the stairways to the platforms to see which trains go to Amsterdam Central Station.
Public transport
Amsterdam has an extensive network of trams, buses and metros (subways). You can get to any destination within the city center from another in less than an hour. When you book with CityMundo, we will always provide information about the tram, bus or metro that goes from Central Station to your accommodation. An excellent Dutch route planner that advises you on which public transportation to take from one place to another, is 9292ov.nl (In Dutch).
The trams, buses and subways ride up to around midnight or 0:30, depending on the line. If you want to get around at night, you can travel by night bus. These buses charge special (higher) rates and do not stop at all of the regular stops. You can find a map of the night bus network on the site of the Amsterdam public transportation company (available in English).
OV-chip card – the public transport ticket in Amsterdam for tram, bus and metro
Since August 2009, a new public transport ticket has been introduced in Amsterdam for tram, bus and metro: the OV chip card.
There are 2 types of OV-chip card, the disposable and rechargeable card:
-The disposable chip card is for sale by vending machines at the train station, and in busses and trams.
He has a preset valid for a fixed number of days or runs, for example a ticket for one hour or one day, or two days.
The rechargeable chip card is sold by vending machines at the train station.
You can recharge the OV-chip card at the vending machines, but also at tobacco shops, C1000 grocery stores, AH-to-go shops and post offices. In Amsterdam are now about 250 vending and charging points.
Bicycle
Amsterdam is known for its small and busy streets. Traveling through the city center by car is considered by many people to be a nightmare, with Amsterdam’s many one way streets, constant changes in traffic situations and high parking rates. The easiest thing to do is to travel by Amsterdam public transport, to walk, or to rent a bicycle. To bike is an easy way to get around the city, like most Amsterdam people do every day. Bicycle theft is very common in Amsterdam, so make sure to stall your bike carefully, with good locks (lock at least both wheels and try to attach the bike to something so that it can’t be dragged away). You can rent regular pedal bikes at companies like Mac Bike for prices starting at EUR 4.25 a day. Mac Bike is located at popular locations like Central Station and Leidseplein. If you want to know the best route from one place to another by bike, you can use this bicycle route planner (available in several languages).
Taxi
Of course, you can always take a taxi to get around:
(with on-line booking service)
Telephone: 020 653 1000
(with on-line booking service)
Telephone: 020 677 7777
Tuktuk
Since August 2007 Tuktuks are driving in Amsterdam. A Tuktuk brings you just as fast as a taxi to your destination. In a Tuktuk there is room for 3 passengers. The price for a ride is based on a zone system. Amsterdam has 4 zones. The minimum price per person is 3,50 euro. You can hail a Tuktuk in the street, or reserve one by telephone: 0900 99 333 99.
Fun ways to explore the canals
You will get a whole different view of the Amsterdam canals when you travel through them by canal bike (in Dutch: ‘waterfiets’) or by canal boat (in Dutch: ‘rondvaartboot’).
Canal Bikes
Canal bikes are small boats with pedals; so you provide the power, just like cycling. You can rent them from Canal Company and move around freely through the canals by yourself or follow a tour together with others.
Canal Boat
Canal boats or ‘rondvaartboten’ are very common in the Amsterdam canals. There are lots of companies organizing shorter or longer cruises through Amsterdam, passing several major tourist attractions and providing a good view on Amsterdam’s beautiful architecture, the house boats on the canals and of course the canals themselves. Possibilities range from one hour tours without stops, to museum boats where you can get off at several museums, to special candlelight dinner cruises. A cruise at night is also a unique experience, with a nice view of the lights on Amsterdam’s many bridges. Many canal boat cruises start from Damrak (close to Central Station), but there are spots to get on board throughout the entire city.