AMS- bike vs transportation

After several trips to Amsterdam, I would never attempt to ride a bike in the city. They do use bike lanes but travel very fast.

I think it would depend on how centrally located your accommodation is. Close in, and you might not have much need for a bike.

I was just there for 8 nights until last Friday. My AirBnB was in the far corner of the Jordaan, and in retrospect, I think I’d have appreciated renting a bike for the week.

I did rent a bike for an afternoon, and didn’t find the riding all that intimidating. (Though I would mention that I used to ride a bike daily in NYC). Riding and navigating those streets was a different situation! But I did manage to stay clear of the red light district, which would have been mystery on a bike.

I cycle here in California and the biking in Amsterdam itself is more intense because everyone is commuting fast on their bikes in lanes that are right next to pedestrians. You have to keep moving which is not conducive to admiring the city as you bike. Outside of rush hours and around lunchtime it’s more manageable. Walking is the way to go in Amsterdam with a tram ride thrown in for the longer distances.

@Sudder, I will be staying 5 min. By foot south of the train station. Don’t know if that makes a difference?

Phil, from there the bike could be more hassle than it’s worth—I’d probably just hoof it everywhere. But maybe leave flexibility in your plans so that you can take advantage of a sunny few hours, rent a bike, and make a lap of some of the outer rings. I’m really glad I did at least that.

I just cycled about 350 miles in the Netherlands, including plenty of riding in busy city cores. If you're central in Amsterdam renting a bicycle for transportation is going to be more hassle than it's worth. Not to mention that if it's a quality bike and not a dumpy grisled grandma fiets you're going to need to watch it like a hawk and not leave it outside at night even with a burly lock. They'll steal the parts off it.

Riding in the city isn't so bad if you take some time to learn the system, what all the markings on the street and signs mean, etc. But cycling is transit in the Netherlands. Everyone knows the system and does everything right because they grew up in it. Even if you're a good cyclist aware of all of the rules and signs and markings, there are hundreds and hundreds of decision points in a day of cycling inside of a Dutch city. It's like machine gun fire of instances in which you'll need to make the correct choice. You're going to make mistakes here and there, and you're going to hear about it from the people around you.

Rent a bike to ride out of the city and take in the countryside. That's a good time.

“ I will be staying 5 min. By foot south of the train station. Don’t know if that makes a difference?”

Which train station in Amsterdam do you mean? Amsterdam Central train station? If so, you definitely don’t want a bike. Everything you might want to see and do as a tourist will be within walking distance.
The locals in Amsterdam use bikes to get from A to B as fast as possible. To go to work, school, university, home etc. They don’t bike to casually ride in the city center at a slow pace while also admiring the surroundings, looking up at buildings etc. In recent years delivery services expanded rapidly, so now these determined locals biking from home to school/university/work and back are joined by a fleet of young people on electric bikes with brightly colored backpacks racing thru the city. You don’t want to be caught in that as a first time visitor to Amsterdam. I don’t live in Amsterdam, but I visit quite often. On occasion I do rent a bike, but I know where I’m going and I know to stay focused. Despite that I’ve had some near misses with tourists suddenly stepping out onto the bike path or delivery bikers cutting me off.
As a tourist I strongly believe it’s best to walk everywhere in Amsterdam. The historical city center is compact and very walkable.

Thank you for all of your valuable input, i just wanted to confirm my thoughts on bike renting which isn’t practical for tourist. Happy travel!

Thanks for the question... we're going inApril, and the responses were helpful!
BG