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Best transit card for staying in Haarlem, visiting Keukenhof, museums?

Posted by (Stuttgart, Germany) on

Hello everyone, I need your help!

I'm flying into Amsterdam tomorrow, April 30 at 3:30 pm and flying out the 3rd at 12:30 pm with two active seniors in tow.

We will be touring the Anne Frank house tomorrow at 8:30 pm and are planning on visiting the Keukenhof on Wednesday due to the weather forecast. We will be staying in Haarlem. Our schedule is otherwise flexible but here are the must-visits: Royal Palace, Rembrandt House, canal cruise, Frans Hals museum and the Molen de Adriaan in Haarlem

Possible visits include Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh museum, Amsterdam City museum, Amstepkring museum, Hermitage.

I fully realize we may have time to do just one or two things on the "maybe" list. Weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday is pretty chilly and damp which is why I'm thinking of indoor activities.

I'm flummoxed as to what transit pass to buy - or if the I AmSterdam card makes sense for us, the website isn't clear if it provides transit as far out as Haarlem.

Additionally I read here about a transit card that included a trip to and from the Keukenhof from Schiphol.

Anyone with a good working knowledge of the various cards want to weigh in?

Posted by
2487 posts

The Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket covers Haarlem, Keukenhof and Schiphol airport, as shown on this map.

I assume that you intend to get the Museumkaart?

Posted by
2487 posts

The trains in the Haarlem-Amsterdam region will ride as usual, as will the municipal transport (bus, tram and metro) within Amsterdam. I'm not sure the Keukenhof Expres bus will be affected, but better keep it for after Tuesday.

Posted by
3049 posts

Thanks for the help so far. Was not planning on a museum card initially, as it only covers 2-3 "must see" items and I'm not sure if it would be a good value. Our ability to tour museums is based largely on how lively my travel companions will be feeling.

Hence considering the I Amsterdam card, which would give us a lot of flexibility and could be a good value as it involves a canal cruise and transit. I don't think the museum card makes sense for us on this trip.

Posted by
2469 posts

I just returned from Amsterdam yesterday. I bought the 3-day transit card which I used to travel between Haarlem and Amsterdam almost every day of my 6 day visit. The card also covered buses and trams. We bought the combi tickets for Keukenhof which includes the bus 50 round trip from Haarlem and Keukenhof. We stayed in Haarlem. Go on their website. Super easy! The garden was spectacular!

Posted by
3951 posts

The bus strike for April 30-May 1 described in the link above affects the #50 from Haarlem to Keukenhof but I like the idea of the bus from Leiden to Keukenhof because it drops you off at the entrance avoiding the 1/2 mile+ walk that the Haarlem bus requires. Save all of your energy for the gardens, they're spectacular! We spent almost 6 hours there last week.

"Travelling to Keukenhof with public transport on 30 April and 1 May
Keukenhof remains easy to reach with the Keukenhof Express from Schiphol (line 858) and Leiden (line 854) during the strike of regional transport on 30 April and 1 May. Unfortunately, they cannot be reached from Haarlem (line 50) or The Hague (line 90)."

Posted by
3049 posts

Thanks for the help, everyone! We did end up taking the 50 bus from Haarlem to Keukenhof the day after the strike which happened to be a much better weather day. We survived the walk to the park fairly easily so it wasn't a problem. We did get the regional pass and I'm not sure if it saved us any money but if it cost us more the price was negligible. I found it quite easy to get to/from Haarlem in general.

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