Hello All, We (4 of us) will be in Amsterdam for 3 nights April 23 - 25. One day we would like to take a big bike ride out of the city. I know it will be a very busy time in Amsterdam. Do we need to reserve bikes in advance (one of the bikes being an e-bike)? Do bike rental shops run out of bikes? We are staying in the eastern side of Central Amsterdam if there are bike rental shop recommendations as well. Thanks for any help!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23755 posts
Interesting question. We have always just walked in and rented. Never seem to us that the demand for bike was that high but I would defer to some locals for a better answer.
Posted by
San Diego, California
6151 posts
You may want to wait until you have a weather forecast. We had big plans for bike riding, but April can be VERY windy and brisk, so we had to skip those adventures.
We were there last April, and had an incredible time, so I wish you well. (But do bring rain gear!)
Safe travels!
Posted by
Reston VA
352 posts
We rented bikes from the popular A-Bike in Leidseplein and were picking them up on a weekend. I had made a reservation, and when we got there, the line was out the door. We mentioned to one of the staff we had a reservation - he pointed to the EMPTY "reservation" line, and we were processed next - clearly saving 30+mins. There were mostly people with children standing in line, and that had to be a real unpleasant 30 mins watching each person slowly "fitted" to the right bike, then the demonstration of the lock and gears and whatnot, plus a "test" ride for novice folks, etc..
We were renting for multiple days, so weather was not important (unless 100% rain every day was imminent), but wasting time standing around was important to avoid.