Expensive train Leiden to Amsterdam

It's worth it. You'll enjoy Leiden.

€12 sounds ok to me. It's about 30 minutes (?) on the train. Dutch trains are probably slightly cheaper overall than here in England for inter-city journeys.

When you throw that conversion of currency and the fact it's for two return journeys into the mix, it starts to look like a big number, granted.

It's good when you can get back to Leiden in the evening and it's peaceful and quiet after a day in Amsterdam.

The train ride from Leiden to Amsterdam takes 37 minutes and costs €12 for a single journey in 2nd class. It costs that much, because running trains costs a lot of money. Lots of countries use taxpayers money to subsidize train rides. The Netherlands does that too, but to a lesser extent than some other countries. This is why train fares in the Netherlands may seem high. It’s all a matter of perspective. In the Netherlands those who actually use the train pay the largest share of the costs, contrary to other countries where everyone pays for the trains via their taxes.

That said, there are discounts available to non-locals; Price-time deals. This can save you up to 60% if you travel in off-peak hours. For more information see the website of the Dutch National railway company https://www.ns.nl/en/featured/prijstijd-deal

Maybe you are looking at this the wrong way. How are you arriving in Amsterdam and now are you leaving? For most travelers here, arrival is at the airport. The train from there to Amsterdam is I believe 5€, and airport to Leiden is 7€. So if you are staying in Leiden and going back and forth, subtract what you would pay to go to and from the airport. And then compare how much lower your daily lodging rate is in Leiden as opposed to Amsterdam. I can't vouch for this as last time through I did no memorable comparisons, but I believe it is less expensive to eat in Leiden. Add to that that Leiden is a very chill locale in the evening, and is also an overlooked city to wander through.

I just looked at the train fare from Appleby, ON to Toronto, a similar distance and that is $12.05 CAN, so it does not seem that expensive to me, considering the Dutch train does it in 38 minutes with 3 intermediate stops, and the Canadian commuter train takes 56 minutes with 7 intermediate stops.

Another way of looking at it is that if. you actually prefer to stay in Amsterdam and are looking to justify paying the higher hotel prices, then factoring in the commuting cost may help you justify. While I enjoyed my time in Leiden and used it as a convenient base for daytrips to places like Delft and Den Hague, I really wanted and did stay in Amsterdam for the days I spent in Amsterdam.

I personally wouldn't stay in Leiden to visit Amsterdam every day either.

If I were staying in Leiden it would be for the purposes of enjoying Leiden too. I like it there. The longest chunk of time I've ever spent in The Netherlands (just about a month) was in Leiden years ago. I visited Amsterdam several times in that stay, but Leiden's got a lot to offer too.

Being part of a traveling couple does affect the economics of staying outside the city where you plan to do most of your sightseeing. You're paying for two train tickets, and you have two people who'd benefit from the more expensive lodgings you are foregoing. It's not a slam-dunk decision even before you consider the time spent on the train, traveling back and forth. On the other hand, a more affordable hotel in Amsterdam is likely to be not so centrally located, meaning you'd still be spending time getting to your first sightseeing stop each day even if you slept in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has really good public transportation (not free, of course), but I'm a walker, and I think every day started with about a 30-minute walk from my hotel to my first sightseeing target. The walk back at the end of the day was more like 40-60 minutes unless I caved and hopped on a tram.

just looked at the train fare from Appleby, ON to Toronto, a similar
distance and that is $12.05 CAN, so it does not seem that expensive to
me, considering the Dutch train does it in 38 minutes with 3
intermediate stops, and the Canadian commuter train takes 56 minutes
with 7 intermediate stops.

An important difference is that there are 16 trains per hour between Leiden and Amsterdam whereas most Go transit lines don;t run that frequently. NS basically runs a nationwide metro system.

Well, I am not seeing quite that many, but maybe I am not looking in the right place. 4 direct trains every hour, and in between those are 4 trains every hour with a single connection at Schipol airport. That is still like urban metro type frequency in my book.

Sam is correct; there can only be up to 8 trains per hour between Amsterdam Centraal and Leiden; 4 direct ones and 4 with a transfer at the train station of Schiphol Airport.

A good source to find out how frequent train service is in The Netherlands is this map:

https://larstransportmaps.com/2026/01/25/rail-services-in-the-netherlands-2026/

There are 10 trains per hour from Leiden to Amsterdam Zuid. 4 Sprinters and 6 Intercities.

There are 6 trains per hour to Haarlem, of which 4 continue to Amsterdam Centraal.
So you have a lot of choice. NS sees the Japanese Railways as a model, and the aim is for all train services to run at least every 10 minutes...

I guess I am only considering Amsterdam Centraal, but Zuid could be just as convenient if you were going to say, the Rijksmuseum.