I am taking a group of four teens, four parents, and myself (9 total) to the Netherlands in March 2026. We are staying in Rijpwetering 20 minuets from the airport. We are trying to decide if we should rent two cars or take trains. We are trying to decide if we should purchase the I-Amsterdam pass AND the museumkaart or just one or the other. We have a long list of museums we want to see in and outside of Amsterdam but don't necessarily want to be driving in Amsterdam so the I-Amsterdam card would let us use public transport in town. Any advice would be welcome.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3622 posts
I would not drive in Amsterdam proper especially since they have such good public transit. To figure out if any pass is cost effective you need to price out everything you want to do and compare it to what is covered by the pass. The iAmsteram pass no longer covers Van Gogh museum and it does not cover Anne Frank. The Museumkaart only covers five museums for non-locals (see prior discussion here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/netherlands/museumkaart-9980df46-0ffa-4e96-ba5e-2bc7c4a3eb51)
Note that the transit card included with the iAmsterdam pass is only for central Amsterdam so you will need a different transit pass to get from where you are staying into the area the pass covers. One of our local forum members may be able to help you with that.
PS if you are planning to go to the Anne Frank house, make sure you get your tickets for March dates as soon as they open up. There is a very strict timeline for when they open (on Tuesday 6 weeks ahead) and since your group is so large you'll want to get them the day they're available. Make sure you use official website https://www.annefrank.org/en/
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks for the reply. I definitely don't want to drive in Amsterdam! Honestly, I don't want to drive anywhere! I usually get a traffic ticket for not slowing down fast enough or driving in a pedestrian zone on a Sunday when no one walking around so I know it's a pedestrian zone. But train tickets for 9 seems expensive. We will be visiting a variety of cities. We could get the non-rush hour transportation tickets but then we can't be on the trains before 9am and home by 4pm I think. That really limits our touring hours. My idea is we'd drive to a parking garage then walk, or in Amsterdam park outside the city and take the public transportation in. How close can we park? Can we get close enough to be on the I Amsterdam pass for public transport?
Why does NL not want non locals to have access to the full museumkaart? I bought a one year membership as a Ceidwad Keeper in Wales.
I have my alarm set to be awake on the day the tickets for the Anne Frank Haus opens.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3622 posts
Sorry I can't answer your questions about parking garages, hopefully a local will weigh in. I encourage you to price out the cost of two rental cars (including cost of gas, parking fees, etc.) and compare it to the transport costs. There are transit passes that cover a wider area than just central Amsterdam. Traveling with 9 people is not going to be inexpensive no matter how you choose to get around. Have you considered a more central location for your accommodations?
Why does NL not want non locals to have access to the full
museumkaart? I bought a one year membership as a Ceidwad Keeper in
Wales.
The locals pay taxes to support museum operations and the government has decided their citizens should have wide access to cultural opportunities at an affordable price. Many other countries do this as well including our own (e.g. US national parks now charge extra for non locals)
Posted by
Haarlem, Netherlands
189 posts
More info on off-peak group train travel can be found here: https://www.ns.nl/en/tickets/off-peak-group-ticket, including the off-peak hours. I do agree you will need to cost out rental car costs. Petrol prices went up significantly per January 1 because of some additional taxes to finance public transport: You would be looking at between 2.00 en 2:30 euro per liter.