I have been following the conversations about the museumkaart and the new changes. we will be in Amsterdam in mid Sept (10-14th). I doubt they will have any of the old stock left by then. I was going to get the museum card as it covered so many of the museums we want to see both in and out of Amsterdam. But with the changes, I have been looking at the Iamsterdam ciy card for 96 hours, which covers all the major sites (except the Royal Palace) plus Zaans Schaans and Zuiderzee museums and has an OV chip-card pass included, which if I am reading correctly is unlimited use of transportation during the 96 hours. I have printed off the pages from their website and tried to read all the fine print. This seems to be a better deal than the museumkaart (at least for us). My question is whether the OV chipcard will cover the tram/buses out to Zaans Schaans, Haarlem and Enkusizen? Does anyone know? Has anyone used the Iamsterdam city card lately? Also, do I understand that you can buy the Iamsterdam card on-line, but it is not activated until you use it the first time. Also, if you buy it online, do you still pick it up at a local location? If so, what would be the advantage of buying ahead of time online? Are you buying 2 cards, the Iamsterdam city card and a separate OV chip card?
Thanks for any input.
Posted by
Green Bay
19959 posts
OV Chipkaart has to have money loaded onto it. A quick look at the Iamsterdam Card indicates that it includes a GVB multi-day pass with the number of days depending on the number of days the Card is valid. The GVB pass is a different animal from the OV Chipkaart. So my cursory look says you have to buy round trip tickets at Centraal to go to Zaanse Schans, Enkusizen, and Haarlem, since that is a NS train trip.
The GVB pass would have to be picked up as it contains a chip. You have to scan it on and off a tram or bus.
This from the website:
The City Card is only valid for GVB bus, tram and metro lines in Amsterdam. NS train services are not included.
Posted by
NL
143 posts
Also, do I understand that you can buy the Iamsterdam card on-line, but it is not activated until you use it the first time.
Correct. The iAmsterdam card is in effect two cards. One for the attractions and one for GVB operated public transport. Both parts have their own starting time (when you first use it on public transport and when you visit the first attraction.
Are you buying 2 cards, the Iamsterdam city card and a separate OV chip card?
No it is one card.
So my cursory look says you have to buy round trip tickets at Centraal to go to Zaanse Schans, Enkusizen, and Haarlem, since that is a NS train trip.
Correct, the iAmsterdam Card is only valid on buses, trams and metros operated by GVB. It is not valid on buses operated by other companies like EBS or Connexxion or trains operated by NS or (other companies).
Also, if you buy it online, do you still pick it up at a local location?
You can pick it up at Schiphol or Amterdam central station. https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/i-am/i-amsterdam-city-card/order-your-card
If so, what would be the advantage of buying ahead of time online?
tbh... I have no idea. The shipping costs are huge. You can buy the card at any of the locations mentioned on the iAmsterdam website https://www.iamsterdam.com/nl/i-am/i-amsterdam-city-card/hoe-werkt-het/verkooppunten-city-card
OV-chipkaart is the name of the system. Every card has a chip which you need to touch/tap/check/scan in and out when you enter/leave the vehicle or the station. There are several forms of ov-chipcards. The (plastic) anonymous ov-chipcard is the one that can be used (almost) everywehre in the Netherlands and needs money loaded onto it. The GVB passes, but also the train tickets from the ticket machines and other day passes or single tickets are also ov-chipcards, but for a fixed price, a fixed period and a fixed route or area. These paper tickets also contain a chip and thus need also to be checked in and out.
You can buy train tickets to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans, Enkhuizen and Haarlem via the ticket machines, or online via ns.nl/en You can check the fares there as well. There is a one euro fee per paper chipcard ticket
Posted by
Coventry, RI, USA
17 posts
My husband and I just went through the pros/cons of each card, and decided to try the iamsterdam card. We did buy it online, rather than at one of the pickup locations, as it was a discounted rate online (this was about a month ago). We arrive the 23rd of July, and will just need to bring our printed receipt to one of the pickup locations.
It is our understanding that if we activate the transportation facet of the card the night we arrive, we will have 96 hours from that point to use the transport system. We plan to go to a few museums the next day, and so the 96 hours of access to those sights will begin then.
Hopefully all will go to plan; if we experience any glitches or unforeseen with the card, I’ll post it here!
Posted by
OP
15 posts
thank you. From what site did you buy the Amsterdam card at a discount.
Posted by
Coventry, RI, USA
17 posts
We went to the iamstedam card website directly. We purchased the 96 hour card for €94 rather than 98. I just checked the iamsterdam card website and that price is still available, as is the 72 hour card for €84 rather than 87. These seem to be the only cards that are currently discounted online.
I also checked our receipt, and saw that there was over €10 VAT added to our purchase, so I hope that when we collect the card we will be able to have them fill out the VAT refund forms, though I’m not sure it will work as I understand you are not supposed to use the products before leaving the country. We’ll see....
Posted by
NL
143 posts
also checked our receipt, and saw that there was over €10 VAT added to our purchase
Every item you'll buy or every service you'll use has a 6 or 21% VAT included.
though I’m not sure it will work
No, that will not work
as I understand you are not supposed to use the products before leaving the country.
correct... and tickets of any kind (museums, transport, festival, opera, ...) will always be bought te be used in NL
Posted by
Coventry, RI, USA
17 posts
Hi Jill—
Just got back from our trip (which was wonderful!), and the iamsterdam card was totally worth it. We didn’t take the time to try to find the spot to pick up the cards at Schiphol Airport— it was a bit overwhelming when we first got off the plane. Instead, once we hopped the train from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal Station (we got on the airport WiFi and purchased our tickets through the NS app once we landed; tickets were a bit cheaper and we didn’t have to pay the extra fee for a diposable OV chipcard— just scan the QR code as you exit at Centraal) we went to the location there.
The iamsterdam location is right outside the main entrance of the train station, just across the tram tracks. I had to wait in a small line once there, but there’s feee WiFi there, so it’s easy to pass the time while waiting. Once I got to the front, I simply exchanged my receipt for two 96 hour cards— both come with a really nice map of the city, too. We rode the metro within the city as well as a bunch of trams— just don’t forget to tap in when you enter the transit and then tap out when you leave. I believe all the teams I rode on had someone working at a small ticket booth in the back of the tram. I didn’t need to buy any tickets, but I did see other passengers asking him or her questions about which stop was best to use for a certain destination, so if you have any questions once on board you can always ask.
The card worked like a charm at all the places we visited— just know it does NOT cover the Anne Frank House or palace (hopefully you’ve purchased AFH tickets already, as they go on sale online only 2 months before the date of visit— it’s a very powerful experience). Also, you’ll need to reserve a spot online for the Van Gogh Mueseum, but it’s free online with the iamsterdam card and we were able to do this for an afternoon entry time slot while we were in Amsterdam two days ahead of time, so you have time to do this. We were able to skip the line at the Rijksmuseum as well, and learned we could leave the museum proper to grab lunch at the cafe or restaurant just outside the museum and return back in afterwards— we just needed to come back in the same day.
All told, the iamsterdam card was a great deal for us, as we arrived on Monday afternoon and left Saturday morning, so used the card from Monday night through Friday night without any problems (even took it to Haarlem to the Frans Hals Museum). Have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
Coventry, RI, USA
17 posts
Oh, also— it’s just one card for both transit and museums.
Also, if you download the NS app for the national train system, it seems that purchasing train tickets to go to cities outside Amsterdam is cheaper (no need for OV chipcard with the QR code on your phone)— just purchase at your hotel or anywhere with WiFi and then scan the code on your phone to tap in/out at the train stations (you may want to snap a screenshot of the tickets on your phone so that there’s no WiFi worry when out and about).
Happy travels!
Posted by
NL
143 posts
Also, if you download the NS app for the national train system, it seems that purchasing train tickets to go to cities outside Amsterdam is cheaper (no need for OV chipcard with the QR code on your phone)
If you buy a train ticket (single or return/roundtrip) at the station, there is an extra fee of EUR 1 for the disposable ticket. There is no extra fee when you buy a ticket online (https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/losse-kaartjes-toeslagen or via the app) or when you use an anonymous ov-chipcard. For longer journeys it can be cheaper to look for deals on https://www.discoverholland.com or buy to buy a Holland Travel Ticket (https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/onbeperkt-reizen/p/holland-travel-ticket).
scan the code on your phone to tap in/out at the train stations
The QR code is only needed to open the gates. On stations without gates (like Schiphol) there is no to tap in/out with the QR code.