I'm guessing public transit and possibly bike rentals may have modified hours for the Easter weekend/Easter Monday holidays. Any tips on how to find out what the schedules may be? Also should we reserve bicycle rentals in advance? Is it safe to ride rental bikes after dark? I'm wondering if they come equipped with a headlight/tail light.
Posted by
The Netherlands
1308 posts
Unlike some other countries, the Netherlands doesn’t shut down during holidays like Christmas and Easter. Everything you might want to see and do and need as a tourist will be open and running. And by everything I mean everything from public transport to museums to shops to restaurants etc etc etc.
In normal years, Easter is absolutely peak peak peak season for Amsterdam because of the tulips. This year it will be even more busier due to the very popular and already sold out, now or never Vermeer exhibit in the Rijksmuseum. There will be massive crowds everywhere. And because of these huge crowds, I urge you to not rent a bike until you get here. I’m Dutch, so I’m a very experienced cyclist. But even I am not totally comfortable riding a bike thru central Amsterdam during peak tourist season. The only reason I can do that safely is because I know my way around without having to look at a gps, a map or street signs. This means I can focus all of my attention on the traffic around me. I can keep an eye out for tourists who step onto the cycle lane without looking. I can watch out for tourists on bicycles who suddenly stop in the middle of the road to take a photo of a bridge. I can dodge the delivery guys and girls on electric bikes and scooters who appear out of nowhere and ride like maniacs. You think I’m exaggerating? Wait until you get here and you’ll see for yourself. If you already want to get an idea now; see this video of a busy intersection in central Amsterdam, filmed in 2019 https://youtu.be/pqQSwQLDIK8
Mind you, in 2019 there were far fewer delivery guys on electric bikes, so you don’t see these in the video as much as you see them now. Ordering food and groceries only became popular during COVID-19 and it remained popular since.
Posted by
OP
USA
5 posts
Wow! Thank you so much for the information and video! So amazing how the cyclists for the most part gracefully navigated the intersection without any accidents! Thank you, for explaining about how busy it will be. I definitely would not want to drive a car! I am an experienced cyclist, but your information helps me understand how challenging it would be to navigate in the city. Many thanks!
Posted by
The Netherlands
1308 posts
“ So amazing how the cyclists for the most part gracefully navigated the intersection without any accidents!”
Amazing isn’t it? The main reason why this works at this intersection is because most, if not all, of the cyclists and car drivers in the video are locals. Locals who know where to go, who don’t make sudden stops to admire a building and who know how to read or predict what the other cyclists next move will be. Can you imagine what would happen if a group of inexperienced tourists on a cycle tour show up on this intersection? Or if trams and delivery guys on fast e-bikes are thrown into this mix too?
Like I said, I would wait until you get here before committing to bike rental. The best way for a tourist to get around in the compact historical city center of Amsterdam is on foot.