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Transportation

Posted by on

We will be in Amsterdam for 6 days prior to leaving on a cruise. I've planned for 2 days in Amsterdam going to museums and site seeing. The next 4 days, we'd like to explore more. I'm planning day trips and so far have the following planned:

  • Delft & The Hague on Tuesday,

  • Waterland, Edam, Marken & Volendam on Wednesday,

  • Rotterdam & Gouda on Thursday.

  • On Friday, we'll be going to Sliedricht to visit family friends and see my husbands family home, etc.

My biggest issue is understanding the best mode of transportation for these day trips. For the life of me I can't wrap my brain around whether we should get an OV Chipcard or just pay as we go? I've read so many websites now and have completely confused myself. Some say buy your ticket before you leave home and others say you can purchase once you are there.

We are arriving from Canada and I'd greatly appreciate some input into this. Thanks ahead for your help and time!

Posted by
4295 posts

We did the same trip last summer, but stayed 4 days before and 5 days after cruise (celebrity British isles). We took the localbus.nl to Edam, markem and Volendam, very easy, directions on website and Rick's book. We purchased 3 and4 day tram/subway passes and paid separately for train to Hararlem and delft. We had a blast and would go back to see everything we missed and to eat proffertjes! Note: get to Edam early to get a good seat at the cheese market.

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks Barbara! I've read so much now and I'm so confused!! I've been told there are certain tickets/cards you can only buy at home and aren't available once you get there. The Iamsterdam card looks like it allows for some museum entrance fees, canal cruise and some transportation. You can apparently get an anonymous OV Chipcard, but it has to be activated before you can use it on the trains? I think this was the card I was told to purchase before we get there, but it seems the train trips are quite expensive......20€ 1 way for some destinations, so I have no idea how much I should load on it if we go that route.

Posted by
11294 posts

This page on TripAdvisor will tell you all about how to use the OV Chipkaart as a tourist, including what you need to do to use it for train travel (it's not hard as long as you know what to do - look at the bottom of the page): https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g188590-c119198/Amsterdam:The-Netherlands:The.Ov.Public.Transportation.Chipkaart.html

When I was there in 2012, the only way I could refill my card was at train station ticket windows with cash. There was no penalty for this (eg, if I gave them a €10 note, I got €10 of extra value on the card).

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks Harold! I believe I did read that article before. At some point it loses me.....what are NS, GVB, etc?? I've looked at the 9292 site and have the app on my phone also, however, even that I find confusing. I may leave the travel up to the 'guys'. I'll plan the itinerary and let them figure out how to get us there 😉

Posted by
228 posts

NS means Nederlandse Spoorwegen = Dutch railways.
GVB means Gemeentelijk Vervoer Bedrijf = Municipal transport company

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