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Transportation options in Amsterdam

My husband, sister, and brother-in-law will be traveling to Amsterdam for 8 nights beginning May 27. We range in age from late 50's to early 70's. We will be staying at Hotel Aalders near the large museums and plan to purchase a Museumkaart. We are now deciding on our best options for transportation.

First, the airport. We will probably take a taxi into town. For the four of us, it will probably be less expensive than the Connexxion and easier than the bus or train after an overnight flight. I've seen comments that reserving a taxi ahead of time can be cheaper. Any recommendations on a reliable company or alternate suggestions to our plan?

Second, transporation while we are in Amsterdam. We will be in the city primarily, altough we will likely take one or two daytrips outside the city. We are all reasonably fit (or better), but have some knee and hip issues. I realize that Amsterdam is a very walking friendly city, but I do think we will want to take advantage of local transportation when we are tired or achy.

I have to admit, I'm finding the transportation options overwhelming and confusing. It sounds as if one of the OV-chipcards (anonymous or 156-hour) might be our best option, realizing that we would have to purchase separate tickets for any travel outside the city. Can any of you comment on which option might suit out needs best or whether there is a better option for us?

Thank you all for your help.

Posted by
11294 posts

Your hotel is near several tram lines, so you will probably get a lot of use out of an unlimited pass. You can get a 168 hour ("7 day") pass for €32 per person; since a single ride is now €2.90, you only have to take 12 rides in 7 days to make it pay off. You can get this ticket by itself at a ticket office (not sold on trams).

If you get an anonymous OV Chipkaart, you then pay per ride, but much less than €2.90 (it's calculated by distance, to the euro-cent). The advantage of getting this card is that you can load train rides to other cities on it, and you can also use it for local transit in other cities. But unless you're planning on lots of train rides and need for local transit outside Amsterdam, it's probably not worth the cost (it costs €7.50 to buy, and then you have to add value).

Here's a primer on the OV Chipkaart (and yes, it is not easy to figure out): http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g188590-c119198/Amsterdam:The-Netherlands:The.Ov.Public.Transportation.Chipkaart.html

Posted by
16895 posts

Regular taxis are right there and will use the metered rate. Rick's guidebook mentions that you can book a cheaper rate through your hotel, but that might not work as well in the direction from the airport. The Schiphol web site has a link to reserve ahead for a taxi for which you "will not have to wait more than 30 minutes."