We arrive at the airport on the evening of April 21st. If I understand correctly, we will be travel to the train station, buying a ticket at the airport.
We leave April 30th. What is the most affordable way to travel on the buses/trams? Can I get a weekly pass? We are also taking daytrips to Haarlam, Keukenhof Gardens. Do I buy separate day-trip train tickets or do I buy the strippenkart? We are seniors so we save our feet for standing in museums!!!
The strippenkaart Steve mentions has been mostly discontinued. They were replaced by an electronic debit card, similar to London's Oyster Card. Technically the GVB office will still sell them to you if requested; there not sold on the trams anymore. But almost nobody uses them anymore. For trams in Amsterdam it's better to purchase the unlimited pass. For your train trips outside of Amsterdam simply purchase your train tickets at the ticket windows at Centraal Station.
I bought strip tickets. With five of us, we seemed to burn through them pretty quickly.
Michael is correct the strip ticket is being phased out. The RFD card had an unusual feature that I had not encountered before. You not only have to wave the card by the senor on boarding, you must also wave the card when you get off. Just watch the locals. Again, this why I constantly stress that it is important to get you information from travelers who have been there, done that, rather than someone who quotes a guidebook or finds reference on the internet. There is no substitute for experience.
I had no trouble buying strip tickets at a convenience store inside the Amsterdam Centraal train station. They also sell them at the tourist info office across from the station entrance.
Incidentally, the strip tickets are also good on trams in other cities, such as The Hague. Just give the ticket to the operator, tell him where you want to go, and he will stamp the ticket with the appropriate number of strips.
Keukenhof Gardens is a pretty straightforward ticket process you can go by either bus or a train and bus combination from Amsterdam. You can easily get tickets at the train station in Amsterdam.
I also bought the strippenticket in A-dam in Oct 09, no one even suggested the "Oyster card" type to me.
