Amsterdam Transportation Tips by ATLC Top 5 Page for this destination

Parking in Amsterdam Amsterdam - Park & Ride Review

Parking is horrendous in the city. The rate is € 3 per hour in the inner city and € 1,80 per hour outside the canal belt.
Car parks will be around € 2,50 per hour.
There are P+R parks at the edge of the city.

Do consult the website mentioned below (English). A very clear and easy to use website for all your parking questions.

http://www.bereikbaaramsterdam.nl/live/main.asp?subsite_id=23

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Phone: +31-20-4001721

Type: Car/Motor Home

Map public transport Amsterdam

All bus, metro and tram lines are on this map. So it's easy to find your way around.
Click section to enlarge.

And everything you need to know about public transport in Amsterdam (bus/tram/metro) at the link below (in English of course!).

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Type: Bus

4 countries, 6 days

For a holiday, I agree that 6 days is a very tight schedule. Not really my idea of a holiday. But I've seen much worse on this forum.
However, if you were on business, you would not blink at this schedule.
We have the fast train Thalys after all.

Let me suggest an itinerary:

Day 1: (on arrival): take the Thalys to Paris (you need to book Thalys in advance), travel = about 3 hours.
Day 2: Spend in Paris
Day 3: (in the morning): take the Thalys back to Brussels (Belgium), travel = about 90 minutes
Day 4: take a train to Aachen (Germany), which is just on the Dutch/Belgian border. Enjoy the cathedral, etc. Travel time: with Thalys: 70 minutes. With local train: 2 hrs and 30 mins
Day 5: visit Maastricht (20 kms from Aachen, very nice Dutch city) and/or do that 'Drielandenpunt' (Belgium/Germany/Netherlands) as johngayton suggests
Day 6: back to Amsterdam and enjoy any time left there. Train from Maastricht to Amsterdam (local, just hop on). Travel time: 2 hrs and 30 mins

For German and European train schedules: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
For Dutch train schedules and prices: http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite/travellers
For Belgian train schedules and prices: www.b-rail.be/main/E/
For Thalys: http://www.thalys.com/ (only to be booked in advance!)

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Type: Train

From Schiphol to Port of Amsterdam Train - to/from Schiphol Airport Review

Port of Amsterdam
Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA)
Port of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Address: De Ruijterkade 7, 1013 AA Amsterdam

Take a train to Amsterdam Central from Schiphol (6 trains per hour), after that it's a 6 minute walk. Or if struggling with luggage, a taxi might be handy since it's only a short way.

The train ride costs 3,80 euro one-way.

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Type: Train

Public transportation in Amsterdam Strippenkaart NOT VALID FROM AUG 2009! Review

In Amsterdam you will mostly use the tram or bus and maybe a metro.
Because the rules for public transportation are all the same nationwide, please see my Netherlands Tip for this here.

Daytickets
Mind you, a 8-strippenkaart (strip card) that is stamped off as day ticket is only valid in a certain area (such as Amsterdam inner city) for bus/metro/tram and some local trains. You need 2 8-strippenkaart for a nationwide day ticket.

For more information click here

You should note that especially for Amsterdam, you might not even need a day ticket because you can walk quite a lot.
If you're going to have more than 4 rides on a day, then it is better value to stamp off your 8-strippenkaart as a day ticket. If it's going to be less (which is probable), then just stamp off strips as needed.
Alternately, buy yourself a 15-strippenkaart for € 6,90 (not available in buses or trams or metros) and stamp off strips as needed. In my opinion you'll get more transportation for less money.

Below you will find the link to the public transportation website for Amsterdam.

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Type: Other

Website: http://www.gvb.nl/english/Pages/default.aspx

Yellow Bike hotelservice Bicycle / Cycling Review

See http://www.yellowbike.nl/en/ and note:

"A lot of hotels work together with the Yellow Bike delivery service. Order your bike at the reception and your bike will be there early in the morning before 9.00h. Easy as it is: no need to go out looking for a rental point, no waiting, no leaving your identity card and no extra costs. Ask your reception for the Yellow Bike Hotelservice"

This website also offers two cycling routes that start daily at 11 am. One in the city of Amsterdam, the other a Countryside tour.

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Other Contact: info@yellowbike.nl

Phone: 020 6206940

Type: Bicycle

Website: http://www.yellowbike.nl/en/

Almost free rail travel for children under 12 Train Review

NS (that's the Dutch national railway, see website below) offers free travel for children up to 4 years. From 4-11 it's 2 euro per ticket. If accompanied by an adult 19+ years of age.

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Type: Train

Website: http://www.ns.nl

If you want to go to Antwerp Train Review

Lots of people visiting Amsterdam, who want to go to Antwerp (Belgium) by train.

Normal trains go every hour and take 2 hrs 9 min. from station to station. No reservation needed.

Thalys goes 6 times a day, takes 2 hrs and 23 min. Reservation needed and you have to change trains at Antwerpen Berchem (one stop before Antwerpen Central).

Earliest train (not a Thalys) goes at 7.23 hrs
Latest train (not a Thalys) goes at 21:23 hrs

Fare:
Because you cross a boundary into another country, the fare is not shown on the website.
To give an idea: the fare from Amsterdam to Roosendaal (the last Dutch train station before crossing the border with Belgium):
2nd class
Single ticket € 17,80
Return ticket € 30,30

You'll be using Dutch Railway which means you can check all this the national railway website. Go to link below and click English at the top.

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Type: Train

Website: http://www.ns.nl

Everything you need to know about trains Train Review

Dutch railway (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) has an excellent website for English readers.
The train network in The Netherlands is quite dense so you can go just about anywhere.
Includes train schedules and prices.
Click link below and click 'English' at the top.

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Type: Train

Website: http://www.ns.nl

Free parking, easy access Car - Review

If you want absolutely free, go to the train station in Weesp. You can park your car there and the train takes you in 12-16 minutes to the Amsterdam Central Station.
There are about 4 trains per hour.

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Type: Car/Motor Home

Website: http://www.ns.nl