Amsterdam Transportation Tips by Pavlik_NL Top 5 Page for this destination

Going by car - the easy way Amsterdam - Park & Ride Review

Going by car into the centre of Amsterdam and try to find a parkingspot is the idea of a lunatic. If your not knowing about some secret spot, don;t even bother. The transferium is in this case a lot more easy and also cheaper (unless you want to keep on running to the car refilling the parkingmeter). The transferium is situated in the Arena (the Ajax football stadium). So check out if there are any games at the moment of arrival. If not then follow the P+R-signs that say "Transferium" and from here a minibus will bring you to the nearest metro-station. Tickets for public transport are all included in the parkingfee and you can park as long as you want.

Mode: TO

Phone: +31-20-4001721

Type: Car/Motor Home

The way to go around th canals Canal boat Review

Visiting Amsterdam is not complete without a canal boat tour. One can choose between the standard tours, where a guide is telling the group about everything he knows about the town, or choose for the canal "bus". In this category there are two firms operating a hop-on/hop-off service: the Canalbus (in the canal in front of the Saint Nicolas church) and the Museum boat (next to the VVV-office (tourist info). On both there are too guides telling several things about the passed highlights.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Ship/Boat

Bikes, there not a better Dutch way Bicycle / Cycling Review

Amsterdam is crawling with cyclists. Watch out when you cross the streets. Watch out when you walk the sidewalk. They are everywhere. Well, if yo can't beat them join them There are various places where you can rent a bike and for not even that much money. Anyway, it is THE way to see Amsterdam the Dutch way and is always in for a few good laughs. Ah, before I forget: always lock the bike against something fixed. Each year several 10.000 bycicles change owner in the stealing way.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Bicycle

Furthermore ... taxis and boats Taxi - Review

Taxi's are available everywhere, but please do use legal taxi's and not some guy that runs to you offering you a ride. At Schiphol we had - until recently - the blessing not to have this annoying guys, but now-a-days the appear from nowhere, ruining the market. Taxi's in Amsterdam are relatively expensive, but very trustworthy. A legal driver will never try to trick you or drive extra distance to get some extra money.
Another thing to tell about is the canals and there initial value. Now-a-days however barely seen: transport. Boats are not running up and down the canals anymore to fill the warehouses. There is still traffic on the Amstel though as well as in the busy "IJ", harbours and Amsterdam-Noordzee-canal. This last connects the capitol now-a-days directly with the Northsea and keeps it being an important harbour of the world.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Ship/Boat

In combination with the canalboat: WALK Walking Review

The canalboats get you around the canals, but to have a complete view of the centre of Amsterdam, one has to get out and start walking. Therefor the canalbus / museumboat are excellent means of transport for a visitor to Amsterdam. One chooses the most popular things to do and see and simple connects them by boat and short walks. The walk from the Central Station-area over the Damrak to the Dam (square) is a must. Added are walks through the red light district (Walletjes), the shoppingstreets (Kalverstraat etc.) and the Vondelpark.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Other

The typical Amsterdam tingel-tangel-tram Tram - Review

Amsterdam and it's trams are almost inseparable. I don't think any Dutchmen can imagine the capitol without trams terrorising traffic and streets. The tram has preference ... even when a tram doesn;t have preference, a tram has preference! The system is good and one can reach any neighbourhood by tram. Added is the public busservice, making the surface public transport here almost perfect.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Other

The ugly and amazing metro of A'dam Metro Review

No, the Amsterdam metro is definately not clean or pretty. The wagons are quite old and damged by vandals. The smell on many station is awful and the travellers not always that friendly. Anyway, the metro is efficient and can bring you on many places where you would like to be. Besides that the Amsterdam metro is an amazing achievement, when one things about the fact that the town was already built on poles to prevent the houses sinking in the swamp that the land just actually is. The metro is therefor a technological miracle.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Subway/Metro

Free ferry across the "IJ" Ferry across het IJ Review

Connecting Amsterdam North with Amsterdam Centre there is a free ferry that runs almost all day with a high frequenty. This offers people to park on the Northern enighbourhoods of Amsterdam, something that is not frequently done by foreigners or non-Amsterdam-folk. Parking here however involves the use of a parking-meter-card (blue), so don't forget to take one if you're into this way of going to A'dam.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Ship/Boat

Going by car - the hard way Car - Review

For those who anyway want to penetrate Amsterdam with there own car, there's a lot of effort to be done to avoid being ticketed or - worse - get a wheelclamb. First take a parkingmeter-card, they widen the possibilities with some places where it is allowed to park for an X amount of hours. Furthermore have enough small change with you. Most parkingmeters operate with coins. Then finally realise that the further to get to the centre, the shorter the maximum-parkingtime is. Within the centre it is easily so that only one or two hours can be paid after which one either has to refill the machine or go away. Last tip from my side for those who want to be stuborn: try Amsterdam North and use the free IJ-ferry.

Mode: TO

Type: Car/Motor Home

Take the train to Amsterdam Central Train Review

<b>1. from Schiphol International Airport</b>
From the airport it is quite easy to reach Amsterdam. Underneath the airport are the stages from where trains leave almost every ten minutes towards Amsterdam Central Station. The fare is cheap and the connection is swift.
<b>2. from other places outside The Netherlands</b>
There are intercity-trains from Paris and Brussels (Thalys) as well as from Germany (Frankfurt - Köln - Düsseldorf and Berlin - Hannover) that offer a comfortable ride and have as endstop Amsterdam.
,b>3 from other places within The Netherlands</b>
Our country has more or less a combination between a train and a metro-network. The density is high and the frequency on busy lines as well (every 15 minutes). For further details look at the Dutch Railways (called "NS").

Mode: TO

Type: Train

Website: http://www.ns.nl