Things you should know about public transport in Amsterdam

Public transport is a great way to get around in Amsterdam if you’re not too keen on biking everywhere but there are some things you should keep in mind. Please check out our previous article for more information about the OV-chipkaart.

1. Train travel

Before 9 July 2014 many tourists were mesmerized by the speed with which Dutch commuters would purchase their tickets, often with seconds to spare before the train departed. Since the aforementioned date however, NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, main company providing train travel in The Netherlands) has decided not to sell paper tickets to the masses anymore. Don’t be alarmed, you can still buy a ‘normal’ train ticket but they are more expensive and a little harder to buy.

The most important thing when buying a train ticket is deciding how to pay (how Dutch, straight to the point). NS is not very tourist friendly. You CANNOT pay for a ticket by creditcard unless you’re at Schiphol Airport. Other stations throughout the country do not have the option to pay by creditcard. Also, you CANNOT pay with cash bills sine machines are not equipped to accept them. You CAN pay with coins, but only at the machines that have a coin slot (recognizable by their round form). So if you want to buy a ticket at a machine, make sure you have enough coins on you.

As mentioned before, paper tickets are slightly more expensive (1 euro or so) because NS wants to discourage Dutch people to buy them. And as we all know, if you want to get Dutch people’s attention, hit them in their wallets.

If you want to avoid all this hassle and plan on using public transport a lot, invest in getting an anonymous OV-chipkaart and charge it with your creditcard at Schiphol Airport. It’s worth it.

2. Bus/tram/metro travel

If you only want to use these means of transport every now and then to get to major attractions, you can buy a 1 hour ticket from the driver (buses and trams) or at a machine (metro) for €2,80. You can use this ticket for 1 hour only from the first time you check in. So within 1 hour you can check in and out as many times as you want on all GVB transport. However, if you forget to check out, your ticket is void and you will have to buy a new one.

If you’re going to use a lot of buses/trams, but no trains you can get a multiple day pass for GVB (trams and blue/white buses). The GVB day or multiple day ticket provides you with unlimited GVB travel throughout Amsterdam – day and night – on the bus, tram, and metro, for the number of hours that best suits your plans. For example, the day ticket is valid for 24 hours starting at the first check in.

Note: These tickets are only valid in GVB metros, trams, and buses.. Thus, not valid in the regional buses of Connexxion and EBS or on the train.

Day ticket for children

The day ticket is now also available specially for children at a heavily reduced price. This ticket is for children 4 through 11 years old that are under the supervisions of at least one adult during the travel. The child ticket provides the same right to travel as the above day ticket. 

Price
Child day ticket (valid for 24 hours):   € 2.50

When you have this OV-chipkaart, you must always check in when boarding and check out when getting off the tram, bus, and metro.

The GVB day cards are available from:

GVB Tickets & Info

• driver and conductor (tram: 24 and 48 hour tickets; bus: only the 24 hour ticket)
• Add value & sales machines in metro stations (no child day ticket)
• VVV offices in Amsterdam (limited selection)
• various hotels, camp sites and other organisations (limited selection)
• GWK offices in Amsterdam and at Schiphol (limited selection)

Amsterdam & Region day card

Images: gvb, vvvzandvoort