Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting Around Amsterdam
Amsterdam is big, and you'll likely find the trams handy (see
below). The longest walk a tourist would make is an hour from
Central Station to the Rijksmuseum. When you're on foot, watch
out for silent but potentially painful bikes, trams, and crotch-high
curb posts.
If you've got a car, park it—all you'll find are frustrating one-
way streets, terrible parking, and meter maids with a passion for
booting cars parked incorrectly.
By Tram, Bus, and Metro
The helpful GVB public-transit information office is in front of the
Central Train Station (next to TI, Mon-Fri 7:00-21:00, Sat-Sun
10:00-18:00, good detailed info on
www.gvb.nl). Its free, multilingual
Public Transport Amsterdam Tourist
Guide
includes a transit map and
explains ticket options and tram con-
nections to all the sights. In keeping
with the Dutch mission to automate
life, they'll tack on a €0.50 penalty
if you buy your transit tickets from
a human ticket seller, rather than
from a machine. If you're stressed,
jetlagged, or otherwise cranky, it's worth the fee for the personal
assistance.
You have various ticket options:
•
Individual
tickets
cost €1.60 and give you an hour on the
buses, trams, and metro system (on trams and buses, pay as you
board; for the metro, buy tickets from machines).
•The
24-hour
(€7 ),
48-hour
(€11.50), or
72-hour
(€14.50)
tickets
give you unlimited transportation on Amsterdam's public-
transit network. Buy them at the GVB public-transit office (all
versions available), at any TI, or as you board (24-hour version only
costs €0.50 extra).
•
Strip tickets
(strippenkaart),
nearly half the cost of individual
tickets, are good on buses, trams, and the metro in Amsterdam.
A strip of 15 shareable strips costs €6.90. Any downtown ride in
Amsterdam uses two strips (worth €0.92, good for one hour of
transfers). For more on buying and using strip tickets, see the side-
bar on the opposite page.
•Alongwithitssightseeingperks,the
I amsterdam
Card
offers unlimited use of the tram, bus, and metro for its duration
(24, 48, or 72 hours—see page 35).
Tr a ms:
While buses and the metro can be handy for con-
necting some points in Amsterdam, travelers find the trams most
