Destinations > Netherlands > North Holland > Amsterdam > Local Transport

Amsterdam

Local Transport

Amsterdam's transport network consists of trams, trains, buses and a metro, although it is a small city and you should be able to walk everywhere. If you are staying further from the centre (near Vondelpark, for instance) then if may be a good idea to buy a travel pass such as a strippenkaart or dagkaart.

Although it is relatively easy to travel around Amsterdam without a ticket, you risk an on the spot fine if you get caught by one of the uniformed ticket inspectors. Playing the dumb tourist doesn't work with these guys - they've heard every story about not knowing the system and are unlikely to let you off. The fine is around €45.

TRAMS

Trams are the most useful form of transport in Amsterdam with the majority of the 17 tram routes running past Centraal Station. The Circle Tram (line 20) is the most useful line, operating a circular route taking in Centraal Station and many of Amsterdam's major attractions.

METRO & SNELTRAM

Amsterdam's metro system is mainly used to get to the suburbs and is of limited use to most travellers. However the metro is the best way to get between Centraal and Amstel stations.

The metro consists of both regular metro trains (on lines 53 and 54) and the sneltram (operating on lines 50 and 51). The sneltram is like an express tram which runs on a dedicated track before entering the metro system and stopping at metro stations.

All metro lines run on the same track between Centraal and Amstel Stations. So you can hop on any train if you need to get to Amstel Station.

A new north-south metro line connecting Buikslotermeerplein in north Amsterdam with Centraal Station and Amsterdam Zuid/WTC is under construction and should be completed by 2006.

FERRY

Amsterdam has a couple of ferry lines connecting the city centre with the suburbs in North Amsterdam. There is a free ferry across the IJ which departs from just behind Centraal Station - this ferry runs around every ten minutes and is a good free alternative to the more expensive and touristy canal cruises.

BUS

Buses are mainly used to get to the suburbs which aren't served by trams or the metro. These are especially useful in North Amsterdam. Local buses are operated by GVB (Gemeentevervoerbedrijf Amsterdam) which also runs the city's tram, metro and ferry services. If you're heading to surrounding towns and cities in the Randstad region you might use the regional buses operated by NZH and Interliner.

TRAIN

There are several suburban and urban train stations which can be used with your day ticket or strippenkaart. The most useful stations are Amsterdam Zuid/WTC, RAI and Amstel (although Amstel station is more frequently served by the metro).

FARES

A single (enkeltje) ticket valid for 1½ hours travel on buses, trams or the metro costs €3 and a return (retourtje) ticket valid for two 1½ hour bus, tram or metro trips costs €4.50.

There are a number of other ticket options available. Which one is best for you depends a lot on how long you intend staying in Amsterdam and how far you will be staying from the centre. Because many of the hostels are conveniently located you may find that you don't even need to take public transport during your stay.

Strippenkaart

If you're planning to visit other cities in the Netherlands while making infrequent use of public transport, the best ticket deal is the Strippenkaart. All public transport such as buses and trams in Holland work on a single system called the National Strippen Kaarten, this means that you can use your strippenkaarten to travel on local buses in The Hague and Utrecht as well as the Rotterdam metro.

These tickets work by validating the appropriate number of strips for your journey. This is done by folding the card and stamping it by inserting it in the validating machine. You can ask the bus or tram driver to do this for you, although you will have to do this yourself on trains, the metro and sneltrams. If validating it yourself ensure that the right zones are stamped by calculating the zones to be travelled in or through and adding one more to the total. For instance you need to cancel two strips for one hour of travel in one zone, three strips for two zones, four strips for three zones and so on. You can make as many transfers as you like within the validity of your strippenkaart as long as you stay within your zone. The number of strips which need to be cancelled is shown on the following table:

Strips	Zones	Valid for
2-4	1-3	1 hour
5-7	4-6	1½ hours
8-10	7-9	2 hours
11-16	10-15	3 hours
17-19	16-18	3½ hours
20	unlimited	3½ hours

These tickets are available almost everywhere including on the bus and trams, post offices, VVV tourist information centres and train and metro stations. Several people can be share the same strippenkaart as long as you stamp the card as many times as there are people. There is no set expiry date on strippenkaarten so you can keep your half-finished cart and use the remainder on a subsequent trip to Amsterdam.

The following table shows strippenkaart prices:

Strips	Price
2	€1.60
3	€2.40
8	€6.40
15	€6.50
45	€19.20

Sterabonnement

The sterabonnement tickets are handy if you're staying in town a while, and are especially useful if you're working or studying in Amsterdam. These tickets are valid for unlimited travel in the selected zones for either a week, month or year. The number of zones is defined by the number of stars on the ticket (ster is Dutch for star). One star is good for travel in the selected zone, two stars allows travel in the selected zone plus an adjoining zone, three stars allows travel in the selected zone plus two adjoining zones and so on.

Before you buy a sterabonnement ticket, you will need a stamkaart which is available free of charge at post offices and GVB offices upon presentation of a passport photo.

The following table shows prices of sterabonnement tickets:

Stars	Weekly	Monthly
1	€10.30	€34.10
2	€17.70	€57.85
3	€26.40	€86.00
4	-	€114.45
5	-	€142.60

Dagkaarten (Day-tickets)

Day-tickets allow unlimited travel on all GVB bus, tram and metro services in the Amsterdam area. You can either stamp an 8-zone strippenkaart vertically (instead of horizontally) to validate it as a day pass or you can buy a day-ticket from GVB offices. If you're staying for several days it is better value to buy a day-ticket for the entire duration of your stay rather than individual day-tickets.

Ticket	Price
24 hours	€6.30
48 hours	€10
72 hours	€13