Guide to Public Transport in Amsterdam

The metro, tram and buses of Amsterdam are operated by the GVB company, which offers unified rates per time:

• One hour ticket (single trip): € 3.20
• 1-day ticket: € 8
• 2-day ticket: € 13.5
• 3-day ticket: € 19
• 4-day ticket: € 24.5
• 5-day ticket: € 29.5
• 6-day ticket: € 33.5
• 7-day ticket: € 36.5

There is also a reduced rate for children 4 to 11 years old – for € 4 they travel all day.

You can buy GVB tickets at their machines and points of sale or on the public transport website in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam Travel Ticket

There is also an option of a special ticket only for Amsterdam. It is the cheapest method of transport if you travel from Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam) and you stay in the city for 1, 2 or 3 days. It includes the same means of transport as the GVB tickets (metro, tram and buses) and also includes ferries and trains to the airport (which cost € 9 round trip). The prices are:

• 1 day ticket: € 17
• 2-day ticket: € 22.5
• 3-day ticket: € 28

You can buy the Amsterdam Travel Ticket here or at Schiphol Airport.

Regional Ticket

It works like GVB tickets and allows you to use Connexxion and EBS trains from Amsterdam – trains to the other areas of the region. The prices are:

• 1 day: € 19.5
• 2 days: € 28
• 3 days: € 36.5

The regional ticket allows you to do excursions and see areas such as the beaches of Zandvoort, castles of Naarden and Muiden, etc.

I amsterdam City Card

The best option for travellers who are passionate about museums and monuments, and will stay only in Amsterdam. It includes:

• 60 museums, including the Rijksmuseum (national museum) and the Van Gogh Museum, for which a single ticket without the Card would be € 19 each.
• A boat trip through the canals of Amsterdam.
• 25% discounts in many restaurants.
• Daily transportation with GVB (metro, tram, buses) included.

The price is:

• 1 day: € 60
• 2 days: € 80
• 3 days: € 95
• 4 days: € 105
• 5 days: € 115

Finally, you can also buy a so-called anonymous OV-chipkaart (national transport card) to travel through all the public transport systems in the country. The OV-chipkaart connects to the bank and each time you pay as you go.

Amsterdam, like the rest of Holland, is designed to move around by bicycle. There are bike lanes everywhere, good indications and a great respect towards the cyclists on the part of the drivers. The main train and metro stations have large bicycle parking lots, the same goes for museums, monuments, etc.

Many companies offer bike rentals in the city for about € 10 / day. You can search for different alternatives in Google or ask for the nearest store in the hotel.

Tram in Amsterdam

The trams of Amsterdam are the most common means of transport after the bicycle. The city has 200 stations and 16 lines that connect perfectly all the points of interest in the city.

Hours: From 6:00 a.m. to 00:00 a.m.
Price: One hour € 3.20. See the full list of rates above.

Amsterdam has a fleet of 200 buses that run 24 hours a day.

The night bus is marked by the letter “N” and circulates from 00.30 to 06.00 a.m. Tickets are purchased directly from the driver.

After having lived for two years in the Netherlands I recommend using Google Maps as a reference for transportation throughout the country. It is precise, it offers the best route and is generally updated with possible deviations of routes by works or maintenance.

For general trips (tram, bus or metro)

For combined trips and routes you can use the “9292” website and application: https://9292.nl/en.

For trains

Always use the official website of Dutch train company NS: ns.nl/en.