Tag: Amsterdam

Public Transport in Amsterdam (ver. 2023)

ZooksLeave a comment

Tere!

Although I walk a lot during a trip so that I can eat as much tasty food as I want, on this trip to Amsterdam I suddenly decided to buy an Amsterdam public transport ticket.

It’s not anything big but it might be helpful to read this article about public transport in Amsterdam.

Table of Contents

     1. Public transport in Amsterdam
     2. Amsterdam public transport tickets
     3. How to get on a tram in Amsterdam
     ★Summary

1. Public transport in Amsterdam

The whole Netherlands rather than Amsterdam are the country of bicycles! Therefore there are a number of bicycle riders, naturally there are bicycle lanes on the roads as well as you can see how huge the number of bicycles in the bicycle parking areas are.

However, I personally think that other normal (?) public transport is safer and easier for travellers to avoid accidents unless they are a huge fan of bicycles or they definitely want to explore Amsterdam by bicycle.

While I had been to Amsterdam twice before this trip in 2023, it was my first time to use Amsterdam public transport as otherwise I walked.

This is because Amsterdam is a walkable distanced city.

なぜなら歩ける距離だから。

However, after exploring Rotterdam for half a day, and participating in a walking tour in Rotterdam, I had no physical energy to walk 25 minutes to walk to the accommodation in Amsterdam.

Originally I planned to walk to the accommodation so I had no research on the public transport in Amsterdam, but it was not a big problem that I decided to buy an Amsterdam transport ticket.

Also, the public transport in Amsterdam is called GVB.

2. msterdam public transport tickets

Since I tiredly arrived at Amsterdam Central station from Rotterdam, I took a tram in Amsterdam. I didn’t have to buy a public transport ticket beforehand. They have a ticketing counter in the Amsterdam tram. However keep in mind that the payment option is only by card.

As far as I remember, a one hour ticket for Amsterdam public transport was something like 3.40 EUR or 3.90 EUR. I was surprised as it was more expensive than Dublin. Even in Dublin, you don’t need to pay more than 3 EUR for a sightseeing distance. (By the way, the prices in Dublin depend on the areas in Dublin and the price in Amsterdam is dependent on the time.)

Since I had a plan to use the ferry at least twice the next day, and I thought I would additionally use Amsterdam public transport the next day too, so I bought a 24-hour ticket. I remember that it’s a better option if you take Amsterdam public transport more than three times.

Amsterdam transport card (24 hours)

A 24-hour ticket cost 9 EUR, which I bought at the ticketing counter in the Amsterdam tram.

As GVB has a mobile app, you can buy this ticket in the app, too.

3. How to get on a tram in Amsterdam

Amsterdam trams are unique in my opinion. There are both entrance only and exit only doors. I didn’t know these, and once I tried to get on the tram from the exit door. 😂 As I was pressing the button to try to open the door, I found a sign saying “no entry”. 😂

You should remember this if you plan to use Amsterdam trams.

★Summary

Amsterdam is a compact city so you can basically walk around unless you have plans to move from the edge of the city to another edge of Amsterdam.

As for ferries, there should be ticket checking machines or something but I couldn’t find anything or anyone to check my ticket so I used the ferry twice without verifying the ticket. No one noticed me or said anything to me.

Aitäh! 🙂

Let’s take a train in the Netherlands!

ZooksLeave a comment

Tere!

It was the third visit to the Netherlands in my life. Accordingly, it was the third time taking trains in the Netherlands. I had visited the Netherlands in 2015 and 2018, and each time I stayed at my friend’s parents’ place in the south of the Netherlands as well as I went to Amsterdam from there by train.

This time was the first time since 2018, namely the first time in 5 years to have visited the Netherlands, therefore my memory on how to take a train in the Netherlands was subtle.

In this article I will talk about my learning in terms of taking trains in the Netherlands.

Table of Contents

     1. Buying train tickets in the Netherlands
     2. Types of train tickets in the Netherlands
     3. What will happen if one buys wrong train tickets in the Netherlands?
     ★Summary

1. Buying train tickets in the Netherlands

It is fairly easy to buy train tickets in the Netherlands. The trains in the Netherlands are called “NS”, whose main colour is yellow. I bought a train ticket at the Schiphol airport to go to Rotterdam.

You can also buy train tickets on Omio, and yet the prices are not so different, and should a flight be delayed, your ticket might become invalid. For this reason, in my case I bought the train ticket at Schiphol airport to Rotterdam.

At train ticketing machines, you can select in English, so it shouldn’t be so difficult to buy the tickets.

2. Types of train tickets in the Netherlands

There are a couple of types of trains in the Netherlands: Intercity, Intercity direct and Sprinter.

Honestly I have no idea how exactly they are different, but be careful when buying train tickets because if your train tickets are wrong, you might be required to pay more money.

Plus, the railway staff at Schiphol airport are not trustworthy.

3. What will happen if one buys wrong train tickets in the Netherlands?

As I wrote “the railway staff at Schiphol airport are not trustworthy” above, I will explain the reason.

The train ticket I bought at Schiphol airport to go to Rotterdam was a train that takes a detour. I bought that train ticket because I had enough time and was not in a hurry.

The ticket for the slow NS train (sample)
Slow NS trains require only one train ticket.

However, when I went to the train platform in Schiphol airport, I was confused with which train was for my ticket. I asked a railway staff member there, and told him I wanted to go to Rotterdam. Then he told me to take “Intercity direct”.

I suspected, but I took the Intercity direct train. Then just before arriving in Rotterdam, a staff member in the train asked me to show my ticket and said “Where is the other ticket?”

“Sorry? I don’t know that…” I said, and he said “Your ticket is for the slower train. This train is faster, and you need to pay 10 EUR.”






The guy in the airport deceived me.




I was so pissed in my mind, and left the train station in Rotterdam.

After all, I spent more money than buying the faster train tickets. I wished I could have screamed at the staff at the Schiphol airport:






Give me money back.




So be careful.

Tickets when taking an intercity direct train (sample)
Intercity direct trains require these two tickets.

★Summary

When going to Amsterdam from Rotterdam, I bought the train tickets for Intercity direct, and took the Intercity direct train.

By the way, I felt the train tickets in the Netherlands are so expensive as it cost 20 EUR for a 30-minute distance (from Rotterdam to Amsterdam). It takes around one hour from Kyoto to Osaka, and it costs only 400 JPY (less than 3 EUR) (if you use Hankyu).

Aitäh! 🙂