Amsterdam: getting there
An insider's guide to getting to Amsterdam, including travelling to the city by Eurostar and navigating Schiphol Airport, as well as recommendations for bike hire and canal boat tours. By Rodney Bolt, Telegraph Travel's expert guide.
Getting there
Flights
British Airways (0844 493 0787; britishairways.com), CityJet (0871 66 33 777; cityjet.com), easyJet (0843 104 5000; easyjet.com) and KLM (0871 231 0000; klm.com) all fly to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam.
Transfers
Schiphol Airport (0031 20 794 0800; schiphol.nl) is nine miles south-west of the city centre. Trains (0900 767 8526 from within Holland only; ns.nl) leave for Amsterdam Central Station every eight minutes, get there in 15-20 minutes, and cost €4 (about ￡3.30). Taxis (00 31 20 777 7777; tcataxi.nl) will take longer (20-40 minutes, but OK because it’s door-to-door) and set you back about €55 (￡45). A shuttle service (00 31 38 339 4741; schipholhotelshuttle.nl) operates between the airport and various city hotels; €17 (￡14) single.
Cruises
Cruise ships dock at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (00 31 20 509 1000; ptamsterdam.nl), designed to resemble a wave, just 15 minutes’ walk from Centraal Station. Inside are souvenir shops, a restaurant, luggage lockers and a tourist information desk, but a step outdoors takes you to a taxi rank and to Tram 25, which will whisk you to the city centre. Amsterdam is on several north European and Baltic routes.
Try Holland America Lines (0845 351 0557; hollandamerica.com), Costa Cruises (0845 351 0552; costacruises.co.uk), and MSC Cruises (0844 561 1955; msccruises.co.uk). Amsterdam also features on many Rhine-based cruises; try Blue Water Holidays (01756 706529; cruisingholidays.co.uk).
Trains
London-Amsterdam trains take around six hours, with a change in Brussels. Book through Eurostar (08432 186186; 00 44 1233 617 575 from outside of the UK; eurostar.com) or NS Hispeed (00 31 30 233 1676; nshispeed.nl).
? The best hotels near Amsterdam airport
Ferries
Stena Line (08447 707070; stenaline.co.uk) sails from Harwich to Hook of Holland, and offers a Rail & Sail connection to Amsterdam. DFDS Seaways (0871 522 9955; dfdsseaways.co.uk) sails from Newcastle to Amsterdam.
To telephone the following numbers from outside Holland, prefix with 0031.
Getting around
Cycling
Bicycles rule. Motorists, and even pedestrians, beware. Cycle lanes criss-cross the entire city.
Hire a bike from MacBike (00 31 20 620 0985; macbike.nl) or Yellow Bike (00 31 20 620 6940; yellowbike.nl).
Public transport
Trams will get you just about anywhere in the city centre; the metro and buses go farther afield. They are all operated by GVB (0900 8011 from within Holland; gvb.nl). Buy one-hour tickets (€2.90) or 24-hour travelcards (€7.50) on trams, or save money with cards for longer periods. You can access door-to-door journey planning information on 9292.nl.
A rechargeable OV-Chipkaart (similar to London’s Oyster Card) is available from dispensers in stations, at GVB offices, and from the tourist office and AKO book stores.
Taxis
You can try hailing, but it’s easier to find a rank (on most city squares) or telephone Taxicentrale Amsterdam (00 31 20 777 7777; tcataxi.nl). The starting fare is €2.95, then €2.17 per kilometre.
By car
Best advice is: don’t. Parking is expensive (€4-€5 an hour in the city centre), and negotiating narrow streets and one-way systems a nightmare. If you have a car with you, leave it at a Park & Ride (parkerenindestad.nl/amsterdam) on the A10 ring road (€1 per day if you arrive after 10am; €8 a day (and €1 for every further 24 hours) if you arrive before 10am.
By boat
Taking to the water on a pedalo or in a glass-roofed boat offers an unrivalled view of Amsterdam’s historic gabled buildings.
On foot
Walking in Amsterdam is not only the cheapest way to get about, but also one of the city’s greatest pleasures.