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Cycling
is the most popular means of travel inside the
Netherlands
.
Of course you cannot go for a long distance by a
bicycle. It is also possible to travel in the
Netherlands
,
as everywhere in the world, by plane, train, public
transport and taxi.
Travelling
by plane
The
Netherlands is and always has been a country whose
success lies in her infrastructure. Getting to and
from The Netherlands is easy. When Travelling by air
you'll most likely end up at Schiphol
Airport, The Netherlands's primary airport and one
of
Europe
's
main airports. Schiphol is located closely to the
nation's capital,
Amsterdam
,
and has all the facilities any traveller might need:
shops, restaurants, tourist information (called
VVV throughout
The Netherlands), hotels, taxis, and a train station
from where you can get to any major city in The
Netherlands.
Travelling
by train
For
intercity travel, the Dutch train system is to be
recommended. The national railway is quite extensive
and connects every city or major town in the country.
Like any railway system it does experience delays, but
these are usually for no more than five minutes.
On
the whole, Travelling by train is easy and
comfortable, especially when you travel outside of the
rush hours of 8am - 10am and 4pm - 6pm. The prices of
tickets are reasonable and available on every station,
either from a ticket desk or a machine. The service at
the ticket desks is friendly and will provide you with
any information you need to get around. You can get
one-way and return tickets to and from any train
destination, plus day-tickets, week- and month-tickets
and specials for tourist destinations, which combine
the fare and entry fee for the destination in one
ticket. The larger stations in the cities usually have
a bank, tourist information booth, restaurant or snack
counter, and some small shops. Almost all train
stations in The Netherlands are the central point for
the local public transport, like buses, trams and
metros. You can also plan your journey in the Dutch
railway
website.
Frequent
train travellers can buy a train discount card (kortingskaart)
for 49 euro per year. After 9 am in weekdays, and
during weekends and summer season, you can buy tickets
with 40% discount. You have to carry the card with you
to show it to the ticket controller.
Travelling
by Bus, Tram and Metro
The
Dutch local public transport system is basically the
same throughout the country: local and inter-local
buses are everywhere, and the four major cities also
have trams, which are usually the best way to get
around the city centres. In addition to that,
Rotterdam
,
Amsterdam
and
Utrecht
have a metro/subway system - called sneltram in
Amsterdam
and
Utrecht
Tickets
for local public transport are very easy to deal with:
they all use the same ticket system, called
Strippenkaart. The Strippenkaart is a long ticket with
between 2 and 45 strips, which represent zones you
wish to travel through. The entire country is divided
into zones, and the conductor on board of a bus or
tram will put a stamp on the strip for the number of
zones you wish to travel through. There are also
machines where you can do the stamping yourself. If
you're not sure how to use it, just ask someone. They
will gladly help you.
The
Strippenkaart can be bought at every train station,
local public transport company outlets, ticket
machines, and in the buses and trams themselves, but
are not sold on metros. The tickets are not limited to
any one area, so the same Strippenkaart can be used
throughout the country. One tip: it is much cheaper to
buy a large (15 or 45-strip) Strippenkaart at a shop
or station than it is to buy a small card in the bus
or tram itself, where usually only 2- and 3-strip
cards are sold. Click here
for more information on bus links. You can also find
more information on long distance travel by bus here.
Travelling
by taxi
Taxis
are everywhere, but mostly in the cities. They're all
regulated through a permit system, so the quality is
good, but they're quite expensive. Taxis in the major
cities are great for quick and easy inner-city
door-to-door transport, and the taxi drivers are
usually quite friendly and know a lot about the city
and its sights. Don't use them for longer distances if
you can avoid it, because the meters run continually,
and you could be faced with quite a huge bill.
Taxis
mostly have fixed pick-up points, mostly at train
stations and major sights or areas of interest, but
you can flag them down if they're available, although
this is not often done in The Netherlands. You can
plan your taxi trip at
Dutch
taxi service
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