Getting Around

The central information and ticket sales point for GVB Amsterdam, the city's public transportation company, is GVB Tickets & Info, Stationsplein (tel. 0900/9292; www.gvb.nl), in front of Centraal Station, open Monday to Friday from 7am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 9pm. You can buy certain tickets here for less than from tram drivers, conductors, and bus drivers.

Most tram and bus shelters and all Metro stations display maps showing the entire urban transit network. All stops have signs listing the main stops yet to be made by available trams or buses at that location. Detailed maps of the network are available free from the GVB Tickets & Info office.

Daytime hours of operation for public transportation are from 6am (trams start at 7:30am on Sun) to around 12:30am. Night buses operate a limited service thereafter, with buses usually on an hourly schedule.

Note: For many of the locations featured in this guide, information about the nearest public transportation stop or station is provided, with preference given to the nearest tram (streetcar) stop. The nearest Metro station or bus stop is listed in the few instances that that would be a better option.

Tickets & Fares -- There are 11 fare zones in greater Amsterdam, but you likely won't travel often beyond the Center zone 5700 (Centrum). Make sure your ticket is valid for the amount of zones you plan to travel through and for the duration of the ride.

Children ages 4 to 11 ride on reduced-rate tickets; children 3 and under travel free.

Purchase tickets from VVV Amsterdam tourist information offices, the GVB Tickets & Info office , tram drivers (on some trams, there's an onboard ticket automat), bus drivers, train and Metro station ticket booths, and automats at train and Metro stations. Not every kind of ticket is available from each of these sources, and certain tickets -- the 15-strip and 45-strip cards -- can also be purchased from post offices and some newsstands and tobacconists.

Several types of tickets are valid on trams, buses, and the Metro, and some tickets are also valid on trains within the city. The most popular type is a nationale strippenkaart (national strip card), for which the fare is based on canceling one more of the ticket's strips than the number of zones you travel through -- two strips for one zone, three strips for two zones, and so on.

A strip card is good for any number of transfers on trams, buses, Metro lines, and trains to local stations (except Schiphol Airport station) within 1 hour of the time stamped; the valid time goes up in steps to a maximum 3 1/2 hours as the number of validated zones increases. More than one person can use a strip card, so long as it's stamped for each passenger. Note that the "national" part of the card's name means just that -- the ticket is valid throughout the Netherlands.

An 8-strip card (the only strip card available for purchase aboard trams and buses) is 6.40€ ($8), and can also function as a day card ; a 15-strip card is 6.70€ ($8.40); a 45-strip card is 19.80€ ($25). The more strips you buy, the less each one costs, and it's better not to buy onboard trams and buses f you can avoid it.

An enkeltje (single ticket) is 1.60€ ($2) for one zone and 2.40€ ($3) for two zones. A dagkaart (day card), which is also valid at night, is 6.30€ ($7.90). Also available are day tickets valid for 2 and 3 days, for 10€ ($13) and 13€ ($16). You'll need to use public transportation a lot to make the day and multi-day cards worthwhile. Should you plan to walk most of the time and take trams only around the Center, you're probably better off with a strip card.

Should you plan to splash out on a 1-, 2-, or 3-day I amsterdam Card, remember that this affords "free" use of public transportation, so you don't need to purchase additional tickets. The same applies if you purchase the All Amsterdam Transport Pass associated with travel on the Canal Bus.

If you're in town for a week or more, consider one of seven different sterrabonnement (star subscription) cards. These run from 10.60€ ($13) for a weeklong single-zone card, which offers various multiple-zone options, up to 208.50€ ($261) for a maximum-zones card that lasts a month (for a year, it's ten times the monthly rate). It's best to ask about these -- and other special tickets such as those for night buses, multiple trips, and large groups -- at the GVB Tickets & Info office .

Note: By the end of 2007 (or perhaps a bit later), all public transportation in the Netherlands should be using the new electronic OV-chipkaart. This smart card is pre-loaded with money that's automatically deducted each time you ride. A transition period will ensure that the above information about tickets and fares will remain valid during the lifetime of this guide.

Validation: On trams, be sure to get your card validated by the conductor, or to stamp your ticket in the yellow machines in the front, middle, and rear of the car. To use the machine with a strip card, fold your card at the line and punch it in. Rather than punching in each individual strip, count down the number of strips you need and punch in the last one. If you need more than one strip card to cover what's required, fill the old card and stamp the last strip required on a new one. At Metro and rail stations, use the machines at platform entrances and on the platforms (you must have a validated ticket to be allowed on Metro platforms). Make sure the machine actually did stamp your ticket, and with the correct date. On buses, the driver stamps your card.

Most Amsterdam trams have a conductor, and a few operate on the honor system, but teams of roving inspectors do their best to keep everyone honest. The fine for riding without a ticket or not having one properly stamped is 30€ ($38), plus the fare for the ride, payable on the spot.

By Tram

Half the fun of Amsterdam is walking along the canals. The other half is riding the smooth blue-and-gray trams that roll through most major streets. There are 16 tram routes in the city. Ten of these (lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 13, 16, 17, 24, and 26) begin and end at Centraal Station, and one (line 25) passes through, so you know you can always get back to that central point if you get lost and have to start over. The other tram routes are 3, 7, 10, 12, and 14.

Most trams have conductors, and have an access door opens automatically. Board toward the rear following arrowed indicators outside the tram that point the way to the door. To board a tram that has no such arrowed indicators (and no conductor), push the button on the outside of the car beside any door. Getting off, you may need to push a button with an open-door graphic or the words DEUR OPEN. Tram doors close automatically and they do it quite quickly, so don't dawdle.

By Bus

An extensive bus network complements the trams. Many bus routes begin and end at Centraal Station. It's generally faster to go by tram, but some points in the city are served only by bus.

Regional and inter-city bus service is operated by Connexxion (tel. 0900/266-6399; www.connexxion.nl), and Arriva (tel. 0900/202-2022; www.arriva.nl). Information about national public transportation is available by calling tel. 0900/9292 or visiting www.9292ov.nl.

Step Aboard -- A great little bus service, De Opstapper, is helping to solve one of Amsterdam's knottiest transit problems: accessing the long, narrow canal sides of the Grachtengordel (Canal Belt). White Opstapper ("step aboarder") minibuses go in both directions along Prinsengracht, between Centraal Station, the Amstel River, and Waterlooplein. A bus departs every 10 minutes from each terminus, Monday to Saturday from 7:30am to 6:30pm. There are no regular stops; just hold out your hand and the bus stops for you to get on. When you want to get out, just tell the driver. You can use any city public transportation ticket; with a strippenkaart, the full one-zone trip -- which makes a great mini-sightseeing tour -- requires two strips. The service has already been reprieved from a pending death sentence, but is still in danger. Use it or lose it!

By Metro

It can't compare to the labyrinthine subway systems of Paris, London, and New York, but Amsterdam does have its own Metro. Four lines -- 50, 51, 53, and 54 -- run partly overground and bring people in from the suburbs. You may want to take them simply as a sightseeing excursion, though to be frank, few of the sights on the lines are worth going out of your way for. If you do take these lines, be sure to validate your strip card on the platform before boarding.

A new Metro line, the Metro Noord-Zuidlijn (North-South Line), is currently under construction to link Amsterdam Noord, through the Center, to Station Zuid/WTC. It's slated for completion in 2011.

By Train

The rail network is not as useful within Amsterdam as are the tram, bus, and Metro. In addition to the Centraal Station hub, there are seven train stations in the city: Zuid/WTC (World Trade Center), RAI (at the city's main convention center), Amstel in the south, Muiderpoort in the east, and Lelylaan, De Vlugtlaan, and Sloterdijk in the west. Because the transportation network is tightly integrated, all rail stations are also served by two or more other modes of public transportation.

The excellent Dutch rail network comes into its own for longer distances. It's by far the quickest and best way to get to Schiphol Airport, Haarlem, Zandvoort, Hoorn, and most other points in Holland. Purchase international tickets from an office on platform 2 of Centraal Station, or domestic tickets from an office in the main hall (note that you save 0.50€/65¢ per ticket if you get domestic tickets from the station automats).

By Taxi

It used to be that you couldn't simply hail a taxi in Amsterdam, but nowadays cabbies stop for most attempts. Alternatively, find one of the taxi stands sprinkled around the city, generally near luxury hotels or at major squares such as the Dam, Stationsplein, Spui, Rembrandtplein, Westermarkt, and Leidseplein. Taxis have rooftop signs and blue license tags, and are metered.

Liberalization of the city's taxis in recent years seems to have all but eliminated those once-typical drivers: professional machines functioning as smoothly as the Mercedes they drove, who all seemed to have been spat out of the same soulless mold. To a budget traveler, their fares were little short of a mugging. And then they expected a tip. On the plus side, they spoke English and generally didn't exaggerate the price (they didn't need to).

The new breed of drivers might drive something less desirable and have varying ideas about fair fares, for better or worse. Some have poor situational awareness, so bring a map or feed directions to the driver -- if they understand English.

For generally reliable service, call Taxi Centrale Amsterdam (tel. 020/677-7777). TCA's base fare begins at 3.40€ ($4.25) and run up at 1.94€ ($2.45) a kilometer, and after 25km, it becomes 1.40€ ($1.75) a kilometer, or 2.25€ ($2.80) a mile.

Any time you take a taxi, though, make sure that the driver starts the meter at the correct rate, bearing in mind that the tariffs listed above are likely to increase during the lifetime of this book. The fare includes a service charge, but you can round it up if you like, or tip for extra-good service, like help with your luggage, friendly discourse, or just for not ripping you off.