Getting Around

To drive in the Netherlands, you need only a valid passport, your driver's license, and, if you're bringing your own car, a valid registration and green card proving international insurance.

Don't go by car around Amsterdam. You'll likely regret the expense and the hassle. The city is a maze of one-way streets, narrow bridges, and no-parking zones. It's not unheard of for an automobile, left parked with the hand brake carelessly disengaged, to roll through a flimsy foot-high railing into a canal. To park, you need either to feed the parking meter (if you're lucky enough to find one that's available), or have a parking permit prominently displayed in your car.

Street parking in the center city costs 1.10€ to 4.40€ ($1.40-$5.50) an hour, depending on time and location, payable at nearby automats; if you're staying longer than 6 hours, it's more economical to buy a day ticket (also available from automats). Reduced-rate permits are available from many hotels. Permits valid for a day, a week, or a month are available from the Stadstoezicht offices .

Amsterdam's entire center has become a free-fire zone for marauding units of the feared Dienst Parkeerbeheer (Parking Service Authority), which is well-staffed, hardworking, and efficient. Locals have learned to keep their heads down and their meters loaded. If your meter gets hungry or if you park illegally, you're almost sure to fall victim to the Authority's swift and merciless search-and-destroy patrols. The cost of transgression is high: 46€ ($58) plus an hour's parking charge, payable within 48 hours at one of four offices .

If the car remains illegally parked, the Authority reinforces the ticket with a wheel-clamp, which costs at least 110€ ($138) to have removed, payable at one of four offices . If the wheel-clamp fine isn't paid within 24 hours, or if the PSA operatives think your car constitutes enough of an obstacle, they tow your car to Daniël Goedkoopstraat 7 (Metro: Spaklerweg), open 24 hours a day, way out in the boonies of the southeastern Over-Amstel district, and they charge you a whopping 58€ ($73) for every 12-hour period (or portion thereof) that it's out there -- plus the towing cost.

You can pay parking, clamp, and towing fines at this office and at three other Servicepunt Stadstoezicht offices in the city: Beukenplein 50 (tram: 3, 7, or 10); De Clercqstraat 42-44 (tram: 3, 13, or 14); and Daniel Goedkoopstraat 7-9 (Metro: Weesperplein). The phone number (tel. 14 020) is the same for all four offices.

Additional obstacles to parking on the fly are Amsterdammertjes (Little Amsterdammers), those zillions of ubiquitous anti-parking posts that have lined streets and canals across the city probably since Rembrandt was a kid.

To avoid charges, or parking-garage rates, stash your car for 5.50€ ($6.90) a day on the edge of town at Park+Ride lots at some of the outer Metro and rail stations (directions are indicated by blue-and-white P+R signs along the way), and come in by Metro, train, or tram. There are parking garages throughout town; most cost 2.50€ to 5€ ($3.15-$6.25) an hour and 12€ to 30€ ($15-$38) a day, depending on location. The largest lots are at Centraal Station, Damrak, Marnixstraat, under Waterlooplein, and adjacent to Leidseplein.

As if all the parking hassle isn't bad enough, anything left in your car is money on the hoof for every junkie and ne'er-do-well in town. They can withdraw your MP3 player, cellphone, and camera faster than you can get cash from an ATM. Cars with foreign tags are most tempting, since they're likeliest to have valuables in the trunk.

Getting Out of Town -- Outside the city, driving is a different story and you'll want to rent a car for an excursion outside Amsterdam. All the major agencies are here: Avis, Nassaukade 380 (tel. 0800/235-2847, or 020/683-6061; tram: 1); Budget, Overtoom 121 (tel. 0900/1576, or 020/612-6066; tram: 1); Europcar, Overtoom 197 (tel. 070/381-1812, or 020/683-2123; tram: 1); and Hertz, Overtoom 333 (tel. 020/201-3512; tram: 1). Each of these also has a desk at the airport. Rates vary among companies, as do types of cars, rental plans, and extras (some companies, for example, have free car delivery to your hotel). Rates begin around 50€ ($63) a day for a no-frills, subcompact auto with stick shift and unlimited mileage. A fully equipped luxury car like a BMW can cost as much as 200€ ($250) per day. If your car breaks down, call the national auto club, ANWB Wegenwacht (tel. 0800/000-888).