PhillyFan

Hi all. We didn't have time for the Van Gogh museum on our last visit to Amsterdam (during June). The lines were crazy long.

I am going to preorder a ticket from the museum online, but I have read that even with a ticket, the lines can still be very long. I wouldn't be able to get there until around noon (on a weekday this month), so I'm wondering what to expect.

(An Amsterdam Pass won't be worthwhile for me as I'll only be in Amsterdam a very short time).

Any experiences this time of year at this museum?

Edward2005

If you buy a ticket in advance it will be for a particular entry time. Show up at the appointed time and you can avoid the main line because the tourist wranglers make a separate rope line for appointment entry. Otherwise it can be a 30-60 minute wait. Another alternative is to go really early or late.

Lois2

if you reserve a ticket online for a specific time and print it you have a separate entrance line and it is the only way to go.

IMDonehere

We reserved in advance. It is one the best single subject museums we have visited.

ssander

I think if you have a museum card, there is a shorter line.

ssander

ssander

The Museum Card is 55€ I believe and is good for your entire stay -- (actually 1 year). Here are <strong>some</strong> of the museums covered -- you can see that a bunch of really great museums are included:


Rijksmuseum
Van Gogh Museum
Stedelijk Museum
Hermitage Amsterdam
Anne Frank House
Amsterdam Museum
Scheepvaartmuseum – Maritime Museum
Jewish Historical Museum
JHM Kindermuseum – Children’s Museum
Diamond Museum Amsterdam
Royal Palace Amsterdam
Oude Kerk – The Old Church
De Nieuwe Kerk – New Church
Rembrandt House Museum
Museum Amstelkring – Our Lord in the Attic
Museum Van Loon
Bijbels Museum – Bible Museum
Tropenmuseum – Tropical Museum
Verzetsmuseum – Resistance Museum


ssander

hetismij2

The museum card is changing, due to fraud. You will again need a photograph for it. You can still buy one at a museum without a photo but must exchange it for a photocard within a month. That means if you buy one you must get all the use you can out of it in that month, and accept it won't still be valid should you come back within the year.

Sadly AirBnB owners, amongst others, have been abusing the system, by offering the use of their card to guests. The card is strictly personal, hence the return to photocards.

The museum card could be worth it for Phillyfan given some of the other cities she is visiting.

Even with the card you can still book your timeslot online, but can still face a small queue to enter the VG museum since you still have to go through the ticket check and security.
The fact you book a hour block is no guarantee you won't have to queue. Better to go slightly later in your hour block that at the start of it. The website also indicates busier blocks based on current sales.

PhillyFan

Reserving in advance worked so well / I had a noon reservation and I skipped the line and walked right in. The line wasn't nearly as crazy as the last time we were in Amsterdam - that's the difference between March and June!

PhillyFan

(Reserving the ticket was easy - trying to figure out how to store my luggage at Amsterdam Centraal was not haha)

spaarne

<i>PhillyFan on Mar 15, 16 at 3:58pm
(Reserving the ticket was easy - trying to figure out how to store my luggage at Amsterdam Centraal was not haha)</i>

Please tell us how you did it.

rncheryl

For your consideration (we have this booked for the fall) https://www.contexttravel.com/city/a...museum-seminar

PhillyFan

spaarne - to be honest, I don't know!

I looked into this before arriving, so I knew where to look for the luggage lockers, and what the directional sign looked like. I didn't have any problems locating them.

But I couldn't easily figure out how to input the locker #. I wasn't the only one who had a problem - there were 3 American girls next to me who were saying they couldn't believe this was so confusing. I put my credit card in - and somehow ended up paying for their locker! So the one girl (more accurately, woman, but she was about 19 or 20, so she's a girl to me) then paid for my locker and we exchanged receipts.

It was funny - when I got back to retrieve my stuff (which was very easy!), I passed the same girls, who recognized me and called out a Hello to me!

Everything else about riding the trains in Holland was very easy - this was really the only problem I encountered all week of exploring the Netherlands (all by train). (And what a small problem to have!)

West47

We purchased our tickets on-line, and were there promptly for the opening at 9:00 AM (the website for the museum recommended visiting in off-peak hours) in October 2015. No problems....in fact several of the galleries were empty except for us. It is a wonderful museum!