Amsterdam Transportation
 

Starting to do some planning for our upcoming Amsterdam trip (9-14 April). Family of 4 with kids 12 & 9. We are staying at Laurierstraat 20 in the Jordaan (1 mile from Central).

Rough itinerary:
Day 0: arrive from Bruges at Central Station, check in , etc.
Day 1: Anne Frank House + walking tour
Day 2: Keukenhof gardens
Day 3: NEMO + other museum in afternoon (tbd)
Day 4: Zaanse Schans
Day 5: fly out from Schipol

Presumably, I'll need a train or train/bus on days 2, 4, 5. I'm assuming those tickets are simply purchased at the station on the day (or maybe a combo pass for Keukenhof).

The bigger question is the public transportation (trams) in the city. Looks like they encourage the use of day cards for 7.50/12.00/16.00/20.50/25.00/28.50€ for 1-6 days. The other option looks to be 2.70€ a pop.

So, for a family of 4 (looks like the kids are full boat), it would be around 114€ for unlimited travel for the stay or 11€ per ride. For the distances we are talking about (1 mile to station, 1.5 miles to NEMO, etc) wouldn't a taxi be on par or cheaper if we don't feel like walking??

If I went the multi-day card route, where are those purchased? I'm assuming that I can get the singles on the tram, is that correct?

Any logistic tips for the Keukenhof, Zaanse Schans and Schipol journeys? They seem fairly straightforward from what I've read.

Thanks for your help.

Hi steve,

we went to Amsterdam with our kids when they were a bit older than yours are now, and did much of what you have on your itinerary, with the exception of Zaanse Schans; we went to the Zoo instead.

we went to Nemo on a sunday morning if i remember rightly, and had lunch at the floating chinese restaurant in the harbour near-by. it was extremely good, and very popular with the local chinese population. we also liked the Keukenhof gardens and you would probably like Haarlem as well.

Yes, you can get singles on the trams, also daycardsfor the one day. For longer periods get them at the VVV (the national tourist organisation) across the tram tracks to the left from the main exit from Central Station. They have touchscreen machines which make it easy (if you have a chip-and-PIN credit card).

Children under 4 travel free, children between 4 and 12 only get a reduction with the OV card, which is a national electronic chipcard for public transport, but there doesn't appear to be a special daycard for children. As for whether taxis would be a better deal, I've never taken one in Amsterdam - but their one-way system is ferocious, so it may be a bit of a palaver finding one.

Don't forget, even with the daycards you need to check in and out on the electronic readers on the trams.

The trip to Schiphol is indeed straightforward. I found that for some reason the ticket machines downstairs in the metro station in Central Station take Visa credit cards, so I haven't checked out any other machines in the Central Station itself.

Quite possibly on your planned programme, you might not need trams. On your arrival day, you'ld presumably get a taxi to your accommodation and stroll around the area. The Anne Frank house is a short-ish walk from Laurierstraat. On days 2 and 4, you might want to judge from your experience on arrival whether you'd want to take a taxi (I have no idea how much they cost) to or back from Central Station, or could walk it, and so on. Day 3, you might more likely be taking trams, especially if you want to take in more than one museum.

Taxi's are really expensive in the Netherlands. It's not very likely you'll even be able to get a taxi for these very short distances.

Taxi prices are combination of a starting fee, a price per km and a price per time unit. A standard taxi may charge up to (and most will in Amsterdam!): €2.66 starting fee, €1.95 per km and €0.32 per minute. Laurierstraat - Schansend, Zaandam is 19 km in 24 minutes according to google. That means total price €2.66 + 19 x €1.95 + 24 x €.32 = €47.40 (depending on traffic and exact destination). One way.

Note: TCA (TAXI centrale Amsterdam) is the largest in Amsterdam and actually charges that maximum price. Check pricing here: http://www.tcataxi.nl/en

Thanks for the replies.

Annhig -- I've noted the Chinese restaurant from your earlier comments. We'll have to try it.

Patrick -- Leaning towards walking and the occasional tram and/or taxi. I don't think the multi-day passes make sense for us. Appreciate the input.

tLT -- thanks for the link. Just to be clear, not adverse at all to the trains out of town (e.g. Zaanse Schans). The question was more of the inter-city transport. Your link indicates it would be about 10€ to the train station and €13 to the Nemo science museum. Not that different than the tram for 4. However, that does assume we can get a taxi for that ride!

I have a mental block of paying per ride that makes me more inclined to walk. Not sure if the family would agree though! We'll see how it goes. I'm sure we'll walk plenty though.

Just throwing this out there.
Not sure it would work for your family or with your itinerary, but what about renting bikes?
Mac bikes does multi day rentals and I think 5 days comes out to like 5E a day.
The longer you rent the cheaper per day.