GVB Public Transport Pass for Amsterdam Questions
 

We'll be in Amsterdam for 10 days this coming April, and plan on using the GVB 24-168 HourTravel Pass to get around on the trams, buses and metros.

http://www.gvb.nl/english/travellers...r-tickets.aspx

<i>"GVB day or multiple day tickets entitle you to unlimited travel <u>through Amsterdam</u> - day and night - by tram, bus and metro, for the number of hours that best suit your plans."</i>

I'm having trouble figuring out the zone limitation for this pass. It says for "travel through Amsterdam", which I would assume would include the centrum and the neighborhoods to the east, west, north and south. But how far out?

<b>I would like to visit the Aalsmeer Flower Auction one morning by taking bus 172 from the Leidseplein (direction: Kudelstaart). How far can I use my GVB pass to get me there? Will it cover the whole trip? If not, from what point do I have to start paying?</b>

I checked out the Transport Zone link, but that did little to answer my question.

http://www.gvb.nl/english/travellers...ort-zones.aspx

My second question is about the Amsterdam All in One Travel Ticket, which offers <i>"return train ticket Schiphol – Amsterdam v.v <u>(2 single tickets)</u>, and 24, 48, 72 or 96 hours' unlimited travel on GVB's trams, metros, buses and night buses (a 24/48/72/96 hours disposable chip card)"</i>

http://www.gvb.nl/english/travellers...velTicket.aspx

We want to combine the GVB 168 hr (7 day) pass with the All-In-One 72 hr (3 day) pass to give us the transportation coverage while we are based in Amsterdam.

<b>Does any one know, is the return train ticket from Amsterdam back to Schiphol an open date, or will it be automatically dated for 72 hours after the initial train ride in to Amsterdam?</b>

Thanks in advance,
Robyn :)>-

Robyn - you may be better off getting an anonymous OV chipkaart - you an load it up and use it on all buses and trains then.

GVB doesn't go out to Aalsmeer.

http://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/allesover...kaart/?taal=en

Okay...I keep figuring out more pieces to this puzzle. There's two bus companies. The Bus Line #172, which runs from Centraal Station to Aalsmeer, is NOT a GVB bus, but a Connexxion Bus.

<b>So am I to understand that the 24-168 Hour Travel Pass only covers GVB buses, and NOT the Connexxion buses?</b>

hetismij - We looked at the OV chipkaart, but were leaning towards the GVB day card because it offered <u>unlimited</u> travel through Amsterdam. We have 12 people in our group. Most of them will be staying in the Centrum, but we have some folks staying out at the Amsterdam Hilton, so we were anticipating using the card multiple times during the day to get around. Plus, there are walking issues with a couple of people, so having the pass will allow us to take the tram more frequently, even if it's only for one stop. The 168 hour card will cost about €4.25/day.

Robyn :)>-

If you buy an anonymous card you can load it with money and use it anywhere, including the trains. It is valid for 5 years, so worthwhile for you since you visit regularly. For others in the group the GVB card will be better.


The GVB kaart can only be used on GVB buses and the metro.

If you buy the anonymous card then if you decide to sty in the city but others want to go off somewhere else then they can use the anonymous card while you use their GVB card. Make sure they pay for their trips though!

For the Aalsmeer trip I am pretty sure you can buy a ticket on the bus still. It may be a bit more expensive than with an OV chip, but not enough to worry about.

For some reason the Preview option does not seem to be working for me, so hopefully this post is Submitted without any errors.

<i>"It is valid for 5 years, so worthwhile for you since you visit regularly. "</i>

Unfortunately, this will probably be our last hurrah in Amsterdam for awhile, as the air fare is too expensive and has made travel unaffordable.

<i>"The GVB kaart can only be used on GVB buses and the metro."</i>

Am I correct, the GVB kaart can also be used on the trams and the ferries?

I discovered a really great GVB map of the Amsterdam transportation system, which lists the trams, metro ferries, GVB buses and the Connexxion/Arriva buses.

http://www.gvb.nl/english/travellers...ages/Maps.aspx

Click on the Network map in the pdf file.

To get to Aalsmeer, it looks like we can take tram 16 or 24 to the VU Medisch Centrum using the GVB Pass, then transfer to Bus 172 to the Flower Auction, which we will need to pay extra for.

Am I correct that, although it's been phased out in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Strippenkaart is still being used on buses and trams in the rest of the Netherlands?

Other towns we are thinking about visiting include Alkmaar, Zaandam, Haarlem, Naarden, den Haag and Delft. Can we use Strippenkaarts in these towns, or only the OV Chipkaart?

Robyn :)>-

Yes the GVB kaart works on trams and GVB ferries too.

The strippenkaart is being phased out - it is hard to know which areas will still accept it next April.

Friesland is stopping as of 31 December and other areas will follow, usually only with a month or two notice.

Strippenkaarten should still be accepted though. For most of your planned outings you will take the train I assume, in which case you don't need a strippenkaart, just lots of coins or cash. NS are not yet doing away with paper tickets but I expect even they will do so in the next year or so.

The main problem may be buying strippenkaarten. Since they are no longer used in Amsterdam the usual outlets no longer sell them.

You can always buy tickets in the bus, but it does cost a bit more that way.

Glad you are visiting Naarden. It's only 20 minutes drive from me and I love it. I take lots of our visitors there. The church is really special.

Connexxion Bus. Just back from there and had to use these quite a bit. Be aware some leave directly across the street from the C. Station on the far side of canal, some leave from in front but at the far end of the C. Station building and some leave from the rear. I never could find the one I was suppose to catch from the rear so I gave it up.
So you do need to check where it is leaving from as they do leave from various places.