Netherlands
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Moving About
Schipol train ticket counters no longer sell strippenkaart, and charge a â?¬0.50 booking fee Transactiekosten. Strippenkaart are available from a nearby newsagents kiosk.
The new style of ticket machines are multi-lingual, and accept most credit/debit cards but not VISA. Old style machines still in use in parallel.
Michael Chambers, UK (Sep 05)
Anybody who comes flying in through Schiphol, follow the signs to the official taxi-stands outside. It's mentioned inside at the bagage-claims & also in Schiphol-plaza. most people would want to go with the "taxi-service" that's offered as they get out after the customs, but these tend to ask up to four times the normal price.
viv, Netherlands (May 02)
When you travel by bus, you should buy your tickets at the train station, or in a bookshop or something. When you buy it on the bus, it will cost more. The ticket is called a Strippenkaart.
Marlies Aanhaanen, The Netherlands (Aug 01)
When driving in the Netherlands, be wary of cyclists. In 90% of situations cyclists have priority over cars, especially at roundabouts and intersections when a cyclist is approaching from the right. It is best, therefore, to always give way to cyclists. The average Dutch cyclist will ride out in front of an oncoming car if they know that they have priority and even if it seems like a stupid thing to do, you will still be held to account by the police. A general hint is that give way markings (which are little triangles across the road) usually mark where you have to stop to give way to cyclists. Also if you are cycling remember it is a criminal offence to intoxicated and in charge of a pushbike. You could even lose your driving licence if you are caught by the police.
Jim, (Oct 00)
Scams & Warnings
My wife and I were travelling back from Amsterdam Centraal Station to Schipol Airport on the train, when an attempt was made to snatch our hand luggage. The gang, in this case three individuals believed to be of Eastern European extraction, had apparently walked through our carriage a number of times, seeking out potential targets. As the train drew to a halt in a station, one of the gang distracted me by shoving a ticket under my nose and asking (rapidly, and somewhat incomprehensibly) where the train was travelling to. While he was doing this, one of his accomplices had taken an item of hand luggage, and was attempting to leave the train with it. Fortunately, another passenger noticed what was happening and managed to grab the bag, leaving the would-be thieves to run off empty handed as the train doors closed. After this, a couple of passengers came over to speak to us and explained that this sort of thing has become VERY common and a MAJOR problem on this route over the last year or so, with organised gangs targeting tourists travelling between Amsterdam Centraal and Schipol. This was subsequently confirmed by the train guard and transport police, who commented that the use of knives was not uncommon, and (apparently) even hand guns have been used in such snatch attempts!
Crispin Driver, UK (Dec 05)
I would like to report a scam just experienced in Amsterdam. A well dressed and well spoken English woman approached us, saying she heard us speaking English and wondered if we could help. She told us she had just had her wallet stolen. She'd been to the police and they couldn't help and she had no money to get a train back to the next town where she was staying. As soon as I said I'd heard that story before and knew people used it as a scam she was quite quick to disappear!
Fiona Hart, UK (Sep 05)
I work at a hostel and I'm pained to see our guest getting ripped off by dodgy telephone cards sellers. Please warn your readers that the only way they can be sure they'll purchase a bona fide telephone card (for phone boxes) is to go to the larger department stores, supermarkets, some tabacconists and of course the post office. Tell them these cards are given out by the Dutch Telecom company KPN and that they should look for the logo: the company's initials under a crown. These cards are to be used in the green telephone boxes or poles which can be found throughout the country and are available with different amounts of credit. Tell your readers to shirk all other cards! (The same goes for nearly all other European countries: only buy cards given out by the official national telecom companies.)
Anonymous, Netherlands (Sep 05)
We were scam victims outside Spido harbour/port tour ticket office in Rotterdam earlier today. 3 men approached us pretending to be "Immigration/Police" officers and asked for our IDs and wallets. They emptied our wallets and we lost a couple of hundreds of Euro. The local police told that these crooks are also operating in the Maritime Museum and Euromast tourist areas. We wished we had taken the LP warning more seriously.
Foh Lin Lim, Australia (Jul 04)
I have worked in Amsterdam for the past eight years and in this time I have noticed an inrease in the number of bag snatchers who work the railway line to/from the airport. The gang of North American boys will generally board at Amsterdam Sloterdijk on the way from Amsterdam Central to the airport. They walk through the train a few times to observe passengers and bags. Any bag which is not being looked after or properly minded will be grabbed just as the train is about to leave the next station.
Niels Sadler, Netherlands (Jan 02)
One afternoon, we were walking along the Rotterdam habour when a tourist approached us to help him take a photo. My friend went with him across the road to take a picture and didn't return until about five minutes later. When he did returned, there were two other persons with him. They told us that they were undercover cops (they had shown my friend some ID, in Dutch, of course) and that they were suspicious that the other tourist that my friend helped take a photo with was an illegal drug dealer and thus conducted a body search. As our friend was seen with him, he was also subjected to a search. They went through his passport, waist pouch and backpack. They also wanted to search through the rest of our stuff. We refused and they didn't insist, but cautioned us against drug dealers, then they went away. Upon returning to our hotel, my friend discovered that he had lost some money from his waist pouch. We reviewed all the happenings and realised that he was conned by the "undercover cops" and "tourist"! It is an obviously scam! Since we have no evidence, there's nothing much we can do except to take this loss as an expensive lesson. Two days later, another tourist approached us to take photos. Before he hands over his camera, two men came up and claimed that they were cops! Again, they wanted to see our passports and search through our stuff! When we demanded to see their ID, they flashed some sort of ID and were very belligerent towards us when we started conversing in Mandarin. They sensed that we were sceptical of their claims. As the road was quite deserted, we were intimidated into submitting to their "orders". This time round, we watched the handling of our stuff very carefully and luckily did not lose anymore money or valuables. After this, we went to the police and made this report. The police asked for a description of the conmen and confirmed that they were not their undercover cops on the streets. These conmen are all of either Middle-East or Eastern Europe origins, they have black/brown hair and eyes. The police also told us there is nothing they can do!
Min Tzy Ong, Singapore (Apr 02)
Riding the bicycle is one of the most easy ways to get around in Amsterdam. No wonder that the locals use this means daily. But, many travellers are not used to this silent way of moving around. The result is that if you don't look carefully before you cross a street, you might get hurt. Today I almost hit two backpackers. I want to advise: if you cross the streets, don't just trust your ears, but use also your eyes!
Frank van Wagtendonk, Netherlands (Mar 02)
A friend who recently returned from Amsterdam told me of a scam that he nearly became a victim of. He and his companion were walking along one of the quieter streets in Amsterdam (during the afternoon) when a young casually dressed man approached them. He was carrying some US dollars and asked if they knew of a place where he could change his money. A little further along the street they were stopped by two smartly dressed middle aged men, both of whom quickly flashed ID claiming to be police officers. They said they were clamping down on Russians changing forged dollars, and had seen the young man approach them. The two policemen then developed the 'nice cop/nasty cop' routine, while subtly positioning themselves between my friend and his companion. They were asked to show their passports, and the nasty cop started accusing them of illegally changing currency and demanded to see their money - which was examined and handed back. My friend's companion checked his money only to discover that a large amount was missing. The two 'cops' realizing they had been rumbled, jumped into a waiting car and drove off.
Steve Bailey, UK (July 01)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
Parkpop, Den haag: For 25 years this is the biggest 1 day FREE pop festival in Europe! It's always the last sunday in June, with 3 stages and about 100.000 visitors. There are special busses from Den Haag Central Station and station Hollands Spoor to the festival ground, "het Zuiderpark". (travel time 10-15 minutes). You can also take the normal tram 9 and busses 13, 23, 25 and 26 stop Zuiderpark.
The Nieuwe Kerk, Delft: you can climb the 356 steps of the tower (€2 but at your own risk) to 108.75 meters. You have a great view over Delft. There are 3 levels for a stop. The Dom in Utrecht is the only one higher in Holland. It's narrow, steep and winding, but really worth it!
Karin Bos, Netherlands (Sep 05)
s'Hertogenbosch is a city one hour by train from Amsterdam, and well worth a visit. It features carefully preserved 14th to 16th century buildings circling a large open market place. And an amazing gothic basilica, St Jan's. Bicycles can be hired from the train station, and the city is pretty easy to navigate. The "VVV" visitors info centre is on the markt market(in the oldest building in the city) and sells small brochures in a number of languages, a local bookstore offers a more substantial book - a walking, cycling or driving guide book round the city (available in three languages) It's worth buying, as it's well written and packed with information and maps. There is also a network of canals that run through and under the city. Gorgeous in the summer, and offering an exubernt medieval carnival in February, if you brave the cold. Locals call the city "Den Bosch" which is a bit easier on the non-Dutch tongue!
Kirsty Mackenzie, New Zealand (May 05)
I would like to bring to your attention a pub/club that I stumbled upon when doing some travelling through Holland. It's in a little beach town called Zandvoort which is about 1/2 hour out of Amsterdam. Along the beach in Zandvoort there are, during the summer months, around 40 odd bars built on the sand and, I'm told, these bars are completely disassembled during the Winter months.
Jeremy Secomb, Australia (Apr 05)
Dordrecht must be included in the suggested itineraries! I have really been travelling around a bit in Holland and checked out almost all the places included in Lonely Planet's suggested itineraries but I must demand a place for Dordrecht in at least the two weeks itinerary! The architecture is unbeatable (yes, it beats Haarlem), the streets in downtown are fantastically medieval, the old buildings are very well preserved and the whole city is just great! The Museum of Mr Simon van Gijn has opened its doors again and it is at least as beautiful if not more so than the Wilem van Holthuysen Museum in Amsterdam. I was blown away by the van Gijn museum, by the magnificent furniture, the pictures on the walls, the library room and the whole stunning atmosphere!
Ivan Bartal, Hungary (Feb 02)
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