The Netherlands

Getting there & away

Travel documents

Passport

In principle all passengers with passports are allowed entry to the Netherlands, although those coming from ‘suspected terrorist centres’ may be detained for questioning.

Tickets

Within Europe there are plenty of no-frills airlines connecting Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport to other cities, and more often than not their bargain flights can be found online rather than through a travel agent. For long-haul flights the opposite is true – agents are a valuable source for tracking down cheaper flights between continents. Stable travel agents, such as STA Travel (www.statravel.com) and Trailfinders (www.trailfinders.com), offer good prices to many destinations.

Below is a short list of sites that sell air tickets to/from Schiphol Airport:

Ebookers (www.ebookers.com) Offers separate web gateways for many European countries and bargains on flights and hotels.

Expedia (www.expedia.com, www.expedia.co.uk) Lists major airline flights from the US and UK; the earlier you book the better.

Flight Centre (www.flightcentre.com) Respected operator handling direct flights, with sites for Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US and Canada.

Last Minute (www.lastminute.com) One of the better sites for last-minute deals, including hotels.

Opodo (www.opodo.co.uk) UK-based company with excellent deals for European destinations.

Orbitz (www.orbitz.com) Cheap deals when flying from the US.

Price Line (www.priceline.com) Name-your-own-price US site.

Skyscanner (www.skyscanner.net) Collates cheap no-frills airline fares for many destinations around the world.

Travelocity (www.travelocity.com) US site that allows you to search fares (in US dollars) to/from practically anywhere.

Vliegtarieven (www.vliegtarieven.nl) Dutch site with hotel and car-rental deals alongside flights.

WaarheenWaarvoor (www.waarheenwaarvoor.nl) Dutch site offering flight-price comparisons and last-minute deals.

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Water

Ferry

Several companies operate car/passenger ferries between the Netherlands and the UK. Most travel agents have details of the following services but might not always know the finer points. Reservations are essential for motorists in high season, although motorcycles can often be squeezed in.

Stenaline (08705707070; www.stenaline.co.uk) sails between Harwich and Hoek van Holland. The fast HSS ferries take only three hours 40 minutes and depart in each direction twice a day. Overnight ferries take 6¼ hours (one daily), as do normal day ferries (one daily). Foot passengers pay upwards of UK£40 return. Fares for a car with up to five people range from UK£300 to UK£350 return depending on the season and the day of the week. A motorcycle and driver cost UK£110/UK£200 in low/high season. Options such as reclining chairs and cabins cost extra and are compulsory on night crossings.

P&O North Sea Ferries (08705202020; www.poferries.com) operates an overnight ferry every evening (11 hours) between Hull and Europoort (near Rotterdam). Return fares start at UK£112 for a foot passenger (for two persons travelling together it’s only UK£133), UK£238 for a car with up to four people, and UK£198 for a motorcycle and rider. Prices here include berths in an inside cabin, and luxury cabins are available.

DFDS Scandinavian Seaways (08702520524; www.dfds.co.uk) sails between Newcastle and IJmuiden, which is close to Amsterdam; the 15-hour sailings depart every day. The earlier you book, the lower your fare: single fares start at UK£19 for a foot passenger in an economy berth with private facilities, plus UK£41 for a car. The fare for a motorcycle and rider is UK£49 one way. Bear in mind that prices go up in high season.

Most ferries don’t charge for a bike and have no shortage of storage space.

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Land

Bicycle

In a land where the humble bicycle is king, bringing your own bike into the Netherlands will cause no problems.

By air, it’s possible to first take your bicycle apart and protect it with a bike bag or box before handing it over to the baggage handlers, but it’s much easier simply to wheel your bike to the check-in desk, where it should be treated as a piece of baggage. You may have to remove the pedals and turn the handlebars sideways so that it takes up less space in the aircraft’s hold; check all this with the airline well in advance, preferably before you pay for your ticket.

Your bike can also travel with you on the Eurostar and Thalys high-speed trains from Belgium, France and the UK, provided you can disassemble the bike and fit it into a stowage bag that will fit into the normal luggage-storage racks on board.

If you want to bring your own bike, consider the risk of theft in Amsterdam – rental might be the wiser option in the capital.

Bus

Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and a few of Holland’s smaller cities such as Den Haag and Utrecht, are well connected to the rest of Europe and North Africa by long-distance bus.

The most extensive European bus network is maintained by Eurolines (www.eurolines.com), a consortium of coach operators. It offers a variety of passes with prices that vary by time of year, but if you book well ahead bargains can be had.

Car & motorcycle

Drivers of cars and riders of motorbikes will need the vehicle’s registration papers, third-party insurance and an international driving permit in addition to their domestic licence. It’s a good idea to also have complete insurance coverage – be sure to ask for a Green Card from your insurer.

The ANWB provides a wide range of information, maps, advice and services if you can show a letter of introduction or membership card from your own automobile association.

Traffic flows freely among EU countries, so border posts are largely a thing of the past. Customs officials still make spot checks, however, if a particular vehicle draws their attention.

Bicycle

Long-distance cyclistscan choose from a variety of safe, easy, specially designated routes to get to the Netherlands from Belgium and Germany. The bicycle paths are called landelijke fietsroutes (LF) and retain that label in northern Belgium. The LF2 route runs 340km from Brussels via Ghent to Amsterdam; the LF4 stretches 300km from Enschede near the German border to Den Haag.

Beware that mopeds also use bike paths and might be travelling well above their 40km/h speed limit (30km/h in built-up areas). Only competition cyclists and poseurs tend to wear bicycle helmets, but that shouldn’t stop you from protecting your own cranium.

Repair shops are as common as frites vendors in the Netherlands – most train stations even have a bicycle shop with a resident mechanic.

Bus

Aside from Eurolines, Gullivers Reisen (030-3110 2110; www.gullivers.de) links Berlin (one way/return from €29/58, nine hours, once daily), Hamburg (from €19/38, eight hours, once daily) and Hanover (from €19/38, 5½ hours, once daily) with Amsterdam. Sleeper coach beds are available for another €10 – a wise investment.

Car & motorcycle

The main entry points from Belgium are the E22 (Antwerp–Breda) and the E25 (Liege–Maastricht). From Germany there are loads of border crossings, but the chief arteries are the E40 (Cologne–Maastricht), the E35 (Düsseldorf–Arnhem) and the A1 (Hanover–Amsterdam).

Train

The Netherlands has good train links to Germany and Belgium and on to France. All Eurail, Inter-Rail, Europass and Flexipass tickets are valid on the Dutch national train service, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; www.ns.nl).

Major Dutch train stations have international ticket offices, and in peak periods it’s wise to reserve seats in advance. You can also buy tickets for local trains to Belgium and Germany at the normal ticket counters.

For international train information, ring the Teleservice NS Internationaal on 09009296 (calls cost €0.35 per minute) or consult the website, www.nsinternational.nl. If you book ahead, NS charges a €3.50 reservation fee per ticket.

From Amsterdam, two main trains travel south. The first, an Intercity (IC), passes through Den Haag and Rotterdam and on to Antwerp (€28, 2¼ hours, hourly), Bruges (€39.40, 3½ hours, hourly), Brussels (€33.40, three hours, hourly) and Luxembourg City (€63.60, 6¼ hours, every one to two hours).

The second train, the high-speed Thalys, runs six times a day between Amsterdam and Antwerp (€28, 2¼ hours), Brussels (€33.40, 2½ hours) and Paris (€97.50, 4¼ hours). Those under 26 receive a 50% discount, and seniors with a Rail Europe Senior (RES) card are entitled to 25% off travel. Only a handful of tickets are set aside for such discounts, so it is essential to book ahead.

The German ICE high-speed service runs six times a day between Amsterdam and Cologne (€49.20, 2½ hours) and on to Frankfurt (€107, four hours); there’s a surcharge of €2 and €19 respectively. ‘Super Day Returns’ are available to Cologne for €58.50. There’s also a night train between Amsterdam and Munich (from €79) – expect fat surcharges for the sleeper berths. The IC to Berlin (€92.20, six hours, three daily) passes through Hanover.

Weekend return tickets are much cheaper than during the week. A weekend return Amsterdam–Brussels (departure Friday to Sunday, return by Monday) is 40% cheaper than a regular ticket.

Bicycle

Most cross-Channel ferries don’t charge foot passengers extra to take a bicycle. You can also bring your two-wheeler on the Eurostar.

Bus

Eurolines runs a regular coach service to Amsterdam via Rotterdam and Den Haag or Utrecht from London’s Victoria coach station (from UK£30 for adults, 12 hours). Coaches have onboard toilets, reclining seats and air-con.

Busabout (020-7950 1661; www.busabout.com) is a UK-based budget alternative to Eurolines. It runs coaches on circuits in Continental Europe; its Northern Loop circuit (UK£275) passes through Amsterdam and eventually links up with its western and southern routes in Paris and Munich respectively. Tickets are valid from May to October.

Car & motorcycle

Ferries take cars and motorcycles to the Netherlands from several ports in the UK. Le Shuttle express trains will take vehicles from the UK to France, from where you can drive to the Netherlands.

Train

Rail Europe (08708371371; www.raileurope.co.uk) will get you from London to Amsterdam on the highly civilised Eurostar service (www.eurostar.com) from St Pancras Station through the Channel Tunnel to Brussels, with an onward Thalys connection from there. The quickest connection will take around 6½ hours and starts from UK£90 return in 2nd class with special deals. A bicycle costs UK£20 one way unless it is in a bike bag, in which case it is classed as hand luggage.

Eurotunnel (08705353535; www.eurotunnel.com) runs a ‘drive-on, drive off’ shuttle linking Folkstone, UK, to Calais, France, on a 35-minute journey via the Channel Tunnel. One-way journeys for cars/motorcycles cost from UK£49/24 with advance reservations.

The Dutch Flyer (08705455455; www.dutchflyer.co.uk) is one of the cheapest ways to reach the Netherlands from the UK. Trains from London (Liverpool Street Station), Cambridge and Norwich connect with ferries sailing from Harwich to Hoek van Holland, where a further train travels on to Amsterdam. The journey takes around 9½ hours and costs as little as UK£25 one way.

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Hitching

Hitching is never entirely safe anywhere in the world and we don’t recommend it. Travellers who decide to hitch should understand that they are taking a small but potentially serious risk.

Many Dutch students have a government-issued pass allowing free public transport. Consequently, the number of hitchhikers has dropped dramatically and car drivers are no longer used to the phenomenon. Hitchers have reported long waits.

On Channel crossings from the UK, the car fares on the Harwich–Hoek van Holland ferry as well as the shuttle through the Channel Tunnel include passengers, so you can hitch to the continent at no cost to the driver (though the driver will still be responsible if you do something illegal).

Looking for a ride out of the country? Try the notice boards at universities, public libraries and youth hostels. Bugride (europe.bugride.com) is a good meeting place for European drivers and potential passengers.

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Air

Airports & airlines

Conveniently near Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport (code AMS; 020-794 08 00; www.schiphol.nl) is the Netherlands’ main international airport and the third busiest in Europe. It is the seat of Dutch passenger carrier KLM, and dozens of other airlines have direct flights and connections to all continents. Rotterdam Airport (code RTM; 010-446 34 44; www.rotterdam-airport.nl) is much smaller but has handy links to the UK, Germany and Mediterranean destinations.

Eindhoven, Groningenand Maastricht act as feeder airports to Amsterdam, catering to business travellers and holiday charters to sunny climes. From Eindhoven (code EIN; 040-291 98 18; www.eindhovenairport.com), Ryanair serves London, Dublin, Milan and a handful of Mediterranean cities, while KLM flies to/from London and Paris.

Airlines flying to & from the nether­lands

Unless otherwise stated, dial 020 before calling the numbers below.

Aer Lingus (code EI; 517 47 47; www.aerlingus.com; Folkstoneweg 28, Schiphol)

Air Canada (code AC; 346 95 39; www.aircanada.ca; Evert van de Beekstraat 5, Schiphol)

Air France (code AF; 654 57 20; www.airfrance.nl; Evert van der Beekstraat 7; Schiphol)

Alitalia (code AZ; 676 44 79; www.alitalia.com; Evert van de Beekstraat 9, Schiphol)

Austrian (code OS; 09002658920; www.aua.com; Evert van de Beekstraat 37, Schiphol)

British Airways (code BA; 346 95 59; www.britishairways.com)

British Midland (code BD; 346 92 11; www.flybmi.com; Vertrekpassage 1, Schiphol)

Cathay Pacific (code CX; 653 20 10; www.cathaypacific.nl; Evert van der Beekstraat 18, Schiphol)

China Airlines (code CI; 646 10 01; www.china-airlines.com; De Boelelaan 7, Amsterdam)

Continental Airlines (code CO; 346 93 81; www.continental.com; Schiphol Blvd 275, Schiphol)

Delta Air Lines (code DL; 201 35 36; www.delta.com; Evert van der Beekstraat 7, Schiphol)

El Al (code LY; 644 01 01; www.elal.com; Prof Bavincklaan 5, Amstelveen)

EasyJet (code U2; 023-568 48 80; www.easyjet.com; Antareslaan 35, Hoofddorp)

Japan Airlines (code JL; 305 00 75; www.jal-europe.com; Jozef Israelskade 48E, Amsterdam)

Jet2.com (code LS; 09002021067; www.jet2.com)

KLM (code KL; 474 77 47; www.klm.nl; Amsterdamse­weg 55, Amstelveen)

Lufthansa (code LH; 09001234777; www.lufthansa.nl; Vertrekpassage 1, Schiphol)

Malaysia Airlines (code MH; 521 62 62; www.malaysiaairlines.com; Weteringschans 24/A, Amsterdam)

Northwest Airlines (code NW; 474 77 47; www.nwa.com; Amsterdamseweg 55, Amstelveen)

Ryanair (code FL; 09002022184; www.ryanair.com; Vertrekpassage 1, Schiphol)

Singapore Airlines (code SQ; 548 88 88; www.singaporeair.com; Evert van de Beekstraat 26, Schiphol)

Transavia (code HV; 09000737; www.transavia.com)

United Airlines (code UA; 201 37 08; www.unitedairlines.nl; Vertrekpassage 246, Schiphol)

Africa

KLM has numerous services to Africa, including daily flights to Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. Kenya Airways also offers daily links to the country’s capital. From Johannesburg, low-season return fares to Amsterdam can start at around R5480 (€645) but can be considerably higher if not booked well in advance.

Rennies Travel (www.renniestravel.com) and STA Travel (www.statravel.co.za) have offices throughout Southern Africa. Check their websites for branch locations.

Asia

The major Asian airlines, such as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, have flights into Amsterdam. KLM links Jakarta with the capital. Although most flights are via another Euro­pean capital, there are some direct links to Amsterdam. It’s a good idea to shop around as there are often some good deals on offer. From Bangkok, return fares to Amsterdam are around US$1500. Return fares from Singapore start at US$850; expect to pay from US$1250 from Hong Kong and US$1100 from Tokyo for a return fare.

STA Travel (Bangkok 0662-236 0262; www.statravel.co.th; Hong Kong 852-2736 1618; www.statravel.com.hk; Singapore 65-6737 7188; www.statravel.com.sg; Tokyo 03-5391 2922; www.statravel.co.jp) is always a good bet in Asia.

Australia

Flights from Australia to Amsterdam generally go via a Southeast Asian capital such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Singapore, and occasionally another European city. Expect to pay around A$2000 return in low season, but shop around as there are often good deals on offer.

Quite a few travel offices specialise in discount air tickets. Some travel agents, particularly smaller ones, advertise cheap air fares in the travel sections of weekend newspapers, such as the Age in Melbourne and the Sydney Morning Herald in Sydney.

Contact STA Travel (03-9207 5900; www.statravel.com.au) for the location of branches. Flight Centre (133 133; www.flightcentre.com.au) has offices throughout Australia. For online bookings, try www.travel.com.au.

Canada

Air Canada, among others, serves Amsterdam from Toronto. Fares vary from C$400 in winter to C$700 in summer.

Canadian discount air ticket sellers are also known as consolidators. The Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun carry travel agents’ ads and are good places to look for cheap fares.

Travel CUTS (1866-246-9762; www.travelcuts.com) is Canada’s national student travel agency and has offices in all major cities.

Continental europe

Amsterdam is well connected to almost all other European cities. KLM and the major airlines of each country all serve each other. You should be able to find return fares from the major hub airports such as Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Paris and Madrid for €100 to €200.

Generally, there is not much variation in airfare prices for departures from the main European cities. All the major airlines are usually offering some sort of deal, and travel agents generally have a number of promotions on offer, so shop around.

Across Europe dozens of travel agencies have ties with STA Travel (www.statravel.com), where cheap tickets can be purchased and STA-issued tickets can be altered (usually for a US$25 fee).

Recommended are the following travel agents:

Airstop (070 233 188; www.airstop.be) Belgium.

CTS Viaggi (06 462 04 31; www.cts.it) Italy.

Just Travel (089-747 3330; www.justtravel.de) Germany.

Nouvelles Frontières (0825 000 747; www.nouvelles-frontieres.fr) France.

OTU Voyages (0820 817 817; www.otu.fr) France.

STA Travel (01803100040; www.statravel.de) Germany.

Viaggi Wasteels (06 446 66 79) Italy.

Voyageurs du Monde (01 42 86 16 00; www.vdm.com) France.

New zealand

Reaching Amsterdam from Auckland means you have a choice of transiting though Los Angeles or via a Southeast Asian city, and usually one other European city. Low season return fares start from around US$2000.

Both Flight Centre (0800243544; www.flightcentre.co.nz) and STA Travel (0508782872; www.statravel.co.nz) have branches throughout the country. For on-line bookings try www.travel.co.nz.

Uk & ireland

KLM, British Airways and British Midland fly to the Netherlands from the UK. Budget airlines EasyJet, Ryanair and Jet2.com do too, and have made big inroads into the business of the mainstream carriers. Watch for special fares that can be as low as UK£1 for a single (plus tax), although €40 to €60 is more likely in peak periods.

Ticket discounters, or bucket shops as they’re known in the UK, can sometimes offer big savings. Discount air travel is big business in London, and advertisements for many travel agents appear in the travel pages of the weekend broadsheets, such as the Independent on Saturday and the Sunday Times. Also look out for free magazines such as TNT.

Popular travel agencies include STA Travel (08701630026; www.statravel.co.uk), with offices throughout the UK. It sells tickets to all travellers but caters especially to young people and students. Other recommended agencies include Trailfinders (0845-050 5940; www.trailfinders.com) and Travelbag (08706070620; www.travelbag.co.uk).

From Ireland, fares run from about €150 in low season for return flights from Dublin to Amsterdam, but can cost twice that (and sometimes more) in high season. Travelling via London may save money. USIT (01-602 1904; www.usitnow.ie) has branches in Ireland and Northern Ireland specialising in student and independent travel.

Usa

Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and United Airlines all have nonstop services to Amsterdam from cities in the US. Fares vary by season, from a low of US$300/500 from the east coast/west coast in winter to a high of US$700/900 in summer.

Discount travel agents in the USA are known as consolidators (although you probably won’t see a sign on the door saying ‘Consolidator’). The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle all produce Sunday travel sections in which you will find consolidators’ ads.

STA Travel (1-800-781-4040; www.statravel.com) is one of the biggest travel agents in the US, with offices in most states.

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