I love that I get to call Amsterdam home! It is a city which struggles with overtourism and where the city council is constantly trying to find ways to appease locals. Amsterdam is a victim of its success, this isnt the only European city which is struggling with overtourism, Venice, Málaga and many others also struggle with the same problem.
Amsterdam Tourist Facts
Amsterdam Tourist tax: 12.5% (highest in the EU)
A total of 49.7 million guests stayed at hotels, campsites and holiday parks in the Netherlands in 2023.
20.4mil of these visitors were from outside the Netherlands.
9 mil of these visitors stayed in Amsterdam.
~75 museums and galleries are in Amsterdam (noting that the more popular museums need to be booked weeks to months in advance during peak season)
Having said the above, I do feel that with 1000s of blogs, videos, posts, whatever else on Amsterdam, its easy to get bad advice before or when visiting the city. I regularly see ‘tips’ and think ‘wow, thats shockingly terrible advice!’. I’m hoping to give slightly less terrible advice than whats already available.
A locals tips to visiting Amsterdam
- Transport
- Apps which help you get around Amsterdam
- Discounts you can use in Amsterdam
- Tipping
- Avoid visiting social media hot spots
Transport
Trams, buses and the metro are run by the GVB. Trains are run by NS. Generally things seem to run on time but when it goes wrong, it seems to go wrong to epic proportions. All transport works on a ‘check in’ and ‘check out’ basis. You tap your payment method on the machine when you enter and tap your payment method on the machine when you leave, ie check in and check out.
What to avoid: OVpay, a few years ago there was the introduction of paying for public transport using your debit/credit card. A lot of people rave over this and I see it continually being given as (horrific) advice to tourist. I think its a terrible idea for tourists in Amsterdam! I will explain why this is a bad idea for tourists and even more so for international tourists.
When tapping in or out with your debit/credit card, you will be charged the standard rate that any other local is charged, which is a base rate of €1,08 and then € 0,196 per each kilometre you’ve travelled. Sounds reasonable…
Things that tourists don’t consider when being offered this new, flashy and ‘easy’ payment method.
*You must always pay with the same card to check in and check out. Sounds easy but the reality is that tourists travel with multiple cards and can easily get them confused and forget which card they made used to check in with. This can result in multiple charges.
*If you forget to check out, there is automatic €20 fee for this error. You can request a refund (which takes 15 days to process), however, I believe there is a limit to the amount of refunds you can get, ie where you forget to continually check out. This fee would also apply if you were to accidentally use different cards to check in and check out, with the fee being applied to both cards.
*If you are a international tourist, your bank will no doubt add on ‘international’ or ‘foreign’ fees with each transaction you use your card abroad for and will almost certainly give you a sad exchange rate too. If you you jump on and off public transport say 10 times in 1 day, then thats 10 fees there straight away.
For these reasons, TOURISTS SHOULD NOT USE OVPAY!
Whats the alternative you ask? There are many products available for tourists that are generally cheaper to use, keeping in mind that tourists want to hop on and off public transport to suit their needs, which is generally multiple times in one day, crossing the city and all the rest. If you were to hop on and off say 10 trams in a day, the base price alone would be €10,80 not including the kilometres, making the day ticket already cheaper (even at 4 to 6 times it would be cheaper depending on how far you’re going).
Here are your options: The below options include all GVB trams, (night) buses and metros in Amsterdam, Diemen, Duivendrecht, Amstelveen, Schiphol and Weesp.
GVB Day ticket – €9
GVB Multi-day ticket 2 – 4 days 2 days- €15 3 days – €21 4 days – €26,50
GVB Multi-day ticket 5 – 7 days 5 days- €33 6 days – €37,50 7 days – €41
GVB Group day ticket – €25 and allows groups up to 5 adults (which is a bargain!)
There is also the Amsterdam Travel Ticket but its not a good deal, its cheaper to buy a day ticket and then a single train ticket from Amsterdam Centraal to Schiphol airport. The same logic also applies for the Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket, cheaper to buy a 1 day travel ticket (or multi days depending on how long you’re in Amsterdam for) and then a train ticket at the station to your destination. The only way it would be cheaper is if you were to travel to all the places in the same day, ie goto Haarlem, Zaanse and Volendam and use the 1 day travel ticket in Amsterdam.
What to use:
All tickets can be purchased via the gvb app for your mobile (if you dont want a paper copy or are afraid you might lose it) or paper tickets can be purchased metro stations, Centraal Station, or some centrally located tram stops.
Apps: 9292.nl or the 9292 app, it is the most accurate public transport app across the whole of the Netherlands. Yes, Google also offers public transport but its no where as accurate as 9292.
Using escalators like a local:
This is one of my bigger gripes about tourists…. Almost all metro and train stations have escalators. Great! However…. There is a system for using the escalators, which is not just to stand with your friends and family chatting and enjoying the ride. No, no, no no…. All escalators have the above sign on them. This means left go, right stand. The left side should always be left open for people wanting to walk up freely without asking people to move out of the way. If you want to stand with your friends and family on the escalator, do so in single file on the right side of the escalator.
Discounts
Look, we all love a discount and traveling or even visiting the city I live in can be expensive!
Groupon: Yes, I know, this still exists! For those who dont speak Dutch, I suggest you use the website to browse and buy (use whatever translate option your browser offers you) and then use the app to access your tickets when you need them at the attraction. They almost always have House of Bols, which I think is a bargain and something fun for those who drink.
Museumkaart: This is something that unique to the Netherlands truly amazing. Its a museum card which opens up 100s of museums across the Netherlands. I truly LOVE mine! However, if youre a tourist, it doesn’t quite work the same. In order for the museumkaart to really work, you need an address for it to be posted to. Most tourists wont have this, if you do have this option, say you are staying with friends or stay more long term, then buy it at a museum, register it online and have it sent to the Dutch address you’re staying at. It does require a photo of yourself to make it applicable to you. For tourists…. They offer a buy at the museum card, that can be used 5 times for €75 (within 31 days), given most museums are around €20+ a go, this is a discount. You can buy the pass at the following museums. This card does not guarantee you access to a museum where pre-booking is required (Anne Frank House, Rijks, Van Gogh) or priority access. There is an option to also buy it online, HOWEVER, you must use a Dutch/EU bank account (ie be able to pay with Ideal) to purchase the card, where as buying it at one of the designated museums allows you (generally) to pay with a foreigner credit card.
The Fork: This is a website and app where if you book in at restaurants at certain times (normally non peak) you can get from 20-50% off the food. They offer a variety of restaurants to meet all taste buds, with reviews from other customers.
Tipping: This always seems to be a contentious point, depending on where you’re from and what the tipping culture is in your land. I’m very pleased to say that tipping isn’t really a part of Dutch culture. Sadly if you are a tourist with a certain northern American accent, some servers or service people will take advantage of this and ask you if you want to tip. Please do not encourage such appalling and unacceptable behaviour. The Dutch tip if the service is good to excellent and normally they round up. Examples of this are if say your bill is €52.75, they will round up to €55. No need for 10-20% tipping on no! Its rounding up. I created a cocktail group and we have the rule that if you buy 1 cocktail you add on a €1 tip and if you buy 2 or more cocktails you only add on €2, this isn’t forgetting that we normally buy food and spend anywhere from €30-€70 a person when we’re out. I appreciate that the Netherlands pays good minimum wage and that people can survive on this and don’t demand, require or expect tips.
A few links on tipping:
Tipping culture
Tipping etiquette?
Why is tipping everywhere now? – I think a number of responses are typically Dutch, ie no, don’t do it.
Social Media
If I saw it on social media that means its going to be amazing, right? Absolutely not. Most of these things are tourist traps that locals put in complaints about to the local council about. These spots truly are a nuisance for locals. You dont need to queue 15 minutes for fries or pay €10 for a stroopwafel when you can buy an entire pack for about €3 at the Albert Heijn. Additionally you perpetuate the problem by buying into such ridiculous things. Most of the tiktoks, instas, whatever and never truly Dutch things, you wont see locals doing them!
De Albert Cuypmarkt:
Located in De Pijp, there is a metro stop that puts you at one end of the market or if you’re getting your steps in, you can walk it from the central area in about 45 minutes, I think its a pleasant walk that I’ve done a number of times.
This is a market that I like and loathe. I think its great for tourists and foodies. You can get all your tourist souvenirs at much better prices than in central Amsterdam. They also have the a selection of foods to choose, from your freshly made stroopwafels (around €4), to Mexican, to herring, and all kinds of international cuisine in between.
With 260 stalls, the Albert Cuyp is the largest day market in Europe.
Open: Mon-Sat 09:00-17:00
Information on visiting Amsterdam
iamsterdam – the official guide to everything Amsterdam
NLTimes – provides the latest Dutch news in English
r/Amsterdam Reddit Food suggestions and name of shaming of restaurants who don’t offer free water (common enough problem across Amsterdam)
I hope this provides you with a bit more information on Amsterdam and some useful (or at least not terrible) advice for visiting this great city.
Bedankt en veel plezier in Amsterdam!
Interested in reading about overtourism in Amsterdam and in Europe? Amazing! Below are articles on just on this topic!
How Amsterdam is fighting mass tourism – 2019
With tourists gone, Amsterdam locals reclaim their city – 2020
Amsterdam: The European capital fighting bad tourists – 2023
From restrictions to reimagination: Amsterdam’s vision for a new tourist economy – 2023
What Europe’s Busiest Cities Are Doing To Combat Overtourism In 2024 – 2024
12 Beautiful Places in Europe Overwhelmed by Overtourism – 2024
Netherlands Visitor Statistics
Amsterdam City tourism approach and policy
Adventures of a Cat Lady 