Guide to Amsterdam Public Transport

Amsterdam is a very compact city that most visitors will find a joy to get around on foot, by canal or by bike. However, there are plenty of times when public transport will get you to places quicker and with less effort. Amsterdam is also blessed to have an underground (metro), buses, trains and the famous trams available to help make your journey as easy as possible.

Public Transport Tickets in Amsterdam

Amsterdam has a very simple ticket system for public transport. Contactless payment was only recently introduced because of the pandemic and GVB is now a cashless system, additionally a mobile app payment method is currently being introduced. By October 2021 it was hoped that it will work across the whole network. You can download the GVB app for iphone and android. There are also other choices of tickets that are wirth understanding especially for the visitor:

GVB 1-HOUR, DAY AND MULTI-DAY PASS FOR AMSTERDAM

GVB who run the public transport service in Amsterdam, have tickets that cover the use of all the public transport including buses, trams and metro.

These passes give you an unlimited amount of travel across the whole public transport network for a set time period. The tickets are not based on journey length but rather on time only.

For example, you can buy a one-hour ticket for a tram and so long as your journey is not over an hour, you can change multiple times to get to your destination.

OV-CHIPKAART IN AMSTERDAM

This is in essence a contactless form of payment card. Just like an Oyster card in London, it is pre-loaded with money and then money is taken off for each journey you make. You don’t have to worry about card clash, which often occurs in London when accidentally using different cards for entry and exit, as you have only one payment method.

The OV-chipkaart can have other products loaded onto it, so if you are a regular traveller you can load season tickets, monthly passes or discount products.

For the visitor to Amsterdam, there is the Anonymous OV-Chipkaart. The anonymous OV-chipkaart works in the same way as the OV-chipkaart, but you have to pay a fee to buy it. This is currently €7.50. You then have to add money to the card itself before you can start travelling.

Visit our tickets page for full details of the Amsterdam Public Transport Tickets

There is a third option:

I AMSTERDAM CITY CARD

This is the tourist pass that also includes free or heavily discounted entry to over 70 attractions, so is understandably popular. From an Amsterdam public transport perspective, it gives you unlimited travel in Amsterdam on the GVB public transport network for the duration of the pass you choose – buses, trams and the metro are all included. Plus a canal cruise is included too.

The card comes in 24-hr, 48-hr, 72-hr, 96-hr and 120-hr versions so should cover most of your needs for a short break in Amsterdam. Omissions of note include Anne Frank House and no transfer to/from Schiphol Airport.