Photo by Adrien Olichon on Unsplash
Best time to visit
April to May, September
Climate month by month
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 88mm in Nov
Currency
ExpensiveEuro country. Cards (especially contactless) work everywhere, even at market stalls. Cash is rarely needed.
ATMs & cards
Use ING, ABN AMRO, or Rabobank ATMs. GWK Travelex ATMs at the airport and station are fine but charge a small fee.
Avoid these
- GWK Travelex
- Euronet
- airport and Centraal Station machines
Use these instead
- Geldmaat (the shared Dutch bank network)
- ING
- ABN AMRO
- Rabobank
Dutch banks pooled their machines into Geldmaat — the yellow ones are the ones you want. GWK Travelex is the classic tourist trap here.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety
Reasonably safeWatch for bikes — they have right of way and move fast. Don’t walk in bike lanes (marked in red).
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport rather than where you live. This is a starting point — the embassy or the official page above is the authority, and the airline will check before you board.
Health & emergencies
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment. A huisarts (GP) is the first stop for anything not life-threatening; walk-in A&E without a referral is discouraged.
Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodTry stroopwafels fresh from a market, bitterballen at a brown café, and Indonesian rijsttafel — a Dutch colonial legacy.
Getting around
Easy and cheap- Tram — best way to get around the city center
- Bike — the Dutch way. Rent from MacBike or Swapfiets (long stays)
- Walking — the canal ring is compact and beautiful on foot
- Metro — useful for North Amsterdam and suburbs
- Airport: train from Schiphol to Centraal (15 min, €5.40)
Must-see
Things to do
A week easily- Visit the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum
- Take a canal boat tour
- Explore the Jordaan neighborhood
- See Anne Frank House
- Cycle through Vondelpark
- Visit the Albert Cuyp Market
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
Dutch
- HelloHalloHA-lo
- PleaseAlsjeblieftAL-shuh-bleeft
- Thank youDank je weldank yuh VEL
- Yes / NoJa / Neeya / nay
- Excuse mePardonpar-DON
- How much is it?Hoeveel kost het?HOO-vayl kost het
- The bill, pleaseDe rekening, alsjeblieftduh RAY-kuh-ning
- Cheers!Proost!prohst
Practically everyone speaks excellent English and will switch the moment they hear an accent. Trying anyway is still appreciated.
Religion
No majority faith
One of the most secular countries in the world — over half the population reports no religion. Churches are often now cafés, bookshops or concert halls.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Be direct — Dutch bluntness is meant as honesty, not rudeness, and indirectness confuses people
- Look right before stepping anywhere near a bike lane
- Split the bill; going Dutch is genuinely the default
- Book restaurants ahead, even midweek
Don't
- Do not walk in the red cycle lanes — cyclists will not slow down and are not being rude
- Do not photograph people in the Red Light District; phones have been thrown in the canal for it
- Do not expect flattery or small talk before business
- Do not call the whole country Holland — that is two provinces of it
