Tram -, Amsterdam

Travelling through Amsterdam by tram is a very convenient way to do.
Don’t buy your tickets on the tram and pay the full price of €1,60. The day pass €7,00 is also a bad deal.
A trip ticket (strippen kaart), at €7,30 for 15 strips (most trips require two strips) menas rides cost 95 cents for most trips. This includes an hour of free transferring and everyone can share the same ticket. Buy the strip ticket at Albert Heijn grocery stores and newsstands.

I walked and used the tram to get *everywhere* during my trip. I flew in to Amsterdam, took the train to Centraal Station, then got on a tram to go to the Amsterdam American Hotel at Leidseplein. Also...don't forget to keep an eye out for trams as you're walking throughout the city! Don't get hurt!

http://www.gvb.nl/english/Pages/default.aspx

I was in Amsterdam last month. My decision to buy a day pass was worth the price. The day pass is valid for 24 hors and needs to be stamped on the first entry in public transport (Bus / Tram).

The forum rightly suggests walking around if you really want to explore Amsterda. Must taste Potato fries of Amsterda. Yummy delight.

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Trams are almost every where in town, at least in the main areas. There are a lot of lines departuring from Centraal Station. We use could use lines 2 or 5 to Vondelpark, where our hostel was.

You have to buy your ticket to the driver or to the person who is in a small ticket booth in the middle of the tram.

the last round number 20 makes is on 22/23 september 2002.
number 20 stops.
number 16 drives through amsterdam center, except the last stop.
16 drives from the central station to dam, munt, heineken brewery, albert cuyp market, museumplein (concert hall, american consulat, van gogh museum,
stedelijk museum, rijksmuseum)

other thing you can do.
from central station take tramnumber 5 ( yes my line and i love to meet vt people lol )
take it till the apollolaan this is the border so till here 1 ticket cost 1.60 euro or 2 strips (on the way you will see dam square, 1 side of the flowermarket, leidsestraat, leidseplein, museumplein (rijksmuseum, van goghmuseum concerthall). so get out apollolaan walk to the stop on the other side and take tramnumber 24. this one passes the museumplein albert cuyp market heineken experience other side flower market mint tower other side dam square and goes back to central station.
your ticket from 1.60 is valid till 1 hour after the time on the ticket or the 2 strips.

when we get the chipcard this will change ofcourse

The GVB (public transport operator) website has a lot of information about tram routes, where to board each tram, fares and zones, different sorts of tickets, and so on. We picked this up while we were there but if we'd seen the website in advance we could have got on our way from the station when we arrived a bit quicker. The GVB information office at the front of the Centraal station is good.

Keep yours eyes open for the Trams - I got hit by one. Everyone warned me about the bikes and pickpockets, but no one said anything about these. I guess everyone figures its hard to miss a something the size of a few busses riding on rails, but they're really quiet. I had my head turned right looking at a motorcycle accident down the street when I stepped off the curb. That same instant the Tram driver rang the bell, I looked left and immediately was hit by the Tram. It was one with the larger windscreen in front, and I bounced off it back on to the sidewalk landing on my right side. No idea how I wasn't killed. I escaped with a swollen hand and bruised elbow. As I walked around the city the next 2 days it appeared that people must get hit by these all the time. More than a few people were pulled out of the way of these, particularly between Leidesplein and Damrak.

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trams are a very convenient mode of travel in and around Amsterdam. There are trams all across the city and very frequently. There are many trams starting just in front of the main train station that makes it all the more convenient. Tickets for short distances can be bought inside the trams either from the driver or from a separate ticket counter at the back.

You can buy a strip card or "strippenkaart" in advance containing 2, 3, 8, 15, or 45 strips. Then, you punch one more strip than the number of zones you want to travel through. A "uurskaart" use used for the entire day to go anywhere, but it's expensive. Or, you get a weekly seasonal ticket sold in 1 through 6 and "N" star values which is the number of zones you wish to travel on any given day for the entire week in 1 zone for about half the price of a daily ticket. This appears to be a local secret and you need also apply for a European travel ID or "stamkaart", which is free... but, you need a passport photograph, good for 5 years. For 10.80€ you can travel all throughout Amsterdam, including the museums and shops for the entire week with a weekly season ticket (shhh!). You can enter from the front or the rear if you have a ticket, but only from the rear if you don't have a ticket. But, you need to punch your ticket in the yellow machine towards the rear of the tram or have the conductor in the middle of the tram punch it for you, so if you have an unstamped ticket it's best to enter from the rear, unless you're getting on a bus in which case the driver in the front stamps your ticket or unless you have a stamped uurskaart. You can only exit through the rear. Sometimes you need to alert the driver as the stop you want and, there's a button which may need to be pressed to open the door to exit as well. They have a light rail, also known as the metro, which has three subway lines: 51, 53, and 54 - however, 51 is also known as a "tram." Neither the trams nor metro has anything to do with the railroad which connects the city to the rest of the world, including the airport. Once you stamp your ticket, it's good for up to an hour for traveling 1-3 zones, 1.5 hours for 4-6 zones, 2 hours 7-9 zones, 3 hours for 10-15 zones, or 3.5 hours for 16 or more zones - the exception being if you have a uurskaart which is good the specified number of days from the first time you use it.

Most tourists walk.

Amsterdam has superb public transport facilities. The best way to travel is by tram. They are frequent, fast and dependable. Although tickets can be bought in the tram, it is cheaper to buy a multitravel tickets (called 'strippenkaart') from a magazine shop, the post office or railway station beforehand. Another good thing about strippenkaarts is that several people can travel on one strippenkaart.

I don't what is the situation now, but there used to be a conductor on most trams who stamped the ticket for you when you got on at the back of the tram. If there isn't one you might need to use a machine. Each journey within the city centre uses two strips. In this case you should leave one strip blank and stamp the second (If there are two of, you should then stamp the fourth strip and so forth).

Don't be tempted to ride for free, since there are regular checks on tickets and they will charge you the ticket price as well as a fine. They will not treat you more leniently just because you're a tourist!

Tickets are valid for an hour, regardless of how often you change tram or bus. Strippenkaarts are valid on all trams, buses and metros, and also on trains within the city boundaries (but not on the train to the airport!).

There are also one, two and three-day passes available. You must stamp a day or week pass the first time you use it only.

It might sound mad, but you should hail a tram to indicate you want to get on!!! ;-) Press the button near the door to open it. If the tram has a conductor you must use the rear door to get on.

The trams run until just after midnight. The last trams leave Central Station at 00.15. After that there is an hourly service of night buses from Central Station. There is a free map of all tram and bus routes in Amsterdam available from tourist offices or the GVB office in front of Central Station.