Delft Transportation

One of the easiest ways to get to Delft is by train from Den Haag. It'll take about 5 minutes. And another 5 minutes to walk to the very heart fo Delft. Trains depart both from Den Haag Central Station and Den Haag Hollands Spoor.

Another option is to take tram 1 to Delft. This tram you can catch in Den Haag centrum (not the central station!) and the trainstation Den Haag Hollands Spoor.

Delft can easily be reached by car. It is close to Highway A13 between Den Haag (The Hague) and Rotterdam. Take exit 9 and follow Oostpoortweg.

The centre of Delft is less easy to access by car. There is sufficient parking space at the edge of town from where the small town centre can easily be reached on foot.

Delft is an old town and so parking is not quite easy. It's best to park on the free car park at the Mekelweg (Mekel street) and a bus will take you to the city center within 10 minutes. A ride costs € 0,50 and children up to 12 ride for free.
If you must park in the city center, make sure you have a loaded chip bankcard or plenty of small change. Streetparking on Fridays has to be paid for until 22.00 hrs and all other days until 18 hrs. This costs € 1,50 to € 2 per hour.
At the Tourist Information Point (see my General tips) you can get a brochure about Parking in Delft with a handy little map.
Photo: Note the parking ticket vending machine behind the tree on the left.

The train system in the Netherlands and especially in the Randstad Holland, can be seen as a gigantic metrosystem. Okay, they hardly go on time, but with an interval of only 15 minutes on average, one never has to wait very long. Delft has two stations of which the Central brings you direct into the old centre of town. The other, Delft Zuid (South) is especially created for the enormous amounts of students arriving by train and heading for the Technical University buildings.

You cannot be a student and do not have a bike in the Netherlands. This is THE means of transport for students, if it's not to get to the school building or cafe, then it is to have the opportunity to drink and get home legally. For tourists this option also could be interesting and bicycles can be rented at the NS-Rijwielshop just uotside the Central station.

Seeing a Holland town with it's typical canals is often done in a great way from these canals! The impression from the water with details told by a guide is a perfect way to get to know the town in an easy and comfortable way. In Delft this is done by the company "Rondvaart Delft" and the journeys take around 45 minutes. Groups can reserve, but individual visitors van get tickets at the point where the boats regularly leave for their trips (from April until October.

Parking is difficult, especially when you want to do so within the old city centre. This is actually disrecommended by me, as it is not only very difficult, but also ruining the view on the old surroundings. There are some parkhouses around the centre and one can also park in the neighborhood of the Central Station as well as underneath the tracks of the railroad. this last option could be difficult in the years 2005-2007, as plans are made to put the railroad underground, which will lead to many roadconstructions and the (temporary) disappearing of this option.

If you are visiting The Hague and want to make some more out of it, take the tram that drives you directly to Delft. There are two lines heading that way, one reaching even into the Delft centre.
From Rotterdam some bus lines head into Delft direction and bring you in the centre of the old town.

The tram is a good way of exploring the whole city of Delft. Line 1 drives along the railtrack of the trains and also goes directly to the beach of Scheveningen. In the south it gives connection to a nice park where you can walk, south of the area called Tanthof. Here you can have a rest and stroll around the beautiful landscape where people walk with their dogs, horses or children.

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Dutch trains are super...safe, comfortable and easy to use. There are very frequent services to Delft from Amsterdaam Central station so you'll have no problem at all in making a day visit.

You can buy tickets from the ticket machine at the station. Machines all have English language options and are easy to use.

If you don't have an OV Chipcaart (which is unlikely to be worthwhile unless you are staying for a long time or plan on using a lot of public transport during your visit), and if you don't want to use your credit card, you'll have to find a ticket machine with a coin slot. They do exist..and the machines give change...but there are not as many of them as there are non-coin-slot machines.

I didn't find any machines which accepted notes, which might be a problem if you are short of coins or have an expensive ticket to buy. If you are in that situation you'll need to use the ticket office.

Platforms are electronically signed, so you can see exactly which train is expected next or is standing at the platform. Station announcements are also made on the train (sometimes in English as well as Dutch, although Dutch is fairly easy to work out) and some trains also have computerised displays telling you what station is next, expected time of arrival and so on.

You can find train times, details and fares in English on the link below.

Getting to Delft by train is extremely easy ...and it's a place well worth a visit.