A pleasant way to cover a lot of ground is to rent a bicycle. There are approximately 750,000 people living in Amsterdam and they own about 800,000 bicycles. The city is very, very bike-friendly, and there are separate bike lanes on most major streets. In the city centre, however, there is often not enough space for a bike lane, so cars and cyclists share narrow streets. Cyclists do not have the right of way even though it might appear so when observing the typical Amsterdammer's cycling behaviour (see Extra legal protection). Be very careful watch out for other cyclists. Always show other traffic where you're going (e.g., by holding out your hand) in order avoid accidents and smoothen the traffic flow. If not indicated otherwise by signs, the right-before-left rule applies. Avoid getting your tire in the tram rails; it's a nasty fall. Always cross tram rails at an angle. When crossing tram lanes, watch out for fast approaching taxis. They have a rather ruthless driving style. Let none of the above deter you from doing it the Amsterdam way. Rent a bike! There are bike rental shops at stations, and several others in and around the city centre. Bikes cost about €9 to €20 per day. (Bring wet gear.)
A good map for cycling (routes, repairs, rentals + also public transport) is Amsterdam op de fiets (a Cito-plan). When preparing a route, there's a digital bicycle route-planner for Amsterdam, see Routecraft.com
Bicycles can be taken for free on all ferries across the IJ, and on all metros and some carriages of tram 26 using the bike supplement fee (€1.50 in 2010) on the OV chipcard. Use the special bike racks, locations indicated by a bicycle sign on the outside of the carriage.
Make sure to get a good lock (or two), and to use it. Amsterdam has one of the highest bicycle theft rates in the world, see the Netherlands page. Note also that if buying a bike, prices that seem too good to be true are stolen bikes. Any bike offered for sale to passers-by, on the street, is certainly stolen. There's an old Amsterdam joke; When calling out to a large group cyclists passing by; "Hey, that's my bike!" about five people will jump off "their" bikes and start running.
Star Bikes Rental. Classic and solid dutch bikes for those who want to fit in with the locals. They have the traditional black granny, pick-ups, tandems, bikes for kids and for disabled needs. Prices: 5€ (4 hr) - 7€ (full day) - 9€ (24 hr), 2 lockers included. This business is located behind Central Station. You can also arrange exclusive picnic and barbacue sets within your rental.
MacBike Bicycle Rental. Perhaps the most ubiquitous bicycle rental agency in Amsterdam, their bicycles are painted red with a MacBike sign on the front, everyone will know you're visiting. The bicycles are reliable, and in very good condition. Several locations around the city centre for assistance or repairs. Online bicycle reservations at their website.
Orangebike, Rentals & Tours. Their bikes are not so obvious coloured, more discrete, reliable and sturdy. The typical Dutch Grandmother bikes are available at Orangebike. 3 hr historical city tour by bike for €19.50. Online reservations available.
Frederic Bike, insurance, bags, locks, and children seats all included for €10 a day. Extremely close to central station. Bikes are offered "incognito", for the discerning guest who does not want to appear "touristy".
Damstraat Offer daily to weekly rentals. Have promotions in place with several hotels for "discount tickets", ask at the front desk. €12.50 for the first 24 hr, insurance included. Offers repairs for your bike and new and used bike sales.
Het Zwarte Fietsenplan. Rent traditional Dutch bikes. Explore Amsterdam on a traditional black bike. There are no bright red, yellow, blue or orange bikes in their shops. There are 3 locations throughout the city centre and the shops have long opening hours, 7 days a week. Also rents out cagobikes for kids.
The bicycle is ideal for exploring the surrounding countryside. Within half an hour you're out of town. Go North, take the ferry across the IJ to Waterland. Or go South, into the Amsterdamse Bos (a giant park), or follow the river Amstel where Rembrandt worked.
You can also take your bike on the metro (with a reduced fare ticket, see public transport gvb.nl ) to end of line Gaasperplas, and cycle along rivers and windmills to old fortified towns like Weesp , Muiden and Naarden.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Amsterdam
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Amsterdam - updated Apr 2024
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Amsterdam Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
