• Travel Netherlands

  • 🇳🇱 Netherlands: bunq Community Travel Tips

✈️ Heading to Netherlands? We've gathered some tips from the bunq community to make sure your trip is the smoothest it can be. 😎

Check them out below!🌈 👇

Using your card

💳 Do I need cash in Netherlands, or can I use my card everywhere?

Card works nearly everywhere, but some shops only take Maestro or Mastercard debit cards, not Mastercard credit.

The most notable one is Albert Heijn (along with many other supermarkets).

💰 What currency do they use here?

The currency here is Euros! The symbol is € or EUR.

🏧 Which ATM’s can I use for free?

The bunq community has reported free withdrawals at these ATMs.

  • ABN Amro
  • ING
  • Rabobank
  • SNS Bank
  • Geldmaat

💵 If I want cash, how much should I take out of an ATM?

€40 should be enough for a few days, since you can use your card for nearly everything.

Staying connected

📱 Can I roam, or should I get a local SIM?
All EU mobile plans should let you roam for free.

If you don't have an EU plan, you can learn about your local SIM card options here

Useful things to know

💁‍♀️ How does tipping work?
Tipping is not necessary in the Netherlands, as service is usually included. Tipping will be highly appreciated though, between 5-10% is normal.

With small amounts it's also possible to round up to the nearest Euro.

🍺 How much does a 0.5L beer cost?

€6,00

🍽 How much does an average meal cost?

€15,00

🚨 What’s the emergency number?

112

🔌 What type of plug do they use?

This one! It’s the standard European plug.

🚗 What side of the road do they drive on?

They drive on the right side of the road here.

🗺 How do I navigate my way around?

For public transport directions, use https://9292.nl/en

Google and Apple Maps both work well in the Netherlands.

Otherwise, we recommend Rome2Rio as the best way to find out how to get anywhere. It even tells you the cost of each option. 🙌

👀 Any other good tips?

If you want to visit the Anne Frank House, or the Van Gogh Museum, book tickets online before you go. It will save you a lot of time.


Travel Perks

🎢 Visit famous attractions with 10% off

We've partnered with Tiqets to bring you discounts on attraction tickets in Netherlands 🇳🇱. To get your discount, simply follow the link here and use our coupon code BUNQTIQETS10 at checkout. That's it! 🎊

Travel hands-free with a 20% discount on Stasher

Our partnership with Stasher will allow you to enjoy your destination to the fullest without having to worry about your luggage. You’ll be able to drop off your bags at trusted shops and hotels in Netherlands with a 20% discount through this link 👌🏻.

If you've been to Netherlands 🇳🇱 share your experience! The following would be really useful for other bunqers to know:

  • Which ATMs are free to use?
  • What card should I use and where?
  • Any other info you think may be useful.

Share your experience with us in the comments below! 🌈 👇

    To add to the tips above:

    💳 Do I need cash in Netherlands, or can I use my card everywhere?
    Cash is accepted in most places, as are cards, contactless payments are the standard. There are however some places that will refuse cash, such as public transport. Maestro is the card to use as Mastercard is less accepted (acceptance increases, but it will take a few years). Don't expect other systems like AMEX or VISA to be accepted. Most shops and restaurants display accepted cards near the entrance, the dark blue card symbol with 'PIN' on it usually means they accept Maestro.

    🍺 How much does a 0.5L beer cost?
    Well, the € 5 figure goes for bars, almost throughout the country and may be higher in touristic areas such as the inner city of Amsterdam. Pitchers of beer are not common and rarely seen in bars. The average price is a lot lower when you just buy your beer (or wine or other spirits) at a supermarket. The most expensive is Albert Heijn, which sells six 0.5L cans of Heineken for € 7, or a decent bottle of wine for a few euros.

    🍽 How much does an average meal cost?
    € 15 won't get you a decent meal in most restaurants, unless you count a budget pizza or McDonalds as a decent meal. Most restaurants will charge you € 25-35 for a decent two-course meal with a couple of drinks per person. In supermarkets you can get a decent meal for under € 5 per person, a Big Mac menu will cost you € 6,75 (the Bic Mac-index of the Netherlands is $ 3,79 n september 2019).

    Vegetarians
    Most restaurants, fast food chains and other food outlets offer at least a few vegetarian options, some even offer vegan options. Supermarkets too offer a wide variety of vegetarian meat-substitutes.

    🔌 What type of plug do they use?
    The voltage is 220-240V, AC at 50-60 Hz. Be aware that most hotel rooms still lack sufficient wall outlets to supply all of your mobile devices. When you bring more than just your phone, be sure to bring an extension cord or a USB-plug with multiple sockets.

    🗺 How do I get around?
    The cheapest way to get around in cities is walking. You'll see the most of the city that way and city centers aren't that large, so everything is within walking distance.

    The second best way is public transport, which is dense in the larger cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Be sure to buy a card in advance that will provide traveling for one of multiple days in advance at a fixed rate as tickets on the vehicle are way too expensive.
    Trains have a high frequency and will bring you from city to city in a cheap, fast and comfortable way. They will bring you from Amsterdam to Groningen or Maastricht in less than three hours, being the opposite corners of the country. Rotterdam, Leiden and Utrecht are just half an hour by train and within the hour you'll reach 's Hertogenbosch or Zwolle, which are very nice places to visit too.

    Cycling in large cities is for the daring and brave as traffic is quite dense and busy. It is very nice to cycle through Amsterdam, but packs of cycling tourists are infamous because of their lack of attention to other traffic and lack of experience. The other parts of The Netherlands (being mostly flat) are perfect for cycling as traffic is less dense and there are good quality separate cycling paths.

    👀 Any other good tips?
    Be sure to bring clothes for all seasons as the Dutch weather tends to vary from day to day. In summer the temperatures can rise up to 30ºC (2019 put a record in the books with temperatures up to 41º), while a few days later it can be only 18ºC and rainy. In the autumn it mostly rains with temperatures of 10-20ºC and loads of rain, although an Indian summer in October is not a rarity. Winters are mostly soft with temperatures around 5-10ºC and poring rain most of the time. Spring is nice, with temperatures of 15-20ºC and not a lot of wet days.

      a year later
      16 days later

      Pour tous ce qui est payement je vous invite le liquide au pays bas ou alors tous simplement la carte maestro car c est la seule carte pratiquement accepter

        2 months later

        No no don't do cash, card is everything here. You can not put gas in the tank without card prior 7:30 in the morning and after 10:00 in the evening. Every machine that stands out accept only cards no coins. So i think tat cash can be useless sometimes in Netherland

          2 years later

          If you want to travel by train, buy a "ov-chipkaart" at a kiosk or supermarket. It costs 7,50€, load money on it, use public transport.

          If you use single tickets, you pay for EVERY ticket 1€ surcharge.

          If you use the chipkaart, you have to load round about 30€ on it for a trip. You will check in, when you get into the train/bus/... and check out at your destination. Dont forget it.
          When you check out, you see the fare.
          You need to have always more than 20€ on your card (google: Instaptarieven), its different on every mode of transport.

          You have to check in at every different Traffic Company. Sometimes, if you have to change the company (Nationale spoorwegen (NS), the biggest train company -> Arriva, another train company), you have to check out at NS and check in at Arriva.
          Maybe you find a change-scanner (overstap-punt), there its one tap to change.

          Have fun with the public transport there, its fine!

            Ich werde Anfang September mit meiner Familie in die Niederlande reisen und bin jeweils einen Tag in Rotterdam und Amsterdam. Ist es immer noch so, dass ich zwingend die Maestro Card brauche, oder wird auch die Mastercard inzwischen gut akzeptiert? Ich möchte am liebsten vermeiden nur für diese 2-3 Tage eine Meastro Card zu holen.

              @Johannes-Red-Panda-463593470#260409 In the Netherlands, Mastercard are not accepted everywhere. It's difficult to say where you can use a Mastercard and where you cannot, because it varies not only per company but also per location. For example, Jumbo supermarkets in some areas of the Netherlands don't support Mastercards, and in other areas they do. You could also bring some cash with you or get it at a Dutch ATM, in case your Mastercard isn't accepted. A lot of tourist locations (especially in Amsterdam) do support Mastercard though, not sure about Rotterdam.

                @Johannes-Red-Panda-463593470#260409 Hi Johannes,

                Ich bin jedes Jahr mittlerweile 5 bis 10 mal drüben :)
                Anfangs auch mit wirklich großen Problemen, zu bezahlen.

                Zum ersten: nehmt euch mehr Zeit, die werdet ihr brauchen ;)

                Ansonsten ist Maestro dort der Standard, wie es bei uns Girocard ist. Wenn du noch eine Karte frei hast, würde ich dir eine Maestro wirklich empfehlen.
                Ansonsten, wenn du noch ein reguläres, deutsches Konto hast, musst du mal schauen, auch hier ist bei vielen Maestro-Branding drauf. Frankfurter Volksbank und Frankfurter Sparkasse haben es, das weiß ich aus eigener Erfahrung, da mal individuell schauen. Ansonsten ist eine mäßige Akzeptanz bei Visa und Master gegeben. Master meines Erachtens nach noch häufiger als Visa. Gerade in den Supermärkten (Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Dirk) kann es sein, dass es nicht klappt.
                Für gewöhnlich solltest du dann aber am Geldautomat weiterkommen. Meist sogar gebührenfrei (wobei ich nicht weiß, ob das an meiner Bank lag).

                Viel Spaß drüben, und bei Fragen, meld dich nochmal über die Antwortfunktion, dann bekomm ichs mit :)

                  @New-Green-Starfish-752363024#260570 Hi Dominik,
                  erst mal vielen lieben Dank für deine ausführliche Antwort! Ich höre bei dir schon raus, dass du ein großer Fan der Niederlande bist :) Vielleicht wird es ja bei mir nach dem Aufenthalt auch so werden, aber aktuell sind es erst mal nur 2 1-2 Tage. Sind da mit der AIDA 🚢
                  Ich hätte tatsächlich noch eine Karte frei, wollte es aber vermeiden weil ich eben nicht denke, dass ich die Maestro Card anschließend nochmal brauchen werde. Ich probiere es daher mit Mastercard und Bargeld. Der Tipp mit der Sparkasse ist auf jeden Fall auch super. Habe das gar nicht mehr auf dem Radar gehabt, dass da ja ein Maestro mit drauf ist 👍🏻👍🏻 Dann mache ich das im Notfall.

                    @Johannes-Red-Panda-463593470#260585 Sehr gern! Musst ja nicht die gleichen Erfahrungen wie ich machen, und ohne alles dort stehen 😉
                    Das Land ist toll, die Seefahrt ist toll, vielleicht wohne ich in 10 Jahren schon drüben. Auch die Sprache ist nicht soo schwer. Verstehen wirst du einiges! Und sprechen geht auch echt zügig!

                    Ich nutze meine Maestro auch sehr gerne hier in Deutschland, mittlerweile gibt es immer mehr Akzeptanzstellen, daher würde ich mir da keinen Kopf machen.
                    Du kannst die Karte auch, wenn du sie nicht mehr brauchst, deaktivieren (geht dann in der Karte über die 3 Punkte), und hast dann wieder eine frei. Einzig die Neubestellung würde dann einmalig 9€ kosten.

                    Schau bei der Sparkasse, manch eine hat Maestro, manch eine nicht. Notfalls, falls du so bald nicht mehr rüber kommst, Bargeld mitnehmen oder dort abheben. Das klappt garantiert.

                    Getränke sind teurer als hier, Essen mäßig teurer. (Du solltest p.P. mit 25€ rechnen, wenn es nicht zu edel wird, ansonsten auch deutlich teurer.)

                    Viel Spaß dann auf dem Schiff, davor und danach. :)

                      @New-Green-Starfish-752363024#260591 Super gut besten Dank! Ich gehe auch davon aus, dass wir gleiche Erfahrungen wie du machen werden. Kenne doch einige Kollegen, die immer wieder Urlaub in den Niederlanden 🇳🇱 machen Und alle sind sehr angetan von Land und den entspannten Leuten 😃
                      Das mit der Maestro Card lasse ich dennoch bleiben, da wir schon Mittwoch fahren. Wird also zu knapp ☺️ Aber ich werde auf jeden Fall an dieser Stelle hier berichten, wenn ich mit der Zahlung andere Erfahrung machen sollte.

                      In diesem Sinne dir und allen anderen hier eine gute Zeit und bis bald 👋🏻

                        13 days later

                        @bunq#119175 Hey bunq Team, wollte gerade hier den discount Code für Tiqets nutzen. Ist scheinbar nicht mehr gültig.

                          @Johannes-Red-Panda-463593470#263398 „This code has expired. Please try again or continue to the next step.“

                            Hallo zusammen, hier das versprochene Feedback nach zwei Tagen in Rotterdam und Amsterdam. Ich war unter anderem auf Grachtenfahrt, bei Albert Heijn einkaufen, Pommes bei Manneken Pis (super lecker 🤤) und habe über all mit meiner bunq Mastercard via Apple Pay gezahlt. Ach ja, sogar in zwei öffentlichen Toiletten 😅 Zum Zeil war Bargeldzahlung unerwünscht/ nicht machbar. Überall wo ich war, gab es kein Geschäft wo ich Bargeld oder die Maestro Card gebraucht hätte. War eine sehr schöne Zeit, aber viel zu kurz. War sicher nicht unser letzter Trip in die Niederlande 🇳🇱 👍🏻

                              @Johannes-Red-Panda-463593470#263630 Good to hear you had a great time in the Netherlands, you're welcome to visit again any time!

                                a year later

                                @bunq#119175 "Card works nearly everywhere, but some shops only take Maestro cards, not Mastercard.

                                The most notable one is Albert Heijn (along with many other supermarkets)."

                                Wrong. Mastercard Debit works just fine at Albert Heijn, Mastercard Credit doesn't. Might need to be updated :)

                                  @Partydoos#284559 That's true, I've updated the thread!

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