Netherlands Best transport for an adult and child

Skintsaver

I've booked an weeks holiday in Holland flying to Schiphol Airport then will transfer to The Hague. By train/tram.

Myself and 9yo son will be travelling I intend to only use their public transport trains, trams busses ect.. and travel to places like Rotterdam, Eftling, TikiBad and Beekse Bergen. As well as other places we probably won't fit everything in !

But what is the best way of traveling? There seems to be several types of tickets.

camelot1001

Once you get to Schiphol head down to the train station and purchase OV Chipkaarts - credit card style cards that can be pre loaded and used on trains, trams, buses, metro and bikes.

Great system - just remember to tap the card when you get on and more importantly tap when you get off!

coffeehound

PS it's not called Holland anymore

SiliconChip

coffeehound said:

PS it's not called Holland anymore

As it happens most (although I think not all) of the places that the OP intends to visit are in fact in the province of Holland.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland

Skintsaver

That's a more of a coincidence, than anything. I actually always thought it was a translation thing like Holland is Netherlands how Germany is Deutschland. If that makes sense. 

OV Chipkaarts seems the way to go for an Adult. But there seems to be other options for children. 

Or even 3 day travel card and do the most traveling during those 3 days.  https://www.discoverholland.com/amsterdam-region-travel-ticket


With the OV Chipkaarts is it like London where you can travel as many times as you wish but only pay extra if you travel to different zones. Or so it seems you pay per every journey on a pre paid card.

Voyager2002

Skintsaver said:

That's a more of a coincidence, than anything. I actually always thought it was a translation thing like Holland is Netherlands how Germany is Deutschland. If that makes sense. 

Rather we can say: Holland is Netherlands like England is Britain. You see?

DullGreyGuy

Voyager2002 said:

Skintsaver said:

That's a more of a coincidence, than anything. I actually always thought it was a translation thing like Holland is Netherlands how Germany is Deutschland. If that makes sense. 

Rather we can say: Holland is Netherlands like England is Britain. You see?

Other than England is a country and part of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and N.Ireland) whereas Holland is a province of the country and sovereign state of the Netherlands. Britain is more reference to the archipelago of England, Wales, Scotland and its surrounding islands but not the island of Ireland or Isle of Mann.

Depending on where the Dutch are from they may be happy with you calling the country Holland or may point out you are referring to a region not country. 

Skintsaver

For my son it seems like the €1 HTM day passes is the best way and purchase train tickets as and when required.

For myself if I purchase an Anymous OV-ChipKaart, which I believe is €7.5. I understand the system then automatically calculates the fare. Would this be capped at €8, the same as an HTM Day pass?

If not I'm thinking it's best to get an HTM Day pass and just buy train tickets as an when. The advantage of the OV-ChipKaart is that I'll have just 1 ticket to worry about, minus topping up.

eDicky

The OV Chipkaart initial cost is not redeemable, the card expires after several (10?) years. Value needs to be added for its use, normally at a machine in stations, the price of every journey being deducted as you tap in and out of the tram, bus or train platform. Inspectors occasionally board and read all passengers' cards. For residents and regular visitors it is (or was) convenient and economical but if it's just the single trip that you're making you would have to compare it to alternatives regarding costs and convenience. I've never heard of the HTM pass that you mention.

If I'm not mistaken Dutch people are now able to use their bank debit cards instead of the OV Chipkaart, but these are Maestro or V-Pay and UK-issued cards are probably not accepted. Others may clarify this, it's been a few years since I was a regular visitor to the Netherlands.

NoodleDoodleMan

Voyager2002 said:

Skintsaver said:

That's a more of a coincidence, than anything. I actually always thought it was a translation thing like Holland is Netherlands how Germany is Deutschland. If that makes sense. 

Rather we can say: Holland is Netherlands like England is Britain. You see?

Referring to the Britain/UK as England is a surefire way to irritate other citizens within this 4 "nations" state, especially those who reside north of Hadrian's Wall.

You won't see many British citizens with Union Flags over in Munich right now.

Our USA cousins are particularly bad in this respect.

coffeehound

There has been a particular shift recently from when it was the norm to call the NL 'Holland':

In January 2020, the Netherlands officially dropped its support of the word Holland for the whole country, which included a logo redesign that changed "Holland" to "NL"