Travellers usefull tips

Things to know about The Netherlands

Capital: Amsterdam

Religion: there is no state religion in the country. There is religious liberty.

Language: Dutch and Frisian. Flemish, English, German and French are quite spread.

Climate is moderate maritime. In January, the average temperature is +1 – +3 °C, in July +16 – +17 °C. The foggy weather is typical for the Netherlands. The Dutch see snow very rarely.

Currency: Euro (€). €1 consists of 100 euro cents or 2,2 Dutch guilders. Currently circulating banknotes are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500€. Coins are issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents. American dollars (USD) are active on the BES islands, Netherlands Antillean guilders (ANG) – in Curacao and Saint Maarten, as well as Aruban florins (AWG) – in Aruba.

Means of payment: plastic cards or cash. Traveller’s cheques and credit cards can be cashed at the offices of GWK (The Central system of exchange offices). Banks don’t charge fees for currency conversion if you use student Card ISIC and youth FIYTO. The offices of GWK work from 8:00am to 08:00pm, on Sunday – from 10:00am to 04:00pm.

Currency exchange: You can exchange money at banks, hotels, airports, railway stations or exchange offices. High commissions are taken at exchange offices, the lowest – in banks and post offices. There is no point changing currency at night – it will cost you considerably more.

Banks work on odd days in the week from 8:00am to 04:00pm (break time from 12:00am to 01:30pm). On Friday, the workday of banking institutions can be shorter for an hour.

Calls from the Netherlands to other countries: from the Netherlands you can call anywhere in the world directly from the phone box. Thus, public phone boxes coloured in green require coins and those to be coloured in blue require telephone cards, which you can buy at post offices or kiosks. To call from the hotel is more expensive, than from the phone box. On weekdays, long-distance and international calls are cheaper from 06:00pm to 8:00am.

Mobile operators of the Netherlands: KPN Telecom Mobile (KPN; KPN Mobile; PTT; PTT Telecom), Libertel-Vodafone (Vodafone NL; LIBTEL), Telfort BV (O2-NL; NL TELFORT; TELFORT NL; NL 12, 204 12; TELFRT), T-Mobile Netherlands (Ben NL; T-Mobile NL; NL 16).

Calls to the Netherlands from other countries: for calling you have to dial +31 (city code) x-xxx-xxx

Useful phone numbers in the Netherlands:
Phone number of police, ambulance, fire station – 112 or 09008844
Technical assistance – 0800-0888
Calling code – 31

Time zone of the Netherlands: UTC / GMT +1 (by Greenwich)
Daylight Saving Time begins on March 25 at 2:00am local time.
DST ends on October 28 at 3:00am local time.

Customs: Animals cannot be imported into the Netherlands. Adults are allowed to import up to 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or 50 grams of tobacco, no more than 1 litre of drinks in which alcohol content is more than 22%, or 2 litres of alcohol beverage in which alcohol content is less than 22%. In duty-free shops you can buy only 1 box of cigarettes or 50 cigars, 2 litres of wine, 1liter of alcohol, 50gr of perfume and 25gr of cologne. Import and export of foreign currency is unlimited.

Shopping: in the Netherlands, shops are open from 8:30am (9:00am) to 05:30pm (06:00pm). Once a week, mostly on Monday, they are closed between 12:00am and 01:00pm, and on Thursday they are work till 09:00pm. Grocery shops are open till 04:00pm on Saturdays, the other shops work till 05:00pm.

Electricity: line voltage is 220V

Transport: there is a right-hand traffic in the country. You should always give a wide berth to cyclists as they have priority in traffic. On motorways, the speed is limited to 120 km/h, on local highways – 100 km/h, in built-up areas – 50 or even 30 km/h. Police enforce the traffic rules using radar devices.

a) public transport:
The Netherlands has a well-developed system of highways and roads. Every city has GVB, a single urban transport system. It includes trams, trolleybuses and buses, as well as night services.

1. Trams
In big cities, the most popular kind of transport is a tram. They run according to the schedule with a small interval. In small towns, passenger transportations are carried out by buses, including night services.

2. Subway
There is subway in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. A ticket for an hour on any transport, including metro, will cost €1.5. A reusable ticket, which provides 15 hours of travelling, costs about €5. There are also available daily tickets for €6 and nine-day tickets for €22-30. It’s obliged to punch a ticket in every transport zone, in which the country is divided. Entrance in public transport is through the back doors. Passengers are allowed to enter through the front doors, if they have multiday tickets, which should be shown to a driver.

It’s difficult to travel by car over narrow cities. The expenses of parking and fuel are heavy. That’s why motor transport is not very popular. However, there are about 110 thousand km of roads in the country, which are used for long-distance transportations.

3. Bicycle is the most popular kind of transport there. You can rent it in special companies for €3-5 per day. Cycle paths and cycle lanes are marked by a round blue sign with the picture of a white bicycle, which is drawn on the pavement or red asphalt. You must drive only on such lanes. Cyclists must drive according to the same traffic signs as drivers – if there is no sign that says the opposite (the image of bicycle under the banner "No Entry"). If there is no cycle lane, you should follow the roadway. Bicycles must be equipped with a front headlight and a tail light. Signs for cycle routes are usually white with red frame and red inscriptions.

b) long-distance transport:

1. Water transport
Ships and water taxis are the most expensive forms of transport in the Netherlands.

2. Rail transport
In the west of the country, 12 trains per hour run around the main routes. There are two types of trains: international high-speed trains and trains that stop at every station. Trains run almost every half hour. If you go to the north, you should be ready for replanting and delays in the train movement for 5-10 minutes. Night trains run between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft, The Hague, Leiden, Schiphol and Utrecht.

The cost of tickets depends on season and class of train. For example, for the 1-hour trip from Amsterdam to Rotterdam you have to pay €12-19.

3. Bus
Travelling for a long distance is uncomfortable. Basically this type of transport is used when you need to overcome a distance of about 10 km. You should remember that the bus service is indirect in the Netherlands. For example, if you want to get from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, during the trip you will stop in Schiphol, Delft, The Hague and Leiden.

4. Taxi
Licensed taxis have got a blue number. The taxi fare is expensive, and, as a rule, drivers refuse to travel for short distances.

5. There is Air Transportation between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Groningen, Maastricht, and Eindhoven.

Car rental
For renting a car, you must be at least 21 years old (request of age depends on a car category). In addition, you must have a driving license a year or more from the date issued. If the text of your driving license isn’t written in Latin letters (for example, Arabic, Greek, Russian, or Chinese), you must give an international driving license, and show your national license. Additional fee for age can be fixed for drivers, who is under the age of 25. Seat belts are mandatory for all passengers. Children under the age of 3 must travel with a special child restraint; and since the age of 12, children taller than 1.5 m can sit in the front seat of the car. Rent costs about €25-30 per day, mileage and petrol is usually not included, but the payment covers the insurance. In addition you pay for VAT (17.5%) and €30-40, if the car is taken from the airport. There is a system of discounts.

Hotels in the Netherlands are considered to be the most hospitable in Europe. The feature of living in a tourist room is an almost constant discount of 30%. In every hotel you can watch TV and use a mini-bar but for extra charge. The Netherlands offers tourists to enjoy not only the services of hotels, but also hostels, where the pay is very low. Living in a suburban hotel is cheaper than in the city.

Tipping
In hotels and restaurants, service is included in the bill (15%). It is a rule to tip a maid (a guilder per day), hairdressers, and taxi drivers (10% of the total).

National Holidays
The Queen's Day is celebrated on April 30
January 1 – New Year's Day
March-April – Good Friday (it is not a mandatory day off for commercial companies. However, most governmental organizations honour this day with a day off work)
March-April – Easter
May 4 – Memorial Day
May5 – Liberation day (day off is every 5 years)
40 days after Easter – Ascension Day (it is not a mandatory day off for commercial companies. However, most governmental organizations honour this day with a day off work)
7 weeks after Easter – Pentecost
December 25/26 – Christmas

Visa is required for citizens of Ukraine and CIS. If the Schengen visa is absent for the last three years, you can be called for an interview at the consulate of the Netherlands. The citizens of these countries DO NOT NEED a visa for 90 days: Albania*, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa-Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Armenia, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia*, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro*, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia*, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, Vatican, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Macau.

* Only those who have biometric passports don’t require a visa. Citizens of all other countries, who want to visit the Netherlands, must apply for a visa.

You should know that…
- In the Netherlands, you are not advised to pay for a bill by denominations of € 100, as the Dutch are concerned about counterfeit money.
- As a form of greeting, the Dutch kiss each other three times on the cheek.
- In order to be examined by a doctor, you will need a referral from a general practitioner.
- Holland is an informal name of the Netherlands and the Dutch don’t like, when they are called like the Hollanders.
- Fireworks are prohibited, except in the New Year's Eve (from 10:00am December 31 to 02:00am January 1)
 - In the Netherlands, you can be fined, if flashlights on your bike don’t work at night.