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Mini-Guide To Netherlands

Bordered on two sides by the sea, and on the other two by Germany and Belgium, The Netherlands is known famously for its windmills, cheeses, pottery and passion for cycling. Its countryside is picturesque and its cities are popular tourist destinations.

Or view the list of airports in Netherlands.

The official language is Dutch, although in the north, Frisian is the second official language. Most people will speak at least some English. The currency is the Euro, and while accommodation and food can be quite expensive, rail travel, museums and attraction entries are relatively cheap. When it comes to clothing and gifts, the prices are similar to the rest of Western Europe. There are various events and attractions – for example Pinkpop, a three day pop festival every year around Whitsun, the Dutch acrobatics festival and the Northsea Jazz Festival, amongst other things. Not to mention various museums and attractions which are open all year round. Travelling in the Netherlands can be done very cheaply by bus with the use of a ‘buzzer’ ticket for 10 euros a day. Biking is very popular as well, with many signposted cycle routes across the country and designated bike parking. The train service is also very frequent and covers the whole country. Tickets must be purchased in advance, however, and no discount is offered for early purchase. You can purchase a discount rail pass with the Benelux package, which allows unlimited train travel within Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Unfortunately, Europeans are not eligible for this pass, but they can apply for Inter Rail passes which provide discounts. In the major cities such as Amsterdam, you can use tram, bus and metro routes to get around, as well as a series of night busses, however for travel outside of them, there is only the bus and the train. The roads in the Netherlands are well-signposted, the native drivers are some of the least aggressive on the continent and the motorway network is dense, so driving through the country is not an unfeasible plan – however the traffic is likely to be heavy in all but the north of the country.