Bike or Tram in Amsterdam: How to Get Around

The short answer

• 1 to 2 days, centre and museums: walk, and add the tram or metro line 52. A bike adds almost nothing and needs attention in dense traffic.
• 3 days or more, or if you are comfortable cycling: rent a bike for one day, for example for the Vondelpark, the Amsterdamse Bos or Waterland, and use the tram for the rest.
• Bad weather, night-time, luggage, small children: the tram.
• If you have never cycled in a city: start with the tram and the free ferries, and do your first rides in a park.

Comparing the cost

You pay for the tram per trip with a contactless bank card (OVpay) or with a day ticket. A bike is rented by the hour or the day, with insurance that is sometimes compulsory. For details, see our guides to getting around Amsterdam and cycling in Amsterdam.

For a single day, the tram is therefore cheaper than a bike: €10 for the Dagkaart against roughly €18 to €26 for a bike with insurance. Over three days the gap is even wider (€21.50 of GVB against about €60 of bike rental). The bike only wins if it takes you to places you would not otherwise have reached.

Comparing speed

Central Amsterdam is small: from Central Station to the Museumplein it is about 3 km. In that area the two modes take similar times.

• The tram runs direct on the main routes (line 2 links the centre to the Museumplein) but stops often, and you have to allow for waiting.
• The bike goes anywhere, depends on no timetable and lets you cross the centre without changing, but you have to find a rack when you arrive.
• The metro, line 52 Noord/Zuid, is the fastest way to reach the Rokin, De Pijp or Amsterdam-Noord.

For longer trips, to the south or east, a bike (especially an e-bike) and the metro are more efficient than the tram.

Cycling: what the tram doesn't ask of you

Cycling in Amsterdam is not a stroll: traffic is dense and the rules apply to tourists as they do to residents.

• Priority to the right and a duty to signal turns.
• Holding a phone is banned: €170 fine.
• Lights are compulsory after dark: €75 fine without them.
• Tram rails: cross them at a sharp angle so the wheel doesn't get caught.
• Locks: theft is common, so lock the frame to a fixed point.

The rules and fines are detailed in our guide to cycling in Amsterdam. If you would rather not face the centre, ride in the Vondelpark, where people move at a relaxed pace.

When the tram wins

• Rain and wind: showers are frequent in Amsterdam. Our guide to what to do in Amsterdam when it rains gives fallback plans, tram included.
• Evening and night: after a drinks-heavy dinner, cycling is risky (limit of 0.5 g of alcohol per litre of blood) and penalties are heavy. GVB night buses take over from the tram.
• Museum days: the museums in the museum quarter are close together, and you won't have to secure a bike at every stop.
• Travelling with young children or luggage: the tram is simpler.

When the bike wins

• Outer neighbourhoods: Oost, De Pijp, Westerpark or the Eastern Islands are very easy to explore by bike.
• Excursions: the Amsterdamse Bos, about twenty minutes' ride from the centre, or Waterland behind the station, reached by the free ferry (see Waterland and its villages).
• Long stays: the longer you stay, the better a bike pays off.
• Good weather: from May to September, cycling along the canals is one of the city's pleasures.

Our verdict by length of stay

Prices checked in October 2026 on the websites of GVB, MacBike and Black Bikes; check them before you book.

Going further

To plan your journeys, read our guide to getting around Amsterdam and the one on cycling in Amsterdam. For street pitfalls, see mistakes to avoid in Amsterdam.