P+R Amsterdam

Hello and welcome!

We are a group of people living in Amsterdam and we know that transportation here whether it is about cars, bikes etc. is one of the main challenges for every visitor.

Travelling to Amsterdam?

Amsterdam is a great city to visit. Its elaborate canal system and the typical Dutch houses along the canals make it a good destination for spending a weekend. If you are thinking to stay longer, it’s also a great idea to explore the small towns outside Amsterdam. You will be amazed to see bucolic villages built close to the sea, between dykes in the middle of the nature. Don’t forget about the windmills. You can, for example, visit Kinderdijk. You will find 19 windmills that have been declared the UNESCO world heritage.

Travelling to Amsterdam

Getting to Amsterdam

Getting to Amsterdam is not complicated. Depending on where you come from, taking a flight or train is the most convenient way to visit the city. Amsterdam is well-linked to the main cities of Europe and the Netherlands generally provide a good international rail service (including free Wifi). There are a few train companies that provide good connections to Amsterdam at a very reasonable price, if you book it a couple of months in advance. The main companies are Thalys from France and Belgium, and ICE from Germany. There are also night trains from other European cities and very cheap coaches from UK and mainland Europe. For those on a budget or with the last minute decision to come to Amsterdam, have a look at blablacar - the most popular car sharing platform in Europe - and travel to Amsterdam by car.

If you arrive by train to Amsterdam Central station, you will be immediatley in the centre of the city, nearby the famous red light district, and in walking distance to Dam Square and Jordaan. By flight, you can take the train towards Amsterdam Central station and within 20 minute you will be in the city centre of Amsterdam. As an alternative, if you prefer to use your own car for whichever reason, you can get to Amsterdam by ferry or coming from the highway on the A10 ring that surrounds Amsterdam. The advantage of coming by car is that it enables you to explore a bit more the surroundings without being tied to any train or bus schedule. But, be aware that parking in Amsterdam is no easy and above all, not cheap. In fact, Amsterdam is one of the most expensive cities when it comes to parking, so you can easily end up paying the same amount of money for parking that you pay for your hotel room. Since obtaining a good overview of all the alternative parking solutions is fairly difficult, we collected some options below from P+R parking, to on-street parking, and a parking service that allows you to reserve parking in private car parks. This should enable you to park at an afforable price and spend your money on all the fun stuff in the city.

Parking in Amsterdam

There are so many options to take into consideration - how long are you planning to stay, how much you want to spend, and how big is your car.

Yes, as you might have expected, it’s not really recommended to try to find a parking spot in the city centre along the canals. The streets are often really tiny and it costs around 5 Euros per hour to park there, even on the weekends. Not the best solution for your holiday!

Here you find an overview of public garages and the fees for on-street parking per area. Just enter your destination and you will see how much you will have to pay for parking in this area. More information on P+R parking follows below.

On-street parking Amsterdam

As mentioned before, it is not the best idea to visit Amsterdam by car. Parking is expensive and it’s also difficult to find a free spot due to the high traffic and the small streets around the canals. You will have to pay during weekdays but also during the weekends (including Sunday). A day ticket from 9am to 7pm costs EUR 36 and if you stay longer, from 9am to 24am, it costs EUR 45.

During the public holidays, parking in the streets is free, except few zones such as Centrum (the city centre), Noord and Zuidoost.

If you travel during a bank holiday, you have to pay in the Centrum from 12am to 24pm or from 12.00 to 02.00 (the same as on a Sunday).

In Amsterdam Zuidoost, you have to pay to park on public holidays from 12.00 to 21.00. In Amsterdam Noord, you have to pay to park at the NSDM docks from 09.00 to 23.00.

How to pay for on-street parking?

If you park in the street, you need to pay at the parkometers situated in one of the corners of the street you are at. This is a new system that requires you to enter the license plate of the car and to pay your ticket by card (also international cards work here). Watch out, coins are not accepted anymore! The good thing is, you can pay for a couple of days in a row, hence you don’t need to come back to your car later and pay for the next day. Once you paid, your car is registered as paid, so you don't need to put a ticket behind the windscreen.

Instead of paying at the parking meter, you can use a parking app to pay your parking fee by phone (this option allows you to pay per minute).

We highly recommend you to pay even when you just stop very briefly!

The parking fines are over a hundred Euros. If you have a foreign car, the Parkeerdiensten will leave a notification on your car and they will actually send you the fine back to your home country.

Another thing you need to avoid is to have the car clamped, in particular, in the city centre of Amsterdam. They are strict with the regulations and the clampers work day and night. If your car is clamped, you will see a yellow sticker in your car and you will get a fine fee before they will remove the clamp for you.

As Amsterdam is known for car burglaries, we also advise you to take all your valuables, GPS, radio, etc. out of your car if you park it for more than a couple of hours. Especially in more remote areas and during the night, car burglaries occur regularly.

P+R in Amsterdam

Park and Ride Amsterdam

A convenient solution is the use of Park and Ride parking. These parking are on the outskirts of Amsterdam near the ring A-10 and they are open 7 days a week, 24/24 hours.

You can reserve a parking up to 96 hours. (4days).

The idea of the P+R parking is that you can easily access to them and take the public transport to arrive in the city centre. Doing that you can be eligible to pay a really cheap parking.

How much does P+R cost?

If you enter before 10am on weekdays, you pay €8 for the first 24 hours and €1 for the following 24 hours.
If you enter after 10am during weekdays, you pay €1 for 24 hours.
During weekends it is just €1 for 24 hours.
If the P+R parking contingent is full in the respective parking location, you will need to pay the regular parking tariffs which vary according to each parking location.

Important: These are the conditions to benefit from the P+R tariffs

You have to travel into the city centre using a P+R GVB card(s), which you can purchase at the blue machines in the P+R parking. These have to be purchased within one hour from entering the parking
You need to check-in in the tram when going to the city centre and when going back to the parking (by holding your ticket at the check in machines inside the tram).
This GVB ticket is only valid for these 2 journeys. Once you return, the P+R ticket machine checks if your last check-in took place in the city centre zone. This is important as it is the only way to pay the parking tariffs mentioned above.
If your last check-in was outside the city centre, you will have to pay the normal prices for the parking which are from €1,40 to €3,5 per hour.
Finally, you must pay the P+R fee within one hour from your check-out in the public transport.

How much does a P+R GVB cost?

You can purchase a P+R GVB card at the blue ticket machine and you can purchase up to 5 cards for each car.

Price of P+R GVB cards:

1 person: €5

2 persons: €5

3 persons: €5.90

4 persons: €6.80

5 persons: €7.70

The P+R GVB cards can be used for the public transport such as bus, tram and metro. Please be aware that this type of card is valid just for travelling to and from the P+R location (one hour each way) and not for the use in the city centre. Moreover, the P+R GVB cards are not valid on special night buses, on NS trains or on Connexxion; for these services you need to buy a regular transport ticket or if you have the chance to stay with a local, use a chargable OV-chipkaart.

There are more practical P+R Amsterdam alternatives, for example at the RAI via Mobypark.

Extensive information on the P+R Amsterdam can also be found here.

Private parking reservations

Reserve a private parking

For those who don't want to go through the hassle of the complicated P+R process or who simply want to be closer to the city centre, can find the option to reserve a parking spot in a private car park. There is a website called Mobypark that allows you to book a parking spot from companies and individuals in Amsterdam and other cities in the Netherlands and Europe - following the business model of Airbnb. Looking at the website, they have quite a large range of parking locations in the Netherlands with a clear focus on Amsterdam. They also offer parking in other countries such as Belgium, France, and Germany.

Through the website you can see a list of private parking that belong to the hotels and companies but also individuals that are encouraged to rent out their private car parks at times they don't use it - for a few hours or on a daily or monthly base.

You just need to insert the date and the time and book your parking in Amsterdam. You can then get in touch with the owner to arrange where to meet and how to access the parking, or get an instantly bookable parking spot at a company on key locations in Amsterdam. They have spots in Amsterdam's City Centre, Amsterdam Oost, Amsterdam West, Amsterdam Zuid, Amsterdam Noord, and all the populair neighbourhoods.

The prices of this service are cheaper than other parking options you find around the city centre or airport and they have quite a good offer in the city centre, close to the main tourist attractions starting from EUR 20 / day. But the actual added value of the service is that you have a spot guaranteed and you can skip the search for parking upon arrival.

If you have a parking that you would like to rent, you can also do that. It's free!

Coming by boat to Amsterdam

If you have decided to travel by boat, you can do that.

There are different ferries that operate during the day or during the night, leaving from different English harbours and arriving in Amsterdam or Rotterdam.

From Newcastle to IJmuiden

You can use the DFDS Seaways Ferry from Newcastle to IJmuiden, which is located in the outskirts of Amsterdam. This is a good option if you come from Scotland or the North-East of England.

If you decide to take this ferry with your own car and you want to go to Amsterdam, you need to take the A9 towards Amsterdam and follow the sign in direction of the A10 highway (the one that surrounds Amsterdam).

Instead, if you prefer to leave the car in the harbour and use public transport, you also have the possibility to leave the car in the harbour, it is free but not secured. If you prefer paying for having a secure parking spot, there is one in the DFDS Seaways which costs EUR 6 per night.

From Harwich to Hoek van Holland

If you travel from the South of England, you can use the Stena Line Ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland. Stena Line provides the ferry twice a day (there is also a night ferry). Once you arrive at Hoek van Holland, you can drive to Amsterdam in about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

From Hull to Rotterdam

The is another option for travelers coming from Hull to Rotterdam. Using the P&O service, you will arrive 38 km to Rotterdam and in 90 minutes you can reach Amsterdam by car.

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