Netherlands Travel Guide

All non-EEA/Swiss travellers must register their residence within 5 business days of entering the Netherlands with the Aliens' Police (Vreemdelingenpolitie) or the municipality responsible for your place of residence. Hotels normally will handle the registration formalities for their guests.

Banknotes of €100 and especially €200 and €500 are very rarely used, and some merchants will not accept them due to concerns over financial crime. Typically, establishments will have a sticker or A4-sized poster near the entrance or cash register indicating which banknotes aren't accepted. Almost all ATMs will only dispense denominations of up to €50.

The Netherlands is served by an extensive public transport network, making this a good way to get around and discover the main sights. Motorists can rely on an extensive system of (Auto)snelwegen (Highways/motorways) and Autowegen (semi-highways). Of course the Netherlands is known as one of the most bicycle-friendly countries in the world. A truly extensive bicycle infrastructure makes cycling an excellent way to get around.

The national language in the Netherlands is Dutch (Nederlands). It's a charming, lilting language punctuated by phlegm-trembling glottal gs (not in the south) and schs (also found, for example, in Arabic). Dutch, especially in written form, is partially intelligible to someone who knows other Germanic languages (especially German and Afrikaans), and you might be able to get by at least partially in these languages if spoken slowly.

The Netherlands is generally considered a safe country. However, be alert in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and other large cities that are plagued by pickpockets and bicycle theft; violent crimes are rare. In the larger cities, certain outlying suburbs are considered unsafe at night.

The Netherlands has some of the best tap water in the world. It is even considered to be of similar or better quality than bottled natural mineral or spring water due to high standards that are strictly enforced and are even more strict than the already high food standards. Due to the high quality of both the water production and the distribution network, there is no need to add chlorine. At the majority of the train stations and even in some natural reserves, there is a water tap point, where the water is also of very good quality. Food (either bought in a supermarket or eaten at a restaurant…

The country code for the Netherlands is 31. The outbound international prefix is 00 (e.g. to call the US, substitute 00 1 for +1 and for the UK 00 44 for +44.) The cellular phone networks in the Netherlands are operated by KPN, VodafoneZiggo and Odido; other operators use one of these 3 networks. All providers offer 4G coverage in almost every corner of the Netherlands, and 5G is at almost the same level. Note that 3G networks have been turned off, and 2G is only available at KPN and VodafoneZig…

The Dutch have a reputation of being among most informal and easy-going people in Europe, and there are few strict social taboos to speak of. It's unlikely that Dutch people will be offended simply by your behaviour or appearance. Similar to their German neighbours, Dutch people value honesty, being straightforward, and not beating around the bush. Visitors from the Anglosphere are often taken aback by the directness of Dutch people in conversations, but rarely do they intend to offend. Nevertheless, the standards for overt rudeness and hostility are similar to those in other western European…