Practical Information for visiting Netherlands

The Netherlands uses the euro and is in the Schengen area.

The country is very close to cashless, and the practical wrinkle is the opposite of usual: many Dutch businesses accept only debit cards using the local Maestro or V-Pay system and refuse credit cards altogether, including in supermarkets. Carry a debit card as well as a credit card, and some cash as a backup.

Contactless is universal, and a growing number of shops, markets and cafes are card-only and will not take cash at all.

ATMs are widespread, mostly under the shared Geldmaat brand.

Tipping is not expected. Service is included; rounding up or leaving five to ten per cent for good service in a restaurant is appreciated and optional. Public toilets often charge a small fee, so keep coins.

Coverage for mobile networks is excellent, with 5G across the country and 4G everywhere else — the Netherlands is small, flat and densely built, which makes near-total coverage straightforward.

It is in the European Union, so EU roaming rules apply for visitors from member states. Local prepaid SIMs are cheap and sold in supermarkets and phone shops.

Free Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, cafes, on intercity trains and across much of the public realm. Fixed broadband speeds are among the highest in Europe.

Practical note: most museum, transport and event booking is done online and in advance, and the popular Amsterdam museums sell timed tickets that must be bought before you arrive.

The Netherlands is a safe country and serious crime against visitors is rare. The hazards are mostly bicycles and pickpockets.

• Bicycle lanes are the most underestimated danger for visitors. They look like pavement, they are not, and Dutch cyclists travel fast and do not expect pedestrians. Look before stepping off a kerb; being hit is the commonest way a tourist gets hurt here.
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• Pickpocketing around Amsterdam Centraal, on trams, in the Red Light District and at Schiphol.
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• Bike theft is endemic. Use both locks the hire company gives you, and lock the frame to something fixed.
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• Drugs. Cannabis is tolerated in licensed coffeeshops, not legal, and Amsterdam has banned smoking it on the street in parts of the centre. Edibles catch visitors out badly. Hard drugs are illegal and dangerous — the city runs testing services for a reason.
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• Canals. People fall in, especially after drinking. Most Amsterdam canals have no railings.

Dutch healthcare is of a high standard. EU and UK visitors are covered for necessary treatment with a valid EHIC or GHIC; others pay privately and should carry insurance.

The system is built around the general practitioner as gatekeeper, and Dutch doctors are famously conservative about prescribing — visitors expecting antibiotics for a cold will be told to go home and rest, and that is the correct treatment rather than a brush-off. For urgent problems out of hours, the huisartsenpost is the right first call rather than a hospital.

Vaccinations: routine cover is sufficient.

Ticks are present in the Veluwe, the dunes and wooded areas, and Lyme disease occurs. Check after walking in long grass.

Cycling injuries are the most likely reason a visitor sees a doctor. Helmets are almost never worn by locals; that is a cultural norm rather than a safety argument.

Pharmacies are widespread with an out-of-hours rota. Tap water is excellent and among the best in Europe.

Stay out of the bike lanes. This is the single most important thing. They are usually red asphalt, they are not pavement, and standing in one to take a photograph will earn you a bell and a shout.

Carry identification. Dutch law requires everyone over fourteen to carry ID, and it applies to visitors.

Be direct. Say what you mean; hedging and indirect hints are often simply not understood. Equally, do not take Dutch bluntness as rudeness.

Appointments matter. Dropping in unannounced, socially or professionally, is unusual. Diaries are kept and used.

Coffeeshops. Cannabis is tolerated inside licensed premises only; smoking it in the street is banned in parts of central Amsterdam. Do not photograph people in the Red Light District — it is prohibited, enforced, and the reaction is immediate.

Do not walk in the bulb fields. They are a crop, not a park.

Emergency numbers: 112 for police, ambulance and fire, with English-speaking operators. For non-urgent police matters, 0900-8844.

Medical. For anything not life-threatening, contact a huisarts or, out of hours, the local huisartsenpost rather than going straight to a hospital emergency department — the system expects it and you will be seen faster.

Pharmacies (apotheek) post the nearest out-of-hours one on the door.

Water. Storm surge barriers and flood warnings are managed by Rijkswaterstaat, and the system is among the most robust anywhere — but the Wadden Sea mudflats are genuinely dangerous without a guide, as the tide comes in faster than people expect and has killed walkers.

Keep an offline copy of your passport and insurance. Embassies are in The Hague rather than Amsterdam, which surprises visitors who need one in a hurry.