Regions/Europe/TravelInfomation

Amsterdam can be reached by plane through Schiphol Airport, with connections to all main airports in the world. There are very frequent and direct train connections from the airport to:

• “Amsterdam Zuid” railway station, the railway station to reach VU University. Travel duration is 7 min.
• “Amsterdam Centraal Station”, the railway station to reach the city centre. Travel duration is approximately 15-20 min.

Train tickets can be bought at Schiphol airport from the yellow ticket machines near the platforms at Schiphol Plaza. Tickets are also available from the ticket offices, which are situated close to the red/white-checked cube at Schiphol Plaza. Staff at the ticket offices will also be able to provide you with train departure information. From these railway stations it should not be too difficult to get to your hotel by tram, metro or bus.

You can plan your trip in advance on the website of the public transport company in Amsterdam (GVB) , or on the journeyplanner website 9292. For only train travel,use ns.nl

Be careful when going by taxi to and from Schiphol. Some drivers do not like to make short trips. Our experience with taxis from Connexxion is generally positive. This company also runs a hotel shuttle service.

Amsterdam Central Station has intercity and high speed connections to mainland European cities and to London. Schedule information and booking via nshighspeed.nl.

By far the best option to reach Amsterdam by car is to use “Park & Ride” facilities, i.e. drive to a secured parking site in the outskirts of Amsterdam and travel by public transport to your hotel or campus.

Watch out: Except for parking at the [P+R] facilities, parking anywhere else in Amsterdam is surprisingly expensive! And parking violations have extremely annoying and expensive consequences: fines are high and your car may be towed away, costing additionally EUR 150.-.

Students can get around Amsterdam by public transport, or by using a rented bike. Public transport and bikes are the main and quickest means of transport in Amsterdam.

Public Transport

Public transport in Amsterdam is run by the GVB, the public transport company in Amsterdam. Several types of tickets are available. For example, a ticket valid for 2 days, giving unlimited access to public transport (tram, metro and bus) in Amsterdam, costs EUR 11.50 (March 2011). Information is available on the website of the GVB.

Getting to the VU University (on google maps):

• by train: "Amsterdam Zuid" railway station. From here it is a 10 min. walk to the VU University campus. Alternatively, a metro connection between “Amsterdam Zuid” railway station and the campus can be used: line 51, get off at stop “De Boelelaan/VU”.
• metro: line 51, get off at stop “De Boelelaan/VU”
• tram: line 5, get off at stop “De Boelelaan/VU”

Bikes

Your hotel should be able to give you information about the nearest bike-rental shops.

Travel directions, as well as other tourist information about Amsterdam in general, can be found on wikitravel.