Amsterdam's Schiphol International Airport, located 15km (9 miles) southwest of Amsterdam, is considered to be one of the finest in Europe in terms of both its facilities and efficiency. The airport serves over 90 airlines flying to over 220 destinations. Airport facilities include bureaux de change, currency exchange machines, restaurants, duty-free shops, left luggage, tour operators, hotel reservations, car hire and prayer rooms. The airport also has a business and press centre.

KLM (the Netherlands' national airline) operates a shuttle bus service to various hotels in the city centre. The shuttle departs every 30 minutes and has a journey time of around 30 minutes. Trains run between the airport and Amsterdam Centraal Station, departing every 15 minutes between 06.00 and 00.00 (journey time around 20 minutes) and every hour throughout the night. Buy rail tickets from the NS counters in the main hall. Taxis are available outside the arrivals hall. The journey time to the city is approximately 30 minutes (depending on which part of the city you are going to). Prices start from €25. Schiphol lies on the E19, from where it is an easy 18km (11 miles) ride into Central Amsterdam, but parking is very restricted in the inner city.

There is reasonable access for people with disabilities at Schiphol Airport. A wheelchair can be loaned from next to the train station exits (they are easy to identify, as they are bright yellow). There are lifts and accessible toilet facilities throughout the building.

The Netherlands Railways (NS) runs an efficient and reliable network that covers destinations throughout Holland and the rest of Europe. Most national routes have departures at least every half hour, while busy stretches often have as many as four to six departures per hour. A direct express train connects Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and the main cities in Holland and some cities in Belgium. Even at night, a train runs every hour between Utrecht, Amsterdam, Schiphol, The Hague and Rotterdam. There are three classes of trains in Holland: the Intercity (which offers a fast connection to the main cities) the Sneltrein and the Stoptrein (which makes more frequent stops at the smaller stations). THALYS high-speed services connect Amsterdam with Brussels and Paris, but seats are more expensive than Intercity trains and have to be booked in advance. Journey time to Brussels is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes and to Paris around 4 hours.

Central Station is located in Amsterdam city centre. Trams, buses and taxi's are available in the area immediately outside the main building. If you want to avoid the long queues at Amsterdam Centraal Station, buy international train tickets at the desks at either Amstel station or Schiphol Airport. Train journeys, (including details of which platform the train departs from), are available on www.ns.nl There is an English language web page on this site.

International Trains

Eurostar also run trains to London Waterloo from Amsterdam, changing at Brussels. The fare is about €100 but including the change in Belgium, the trip takes between 7-8 hours. However, an overnight stay is allowed in Belgium for no extra cost and you can stop at any station en route through Holland, so this could offer an interesting, inexpensive trip through the low countries. You have to telephone Eurostar to book your seat, as prices to and from Amsterdam are not listed on their website.

Tel 08705 186 186 from the UK

0044870186186 from abroad

Or book at international train station counters in the Netherlands

Tel 0900 9292 (€0.50 p/m) National train enquiries 09009296 (€0.25 p/m)

International train enquiries

For help with wheelchair access, contact the Nederlandse Spoorwegen Bureau Assistentieverlening Gehandicapten (Railway Assistance for people with a Disability). Open weekdays between 8-16, 030 230 5566

Amsterdam's three metro lines all start at Centraal Station and serve the suburbs. The trains run from Monday to Friday between 06.00 and 00.00 (Saturday from 06.30 and Sunday from 07.30). There are working lifts in most stations and escalators. Trains run very frequently and bicycles can be carried on the metro, but for the bicycle you need to buy a 'Reductie strippenkaart' (pink one) and stamp the same number of zones as you are travelling. One carriage on each train is reserved for bicycles, but usually only two can be transported on any journey. Otherwise, buy a blue strippenkaart and stamp the correct number of zones. (Buy pink cards for children). A zone map with destinations can be found near the ticket machines.

A new line is planned from Amsterdam Zuid, WTC connecting with Amsterdam Noord in 2004.

Trams operate Monday to Friday between 06.00 and 24.00 (Saturday from 06.30 and Sunday from 07.30). Most trams leave from Centraal Station. Circle tram 20 runs past almost all the main tourist attractions and many of the major hotels, but runs in two directions so be careful to check the route before getting on. It departs from Central Station and runs roughly every ten minutes from 09.00 to 19.00.

The trams, (older ones are difficult to use with pushchairs, wheelchairs etc) are bright yellow and the new blue ones offer a smoother ride and have well-designed low flooring, on routes 10 and 1 mainly. Trams serve the city centre and suburbs and you have to alert the driver that you want to get off by pressing a button. Passengers also need to press a button to exit and the bottom step operates the doors. If you are helping someone or need to keep the doors open, keep your weight on this step. (On the new trams, an infra-red beam does the same thing).

Bus

The outlying areas of the city are served by 37 bus lines, which run from 06.00 to 23.30. Night buses (numbers 71 to 79) run after the other services have stopped.

Eurolines offers very cheap coach services to major cities throughout Europe, including London, Paris, Brussels and Frankfurt. There are discounts for advance booking and reduced price youth and student fares. Offices are located at Rokin 10, and the coach station, Amstelstation, Julianaplein 5.

National Information Lines

Bus, Train, tram 0900 9292 (€0.50) p/m)

www.9292ov.nl

Mini Bus

De Opstapper, a smaller, nifty bus that goes down Prinsengracht and through the smaller canal routes is very useful if you have had enough walking for one day. There are no designated stops, so you need to hail the driver but this means you can get on and off whenever you like. There are sometimes obstacles en route (unloading of delivery vans) so the De Opstapper bus merely takes a detour to avoid these.

The 16 seater bus runs every ten minutes Monday to Saturday from 7.30 to 18.30 down Prinsengracht, between Centraal Station and the Stadhuis (City Hall)/ Muziektheater.

Public transport tickets such as strippenkaarts are valid on this route: stamp 'one zone'. Look out for the white vehicle, with red and black lettering on the side saying 'De Opstapper'.

www.naaramsterdam.nl has further information about public transport and maps, but is mainly in Dutch.

Visitors wanting to spend all day on public transport are advised to buy a day pass (dagkaart). However, it is probably cheaper and more useful to buy a 'Strippenkaart' for single journeys. Once stamped, a ticket is valid for an hour, or more if you stamp additional zones. The 'strippenkaart' is also valid throughout the country for travel on buses, trams and metro/underground trains, which is incredibly useful when travelling from one town to another. To travel one zone you have to stamp two 'strippen'. More than one person can use the same strippenkaart, too, but buy a cheaper €3.70 pink one for children. You pay an extra 'strip' for each subsequent zone. Strippenkaarten costing €5.90 are available at railway stations, tourist offices, supermarkets such as Albert Hein, some newsagents and large hotels. You can also buy single tickets on the tram or bus, but this costs a lot more.

Taxis can be ordered by phone or picked up at a taxi rank. (Ranks at Leidseplein and Centraal Station). They are not meant to be hailed in the street, but this often happens if drivers have no fare. They are not cheap, but most drivers are courteous. Taxis can easily identified, with their blue license plates with black letters and figures. A meter indicates the fare, unless you have ordered a 'trein taxi' to or from one of the provincial railway stations. You pay for these taxis with a special ticket bought from the train station. The fixed amount per person, for each ride is €3.50 so for a lone passenger, this is quite reasonable. However, these are not available in central Amsterdam, but tickets can be bought in advance and used up to a year later.

To order a train taxi tel 023 532 3132

There is also a new 'Green taxi service' in Utrecht, serviced by cars that run on electricity and clean energy.

www.greencab.nl (With English language web page)

tel 0900 473 3622

Amsterdam Centrale taxi service

Tel 020 677 7777

Amstelveen 020 645 0200

Schiphol Airport 020 653 1000

The Dutch road system is easily accessible and extremely well maintained. The green 'E' indicates international motorways, the red 'A' national motorways and the letter 'N' mark smaller roads. Speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 80kph (50mph) on major roads and 50kph (30mph) in towns.

The A10 is the Amsterdam ring road. The main route out of Amsterdam, heading south towards Brussels, is the A2. The A2 also connects to Utrecht, from there the A12/E35 travels to Düsseldorf. Driving times to Amsterdam from Brussels is 2 hours and 30 minutes and from Frankfurt 6 hours and 30 minutes.

Parking spots in the city are very limited and expensive. Parking regulations are quite strict and there are tough measures for violating parking laws. Motorists also need to watch out for cyclists and the special cycle lanes. Gas/petrol stations are situated along the highways at approximately every 60 kilometres. Fuel prices differ from station to station. The exact price is shown on a notice board outside.

Car Hire

Avis Car Rental Nassaukade 380, tel 020 683 6061

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Arrival Hall, tel 020 655 6050

Budget Rent a Car Overtoom 121 tel 020 612 6066

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Arrival Hall tel 020 604 1349

Amcar minibuses, cars etc. Jacob Obrechtplein 13-15 020 662 4214

The ANWB (Equivalent to the AA, (UK) or AAA (US) ) is an organisation which offers emergency roadside assistance in the Netherlands. You can call them by pushing a button on one of the yellow roadside emergency call boxes positioned every kilometre along the roadside.

Emergency Roadside Assistance 0800 08 88

Traffic Information 0900 96 22 (€0.35 p/m)

ANWB have their offices and a large, well stocked shop at Museumplein in Amsterdam, where you can also find maps, English copies of the Dutch Highway Code and information about driving in Europe.

Amsterdam is a busy port city and one of the most important cruise ship harbours in Europe. The main cruise hub is based at the new passenger terminal at Oostelijke Handelskade, on the edge of the city centre. Trains and buses connect this new terminal with Amsterdam city centre. The main ferry terminal for cross-channel ferries is situated further south, at Hoek van Holland. The terminal at Hoek van Holland has a restaurant but no banking or exchange facilities. Hoek van Holland is connected by an express rail link with Amsterdam Central Station. A free ferry service (departing behind Central Station) provides cyclists and pedestrians with connections to Amsterdam Noord and the KNSM Island. Ferries are frequent and operate between 06.15-21.00, with a limited service on Saturday. Some services do not operate on Sunday. Timetables are displayed on the quay behind Centraal Station.

There is also a rowing lake in Amsterdamse Bos, the wooded recreation area south of the city.

You can hire almost anything that floats from single seater rowing scurries to restored, elegant Edwardian boats.

Canal Motorboats have electric boats for hire, tel 020 427 9300 Kloveniersburgwal, opposite number 141.

Canal Bike Pedal Boats(Not the most luxurious, but fun if you have strong legs).

Moorings at Anne Frank House, Leidseplein, Rijksmuseum and Keizersgracht.020 626 5574

Hilda SalonbootFor larger, party sized boats.Recht Boomsslot 44H, tel 020 624 5556

A €1 ferry ride across the Nieuwe Meer, south of the city can be very pleasant on summer afternoons. Board next to the Pancake House. Cycles welcome on board.(No service in Winter).

Henk John, based in the pretty village of Holysloot, have rowing boats, canoes and motor boats for hire from April to the end of September. For an idyllic afternoon, you can take a picnic and row along quiet dykes, past windmills and neat farms. You may meet a lone windsurfer on the lake, but otherwise the Waterland nature reserve north of the city is surprisingly deserted.

Henk John Boatyard, Dorpstraat, Holysloot 8atel 020 490 4612 (much cheaper than hiring a boat on the crowded city canals, too).

This is probably the best way to see the city, as car parking is very expensive and restricted in the city centre. Make sure you hire a bike with hand brakes, as many Dutch 'Oma Fiets' (Grandma Bikes) have no brakes, but rely on back-pedalling to stop.

Macbikes have two rental offices (and repair shops) at Waterlooplein (actually under the roundabout at Mr Visserplein, round the corner) and on Weteringschans.

Macbike Mr Visserplein 2, tel 020 6208391Macbike Weteringschans 2 tel 528 7688 (near Leidesplein) www.macbike.nl

Bike City in the Jordaan are also cheap and friendly, and very accustomed to renting bikes to visitors. (Unlike Macbike, their hire bikes don't have a conspicuous business logo attached to the front of the bike. Closed in January)Bike City Bloemgracht 68-70 020 626 3721

You could also try the local bike rental shop near to your hotel, as this may be easier than trekking into town to hire a bicycle.

If you are staying more than a week, it is worth buying a second hand bike and then selling it on after your trip.

Zijwind Fietsen in De Pijp have a good selection of second hand bikes for sale. Ferdinand Bolstraat 168, Tel 020 673 7026

There a few things to remember.

1. Dutch driving laws insist that you give way to traffic coming from the right. Many Dutch drivers (this includes cyclists and mopeds) seem to take advantage of this rule, and set off from the pavement without checking whether you are already cycling along. So, be alert to traffic from the right.

2. Stop at traffic lights, even if the anarchic Dutch don't seem to. They are more familiar with their route through the city and more used to being fined by the police for ignoring the highway code.

However, most cars are aware of cyclists and give way at traffic lights. They do drive dangerously close to the novice, wobbling cyclist, however, so make sure you hire a bike which isn't too large for you to ensure you remain reasonably stable and upright.

Double lock your bike at all times (not with a thin, easily cut lock). Many tourists near railway terminals and Waterlooplein have returned to their trusty steed only to find a front wheel and lock attached to the bike rack.