There are over 400 train stations in the Netherlands thats quite a lot for a small country. The main train operator (NS) operate about 381 of these. You can see a nice overview of these here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_stations_in_the_Netherlands . Typically you will find the same shops at the stations. In particular the main stations ( Utrecht Central , Amsterdam Central , Rotterdam Central , The Hague Central , Schiphol Airport , Eindhoven , Leiden Centraal and   's-Hertogenbosch ) will have the most of these shops/facilities: Bruna sells books, newspapers, magazines, stationery and greeting cards. AKO which stands for Amsterdamsche Kiosk Onderneming is a chain of over 100 bookstores and news stands in the Netherlands. Kiosk Located at most stations. In smaller stations the Kiosk also sells the train tickets. They sell drinks cold and warm and snacks.  DeBROODZAK  sandwiches/bakery/coffee  SMULLERS Fast food - perfect for chips and

Zandvoort a beach town on the north coast of Holland may not be on your day trip/weekend away radar. It is not the prettiest town with its mish mash of hostels, holiday rentals, a giant casino , 1970's high rise flat complexes and take out shops', however there are many advantages to heading to Zandvoort for your weekend and today as I sit looking out over the perfect golden beach with the calm waters lapping the shore from a very cheap holiday rental overlooking the coast I am going to tell you why you must have a day trip to Zandvort. 1. Beach town dedicated to tourism. Everything you need for your holiday by the sea can be found in Zandvoort. Cheap accommodation nearly every house in the suburbs is a holiday rental or has a room to rent, hundreds of places to eat. Plenty of beach cafes and wine bars which offer a cuppa coffee by the sea in the morning and tapas and wine by night!  What better way to start the day then a walk by the beach (off season it is pretty quiet on t

So far I have talked a lot about the major train operator in Holland NS- the Dutch Railways however there are other train operators out there that you may wish to travel with these include: Arriva Netherlands   Breng   Syntus  Veolia Transport   Connexxion   NS International   DB Regio   NMBS/SNCB The Arriva trains operate northern secondary lines, the eastern lines and a central line. You can use the OV chip card on these trains. Loose tickets and webtickets can also be purchased if you dont have a travel card   Breng services the easterly part of the country, you can use your OV chipcard or buy tickets from the machine at the station/platform or online from NS(https://www.ns.nl/producten). Syntus - one eastern secondary line Veolia Transport - southern secondary lines . Connexxion - two secondary lines NS International in international trains, and domestic high speed service Intercity Direct A few Dutch railway stations are serviced, even for journeys within

My recommendation is always to travel light, but if you find your self laden down with luggage then there are a few ways to store your gear while you get out to explore.  The first and most convenient are the luggage lockers (bagagekluizen in Dutch) at the train station. These are at all the large train stations (Utrecht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, etc.). Signage tends to be in English at the bigger stations or you can follow the pictogram. To check in advance if a station has a locker check the NS website here.  Luggage lockers are easy to use and are apparently secure. I say apparently because if anyone tries to break into them they do emit a very loud siren. How do I know this - well one day while trying to force my stuck locker open I managed to set it off - although many onlookers gave me the evil eye and it was quiet embarrassing- no security came and I had to jimmy the door open to retrieve my bag. So ‘secure’ but I guess nothing is 100% secure. Although the prices

The OV-Chipcard sound easy but there are certain times you may ask yourself the following questions:  What if I have to change trains on my journey? As long as you are traveling with one transport company then this is not a problem. For example: If you are travelling from Amsterdam to The Hague (Den Haag) you may have to change trains in Leiden. For a journey like this you simply check in at Amsterdam. When you arrive in Leiden simply change trains and only when you reach your destination station (The Hague) do you check out. It is the same even if you have 3 or 4 changeovers. As long as you are travelling with all NS trains you check in at your start destination and check out at your last destination What if I change transport type/company during my journey? Remember that the OV-chipcard is a public transport card. There are many other companies besides the NS train company who participate in this transport card. In fact there are 19 public transport companies operating th

The Step by Step guide: How to Use your OVChipcard You will hear a lot about ‘checking in or ‘Inchecken ’ or checking out 'uitchecken ' when travelling by bus, metro or train in the Netherlands.  But what is checking in? Here is your step by step guide:  1. Scour the station for a card reader. There are usually two types of reader a free standing reader or a card reader attached to the barrier gates at the train station.   2. Locate your chipcard. If you are like me and you have lost your OV-chipcard 6 times between entering the station and finding the card reader then please don’t stand in front of the card reader while searching your bag/wallet/pockets/socks. This is akin to standing at the top/bottom of escalator while checking your phone and almost as bad as not standing on the left side of the London Underground escalator.   3.  Hold your chipcard to the reader. You will hear two beeps.  4. Have a look at the screen it will say

Traveling with a pet When travelling with your pet you do need to purchase an extra ticket. The prices are typically €3.20 and you can purchase this ticket direct from the ticket machines at the station (as you can see from the images), online , or from a ticket office. You need one ticket per dog/pet. Small pets (that fit on your lap) can travel for free as can Guide Dogs. On this page you can read more about pets on other public transport around the Netherlands Traveling with a Bike  CORONA UPDATE-CURRENTLY THESE TICKETS NOT FOR SALE DUE TO CORONA  On some trains, there is a special compartment for bikes. So be sure to board the train on the carriage where you see the bike symbol. If you have a folding bike you do NOT need an extra ticket - however, you HAVE to fold the bike. Beware you will be fined if you do not fold your bike!  The bike ticket costs €6.00. This ticket price may seem steep but it is valid all day. You can also conside

Even with the modernisation of many train stations  and the increase in  eticket sales   over the last few years, you will be happy to hear that it is still possible to buy regular point to point tickets for your train trip at the train station service desk. Just find the OV Service and Ticket Shop  and ask the staff for help.  If you are at a small station then look for the 7/11 style store called the 'Kiosk' with Tickets & Service sign and you can get information and your ticket.       The single use tickets are printed as single use OV cards (OV- Openbaar Vervoer is the Dutch for public transport). These cards have a chip and antenna inside the card and allows you to check in and out at the barrier gates or at the free standing check in card readers when entering or leaving a station. Just tell the member of staff where you want to go and they will print the OV card. The date (as well as the route) will be printed on the card. To validate this ticket you need to ‘che

A hassle-free way to get your disposable or your anonymous OV-Chipcard is by using the yellow ticket machines at the station. These are great for avoiding the queues at the ticket desk. There are two types of NS ticket machine.                         The yellow ticket machine is for loading credit/products onto your existing OV card. So use this if you already have the OV Chipcard). The blue ticket machine can also be used with the OV chip card but can also be used for purchasing single 'point to point' cards. The best thing about these is that you can use them in English. They are touch screen so you simply begin by touching the British flag for English.   If you don’t have an OV card you simply use the blue ticket machine. Start by clicking the ‘don’t have a chip card' icon. Follow the online instructions. Choose your departure and arrival destination, class (first or second) and make your payment. You can pay with cash, debit card Visa, Masterc