Netherlands Travel Maps and Essential Resources
Map of the Netherlands and Visiting Information
You are Here > Home > Europe Map > Netherlands Map and Travel ResourcesNetherlands - travel map and resources on this site
Holland is known for its windmills. In fact, the tallest windmills in the world are near Rotterdam. But the Netherlands are much more, from the Cosmopolitan capital of Amsterdam, to the charm of Noord Holland, you'll find lots to do here.
The Netherlands - Map of Holland - Cities and Rail Lines |
 |
Map of Netherlands© James Martin, licensed to About |
Netherlands Travel Resources
Netherlands Travel Information Directory
Accommodations in the Netherlands
The Netherlands has a wide range of accommodations. There are usually hotels near train stations, many budget, a few seedy. You may inspect a hotel before committing to it. There are many hostels in larger cities like Amsterdam. Sites like Venere offer user-rated hotels in the Netherlands (book hotels direct).
The hotels in the Netherlands are rated by a government system that does not take into account the "charm" of a place. To understand this system, read Hotels and their Star Ratings--What do they Mean?
Language in the Netherlands
The language spoken in the Netherlands is Dutch (or Netherlandic). it is spoken in the Netherlands, the flanders region of Belgium, Suriname (South America) and the Netherlands Antilles. English is taught in school and is widely spoken.
If you would like to learn a few words of Dutch, there are online resources enabling you to do so. One of them is Dutch 101, which will allow you to pick up a basic reading comprehension of Dutch. If you're interested in speaking the language with a greater level of fluency (and are willing to spend the time to do so), try SpeakDutch.
Train Transportation in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is served by an extensive rail system as you can see in the map above. There is fast train service from Schiphol airport to central Amsterdam.
There are three classes of trains in Holland: the Intercity,which offers fast city-to-city connections, the Sneltrein, and lastly, the Stoptrein which makes more frequent stops at the smaller stations. Most stations are centrally located. The longest train trip within the Netherlands is approximately three hours.
Travelers tell us that the wait in line to buy tickets at Amsterdam's Centraal Station can get quite long. You may want to plan your trip and buy all your train tickets at once.
Through the official Dutch Railways site (look at the top of the page for the English link), you can get information or order tickets.
Netherlands Rail Passes (Buy Direct): A rail pass to the Netherlands is available as a single country rail pass. Since the Netherlands is small, you'll probably want to combine countries. A Benelux Tourrail Pass is good for five days unlimited rail travel throughout Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands within a one month period. Two adults traveling together get a discount. A Benelux France Pass is a good deal if you're seeing France as well.
Climate in the Netherlands
The Netherlands enjoys a moderate climate due to its flatness and proximity to the sea. It rains frequently in the summer (10-12 days per month). For an overview of historic temperatures and rainfall throughout the year, as well as current weather information for some of the Netherlands most popular destinations see Netherlands Travel Weather.
Netherlands Food
Dinner is the main meal of the day in the Netherlands, taken around 6 or 7 o'clock in the evening. The Dutch often eat a cold lunch and a quick breakfast, but breakfast buffets in hotels can be quite filling.
The Holland Ring has a good page describing Dutch Food and Eating Habits.
There are very good Indonesian restaurants in the Netherlands.
There are many snack bars in Holland where you can get a cheap meal. Haring (herring) are available in portable stands, in sandwiches or just by themselves. You pick up the fish and let it slide into your mouth gradually. Yum.
Service charges are included in hotel, restaurant, shopping bills and taxi fares. Tips for extra service are always appreciated but not necessary. It is customary to tip taxi drivers about 10%.
Money in the Netherlands
The currency in The Netherlands is the Euro. At the time the Euro was adopted, its value was set at 2.20371 Dutch guilders. [more on the Euro]
