Travel

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one of the first place that Au pair try to visit when they reach Netherlands.

Amsterdam was a fishing village a thousand years ago. There was lot of flooding. In the 11th century the king of Utrecht constructed a Dam across Amstel river to prevent flooding. With Amstel + Dam = Amsterdam, the place came to be knows as Amsterdam.

The 17th century was the golden era of Netherlands. The port of Amsterdam bought lot of trade and prosperity to the city. The beautiful canals were constructed during this period

Most places can be visited by walking.  Here is a walking route

Walking route: You can use google maps to follow this route. It takes about 3-4 hours.

Step 1: Walk from Amsterdam central train station to Dam Square.  In Dam square you can see the Kings Palace(free witn Museumcard), Madam Tussads Museum and National Monument.

Step 2: Walk to Beginhof: Its a monastery from the past. It was a compound where Nuns lived in the past.

Step 3: Walk to Flower Market. Lot of flower shops

Step 4: Walk to RembrandtPlein: This is a popular square named after Rembrandt. Lot of cafes.

Step 5: If not tired walk to Magerebrug(skinny bridge). You can have a very good view of Amstel river.

Step 6: Walk back to Amsterdam central station. Follow a different route with google maps 

Apart from that there are other places to visit

Vondel Park - Its the most popular park in Amsterdam

Museumplein - Its a popular square with many museums including Van goch museum, Rijks Museum etc. There is tram to Museumplein.

This is Holland - Its a 5D travel experience. From train station its possible to come here with free ferry.

Leidseplein - It is the most popular place for night life and party. RembrandtPlein also has good night life.

Red light district - Popular touristic destination in the evening. Close to train station.

Anne Frank House - The house that Anne Frank lived is now a popular museum. Free with Museum card.

Rembrandt House - The house where Rembrandt lived and taught his students is a now a museum. Free with Museum card.

Canal trip - The canal boat trip last one hour and cost around 15 euros. You can see Amsterdam from another angle.

Den Haag

Many beautiful places like Mauritshuis, Binnenhof, Madurodam, De Haagse Markt.

Scheveningen Beach: From Den Haag central its possible to take a tram to Scheveningen beach. Its the biggest and the most popular beach in Netherlands.

Utrecht

Beside the train station is a big shopping mall Hoog Catharijne.  Vibrant city centre. There is a huge Dom Tower. Railway museum is also nice.

De Haar Castle- This is the most beautiful castle in Netherlands. It is not in the city but there is train station nearby. Free with museum card. 

Rotterdam: Rotterdam is considered a modern city. The city centre of Rotterdam was destroyed in the second world war. So now the city has mostly modern buildings. 

The popular attractions include Cube Houses, Markthal, Erasmus bridge.

Zaanse schans 

It is a windmill place in Zaandam. It can be reached in 30 minutes by bus or train from Amsterdam. In the past there were more than thousand windmills here. Now you can still visit few working windmills. Its possible to go inside some windmills for 5 euros. The city center of Zaandam is also worth visiting.

Volendam 

Its a popular touristic fishing village. Its 30 minutes by bus from Amsterdam.

Giethoorn

Its also called as the "Venice of the Netherlands. Its know for the beautiful canals. 

Keukenhof - Its a must see for Au pairs. Its the biggest Tulip garden in the world.  Its open in end of March to April every year. For 2023 its open from March 23 to May 14. Entrance fee is 19 euros and including Bus ticket it is 31 euros. There is direct bus from Schiphol airport, Amsterdam RAI, Haarlem and Leiden. Reach their by 9 AM or early to avoid crowd. Tickets can be bought here - Keukenhoef 

Leiden - Its a beautiful place to visit.

Gouda - Its a popular place for cheese museums.

Outside Netherlands

With Au pair visa its possible to travel in the Schengen countries. For UK a visa maybe required depending on nationality.

Antwerpen - Its a small city in the border of Belgium. There is train and Flix bus to go there.

Brussels- Capital city of Belgium. Very beautiful city center. There is train and Flix bus to go there.

Luxembourg - Its a very beautiful city. Its possible to travel from Brussels to there. Also its possible to go to Luxembourg with blabla car. Its a 4 hours drive from Netherlands through the Maastricht route.

Paris - Everyone knows it. There is Flixbus and Blabla bus to go there. It around 7-8 hours by bus from major Dutch cities.

Dusseldorf & Cologne - Nice place to visit especially during Christmas.

Berlin: Its possible to go by Flixbus. Takes around 8 hours.

London: Their is train from Amsterdam to London. If you book in advance its possible to get cheaper ticket.

Zurich - Now there is night trains from Amsterdam to Zurich. Its 11 hour travel with train. The ticket with sleeping option is expensive. But there is less expensive normal tickets. 

Tour Company

Slangen Reizen is a good bus tour company with economic ticket prices. 

Pm2Am Student trip is a German tour company. But has pickup points in Amsterdam and Utrecht for many of their trips.

FAQ

1. Is it possible to get discount for the train travel from Netherlands to Belgium or Germany with NS discount card subscription?

You could get discount on the route when the train is travelling in the Netherlands. In Nsinternational.com website there is an option for this

If your NS subscription has full discount choose "Free on NS route". If it has 40% discount choose "Discount on NS route". They will charge for the route outside Netherlands. A normal train ticket from Amsterdam to Antwerpen cost 41 Euros. With "Free on NS route" option its possible to get that ticket for 11 euros. Also remember that if you book tickets early the price will be lower.

Alternative option: The trains in Belgium gives youth ticket for 7.10 euros if your age is below 26. Its valid for a single trip to any destination. To do this you need to take a ticket from Netherlands train station to Noorderkampen station(Its a first Belgium train station in the route). From their you can buy a youth train ticket to the destination in Belgium. 

2. Is it possible to travel to Aachen, Germany for free with the NS discount card subscription?

Some Au pairs have confirmed that its possible. Also mentioned in the NS website its possible with 100% discount card.