Getting around
Public transport across every operator, trains, student travel, and the weather you will be cycling in.
Operator named · AI-assisted research · Human-reviewedHow we check thisHide
Each service links to its own website and names who runs it, so you can see whether you are dealing with a government body or a company. Research tools, including AI, help us find them, compare them and draft the entry. A person checks and publishes every one. Being listed here is not an endorsement and not advice to buy anything.
OVpay, OV-pas and OV-chipkaart
Public service · Translink · Free · Has an app
How Dutch public-transport payment is moving from the OV-chipkaart to OVpay. Use a contactless payment card or the OV-pas for ordinary travel, and check current migration guidance before moving a subscription or travel product.
The transition is not complete for every subscription or travel product. Check the current OVpay switch guidance or the provider before replacing the card a product is on.
www.ovpay.nl/en/hoe-het-werkt9292
Commercial service · REISinformatiegroep B.V. · Free · Has an app
Plans a door-to-door journey across every Dutch train, bus, tram and metro operator at once, which no single operator's own app does. It also has pages for international travellers and for people with a disability.
9292.nl/enNS
Public service · Nederlandse Spoorwegen · Free · Has an app
The national rail operator. Train times, tickets, season tickets and disruptions, plus the OV-fiets hire bikes kept at most stations.
Covers NS trains. For buses, trams, the metro and other rail operators, 9292 plans across all of them at once.
www.ns.nl/enDUO student travel product
Official · DUO · Free · Account needed
Whether your studies come with free or discounted travel, how to start it and, just as important, how to stop it.
Eligibility depends on your study and residence status, and keeping the product after you stop qualifying can create a debt. Check DUO rather than assuming.
Studentsduo.nl/particulier/student-travel-productBuienradar
Commercial service · RTL Nederland · Free · Has an app
Rain radar for the next few hours. In a country where most short trips are by bike, this is a daily decision rather than a curiosity.
The site and apps are in Dutch, though the radar map itself needs little reading.
www.buienradar.nl
Guides these help with
How to settle in after arriving as an international student in NL
Arrival is the start of a system, not a single moment. Sort the student-specific parts from the ones every newcomer faces: municipal registration, a BSN, DigiD, insurance and banking, and know which questions belong to your university.
How to plan your first 90 days in NL
Plan your first 90 days in the Netherlands: registration, BSN, DigiD, health insurance and banking, with the deadlines and order that actually apply.
How to use public transport in NL
Plan journeys, choose between OVpay, OV-pas and an existing OV-chipkaart, check in and out correctly, change operators, compare subscriptions and fix a missed check-out.
Suggest an updateSpot something outdated, missing or incorrect?
Pick what it is. Your own email app opens with this page's details already filled in, so you do not have to explain which page you mean. Nothing is sent until you send it.
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