Transport in the Netherlands - can you use a contactless card?

[Quebeccles]

We're off on a trip to various Dutch cities shortly and really looking forward to it. Forward planning throws up a bit of conflicting info about getting around on public transport - we can see there’s a system that’s basically the same as the Oyster card, which is fine (the OV chipkaart), but some sites - eg Lonely Planet - insist it can be hard to top it up with credit as only Dutch bank cards are accepted by the machines.

However, it looks to me from other sites as though they’ve recently introduced the ability to just use a debit card, again as in London, so you don’t need a chipkaart at all - and any Visa or Mastercard should work fine.

Has anyone been recently, or does anyone know the Netherlands transport system and can advise? Thanks

I was in the Netherlands last month and could use a UK credit card at the gate, just like on the Tube. There's also an app (called NS) where you can buy tickets - this works better than just swiping a card at the gate if you have children or teenagers as you can get cheaper tickets if you're travelling off peak.

I used the machines recently and I don’t have a Dutch bank card.

I think I used contactless on my phone.

You need a railcard-type subscription to get discounted travel in off -peak hours! You're very lucky you didn't get caught!

OP, the Dutch national railways are Nederlandse Spoorwegen or NS for short. Their website and app are fully available in English and should tell you all you need to know. The address is www.ns.nl. alternatively, there is www.ov-chipkaart.nl but I've not been able to access that for a few days now.

Enjoy the regular, reliable and affordable public transport, it's soooooo much better than the UK!

The terms and conditions on the app said nothing about this, so if this is the case they need to make it clearer.

We bought a Young Person's Day Ticket Off Peak Hours for our teens, which gave unlimited off peak travel for €7.95. The app also offered an off peak ticket for children and for groups. No mention of needing a Railcard.

You've probably already seen this, but this link (hope it works) details the various options: for public transport (OV): travelling everywhere by Dutch public transport - Holland.com" www.holland.com/global/tourism/getting-around/information/public-transport/ov-chip-card-5.htm Holland.com

9292.nl is excellent for journey planning across all modes of public transport. There's also a 9292 app.

Have a great trip!

We found the 9292 app really useful for travel in the Netherlands.
92929 app

Thanks all, very helpful! @TreesAtSea that Holland.com site is where I saw that you can now (I hope) just use your contactless card to pay for travel, but so many other places still say you need a chip card that I was seriously doubting myself.

Thanks for the 9292 app as well, as that looks very handy for our transfers between cities.

Yes, they seem to be phasing in the use of contactless, but agree that it leaves unanswered questions, especially if it's unclear if the credit/debit card you have will work everywhere... I'm hoping that by my next trip it'll all be more definite 🙂

My UK friends visited us recently and their debit card didn't work on the tram system so its a bit hit and miss. Bear in mind that if your debit card doesn't work on the trams/trains the chances are it might not work in retail outlets or restaurants/cafes.

Recently used the GVB reis app https://www.gvb.nl/en/customer-service/travel-and-plan-gvb-travel-app topped up (U.K. bank card) then used the GvB app’s barcode to scan in and out on trams, buses and metro. Used the trainline app for trains.

My UK friends visited us recently and their debit card didn't work on the tram system so its a bit hit and miss

Hmmm. This is my fear @citybumpkin !