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Amsterdam City Passes

What’s an Amsterdam City Pass?

Amsterdam city passes are sightseeing passes for the Dutch capital. With just one ticket, you get free admission to many top attractions, canal cruises and city tours or Hop-on Hop-off buses. Some city passes also include a public transport ticket. A city pass is also a discount card that you can use in restaurants, shops and some attractions.

Most Amsterdam city passes are limited in time. They are activated the first time you use them and they are valid for up to five days afterwards. The longer a city pass is valid, the more expensive it is. However, with a city pass that is valid for several days, you get the chance to visit a lot of top attractions in Amsterdam.

The price of a city pass depends largely on its duration, but also on the attractions included. The cheapest Amsterdam city pass costs about €50, but there is little you can do with it. The most expensive pass costs €145, but you can visit the city’s top attractions for up to five days.

You can buy some Amsterdam city passes in Amsterdam’s visitor centres, but all of them are available online. When you buy your city pass on the Internet, you either receive the pass digitally on your phone or you can use a voucher to pick up your physical card in Amsterdam. The city pass is then electronically validated at each attraction.

This page contains partner links. We receive a commission when you buy a product through an affiliate link (e.g. an Amsterdam city pass). This does not make the product more expensive for you.

When Is an Amsterdam City Pass Worthwhile?

  • When You’re in Amsterdam for the first time

    The Amsterdam City Passes contain most of the top attractions of the city: the important museums, canal cruises and city tours as well as some great experiences. These are all the things that someone who visitsAmsterdam for the first time would do. This is why city passes are ideal for first-time visitors.

  • When you’d like to do intensive sightseeing

    The I Amsterdam City Card offers more than 60 sights and the Amsterdam Pass offers more than 50 attractions. Both city passes are suitable for travellers who want to see and experience as much of Amsterdam as possible in a short time.

  • When you spend several days in Amsterdam

    The more time you spend in Amsterdam, the better suited a city pass is. The important city passes are valid for up to five days and the longer the duration, the cheaper the costs per day. Passes that are valid for three to five days are most worthwhile.

  • When You’re Interested in Museums

    Amsterdam abounds with high-class museums, some of which are so popular that you can’t get a ticket at the box office anymore: Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Hermitage Amsterdam or the Maritime Museum, to name but a few. With the I Amsterdam Card you can visit almost all important museums for free. The Amsterdam Pass does not have to hide behind it, it only lacks the Van Gogh Museum.

  • When You Enjoy Using Hop-on Hop-off Buses

    With the Amsterdam Pass, you can travel up to five days on the Hop-on Hop-off buses as well as the Hop-on Hop-off boats. This way you can explore Amsterdam’s major sites on the streets and the lovely canals. The I Amsterdam City Card, on the other hand, does not include Hop-on Hop-off buses, but at all public transport is included free of charge.

  • When You Know What You Want

    An Amsterdam city pass is most worthwhile if you know exactly what you want to see. You just need to compare your wishlist with the attractions included in the major city passes. This way you can calculate exactly how much money you would save with each pass. Maybe you find out that you don’t need a city pass in the first place – that’s also a valuable insight.

  • When you travel unprepared

    Even those who don’t like planning can benefit from an Amsterdam city pass, because even if you don’t know what you want, a city pass at least shows you what attractions the city has to offer and where to find them. With the pass on hand you simply visit any attraction without having to think about the ticket price.

  • When you don’t want to buy single tickets

    Some travellers buy city passes not to save money, but because they are a convenient solution. You only need to buy one ticket and then you don’t have to worry about buying tickets afterwards. You can use public transport or Hop-on Hop-off buses and follow the small travel guides that come with the purchase of the Amsterdam Pass and I Amsterdam City Card.

All Amsterdam City Passes at a glance

In the following section we briefly introduce the three most important tourist cards for Amsterdam.

Please click on the respective icon.

I Amsterdam City CardAmsterdam PassAmsterdam City Pass

Benefits of the Amsterdam Card

  • Free admission to 60+ museums and attractions
  • Free canal cruise
  • Use public transport free of charge
  • Discounts for attractions, shops and restaurants
  • Valid for up to 120 hours
  • Brochure and city map included with purchase
  • Learn more about this city pass
I Amsterdam City Card
I Amsterdam Card (from €65)

Benefits of the Amsterdam Pass

  • Free admission to over 50 attractions
  • Hop-on Hop-off buses and boats free of charge
  • Airport transfer by bus free of charge
  • Discounts for attractions, shops and restaurants
  • Flexible duration: 1, 2, 3 or 5 days
  • Including manual with information & maps
  • Learn more about this city pass
Amsterdam Pass
Amsterdam Pass (from €66)

Benefits of the Amsterdam City Pass

  • Free admission to the Van Gogh Museum
  • Alternative: Entrance to the Rijksmuseum
  • Free Airport transfer by train to the city
  • Canal Cruise free of charge
  • 20% discount on 100+ attractions in Amsterdam
  • Learn more about this city pass
Amsterdam City Pass
Amsterdam City Pass (from €50.50)

Amsterdam City Passes Compared (Table)

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Last update: 05/2020

Differences between City Passes

Each city pass is a complex package of different services and none of these city passes is like any other. If you don’t know what to look out for at first, we would like to point out the following main differences between the tourist passes:

Validity: Both the Amsterdam Pass and the I Amsterdam City Card are valid for up to five days. However, the Amsterdam Pass is valid for calendar days and the City Card is valid for 24-hour units. This makes the City Card more flexible because you can start sightseeing in the afternoon and the 24-hour card is valid until the afternoon of the following day. With the Amsterdam Pass, the 1-day pass is only valid on the day of activation. With this you would have to start sightseeing in the early morning to not waste any time.

 Public Transport: Only with the I Amsterdam City Card can you use buses, trams and metro of the transport company GVB – for as long as your city card is valid. The other city passes do not include public transport tickets.

Included Attractions: Many travellers like to use the Hop-on Hop-off buses to explore a city. Only the Amsterdam Pass includes these buses. You can use them as long as your pass is valid. That even applies to Hop-on Hop-off boats. With the other city passes you cannot use any Hop-on Hop-off services. You would have to buy a ticket separately.

Fast Track Entry: City passes often offer fast track admission to many attractions, which is especially useful when long queues form during the high season. But in Amsterdam, fast track entry is the exception rather than the rule. With the I Amsterdam City Card you get a ticket to the Van Gogh Museum with a fixed time slot and in the Rijksmuseum there is a separate counter for card holders. For the canal cruise you can choose one of four providers, which may also save time. With the Amsterdam Pass there is no fast entry.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Pass

Amsterdam City CardAmsterdam PassAmsterdam City Pass

Advantages of the Amsterdam Card

 Many attractive offers: Top museums, canal cruise, public transport

If you spend at least 3 days in Amsterdam, you’ll save money with this city card.

The validity works in 24h units. So you can just start sightseeing at any time of the day.

Attractions and local transport can be activated independently.

You can have the pass sent to your home or hotel by mail.

Disadvantages of the Amsterdam Card

 The free local transport does not apply to journeys to and from the airport.

There are no reduced tickets for children and young people.

For the Van Gogh Museum, a time slot ticket must be booked in advance.

The I Amsterdam Card does not grant fast track admission.

Advantages of the Amsterdam Pass

 With the Amsterdam Pass you can use Hop-on Hop-off buses and boats for up to 5 days.

The pass is more varied than the better known I Amsterdam Card, because the Amsterdam Pass does not only include museums.

With a validity period of 1, 2, 3 or 5 days, the pass is very flexible.

You receive the pass digitally on your phone. If you don’t want that, you can also pick it up.

Disadvantages of the Amsterdam Pass

 The Hop-on Hop-off buses and boats are not considered by customers to be the best in Amsterdam.

The important Van Gogh Museum is missing from the scope of the Amsterdam Pass.

The pass does not include public transport tickets. Those who do not want to travel only by Hop-on Hop-off must buy additional tickets.

The Amsterdam Pass does not allow fast track admission. You have to queue up at popular attractions.

Advantages of the Amsterdam City Pass

 The Amsterdam City Pass concentrates on the main sights.

20% discount on several attractions, guided tours, day tours and experiences in Amsterdam.

You do not need to pick up your pass. All tickets go directly to your phone.

Disadvantages of the Amsterdam City Pass

 The Amsterdam City Pass is not a real city pass. You will receive individual tickets by e-mail.

With this city pass you only save money by buying additional tickets at a 20% discount.

The City Pass Plus with two museums is notworth it. Buy a separate ticket for the second museum instead.

Which Amsterdam City Pass is the Best?

Unfortunately there is no clear answer to this question. We favour the I Amsterdam City Card and the Amsterdam Pass. But which Amsterdam city pass is the best for you – or if one is even worth it – depends on what you want to experience during your trip to Amsterdam. That’s why we recommend the best city passes below, broken down by different preferences:

The Amsterdam City Pass issued by Ticketbar focuses only on the essential attractions: Van Gogh Museum or Rijksmuseum, airport transfer and a canal cruise. However, the price is only worth it if you book any additional attractions with a 20% discount. As an alternative we recommend the I Amsterdam City Card, which is more comprehensive, but includes all major attractions.

The I Amsterdam City Card contains over 60 museums and attractions that you can visit for free. The focus lies clearly on museums. The Amsterdam Pass, on the other hand, is a little more varied, because it contains many experiences and day trips in addition to museums.

Good savings are possible with both the Amsterdam Pass and the I Amsterdam City Card. But only if you spend three to five days in Amsterdam and buy these passes with a corresponding validity. With each additional day, the price per day drops significantly.

The best museum pass is the I Amsterdam City Card. This pass includes all major museums except the Anne Frank House, but this is not included in any city pass.

The Amsterdam Pass also contains many museums, but the important Van Gogh Museum is not included.

Only the I Amsterdam City Card includes a ticket for public transport. It allows you to travel across the city by bus, tram and metro as often and as long as your city pass is valid. Although the Amsterdam Pass includes the Hop-on Hop-off buses, these are far less flexible and less reliable than public transport.

For short visits to Amsterdam, the Amsterdam City Pass by Ticketbar may be suitable, as it contains only three attractions for which you will receive individual tickets. In addition, you can purchase additional tickets at a 20% discount.

Alternatively, you can use the 48-hour version of the I Amsterdam City Card. With this card, you can get around the city quickly using public transport and, due to the hourly schedule, you can also start your sightseeing in the afternoon.

Both the I Amsterdam City Card and the Amsterdam Pass are suitable for longer stays in the city. They are both valid for up to five days.

The Amsterdam Pass offers half price tickets for children. But there is no general answer to the question whether the pass is worthwhile for children. Children get free admission to many attractions. Children can accompany their parents to the Van Gogh Museum free of charge until the age of 17, and to the Rijksmuseum until the age of 18. Many other attractions also offer heavily discounted or free admission. Therefore it is better not to buy a city pass for children

For Holland travellers for whom Amsterdam is only a stopover, there is the Holland Pass. It includes many of the major attractions in the Dutch capital, but also many other offers for other regions in the Netherlands.

Other Amsterdam Discount Cards

So far, we have only presented the most important Amsterdam city passes that are of interest to a wide audience. In addition, there is one more pass for more specific interests:

Holland Pass: A somewhat complicated pass for the whole of Holland. Most attractions are located in Amsterdam, but you can also visit some attractions in other regions. If you know exactly what you want, the Holland Pass will definitely save you money.

Single tickets: If you don’t like any Amsterdam city pass, you can also buy single tickets for the most important sights:

Tip for the Van Gogh Museum: The museum is often fully booked one or two weeks in advance. If you are already late, you can also buy a combined ticket for the museum and canal cruise. This is available three to four days in advance.