City network
GVB trams, metro and buses
Pay as you go
OVpay: one card/device per traveller
Airport travel
Check NS / 397 coverage
Fares checked
25 October 2026
In short
Choose your Amsterdam ticket by operator and validity, not by the word “day” on the product name. A GVB 24-hour ticket, Amsterdam Travel Ticket and Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket cover different journeys and count time differently.
- GVB covers city trams, metro and its own buses; ordinary GVB tickets do not cover NS airport trains or Connexxion 397.
- OVpay lets eligible cards and devices pay per journey; GVB Max caps qualifying daytime GVB travel at €10.50 per service day.
- Amsterdam Travel Ticket adds specified Schiphol connections; the Region version covers a wider mapped area.
- The IJ ferries to Buiksloterweg and NDSM are free; you do not need to buy a transport pass just for those crossings.
☰ Table of contents
GVB, NS and regional buses: which journeys does each ticket cover?
A journey planner can combine several operators. That does not mean a ticket for one of them covers the whole suggestion. At Centraal, Zuid and Sloterdijk, distinguish the blue-and-white GVB network from NS trains and regional buses.
The airport exception worth knowing is GVB bus 369 between Schiphol and Sloterdijk. It belongs to GVB. Do not confuse it with Connexxion 397, which approaches Museumplein and Leidseplein under different ticket arrangements.
GVB ticket prices and the €10.50 OVpay cap
These are the operator’s 2026 fixed tariffs, checked on 25 October. They are not a promise that a reseller’s bundle includes the same product, delivery format or extras. GVB’s 24-hour ticket costs €10; the separate GVB Max cap is €10.50.
GVB Max is automatic for eligible OVpay journeys made with the same payment form and complete check-in/out. It covers daytime GVB lines within the service day, rather than a rolling 24 hours. It does not combine NS or another operator’s charges into the same €10.50 cap, and it does not apply to OV-chipkaart travel.
For a city day with substantial GVB travel, compare the €10 day ticket with that cap and any night-bus requirement. For a day mostly spent walking between Dam, the Jordaan and the canals, with a free ferry crossing, pay-as-you-go may avoid buying travel time you will not use.
Amsterdam Travel Ticket and Region Ticket: airport fares and calendar days
Choose Amsterdam Travel Ticket (ATT) when its specified Schiphol connections and GVB coverage fit your trip. Choose Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket (ARTT) only when the wider mapped region is useful—for example, combining Amsterdam with Haarlem or the Zaanse Schans area.
Example: an ATT one-day product first used at 18:00 on Monday expires at 04:00 on Tuesday. A GVB 24-hour product started at 18:00 runs for 24 hours, but lacks the ATT’s NS airport coverage. A late arrival and a return flight several days later therefore need a different calculation from a single busy city day.
Read the delivery instructions before travelling to the platform. Some online purchases provide a voucher that must be exchanged for the actual travel ticket. A confirmation QR code is not automatically a barcode you can use at every gate. For ARTT, check the operator’s region map and included services before planning beyond its boundary.
Three Amsterdam plans that call for different ticket choices
The point is to pay for the journeys in your day. These examples separate a compact centre walk, a day crossing the city and a regional outing.
Centraal, Jordaan and Buiksloterweg
Walk the canal streets from Centraal into the Jordaan, then use the free Buiksloterweg ferry for the EYE waterfront. A pass is not needed for the ferry itself; compare any paid GVB journeys with the fare you would otherwise spend.
Museumplein, De Pijp and an evening return
If your day uses several GVB rides between the museum quarter, De Pijp and your accommodation, compare a timed day ticket with OVpay. Three separate €3.40 hourly tickets total €10.20, whereas a €10 day ticket covers the timed 24 hours; rides within one hourly window are a different calculation.
Amsterdam plus Haarlem or Zaanse Schans
A GVB-only day ticket does not cover the NS journey to Haarlem or Zaandijk Zaanse Schans. Compare separate fares with ARTT’s actual mapped coverage. Arrival at Zaandijk Zaanse Schans station still leaves the walk to the windmill area.
Family travel: child tickets and the GVB group pass
GVB’s child day product is for ages 4–11; children aged 0–3 travel free. Registered free-travel schemes such as Kids Vrij have their own valid product and enrolment rules. Do not assume that tapping an adult bank card automatically supplies a child fare or a free-travel entitlement.
The €5 child day card is listed as an advance-purchase product at GVB service points and Service & Tickets counters. It is not sold onboard or from ordinary ticket machines. Check the purchase arrangement before the family’s first paid city journey. The child GVB card is also different from an NS Railrunner for the airport train.
The €27 GVB group day ticket can be useful for up to five people staying together. For example, two €10 adult day tickets plus two €5 child day tickets total €30; a qualifying group travelling together would pay €27 instead. That comparison covers GVB travel, not a family’s NS airport train fares.
- Buy and activate the group product in the GVB app. It lives on one phone, with a separate barcode for each group member. All barcodes are activated together at the start of travel.
- Keep the group together. The app holder checks the other travellers through first, then themselves. The barcodes cannot be distributed so that part of the group goes to NDSM while the others visit Museumplein.
- Keep railway travel separate. For Schiphol or a regional NS journey, check each child’s rail product and each adult’s ticket. A GVB family or group ticket does not become a railway pass.
Buying tickets and using the correct reader at Centraal or Zuid
OVpay can avoid a ticket-machine queue when you have a supported payment card or device. GVB lists Maestro, V PAY, Mastercard and Visa for contactless payment. Support depends on the payment form; retain another way to obtain a valid ticket if your card is not accepted.
- Choose one payment form per traveller. A physical bank card, that card in a phone wallet and a smartwatch are different forms for travel accounting. Use the same one throughout a journey and for GVB Max.
- Tap or scan the appropriate reader. A bank-card contactless reader and a barcode scanner serve different ticket formats. Take the intended card out of a wallet containing several contactless cards.
- Finish one operator’s journey before starting another. At Zuid, check out of NS after the Schiphol train, then check into GVB for M52. At Centraal, follow the signs for the operator and vehicle you are actually using.
- Follow the product’s activation instructions. GVB mobile, wallet and physical formats do not all use an identical activation step. Do not start a timed product while you are still at the hotel if it begins counting before you travel.
GVB day and multi-day tickets are available through its app and other sales channels. Ordinary ticket machines and GVB counters are useful alternatives; onboard sales are limited. GVB says tickets cannot be bought on buses or on trams without a conductor, so do not rely on paying the driver after boarding.
Missed OVpay check-out: how to correct the journey
If you forget to check out after a metro ride to De Pijp or an NS journey from Schiphol, the system cannot calculate the complete journey and may apply a correction fare. The first step is to identify the journey, not to buy an unrelated pass afterwards.
- Find the journey in OVpay. Use the OVpay app/account, or the service’s no-account arrangement for a bank-card payment. The statement’s NLOV reference and euro amount identify the payment.
- Wait for the correction window. OVpay allows a missed check-in/out to be corrected from six hours after the journey and within 60 days, subject to its limits on repeated corrections.
- Correct the actual stop. Choose the station or stop where you boarded or left. Check that you are correcting the NS train journey, GVB metro journey or other operator that was incomplete.
An eligible refund can be offset against upcoming travel; otherwise OVpay describes repayment within five days. A new day ticket does not retrospectively replace an incomplete bank-card journey.
Transport passes are different from attraction cards and sightseeing tours
Amsterdam Travel Ticket is a transport product. An attraction card or museum pass has a separate set of admissions and inclusions. A sightseeing bus or canal cruise is another booked service with its own route, stops and operating hours.
If the visit also includes museums, use the city-pass comparison to assess the admissions you would actually buy. If you want an organised sightseeing circuit, read the hop-on hop-off guide rather than treating that ticket as unrestricted GVB transport. For everyday movement between Centraal, De Pijp and Museumplein, start with the GVB/NS coverage above.
Frequently asked questions
Is OVpay a day pass for all Amsterdam transport?
No. OVpay is a way to pay for eligible journeys. Each operator applies its own fare. GVB Max caps qualifying daytime GVB travel, but it does not combine NS trains, Connexxion buses and GVB night buses into one city-wide cap.
Does the €10 GVB day ticket include the Schiphol train?
No. The NS train requires its own valid fare or a pass that explicitly includes that connection. GVB bus 369 to Sloterdijk is a different GVB airport option; Connexxion 397 is not covered by an ordinary GVB day ticket.
Are Amsterdam Travel Ticket days the same as 24 hours?
No. ATT and ARTT count consecutive calendar days and expire at 04:00 after the final valid day. GVB 24/48/72-hour products count a timed period. This difference matters especially after a late-evening arrival.
Can two people use the same bank card for OVpay?
Each OVpay traveller needs their own payment form. For a group travelling together, GVB has a separate app-based group day product with individual barcodes on one phone; it is not repeated tapping of one bank card for several people.
Do I need a ticket for the ferry to EYE or NDSM?
The GVB IJ crossings to Buiksloterweg and NDSM are free. Choose the correct landing for your destination. Paid canal cruises and sightseeing-boat tickets are different products.
Where can I buy a child GVB day ticket?
GVB lists the €5 ticket for ages 4–11 as a pre-sale product at its service points and Service & Tickets counters, rather than onboard or ordinary ticket machines. Registered free-travel schemes have separate enrolment and product requirements.
Attraction-pass and sightseeing options to assess separately
The guides below help with museum-and-attraction passes or an organised hop-on hop-off outing. Their advertised starting prices are not the price of the ordinary GVB transport tickets explained above.
