Need tips about transport to and/or in Amsterdam? In this blog post I will share my personal experiences about travelling to Amsterdam by train and car and using the tram in the city center. If you live in or near Belgium, Amsterdam can easily be reached by train or car. That's why I won't mention any flight details in this blog. If you do however want to fly to Amsterdam, check this page to find & book the cheapest flights.
If you want to take the train to Amsterdam from Belgium, you can do so from Brussels, Antwerp or Liège. Make sure you book the Thalys and not a regular train, otherwise you could be on the road for a very long time. Last time I took the train to Amsterdam (08/02/2018), I took the train in Leuven and paid €50 for a round trip in 2nd class (I was a traveler aged 26-59). I booked it via an end-of-year promotion though. When I look at the prices now, I see €29 as the cheapest price. But it fluctuates per period anyway and depends on what time you leave. If you are less than 26 years old, it's normally also cheaper.
You will then arrive in Amsterdam Central Station, from where you can immediately walk into the city, take a tram or use the free ferry.
You can easily travel to Amsterdam by car. Starting in Bruges it's around a 3h drive and from Ghent around 2h45. Starting from Brussels, Leuven or Hasselt it's around a 2,5 hour drive and from Antwerp about 2 hours. Without traffic jam of course :-) The only thing you need to think about is parking. In most hotels I found, you had to pay extra for parking and often quite a bit more. A cheaper solution is to use the P+R car parks. I've used it myself in July 2017 and October 2017. You only pay €1 per day! You just have to make sure that you meet the following requirements
To receive the discount, use your own public transport chip card (OV-chipkaart), a paper public transport ticket or purchase a P+R GVB ticket. You will not receive a discount on parking if you check in and out of public transport using a debit/credit card, mobile phone, smartwatch or the barcode on an (e)-ticket such as a public transport ticket purchased via the GVB app.
The current availability of these car parks can be found here: https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/parking/park-ride/
Amsterdam is easily accessible on foot, but sometimes it can be useful to take the tram. It is best to buy a GVB card for this. You can usually buy these at the stops themselves, as well as in the station & in the car parks. A day ticket (24 hours) costs €7.50, for 2 days (48 hours) you pay €12.50, for 3 days (72 hours) €17.50, for 4 days (96 hours) €22.50, ... All the different ticket options can be found here: https://reisproducten.gvb.nl/en/toeristen and all the diferent prices can be found here: https://reisproducten.gvb.nl/en/tarieven.