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Amsterdam is often abbreviated '''A'dam''', which can be a nice alternative to put on your signs.== Hitching In ==
== Hitching In ==
''If you are hitching in the direction of [[Berlin]] or [[Hamburg]], you might find the route-page from [[:Category:Route_Amsterdam_-_Berlin|Amsterdam to Berlin]] useful.''
''If you are hitching in the direction of [[Bremen]], [[Hamburg]] or [[Copenhagen]], you might find this route-page from [[:Category:Route_Amsterdam_-_Copenhagen|Amsterdam to Copenhagen]] useful.''
*'''Option 1''' Liftplaatsand BP petrol station (mostly local traffic)
*'''Option 2''' Highway BP Honswijck petrol station in Muiden
*'''Option 3''' Hush AVIA highway petrol station / rest stop (out of city by train)
At the Utrechtsebrug you have several options. First, head '''Option 1''' Head to the Martin Luther King Park in Amsterdam Zuid where the motorway to [[A2 (Netherlands)|A2]]-motorway starts, which leads to [[Utrecht]] and further to [[Den Bosch]], [[Eindhoven]] and [[Maastricht]]. Take tram 4 or 12 and walk from the Vrijheidslaan south through the Rijnstraat to the motorway ([[A10 (Netherlands)|A10]]/ [[A2 (Netherlands)|A2]]). At the end of this road before the crossing, you'll find traffic lights where you can pro-actively ask drivers to drop you at the massive Haarrijn service station (See below). The best traffic lights to pick, as there are three sets here, is the one on your left side when you are standing facing the bridge.
*'''Option 2''' Utrech on ramp
*'''Option 3''' Haarrijn rest stop Just before Utrecht, after exit 5 ([[Breukelen]]) and just some kilometres before the Utrecht Ring you find a big petrol-station called [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verzorgingsplaats_Haarrijn Haarrijn]. This is an excellent spot to find drivers for larger distances.Place is 2.5 km from Maarssen train stop
== Sleep ==
If you are caught in the rain with nowhere to go, the best place to stay dry that [[User:Zac Stewart|Zac]] found was outside the train station.
: ''After walking all night in the pouring rain, trying to stay dry and warm wherever I could, I finally crashed outside the train station until the wee hours of the morning. At that time I moved inside of the station. This had mixed results. It was warmer and drier, but the security guards walked by and gave me a kick every time I dozed off.''
There is another solution if you're caught in the rain : you can sleep on one of the tour boats parked along the river in front of central station, some of them have a roof outside the cabin and it can be a quite comfortable place. Policemen or guards sometimes come and kick you out, but far less than in the station.
"Philip's compact atlas Europe" shows service stations in some countries, is pretty compact and was available for 7 euros at the New English Book Store in [[Amsterdam]], in June 2008.
It's not recommended to carry any type of illegal drugs with you while hitchhiking. A bit of weed inside the borders of the Netherlands is not going to get you into trouble. But taking any amount of weed (or anything else) across the border could be a problem for you and possibly your driver. And it's not worth it.
== Public Transport ==
As of 2010 if you take a tram or bus inside the city, for any distance, and you will spend at least 2.60 euro, you need a "chipkaart", "nationale strippenkaarten" aren't valid anymore in all of the Netherlands (since November 2011). Check this for a good overview: http://www.gvb.nl/english/travellers/tickets-and-fares/ov-chipkaart-travel-products/Pages/ov-chipkaart-travel-products.aspx
For examplePhilip's compact atlas Europe shows service stations in some countries, a one way ticket by train from is pretty compact and was available for 7 euros at the New English Book Store in [[Amsterdam Centraal to Zaandam is 2.40 EUR, a return ticket costs 4.50 EUR (to be used on 1 day]], until 4:00am next day). (See http://nsin June 2008.nl/)
So staying in a location that's easily reachable by train might actually turn out cheaper!
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[[File:IMG_5336.jpg|right|thumb|266px|Hitching at the Prins Bernhardplein liftplaats]]
'''Amsterdam''' is the capital of the [[Netherlands]].
During daylight it's usually not a problem to hitch on on-ramps close to Amsterdam, so if you've been at petrol station for 25 minutes you might want to give it a try at an on-ramp closer-by.
Public transport is fairly okay in the Netherlands, albeit a bit expensive since the introduction of the "chipkaart", see below. There are convenient metros from e.g. the Bijlmer.
Coming from South there is a petrol station just a couple of kilometres before Amsterdam. There are enough people stopping before going into the city, [[User:Alex|alex]] never waited longer than 10 minutes to get a ride, with most of the times putting my bag directly from one car into another. So get off there when your driver doesn't go where you need to be in Amsterdam and catch easily a ride that goes to the district you want to go - this will save you some bugs and 30-60 minutes getting to the other side of town.
=== East towards [[Amersfoort]], [[Hengelo]], [[Osnabrück]], [[Hamburg]], [[Bremen]], [[Berlin]] ===
[[ File:Amsterdam liftplaats petrol station.png |thumb|The walking route from the former ''liftplaats'' location to the nearby petrol station.]]
First you go by train, tram, metro or bus to the station Amsterdam Amstel. From there three bus lines, 320, 322 and 327, are going to busstop "P+R Terrein" in Muiden. A presale ticket costs EUR 2,90 for all buses ("GVB 1 uur" ticket). In the bus you pay EUR 5 for bus lines 322 and 327 or EUR 4.20 (in 2017) for bus line 320 (numbers/ticket price may be outdated).
There is often a lot of competition at the ''liftplaats'' and drivers usually only go short distances, so by the time you have finally left Holland you will have had approx. 3–6 rides. You can easily avoid this by taking a train to Hengelo (buy a discount ticket, see below).
You can either go and hitch from the same spot as for going West at the Amstel Station, or hitch from where the motorway to Utrecht starts, which is called the Utrechtsebrug. This second option definitely gives you more cars going into the right direction and generally a lot less waiting time.
From here you can also walk over the bridge, walk along the motorway over the grass towards a small petrol station 250 meters further, behind the bend. If you do that don't try (like me) to go right to the little residence, there are rivers and no path to get to the station, there are no other ways than walk along the road. Be careful when walking here, the space between you and cars is minimal.
If you are too lazy to go that far out of the city, take a bus or metro to the station Amstelveenseweg and stand on the on ramp there with a "Utrecht" sign. There is a wide shoulder and it doesn't usually take more than 10 minutes to get a lift. Once on the highway, hop from rest area to rest area and you wont have any problems arriving at your destination.
== Boats ==
It is very possible to [[hitchhiking a boat|hitch boats]] around the Amsterdam canals. Just sit next to the water and thumb and eventually someone will stop. This is more aimed at sight seeing than getting somewhere specific, but more worth it than paying for the touristy ones.
== Buy ==
