Train Tickets Netherlands: How to Buy in 2026

This article is for you if you are visiting the Netherlands and want to buy train tickets in the Netherlands without overpaying or get confused at a machine. The short answer: buy on ns.nl, the official website. If you live here with a Dutch bank account, this is not your guide: your subscriptions and discounts work differently.

In Short (2026 Guide)

• Buy on ns.nl or in the NS app. This way you pay no surcharge, get every discount, and you can travel in both classes.
• Are your plans fixed? Then book 1 to 30 days ahead. (Makes you eligible for early booking discounts from 5% to 60%).
• Dutch train tickets are for a date, not one specific train. No refunds, no date changes.
• Show your ticket in the NS app or on paper. A screenshot is not a valid ticket.
• Spontaneous short trip? Tap your contactless card at the gate. Full fare, 2nd class only.

Book 1 to 30 Days Ahead for up to 60% Off

NS calls it the PrijsTijd Deal. Book a single ticket on ns.nl between 1 and 30 days before you travel, and the site shows a discounted price on the quieter trains. The discount runs from 5% to 60% off the full fare. It changes by route, the expected crowds, and how far ahead you book. There is no fixed table; the planner shows you the price, and the earlier you book the cheaper it usually is. But remember, once booked you can’t change or cancel the ticket.

There is one catch: a discounted PrijsTijd Deal ticket locks you to a time slot on that date of a few hours, not the whole day. It’s also non-refundable, and never available for trains to or from Schiphol Airport. So use it when your plans are certain, on the longer trips where 60% is real money. On a €10 hop it is pocket change; on Amsterdam to Maastricht at €59.94 for a full fare weekday ticket in First Class (2026 price), it’s lunch.

⤷ check here if discounts are available for your journey

Travel Off-Peak and Pay Less

Only during off-peak hours PrijsTijd Deal are available. So if you’re a flexible traveler you can start saving money. On weekdays, the trains are also less busy. Off-peak means any time outside these two windows: 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6:30 p.m on weekdays. Weekends and most Dutch public holidays count as off-peak all day.

My advice for day trips is: choose a departure shortly after 9 a.m. You skip most of the commuters, the discounted fares open up, and you still have a full day. Museums rarely open before 10 anyway.

Another tip: 1st class costs 1.8 times the 2nd class fare on weekdays, but on weekends only 1.4 times, they do this because business travelers who commute during the week are not there on weekends. So traveling longer distances during the weekend saves you money, and there is more space in first class.

Choose Between 1st and 2nd Class

In 2026 NS introduced new pricing for 1st class travel. On weekdays, 1st class costs now 1.8 times the 2nd class fare. On weekends, only 1.4 times. NS priced it this way on purpose, since 1st class is quieter on weekends. Traveling long distance on weekends is usually quieter, and it saves you money.

But how do you choose between the two classes?

For shorter trips, 2nd class is fine. On a longer trip of 30 minutes or more, a 1st class upgrade is worth the money for the extra comfort you get: wider seats, less people, and almost always a place for your bag nearby. If you are curious what the carriages look like and how to recognize them, my guide to taking the train in the Netherlands walks you through it.

Tap In With Your Bank Card (OVpay)

For a spontaneous short trip, you can skip tickets entirely: tap your contactless Visa or Mastercard, phone, or watch on the card reader at the gate, and tap out at your destination. The Dutch call this OVpay, and it works on trains, buses, trams, and metros across the country.

But know the limitations before you fully rely on it:

• Full fare only, 2nd class only. No discounts, no advance prices, no child fares, no first class.
• American Express does not work for tapping, and neither do some virtual cards like Revolut.
• Tap out with the same card or device you tapped in with. Your physical card and the copy in your phone wallet count as two different cards.
• Forget to tap out on a train and the correction fee is €33.30 (2026 price). You can fix it yourself afterward on ovpay.nl but that cost time.

I use it myself for short unplanned trips, and when I incidentally need a ride on the local metro of tram system. But for a planned day trip, the website is better both on price, and the extra options available.

Skip the Machines and Ticket Desks (Usually)

The blue-and-yellow machines at every station now take foreign credit cards, including American Express with a PIN. That part has improved, before it was local cards only. What has not improved? Every paper ticket from a machine or a staffed desk carries a €1.60 surcharge (2026 price), and only 19 stations still have a staffed NS desk at all.

There is no line at ns.nl. The machines are for the moment your phone died. Other then that I have no idea why people use them.

Traveling With Kids or as a Group

Children 4 to 11 travel on a Railrunner ticket for €2.50 (2026 price), any time of day, up to three children per adult. Kids under 4 travel free. Add Railrunners in the same checkout as your own ticket. You may read about Kids Vrij, the free kids subscription. But unfortunately you need a Dutch bank account for that, so for visitors the answer is still the €2.50 Railrunner, which is still a bargain. PS: Kids can never travel alone for that fare, they need to travel with an adult.

Are you a group? Two to seven adults traveling together off-peak can also use the Group Ticket: which is priced at €38.50 total for two or three people, €4.50 for each extra person (2026 prices). Everyone travels on the same train, you can only travel in 2nd class, and the names on the tickets must match your IDs.

For example two 2nd class tickets from Amsterdam to Maastricht costs €66.60. The group ticket costs only $38.50.

⤷ buy your NS group ticket here

Do Not Select The Wrong Discounts at Checkout

One warning: the checkout offers a 40% “joint travel discount” (Samenreiskorting). This only works for when a Dutch subscription holder travels with you. This discount is not available for visitors traveling by themselves. Selecting it without qualifying and you risk a €50 fine on the train. Leave it alone.

Travel From Schiphol With Luggage: My Advice

Many people (like the screenshot from Facebook below) will tell you to take the train from Schiphol into Amsterdam.

It is cheap, about €5.50 (2026 price), and it runs every few minutes, all night too. That is true. But… with two big suitcases after a long flight, I would not do it, and I say that as someone who loves the train.

The airport trains are crowded at almost every hour, you need to keep a eye on your luggage. Standing over your bags in a packed train trying not to get pickpocketed, while you’re tired is a poor start to a vacation. And then I am not even talking about hauling these bags on and off escalators, getting them out through the tickets gates, and walking to your hotel on uneven streets.

My advice after years of working with guests: if you travel with more then a backpack, do not take the train from the airport.

Book a taxi ahead instead. A pre-booked driver waits for you, and the fixed price removes the meter stress. Ride-share apps cost about the same at Schiphol, but the pickup area is a long walk and drivers wait minutes, not more.

⤷ Pre-book you airport transfer here

Traveling light? Then the train wins on price, and my Schiphol to Amsterdam guide shows exactly how to do it.

Doing Day Trips Only Around Amsterdam? Different Ticket

If your plan is to stay in Amsterdam plus the classic day trips around the city, then there is a better option than buying single tickets. The Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket covers trains, buses, trams, and metros in the whole region: it cost €23 for one day, €34 for two, €44 for three (2026 prices). That includes the train between Schiphol and the city, and the buses to Zaanse Schans, Volendam, and Marken, plus trains to Haarlem and buses to Muiderslot castle.

The math is quick: an airport round trip plus one day trip already gets you near €23. Two days of exploring and it pays for itself easily. It’s also a lot easier since this ticket is not only valid on trains but also local transportation like trams in the city you just need one ticket, and you’re done.

⤷ Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket

If you stay inside Amsterdam the whole time, you do not need NS at all: the city runs on GVB trams and metros, which sell their own day passes. And if your only “train need” is the airport, read the next section first.

What Not to Do in 2026

The OV-chipkaart, the plastic card every older blog tells you to buy: you cannot. Sales stopped on July 1, 2026, and the whole system shuts down at the end of 2027. Its successor, the €6 OV-pas, exists for people without a bank card; nearly every visitor is better off tapping their own card or buying e-tickets.

The same goes for every NS subscription you might see mentioned: Dal Voordeel, Dal Vrij, all need a Dutch bank account. These are not for visitors, and no workaround is worth your time.

A Final Note From a Local

If someone asks me how to buy Dutch train tickets, my answer fits in three lines. For fixed itineraries: buy ahead on ns.nl and take the discount if available. Flexible plans: tap your card and pay as you go, unless you want to travel first class then purchase an e-ticket on the website. If you stay only around Amsterdam for day trips: get the region ticket and stop thinking about tickets at all.

The system is simpler than blogs make it look. Just don’t buy paper tickets, and don’t try to cancel a ticket. If you tap, never forget to tap out when you arrive with the same card.

If you want help fitting train journeys into your bigger trip, that is what I do. You’ll find more information about my services below.