Practical Info
Getting Around Rotterdam
Metro, trams, water taxis, bikes and trains to Brussels, Paris and London, explained.
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Rotterdam's RET network covers the city with five metro lines, trams and buses, paid by tapping a contactless bank card in and out. Water taxis and RET ferries cross the Nieuwe Maas, Rotterdam Centraal runs direct trains to Brussels, Paris and London, and Rotterdam The Hague Airport is about 30 minutes from downtown by bus or taxi.
How do you pay for RET trams, metro and buses in Rotterdam?
RET, Rotterdam's public transport operator, has moved to OVpay: tap a contactless bank card, credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay against the reader when you board and again when you leave, using the same card every time on a single trip. The 2026 fare is a base rate of €1.16 plus €0.178 per kilometre in the Rotterdam region (€0.201 in the Den Haag region), and only one base rate is charged if you transfer within 35 minutes (source: RET, 2026 Reizen op rekening product terms). Travellers aged 65 and over and children aged 4 to 11 get an automatic 34% discount on both the base and kilometre rate. The older OV-chipkaart still works, but RET is phasing it out in favour of OVpay, so a contactless bank card is the simpler option for a short visit. For the etiquette side of things, tapping out correctly and giving up priority seats, see the Rotterdam do's and don'ts guide.
Which RET metro lines serve Rotterdam?
Five metro lines, labelled A to E, connect roughly 70 stations across Rotterdam and neighbouring towns including Schiedam, Capelle aan den IJssel and Spijkenisse, with Rotterdam Centraal, Beurs and Blaak as the main interchange stations in the city centre. Metro trains run approximately every few minutes at peak times, roughly from 6:00 to around 01:00 (source: metrorotterdam.nl, 2026); exact end times vary slightly by line and day, so check ret.nl before a late journey. On Friday and Saturday nights the RET Night Bus network, known locally as BOB, takes over once the metro stops; see the Rotterdam nightlife guide for the current night bus schedule.
How do the water taxi and RET ferries work in Rotterdam?
Two separate boat services cross the Nieuwe Maas. Watertaxi Rotterdam is an on-demand water taxi booked through its own app, charged by zone; expect roughly €5 to €7 per person depending on which zone you travel within (source: aggregated Watertaxi Rotterdam pricing pages, 2026; the operator's own tariff sheet is published as an image rather than text, so confirm the exact fare in the app before booking). Separately, RET runs three scheduled centre ferry lines, the Centrumlijn, Cirkellijn and Parklijn, priced at €5 for a single ride or €12.50 for a day ticket valid on all three lines, with children up to 12 travelling for half price (source: Watertaxi Rotterdam, tariffs effective 1 January 2026). Smaller fixed ferry routes, such as RDM/Heijplaat to Marconistraat, cost as little as €0.60 to €2.20 per crossing.
Can you take a boat from Rotterdam to Kinderdijk?
Yes. Since 6 October 2025, the former Waterbus line 21 to Kinderdijk has been replaced by the WaterShuttle, a faster tourist-focused service from the Willemskade stop in Rotterdam, taking about 30 minutes to the UNESCO World Heritage windmills at Kinderdijk. It runs multiple times a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with tickets bought online or on board rather than through OVpay or the OV-chipkaart (source: waterbus.nl, 2026). Regular Waterbus services, including the Rotterdam-Dordrecht line, continue to operate on the standard OVpay/OV-chipkaart system; check waterbus.nl for current routes and fares.
How do you get from Rotterdam Centraal to Brussels, Paris or London by train?
Eurostar, which absorbed the former Thalys brand, runs from Rotterdam Centraal to Brussels-Zuid around 14 times a day in about 1 hour 10 minutes, and direct to Paris Gare du Nord in about 2 hours 37 minutes. Since January 2026, Eurostar also runs five direct daily departures from Amsterdam via Rotterdam Centraal to London St Pancras, taking roughly 3 hours 30 minutes from Rotterdam, with one-way fares starting from around €44 on the wider Amsterdam-London route (source: Eurostar and Global Railway Review reporting, 2026; confirm the current Rotterdam-specific fare on eurostar.com before booking). Trains to Cologne and Frankfurt do not call at Rotterdam directly: the ICE International service to Germany runs from Amsterdam via Utrecht and Arnhem, so travellers from Rotterdam need to change at Utrecht Centraal. For the fast connection to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the Intercity Direct covers Schiphol to Rotterdam Centraal in 26 minutes with no transfers; see the Rotterdam business travel guide for the full breakdown.
How do you get from Rotterdam The Hague Airport into the city centre?
Take RET metro line E to Meijersplein station, then transfer to RET bus 33 to the airport terminal; the journey takes roughly 30 minutes from either Rotterdam Centraal or Den Haag Centraal, with the first weekday bus departing around 05:48 (source: Rotterdam The Hague Airport, official transport page, 2026). A taxi rank sits directly outside the terminal, and the airport's official partner, Rotterdam Airport Taxi, can be booked by phone (+31 10 262 04 06) or online in advance. Travellers arriving by car will find the P1 car park directly opposite the terminal, a Kiss & Ride drop-off zone, and dedicated bicycle parking beside the terminal building. For the airport's European flight network, see the business travel guide.
Can you rent a bike in Rotterdam?
OV-fiets, the Dutch Railways' rental bike scheme, is the easiest option for a short stay: €4.80 per day at any of the roughly 300 OV-fiets locations nationwide, including eight stands at Rotterdam's NS and metro stations such as Rotterdam Centraal (source: ns.nl, 2026). Renting requires a personal OV-chipkaart or NS Flex account with the free OV-fiets subscription added, there is no advance reservation, and live availability is shown in the NS app. Independent commercial bike rental shops also operate near the city centre for visitors without an OV-chipkaart account. Cycling itself follows Dutch road rules: bikes have priority in bike lanes and trams do not stop for them, covered in more detail in the do's and don'ts guide.
Is it easy to drive and park in Rotterdam?
Driving into central Rotterdam is straightforward, but street parking in the centre is limited and metered; multi-storey garages are the more reliable option. Q-Park Bijenkorf, next to the De Bijenkorf department store, charges €5.20 per hour, and Q-Park Weena charges €4.75 per hour or €25 for 24 hours when reserved online in advance (source: Q-Park pricing, cross-checked against a Rotterdam municipal council document, 2026). Since 1 January 2025, Rotterdam has enforced a zero-emission zone within the city's ring road, but this applies only to delivery vans and trucks, not to passenger cars or taxis, so visitors driving a regular car are not affected (source: rotterdam.nl, 2026). The zone for passenger vehicles is not scheduled to change before 2030.
Is the Rotterdam Welcome Card worth it for getting around?
The official Rotterdam Welcome Card costs €17.50 for one day, €25.00 for two days or €32.50 for three days, and includes unlimited travel on RET metro, tram and bus services across Rotterdam and the surrounding region, including Hoek van Holland and Schiedam (source: rotterdam.info, official pricing page, accessed 2026). It also unlocks discounts of 25% or more at over 50 attractions, museums and restaurants, including the Euromast and Kunsthal. It is sold online at rotterdam.info and at Tourist Information desks at Rotterdam Centraal and Hoek van Holland; some third-party resale platforms advertise different headline prices, so book through the official site for the current rate. For a broader look at Rotterdam's port, size and food culture, see the Rotterdam facts page.
For landmarks and attractions once you have arrived, see the Rotterdam things-to-do guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you pay for RET trams, metro and buses in Rotterdam?
Tap a contactless bank card, Apple Pay or Google Pay in and out at the start and end of every journey (OVpay). The fare is a base rate of 1.16 euros plus a per-kilometre charge, with one base rate covering transfers made within 35 minutes (source: RET, 2026).
Which RET metro lines serve Rotterdam?
Five lines, A to E, connect around 70 stations across Rotterdam and neighbouring towns, including Rotterdam Centraal, Beurs and Blaak. Trains run roughly from 6:00 to 01:00, with reduced night coverage taken over by RET Night Buses on Friday and Saturday.
How do you get from Rotterdam Centraal to Brussels, Paris or London by train?
Eurostar runs from Rotterdam Centraal to Brussels around 14 times a day (about 1 hour 10 minutes) and to Paris directly (about 2 hours 37 minutes). Since January 2026, five daily direct Eurostar departures also run to London, taking roughly 3 hours 30 minutes from Rotterdam.
How do you get from Rotterdam The Hague Airport into the city centre?
Take RET metro line E to Meijersplein and transfer to bus 33 to the airport terminal, a journey of about 30 minutes from Rotterdam Centraal (source: Rotterdam The Hague Airport, 2026). A taxi rank and the official Rotterdam Airport Taxi service are also available outside the terminal.
Is the Rotterdam Welcome Card worth it for getting around?
If you plan to use RET metro, tram or bus repeatedly and visit paid attractions, yes: the card includes unlimited RET public transport for 1, 2 or 3 days plus 25 percent or more off over 50 attractions, museums and restaurants (source: rotterdam.info, 2026).