[BrandonS113]

I had to spend a few months in Holland for work. We we left with the problem of what do do on the weekends. You can't rent bikes if you are not Dutch, and visiting the lovely villages and other places Holland is full of is a time consuming exercise in futility unless one has a car.

A train is great for Rotterdam-Hague-Amsterdam, not so good for visiting the Bosch museum in 's-Hertogenbosch.

Holland has a great road system and parking everywhere. The perfect place for a car owner.

[imiric]

> You can't rent bikes if you are not Dutch

Huh? There's a bike rental place on practically every other corner in most Dutch cities, and most of their profit is from tourists. You only need to show some ID and leave a deposit. Dutch people usually have a cheap old bike, or use the public OV bikes, for which you do need to register and get a card, but even that is possible as a foreigner, it just takes some days to process.

> visiting the lovely villages and other places Holland is full of is a time consuming exercise in futility unless one has a car.

I'm not sure where you're getting this from either. Intercity transport by train works great, and there are many organized bus tours that take you to smaller villages. You can easily see most of the country without owning a car, though it's a personal preference whether you enjoy using public transport or not.

[BrandonS113]

One needs iDEAL for many things in Holland, and needs to be a resident for that. My colleague tried to get a personal OV-chipkaart, https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/en/apply-for-personal-ov-chipcar..., needed for bikes, he went though the process, and got nowhere. It was 2 years ago, so may have changed. But he said it stranded on need for a local bank account.

I know you can get anywhere by public transport, much better than where I live. But going though tram-train-train (+even bus or a 3rd train) to visit some village that is less than an hour away by car, will multiply the transport time.

[mcv]

The accessibility of OV-kaarten is indeed not great for tourists, which is ridiculous. There's been a lot of criticism of the OV-kaart system. But most things can be paid with a simple bank card transaction. I doubt buying or renting a car would be that much easier.

[BrandonS113]

yes. I dont want to make much out of this. One of the team came from a country close by and he brought his car. Problem solved.

But just about every Dutch person we worked with had a car. They would meet us on weekends in villages, and most drove. Public transport is great in Holland, but cars have their place too. And unlike some countries close by, Holland has a well maintain and well designed road system. Its great for car travel.

[mcv]

This is true. You can really feel by the road surface that you've crossed the border with Belgium or Germany. Netherland isn't just about bikes; it tries to make sure all forms of transport all well-served. Public transport could be better, though.

[rexpress]

I've rented bikes in the Netherlands several times as a UK citizen, but perhaps in different areas.

Part of the reason the Netherlands is the perfect place for a car owner is that so many people are able to go by bike instead, freeing up space on the roads.

[BrandonS113]

Yes, private bike rental firms are happy to take my money. But they are not common. But the public OV are ubiquitous and more strict.

[mcv]

> You can't rent bikes if you are not Dutch

Why not? Where are you trying to rent? There's bike rentals specifically aimed at tourists, and most people speak English reasonably well.

> A train is great for Rotterdam-Hague-Amsterdam, not so good for visiting the Bosch museum in 's-Hertogenbosch.

I just checked, and from Amsterdam, the train to that museum is actually slightly faster than a car. Though you do have a 15 minute walk at the end. Perhaps Den Bosch should run a bus line there.

[BrandonS113]

Yes, unfortunately were not exactly working in Amsterdam, and needed a tram to the local station and then a train to, perhaps Amsterdam.

That said, I would love to know why 's-Hertogenbosch is spelled that way. I asked a few locals, and none knew.

[mcv]

It's one of those cities that has two names: Den Bosch and 's Hertogenbosch.

The first simply means "the forest", in slightly archaic spelling. The second is short for "des hertogenbosch", which is archaic for "the duke's forest". "Des" is archaic genitive that's barely used any more in Dutch except in a few phrases and place names.

's ochtends => des ochtends => of the morning

's avonds => des avonds => of the evening

's Hertogenbosch => the duke's forest

's Gravenhave => des graven hage => the count's hedge (also known as Den Haag / The Hague)

[electrosphere]

I've rented bikes very easily as a UK tourist. All you need is cash in Euros or a credit card.

Disagree about parking, at least what I've seen in Amsterdam city area. You have to use an app and pay for parking. There are patrol cars that will dish out fines if you are caught. There are blue zones in suburbs which are free but it's mainly for visitors/residents.

[wffurr]

I rented a bike in Holland no problem. Weird that you weren't able to do so.