The default speed limit on most Amsterdam streets is 30 km/h, not 50, and has been since December 2023.
Only the main through-routes still carry 50, and they are signed, so the safe assumption on any ordinary street is 30.
The second thing to know is that driving into the centre is a choice you can decline, and usually should.
Whether To Drive In At All
The canal ring is a grid of one-way streets barely wider than a car, with cyclists on both sides and a tram down the middle of the larger ones.
Street parking in the Centrum costs €5.37 to €8.05 an hour, which is the city telling you plainly what it thinks of the idea.
The P+R car parks on the ring - at Sloterdijk, Zeeburg, Bos en Lommer, Noord and the ArenA - charge a low daily rate on the condition that you continue into the city by public transport, and the ticket covers both.
Leave the car there and take the metro or tram in, which for almost every visitor is both faster and cheaper than driving to a central garage.
Driving is worth it for the day trips: the coast at Zandvoort and Bloemendaal, the Zaanse Schans, Marken and Volendam, the Hoge Veluwe.
The Rules That Differ From Home
Traffic drives on the right, and at an unmarked junction traffic from the right has priority - including bicycles, which is the rule visitors break most often.
Turning traffic must give way to pedestrians and cyclists crossing the road you are turning into, so a right turn means checking the cycle lane beside you before, during and after the turn.
Trams have priority at almost every crossing, cannot swerve, and take a long distance to stop.
Shark’s teeth painted across your lane mean you give way to everything on the road you are joining.
Outside the city, the motorway limit is 100 km/h during the day, with a higher limit at night where it is signed, so read the gantry signs rather than assuming.
Phone in the hand is prohibited while driving and while cycling, and it is enforced.
Headlights are not required by day, but the light on winter afternoons here makes them worth using regardless.
Cyclists, And Why They Are The Real Hazard
Cyclists here ride fast, in numbers, and with the assumption that drivers know the priority rules.
Check the mirror and the blind spot before opening a door, which is a habit worth building in a week rather than learning the hard way.
Delivery riders on fat-tyre e-bikes move considerably faster than ordinary bicycles and appear from behind on both sides.
Mopeds are legal on many cycle paths, so a cycle lane is not a bicycles-only lane.
Never stop in a cycle lane to drop someone off, and never overtake a cyclist and then turn across them.
Parking, Zones And Emissions
The whole city inside and around the ring is paid parking, divided into zones with their own rates and their own paid hours, some of which run to midnight.
Rates outside the centre are considerably lower: €4.19 to €6.98 in Oost, €3.01 to €6.98 in West and Zuid, €1.72 to €4.19 in Noord, and €1.72 flat in Zuidoost.
Pay by app or at the machine using the number plate, and note that the fine for not paying is charged per occasion plus the original fee.
Amsterdam also has milieuzones and zero-emission zones covering the most polluting vehicles, with separate rules per vehicle type.
Fully electric and hydrogen vehicles may enter all of them, and the city’s number-plate checker will tell you about anything on a Dutch plate.
If you are renting, ask the company directly whether the vehicle is admitted to the emission zones rather than assuming a new rental is fine.
Licences And Renting
An EU or EEA licence is valid here until it expires.
A visitor with a licence from outside the EU may drive on it for up to 185 days from the date they register in the Netherlands.
An International Driving Permit is not required alongside a US, Canadian or Australian licence, but rental companies may ask for one and it costs little to carry.
If your licence is not in Latin script, take the permit or an official translation.
Most rental companies set a minimum age of 21 and add a young-driver surcharge below 25, and most require a credit card in the driver’s own name.
Photograph the car from all four corners before you leave the depot, and take fuel to full before returning it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the speed limit in Amsterdam?
30 km/h on most city streets since December 2023, with 50 retained only on signed main routes.
On motorways the daytime limit is 100 km/h, with higher night limits where signed.
Which side of the road do they drive on?
The right, as in the rest of continental Europe.
Can I drive on a US licence?
Yes, for up to 185 days from registration, and for an ordinary visit no permit is needed.
Rental companies sometimes ask for an International Driving Permit anyway, so carrying one avoids an argument at the counter.
Where should I park?
A P+R on the ring, then the metro or tram in, which is cheaper than any central option and includes the transport ticket.
If you must park centrally, a garage costs less stress than a street space at €5.37 to €8.05 an hour.
What is the single most common mistake?
Turning right across a cycle lane without giving way to the cyclists going straight on.
The second is opening a door into the lane without checking the mirror.
Are there emission restrictions?
Yes - Amsterdam has milieuzones and zero-emission zones with rules that differ by vehicle type.
Electric and hydrogen vehicles are admitted everywhere; check any other vehicle’s Dutch plate in the city’s checker.
Is it worth hiring a car for the city itself?
No. Hire it on the morning you leave the city and return it when you get back, because a car parked in Amsterdam is a car costing money to stand still.
