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Layover guideAmsterdam · AMS

Staying connected in Amsterdam

An EU or EEA SIM works at home rates; a Gulf, UK or US SIM does not.

Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
All of Amsterdam

A SIM from an EU or EEA operator roams in the Netherlands at domestic rates. Calls, texts and data are billed as they are at home.

The zone is the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, with Moldova and Ukraine also included. A SIM issued outside that zone gets none of this protection and roams on its home operator's own tariff.

Fair-use limits still apply inside the zone. On a pre-paid card the minimum roaming data allowance is your remaining credit divided by the wholesale data cap, which is 1.30 euros per GB plus VAT in 2025 and falls to 1 euro per GB plus VAT from 2027.

Where the roaming rules apply, your provider must automatically apply a cut-off limit, 50 euros of additional consumption by default or another limit you choose, and tell you when you reach it. A SIM from outside the zone carries no such protection.

  1. Your Europe, European Commission: Mobile roaming costs · checked 2026-09-03

The rest of Amsterdam

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportStation directly beneath the terminal, seventeen minutes to Centraal, eight trains an hour.Ride-hailingLicensed taxis carry blue number plates; the apps use a separate marked pick-up point at Schiphol.Local laws that catch crew outCannabis is not legal, it is tolerated under conditions, and central Amsterdam's street rules are a separate layer again.WeatherMild, grey and wet in small doses rather than downpours. Take a jacket in every month.Eating near the crew hotelsDinner is early, kitchens shut around ten, and the card comes out rather than cash.What to buyCrew allowances into the Netherlands are lower than a passenger's, and the VAT refund is now a digital process.TippingNot mandatory, 10% for good service, and nothing is added for you.