For business people visiting the city, far and away the easiest and most convenient way of organising mobile phone hire and secretarial services is to stay at one of the larger, more expensive hotels and having the staff arrange everything for you.

If, for some reason, that is not a desirable method, there is a local service called

Business Hotel Service that will be able to take care of all your needs (Vondelstraat 11e, Tel: 616 2727, www. bhs.nl).

Mobile phones Telecom Rentcenter at Schiphol (Tel: 653 0999, Email: info@rentcenter.nl). Note that it can be more affordable to purchase a pre-paid mobile phone and a pre-paid calling card than to hire a mobile.

Car hire Contact Car Rentals (Tel: 0845 225 0845, www.carrentals.co.uk) or National Car Rental (Tel: 023 556 3666, Email: y.gielisse-mollema@nationalcarrental.com).

Office rental GorillaPark (Tel: 750 7300, www.gorillapark.com, Email: reception@gorillapark.com.

Secretarial services Schiphol Business Centre (Tel: 653 2480).

LOCAL PRESS

Amsterdam offers plenty of English-language publications most of which can be found at your hotel or at one of the city tourist offices (there’s one in the Amsterdam central station and another in Leidseplein, a popular tourist destination). Keep an eye out for Time-Out Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Weekly.

INTERNET

If you’d like to surf while here (virtually speaking, of course), you can either search for a cybercafe at www.world66. com/netcafeguide or http://cybercaptive. com, or you can search for a wi-fi hotspot at http://intel.jiwire.com/browse-hotspot-netherlands-nl-noord-holland--amsterdam-2742903.htm or www.hotspot-locations. de.

EasyInternetcafes can be found on the Damrak, Reguliersbreestraat and Leidsestraat.

CURRENCY

Amsterdam now uses the Euro. Gulders are no longer accepted by any business. However, the Dutch National Bank will accept gulders for exchange into Euros for approximately 25 more years.

Credit cards are not very popular in Amsterdam. Businesses accostomed to dealing with tourists usually accept them, but most others won’t. If a business does accept credit cards, they will usually take Visa and Mastercard, but other cards, including American Express and Diners Club, are very rarely accepted (with the possible exception of large hotels). Banking hours vary, but if all you need is a cash machine, most are now open 24 hours a day. For more serious banking, probably the most convenient resource is the Postbank, which is located in every post office. Most post offices are open weekdays 9am-5.30pm and some are open on Saturday morning until 1pm.

TIPPING ETIQUETTE

Tipping isn’t standard in Amsterdam.

In restaurants it is fairly common to leave a couple of Euros to round up the bill, assuming, of course, that you were happy with the service. Likewise, in other service-related industries, it is acceptable to tip, but certainly not counted on. Haggling over price is rarely acceptable. The single exception to this are flea markets. There is one daily at Waterlooplein, if you’d like to practise.

VISA/VACCINATION

Visas are not required for visitors who are staying less than three months

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Not all of these are actual public holidays, but business will be scaled down as people take time off.
1st January—New Year’s Day
14th and 17th April (2006)—Good Friday and Easter
29th April—Queen’s Day
4th May—Commemoration Day
5th May—Liberation Day
25th May (2006)—Ascension Day
5th June (2006)—Pentacost
5th December—Sinterklaas
25th and 26th December—Christmas
31st December—New Year’s Eve (half day)

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

You can almost always count on some rain given its proximity to the coast so alwyas remember to pack some sort of rain proof clothing, and it is often windy too. Temperatures in winter are typically between freezing and 10C, while summer months are 20C-25C. Spring and Autumn are typically between 10c-20C.

SUGGESTED READING

If you would like up-to-date information on Amsterdam before visiting here, there are a number of ways of doing that. There is, for example, the Channels (www. channels.nl), which offer lists of clubs, hotels, restaurants, cafés and you-name-it, all with comments thrown in by both other tourists as well as local residents. Similar information, in a similar format, can be found at www.amsterdamhotspots. nl.

For another view on the local scene, check the official city website (in English) at www.iamsterdam.com. Here you will find vast lists of things to do, places to visit and even tips on local slang.

There are also several books that cover the local scene quite well: the ever-popular The Rough Guide to Amsterdam (8th Edition), the Smokers Guide to Amsterdam by A Burton (yes, that kind of smoking), the pocketable Amsterdam (Eyewitness Top Ten Travel Guides) and the near-biblical Michelin Le Guide Vert Amsterdam (that would be Green Guide, if you prefer the English version).

GETTING INTO TOWN

Airport Schiphol Airport is huge and well equipped with shops, supermarket and a mini-museum.

Train The easiest and cheapest method of getting into the city. The station is located beneath the airport and you needn’t go outside to reach the platforms. There is an office in the airport building where you can buy tickets to destinations all over Europe as well as Amsterdam. Trains to the city centre leave approximately every 10 minutes during the day and the trip takes less than 20 minutes. €3.40 one way.

Bus An hour’s journey, for around the same fare as the train.

Taxis There are two types of taxi service between the airport and elsewhere. A normal private taxi will cost around €40 one way, with traffic increasing that price. Given decent travel conditions, the journey should take about 30 minutes. The airport taxi service cost €19 for one person or €31.35 for two, and you should expect to share with other passengers who may wish to travel via Haarlem or Utrecht, which could significantly increase the travel time.

Car hire It is possible to rent a car at the airport, but be aware that parking in Amsterdam is famously difficult and taking a car into the city is not recommended.