Short answer: On the ground in Amsterdam, plan on roughly €65–110 (about $75–125) per person per day on a hostel budget, €195–240 (about $220–270) in a mid-range hotel shared by two, and €420–490 (about $475–555) in five-star comfort, taxes included. A week therefore costs about €455–770 ($515–870) on a tight budget, €1,365–1,680 ($1,540–1,900) mid-range and €2,940–3,430 ($3,320–3,875) in comfort, before flights. For scale, foreign tourists spent €41.7 billion in the Netherlands in 2025, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
The Netherlands is one of the more expensive countries in Europe for travelers, and Amsterdam is the priciest part of it, mostly because of hotel rooms and the taxes on them. Since 1 January 2026, hotel stays carry 21% VAT instead of 9%, and Amsterdam adds a 12.5% tourist tax on top. The good news: the country is small, trains are fast, museums are free for under-18s, and other cities cost less. This guide breaks it all down with figures from official sources, so you can build a realistic budget for your trip to the Netherlands. Dollar figures use about €0.89 to the US dollar (so €1 is about $1.13), the Federal Reserve’s rate in early October 2026; use our Money exchange tool for today’s rate.
Netherlands daily costs at a glance
These example days are built from the sourced prices further down this page: one person, one sightseeing day in Amsterdam, where most visitors stay. They leave out flights, intercity trains, shopping and nightlife.
| Per person, per day | Budget | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed | Hostel dorm bed: €20–60 | Half of a €165–210 room, plus tourist tax: €90–115 | Half of a five-star room at about €500, plus tourist tax: about €275 |
| Food | Two inexpensive meals at about €20: €40 | Lunch, half of an €80 dinner for two, a coffee and a beer: about €70 | Lunch, half of a €120 dinner for two, drinks: €90–115 |
| Local transport | Two 1-hour GVB tickets or a day ticket: €7–10 | GVB day ticket: €10 | Taxis: €15–30 |
| Sights | Canals, markets and parks: €0 | Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh Museum, maybe Anne Frank House: €25–42 | Two or three big museums: €42–67 |
| Total | About €65–110 ($75–125) | About €195–240 ($220–270) | About €420–490 ($475–555) |
The dorm range is Hostelz’s low- and high-season price for a large dorm in Amsterdam; the mid-range room runs from Skyscanner’s three-star average (about €165–180) to KAYAK’s four-star average (about €212); the five-star figure is the 2026 average on the price site combien-coute.net (about €508, from hotels.com data); meal, coffee, beer and taxi prices are 2026 Amsterdam prices from the crowd-sourced Numbeo index; transport, tax and museum prices are official. Treat these as typical ranges, not quotes.
What visitors actually spend in the Netherlands
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) estimates that foreign tourists spent €41.7 billion in the country in 2025, about €3.1 billion more than in 2024 and a real increase of 7.1% after inflation (preliminary figures, published in September 2026). In the same year, hotels, campsites and holiday parks welcomed 22.3 million foreign guests, 5% more than a year earlier; by far the most hotel guests came from neighboring Germany. CBS no longer publishes an average spend per visitor, so there is no official per-person figure to compare with.
On our Travel costs by country scale, which compares hotel, restaurant and transport prices with the United States (US = 100), the Netherlands scores 120, in our “very expensive” band and among the higher scores in the European Union, though below the Nordic countries. That is a little above Belgium (118), Germany (113) and France (111), and below Ireland (129), Denmark (140) and Switzerland (161). Everyday living costs score lower (84), so supermarkets and bakeries are better value than restaurants and hotels.
Accommodation costs
Your bed is the biggest line in a Dutch budget. Hostelz’s Amsterdam guide puts a bed in a large dorm at about €20–30 in low season and €40–60 in high season, and a private hostel room at €70–180; its average for the whole country is about €26 for a dorm bed. Skyscanner’s three-star average for Amsterdam is about €165–180 a night. KAYAK’s four-star average is about €212, ranging from about €110 in December to about €319 in June, and combien-coute.net gives about €508 for five stars.
Seasons matter a lot: July and August are the busiest and dearest, hotels book up early for tulip season and King’s Day (27 April), and November to February, outside Christmas and New Year, is the cheapest, as our best time to visit the Netherlands guide explains. Staying in Utrecht, Rotterdam or The Hague, all well connected by train, is often cheaper than staying in central Amsterdam.
VAT and tourist tax on hotel stays
- VAT: from 1 January 2026, the Dutch VAT rate on overnight stays in hotels, B&Bs and holiday parks rose from 9% to 21%, according to the Dutch Tax Administration. It applies to every night spent from 2026, even if you booked and paid earlier. Breakfast stays at 9%, and campsite pitches are also unaffected.
- Amsterdam tourist tax: 12.5% of the room price excluding VAT in 2026, charged on hotels, B&Bs, holiday rentals and campsites. On a €200 room (VAT included), that is about €21 a night. The city has proposed raising it to 16% from 2027; check the rate before you travel.
- Other towns set their own tourist tax, usually a smaller percentage or a fixed amount per person per night; your host adds it to the bill.
Food and drink costs
Numbeo’s 2026 figures for Amsterdam show a meal at an inexpensive restaurant at about €20 (range €15–45), a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant, without drinks, at about €80 (range €60–120), a fast-food combo at about €14, a half-liter of draft beer at about €6.60 and a cappuccino at about €4. Street food such as fries, herring and stroopwafels, a bakery lunch, a supermarket picnic in the park and the food halls are the cheapest ways to eat well. Prices in shops and restaurants include VAT.
Getting around the Netherlands
- Amsterdam trams, metro and buses (GVB): in 2026 a 1-hour ticket costs €3.40 and a day ticket €10, with multi-day tickets from €16 for 48 hours to €43 for 168 hours (seven days). You can also tap in and out with a contactless bank card (OVpay). The Amsterdam Travel Ticket, which adds the airport train, costs €20 for one day, €27 for two and €34 for three.
- Trains: the country is compact, so trains are the easy way to see more. Typical second-class single fares from Amsterdam Centraal are about €5.50 to Schiphol airport, €10 to Utrecht, €15.30 to The Hague, €20.20 to Rotterdam and €33.30 to Maastricht. You can tap in and out with a contactless bank card or buy tickets at machines and in the NS app.
- Bikes: renting a bike for a day is the local way to get around cities and the countryside; bikes on trains need their own day ticket and are not allowed at weekday rush hours, except in July and August, while folding bikes travel free.
- Taxis: Numbeo’s figures put an Amsterdam taxi at about €4.15 to start and €3.05 per kilometer, so trams and bikes are far cheaper.
Our Netherlands itinerary shows how to combine Amsterdam with Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Hague and the windmills by train.
Sightseeing fees and free things to do
Dutch museums are world-class and fairly priced for adults, and the big ones are free for under-18s. Most need a timed ticket booked online.
| Sight (adult) | Entry |
|---|---|
| Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam | €25; 18 and under free; start time required |
| Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam | €25; under 18 free; online only |
| Anne Frank House, Amsterdam | €16.50; online only, released six weeks ahead |
| Mauritshuis, The Hague | €24 |
| Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam | €20; under 18 free |
| Kinderdijk windmills | €21 (children 4–12 €9), 10% off online |
| Keukenhof, 18 March–9 May 2027 | From €21 online, €27 at the gate |
| Dom Tower, Utrecht (guided climb) | From €13.50 |
| North Caves tour, Maastricht | From €9.95 |
Some of the best things in the Netherlands are free: walking the canal rings of Amsterdam and Utrecht, Vondelpark, the markets, the free ferries across the IJ to Amsterdam Noord, Rotterdam’s modern architecture, the dunes and beaches near The Hague and in Zeeland, and cycling through the countryside. See our top places to visit in the Netherlands for the highlights, and our cycling page for ideas.
A sample mid-range week
Here is one person’s share of a week based in Amsterdam with day trips to Utrecht and Rotterdam, staying in a mid-range room for two and using the example day above:
| Item (per person, 7 nights) | Cost |
|---|---|
| Half of a €165–210 room | €580–735 |
| Amsterdam tourist tax, 12.5% of the room price before VAT | €60–76 |
| Food, at about €70 a day | About €490 |
| GVB 7-day ticket | €43 |
| Return trains to Utrecht and Rotterdam | About €60 |
| Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House and Depot Boijmans | About €87 |
| Total, before flights | About €1,320–1,490 ($1,490–1,685) |
The same week from November to February usually costs less, because rooms are much cheaper; in July and August, or on tulip-season weekends, it costs more.
Tipping in the Netherlands
Service is included in prices, so tipping is optional. Rounding up or leaving about 5–10% for good service at a restaurant is common, and nothing is expected at a bar counter. Our tip calculator works out amounts on the spot.
Money-saving tips for the Netherlands
- Go between November and February, outside Christmas and New Year; KAYAK’s four-star Amsterdam average drops to about €110 in December against about €319 in June.
- Stay outside Amsterdam in Utrecht, Rotterdam or The Hague and visit Amsterdam by train, avoiding Amsterdam’s 12.5% tourist tax.
- Buy a multi-day GVB ticket if you will ride trams often; a 7-day ticket costs €43.
- Book museums early online. Time slots sell out, and Anne Frank House tickets are released six weeks ahead.
- Rent a bike and picnic in the parks; supermarkets and bakeries cost far less than cafés.
Plan your trip: our free trip planner can build a day-by-day plan for the Netherlands from our guides, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Giethoorn and Keukenhof. Then use the Money exchange tool to turn euros into your own currency, and the Destination weather tool to pick your dates.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need for a week in the Netherlands?
Using the Amsterdam example days above, seven days on the ground cost roughly €455–770 ($515–870) per person on a hostel budget, €1,365–1,680 ($1,540–1,900) mid-range and €2,940–3,430 ($3,320–3,875) in comfort, taxes included, before flights and intercity trains. Staying outside Amsterdam or traveling in winter lowers those numbers.
Is the Netherlands expensive?
Yes, especially Amsterdam. The Netherlands scores 120 on our travel cost scale (US = 100), above Germany and France. Hotel rooms now carry 21% VAT, and Amsterdam adds a 12.5% tourist tax. Trains, museums for under-18s, bikes and supermarket food are good value.
Do I need cash in the Netherlands?
Rarely. Cards are the normal way to pay, and some places take cards only: a 2025 survey by the Dutch central bank found that about 4% of shops accept no cash, rising to about 9% in big cities. Make sure you have a card that works contactless, and carry a little cash for markets and small purchases.
How much is the tourist tax in Amsterdam?
12.5% of the room price excluding VAT in 2026, added by your hotel or host; a rise to 16% from 2027 has been proposed. Since 1 January 2026, hotel stays across the Netherlands also carry 21% VAT instead of 9%.
How much does it cost to visit Amsterdam’s museums?
Adults pay €25 at the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum and €16.50 at the Anne Frank House, so all three cost €66.50. Under-18s go free at the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. Book timed tickets online in advance.
What is the cheapest month to visit the Netherlands?
November to February, outside Christmas and New Year, when hotels are cheapest and museums quietest. July and August are the busiest and most expensive, and tulip season books up early. See our best time to visit the Netherlands guide for the weather month by month.