Getting around The Hague

Public transport

You can easily cover The Hague city centre on foot, and there's a good network of 12 tram lines and 8 bus lines covering outlying areas. The local tram and bus company is HTM (tel: 0900 486 4636, in the Netherlands only; www.htm.nl). Tram 1 runs from Delft to Scheveningen via the Centrum (city centre) and Vredespaleis (Peace Palace). The route of tram 1 is 20 km long and runs along several main attractions. Timetables are available from the tourist office.

You can buy a single ticket from bus or tram drivers. A one-day ticket (HTM Dagkaart) is available from HTM service points, Centraal station, Hollands Spoor station and drivers on trams 2, 9, 11 and 17. Three-day travelcards are available from Centraal, Zoetermeer Centre-West and Hollands Spoor stations, at tourist information centres and at some hotels.

OV-chipkaarts are reloadable smartcards which you can use for travel throughout the Netherlands, including on the HTM network. 

Taxis

Reliable taxi firms include HCT City Tax (tel: +31 70 383 0830), Hofstad Tax (tel: +31 70 346 2626) and TCH Taxi (tel: +31 70 390 6262).

Driving

The Hague is well supplied with parking options – there are plenty of multi-storey car parks dotted around the city, along with many on-street metered parking spaces, which can be paid for using cash, a 'chipknip' smartcard available from the tourist office, or in some cases mobile phone or credit card. As in most large cities, though, traffic can be heavy at peak times.

Car hire

All major national and international car hire companies operate from Amsterdam Schiphol and several can also be found in Rotterdam The Hague Airport.

In The Hague, try Avis (tel: +31 88 284 7070; www.avis.com), Europcar (tel: +31 70 381 1811; www.europcar.com), Sixt (tel: +31 70 381 71 77, www.sixt.com) and Hertz (tel: +31 70 381 8989; www.hertz.com).

Bicycle hire

Cycling is a popular way of getting around town, with many dedicated cycle paths. Pay special attention to trams and other cyclists and never leave your bike unattended unlocked. You can hire bikes at Rent a bike, Noordeinde 39 (www.rentabikethehague.nl) or at Rent a road bike at Bogaardplein 16 (www.rent-a-road-bike.com/Den-Haag/The-Hague).