Amsterdam and across the whole country being valid on most trains, trams and busses. Locals buy a card and put money on it and fares are subtracted by the different transport companies.

If you have used the cards such as the Oyster in London or the Octopus in Hong Kong this system is similar. You check in and check out on each vehicle and pay for the kilometers. It is a great system... for locals.

Tourists unfortunately, cannot take advantage of this. The cost of the empty card (€7,50) makes no sense for visitors since you still have to put money on it. But once you have an OV card, you generally pay half for your Amsterdam tram trip.

Visitors to Amsterdam have to pay €2,60 on the tram (egads!) and the 24 hour card (€7, available on the tram) is a good value only by comparison. 48/72/96 hour cards are available at GVB Tickets and Info in front of Centraal Station and are more reasonably priced.