Amsterdam Bike Rental: Prices, Rules and Parking

What renting a bike costs

Prices below are each shop's own published rates for one bike (checked 12 October 2026). A "day" at both shops means 24 hours, and Yellow Bike also sells a cheaper same-day rate if you return before closing.

MacBike's price list also has a "tourfiets" (touring bike) at €22.50 a day, a children's bike at €15.95, a tandem at €34.95 and a cargo bike (bakfiets) at €36.95, and its home page says booking online takes 10% off. Yellow Bike's rental page adds a 3-day deal at €49 and a week at €85, both with insurance included.

The deposit differs a lot, which matters if you do not want to hand over a passport:

• MacBike: a credit card (copied in the shop) for up to 5 bikes, or an original passport, ID card or driving licence plus €50 cash per bike. E-bikes take a credit card or cash only.
• Yellow Bike: €20 per bike by mobile payment app or €75 cash, refunded on return. The page says no ID is required.

MacBike has shops at Central Station (Oosterdoksstraat 106), Waterlooplein, Leidseplein, Vondelpark and near Dam Square. Yellow Bike rents from De Ruijterkade 34b at Central Station (09:00–20:00) and Nieuwezijds Kolk 29 (listed as 09:00–17:30 in one place and 09:00–18:00 in another on the same page, so check before a late return).

Two adults, two days: bike or public transport?

Two adults who want bikes for two full days, with insurance, would pay (checked 12 October 2026):

• MacBike city bikes: (€17.95 + €14.95) × 2 bikes = €65.80, plus insurance €4.95 × 2 days × 2 bikes = €19.80. Total €85.60, or less with the 10% online discount on the rental.
• Yellow Bike, 24 hours plus one extra 24 hours: (€18.50 + €14.50) × 2 = €66.00, plus insurance €3.95 × 2 × 2 = €15.80. Total €81.80.

The public transport comparison: tapping a bank card (OVpay) on GVB trams, metro and day buses is capped at €10.50 per person per day in 2026 under GVB Max, according to I amsterdam's Dutch public transport page (updated 7 October 2026) and the 2026 fare proposals of Vervoerregio Amsterdam, the authority that sets the fares. For two adults over two days that caps at €10.50 × 2 people × 2 days = €42, with no deposit, insurance or parking worries. I amsterdam's English payment page still shows the 2025 cap of €10.00. Per-trip fares and day tickets are covered in our guide to GVB fares and paying by card in Amsterdam.

So the bike costs roughly twice the transit maximum for this pair (€81.80–€85.60 against €42). It pays off in other ways: door-to-door trips without waiting for a connection, and the ride itself. If you would mostly travel between a few museums and your hotel, transit is cheaper and simpler.

Traffic rules visitors must follow

These are national Dutch rules from the government's own Q&A pages, so they apply to tourists on rental bikes exactly as to residents (checked 12 October 2026).

Lights and reflectors

The Rijksoverheid lighting rules require a front and rear light in the dark and in poor visibility: white or yellow at the front, red at the back. Lights must not blink. Clip-on lights are allowed, including on your bag or clothing, but only on your chest or back, not on your head, arms or legs. The bike also needs a red rear reflector, reflectors on the wheels and four amber pedal reflectors. Before you ride off at dusk, switch the rental's lights on in the shop and check both work.

Phones and headphones

The government's phone rules, listed under its cycling topics, say that when you ride on the road you may not hold a mobile device, and the police can fine you if you do; the page gives no fine amount. Hands-free use, for example with earbuds, is allowed, and so is music if you keep the volume low or use one earbud so you can still hear the traffic around you. Wedging the phone between ear and shoulder does not count as hands-free. For navigation, stop at the side to check the map, or use a handlebar mount.

Alcohol

The limit for cyclists is 0.5 per mille blood alcohol, the same as for car and motorcycle drivers, according to the Rijksoverheid alcohol Q&A. The police cannot take your driving licence for drunk cycling, but you can be given a car driving ban for a few hours.

Where to ride

The traffic regulations (RVV 1990, article 5) require cyclists to use a compulsory cycle path or cycle/moped path where there is one. I amsterdam's cycling page adds the practical version: ride in the bike lane on the right, obey traffic lights and signs, stay off footpaths, pavements and shopping streets, ride no more than two side by side, signal turns with your arm, and cross tram rails at a sharp angle so a tyre does not drop into the groove.

If you rent an e-bike, the e-bike rules allow pedal assist up to 25 km/h with a motor of up to 250 watts, on the cycle path, with no licence or helmet needed.

Parking and the bike depot

I amsterdam tells visitors to park only in designated racks or a bike parking garage (stalling), and to lock the bike to something fixed. Some locations allow bikes for up to two weeks and others up to six weeks. Bikes parked in the wrong place may be removed to the city's Bicycle Depot (Fietsdepot). According to the same page (last updated 16 May 2025), reclaiming a bike there costs €25, and you must show ID and have the lock key. We could not check this fee on the City of Amsterdam's own depot page, so treat it as a guide figure.

With a rental, the removal is your problem, not the shop's. MacBike's terms say costs from incorrect parking are at the customer's own risk, and its locking rules say to always use both locks on a bike rack and never leave the key in the lock. A removed rental also means a trip to the depot and possibly extra rental days before you can return it.

Cycling with children

National rules say children under 8 carried on a bike need a safe seat with enough support for back, hands and feet, according to the Rijksoverheid page on children on bikes. It advises footrests and a spoke guard (a hard plastic screen between footrest and wheel), because a child's foot can get caught in the spokes. Children on a bicycle do not need an approved helmet.

For rentals, MacBike fits a child seat on request (no price published) and rents children's bikes and cargo bikes; Yellow Bike charges €7.50 for a child seat. Ask to see the footrests and spoke guard before you leave the shop.

OV-fiets: cheap, but built for Dutch card holders

NS's English OV-fiets page advertises bikes for €4.80 per day at more than 300 locations in the Netherlands. The Dutch OV-fiets page explains the catch: you rent with an NS Flex subscription on your OV-chipkaart, and NS's FAQ specifies a personal OV-chipkaart, because the lock opens only with your own card. NS Flex Basis has no monthly fee, but new customers pay a €10 administration fee, and the separate OV-fiets subscription is no longer offered (the English page still links to one, so expect to be sent to NS Flex).

Other conditions, from the NS "how it works" page (checked 12 October 2026):

• You pay per 24 hours, with no hourly rate, and are billed afterwards through your OV-chipkaart.
• From day four the price is €9.80 per day (the FAQ describes it as a €5 daily surcharge on top of the rental), and the maximum hire is 7 days.
• You must return the bike to the same location it came from.

None of these NS pages say whether foreign visitors can set this up. If you already hold a personal OV-chipkaart with NS Flex from an earlier trip, OV-fiets is the cheapest option, especially for a day trip from a station outside Amsterdam. For a short first visit, a city rental shop needs nothing but a deposit. If you are arriving by train from Schiphol, our Schiphol to the city centre guide covers that first leg.

If cycling is not for your group, a canal cruise is another way to see the canal ring without riding through it.