# eSIM for Netherlands Viasimo's Netherlands eSIM starts at $1.29 for 500 MB over 1 day, running on KPN and Vodafone with 5G where available. Plans last 1 to 180 days, arrive by email in minutes and install from your phone's settings, with no app. Canonical page: https://viasimo.com/destinations/netherlands/ ## Netherlands eSIM prices | Plan | Data | Days | Price | Price per GB | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 500 MB, 1 day | 500 MB | 1 | $1.29 | $2.64 | | 1 GB, 1 day | 1 GB | 1 | $1.59 | $1.59 | | 2 GB, 1 day | 2 GB | 1 | $2.29 | $1.15 | | 5 GB, 1 day | 5 GB | 1 | $4.00 | $0.80 | | Unlimited, 3 days | Unlimited | 3 | $6.99 | - | | Unlimited, 5 days | Unlimited | 5 | $10.99 | - | | 1 GB, 7 days | 1 GB | 7 | $1.59 | $1.59 | | Unlimited, 7 days | Unlimited | 7 | $13.99 | - | | Unlimited, 10 days | Unlimited | 10 | $18.99 | - | | 2 GB, 15 days | 2 GB | 15 | $2.59 | $1.30 | | 3 GB, 15 days | 3 GB | 15 | $3.00 | $1.00 | | Unlimited, 15 days | Unlimited | 15 | $27.99 | - | | 3 GB, 30 days | 3 GB | 30 | $3.29 | $1.10 | | 5 GB, 30 days | 5 GB | 30 | $4.59 | $0.92 | | 10 GB, 30 days | 10 GB | 30 | $8.00 | $0.80 | | 20 GB, 30 days | 20 GB | 30 | $16.00 | $0.80 | | 50 GB, 30 days | 50 GB | 30 | $36.99 | $0.74 | | Unlimited, 30 days | Unlimited | 30 | $50.00 | - | | Unlimited, 60 days | Unlimited | 60 | $97.99 | - | | Unlimited, 90 days | Unlimited | 90 | $149.99 | - | | 50 GB, 180 days | 50 GB | 180 | $47.99 | $0.96 | | Unlimited, 180 days | Unlimited | 180 | $299.99 | - | ## Which networks does the Netherlands eSIM use? - **KPN**: 5G - **Vodafone**: 5G Your eSIM picks one automatically; you do not choose or switch between them. The operator list comes from the network partner that carries this eSIM. Verified October 30, 2026. ## eSIM Details - **Data**: 500 MB – 50 GB or unlimited - **Validity**: 1–180 days - **Speed**: 4G LTE / 5G - **Hotspot / tethering**: Supported on most devices - **Activation**: Starts when you first connect in your destination - **Speed management**: Roughly 2-3 GB per day at full speed, sometimes less depending on the local carrier, then reduced - **Top-ups**: Add more data from your account, before the plan expires - **Text messages (SMS)**: Data only: use an app for verification codes - **Unused validity**: 180 days before it must be installed ## Netherlands: what to know before you land Source: https://viasimo.com/destinations/netherlands/#destination-guide · Researched October 2026 by Viasimo In the Netherlands you no longer need a transport card: OVpay lets you check in and out on trains, trams, buses and metros with a contactless bank card or a phone wallet, and the old OV-chipkaart is due to be withdrawn by 2027. Your eSIM uses KPN and Vodafone. KPN switched off 3G in March 2022, so data runs on 4G and 5G. ### Netherlands: quick facts | Fact | Netherlands | | --- | --- | | Emergency number | 112 (police non-emergency 0900 8844) | | Main airports | Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS); Eindhoven Airport (EIN); Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM) | | Plug types | Type C, F (230V) | | Currency | Euro (EUR) | | Apps worth having | NS, OVpay, 9292, GVB, WhatsApp, Google Maps | ### OVpay: tap your bank card or phone on NS, GVB and RET (Netherlands · https://viasimo.com/destinations/netherlands/#guide-ovpay-tap-your-bank-card-or-phone-on-ns-gvb-and-ret) **OVpay** has run alongside the OV-chipkaart since 2022 and brings contactless payment to public transport across the Netherlands. You tap in when you board a train, tram, bus or metro and tap out at the end. No separate app or ticket is required. According to Amsterdam's official visitor site: - Accepted cards include contactless **Mastercard, Visa, Maestro and V PAY**, plus Dutch bank debit cards, and phones linked to them through **Apple Pay or Google Wallet**. - On Amsterdam's GVB network, trips paid this way are capped at **€10.50 a day**. - For heavier use, the **Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket** gives one, two or three days of unlimited travel on GVB, Connexxion, EBS, R-net and other regional lines, including NS trains in the area. Trans Link Systems announced in January 2026 that the **OV-chipkaart will be fully discontinued by 2027**, replaced by a new OV-pas card that works with OVpay. If you still have an old anonymous OV-chipkaart from a previous trip, use up the balance. Two phone tips: tap out with the same card or phone you tapped in with, and keep your phone charged. A flat battery means no phone wallet and an incomplete journey. The OVpay app lets you check what you have been charged, which needs data. ### KPN, Vodafone and Odido after the 3G switch-off (Netherlands · https://viasimo.com/destinations/netherlands/#guide-kpn-vodafone-and-odido-after-the-3g-switch-off) The Netherlands has three national mobile networks: - **KPN**, the former state telecom company and owner of the Dutch fixed-line network, is the country's leading mobile operator under its own brand. It also runs budget brands such as Simyo. - **VodafoneZiggo**, the joint Vodafone and cable operator. - **Odido**, created on 5 September 2023 when T-Mobile Netherlands and Tele2 were rebranded together. It had about 6.9 million customers in January 2024. Your eSIM connects to **KPN** and **Vodafone**. Between them they cover the country closely, and the Netherlands had around 22 million mobile connections in 2023, about 1.26 per person. **3G has gone.** KPN's UMTS network ran until **31 March 2022** and its spectrum now carries 4G and 5G. KPN still operates a 2G GSM network for basic calls and older devices, but it is not something you will use for data. If an old travel guide talks about 3G fallback in the Dutch countryside, it is out of date: where 4G and 5G fade, for example on outer parts of the Wadden Islands, expect slow or no data rather than 3G. With 4G and 5G as the base layer, video calls, map downloads and photo backups work well on trains between the Randstad cities. ### ID checks, pickpockets and fake police around Amsterdam Centraal (Netherlands · https://viasimo.com/destinations/netherlands/#guide-id-checks-pickpockets-and-fake-police-around-amsterdam-centraal) Three Dutch rules and risks change how you carry your phone and documents. **You must be able to show ID.** Anyone aged 14 or over must always be able to identify themselves. GOV.UK tells British visitors to carry their passport. Fines are €100 for those aged 16 and over and €50 for 14- and 15-year-olds. A photo of your passport on your phone is a useful backup, but it does not replace the document. **Pickpocketing is common.** GOV.UK says it happens a lot in central Amsterdam and around **Amsterdam Centraal**, and that gangs work on the trains and trams between **Schiphol** and Centraal. One person distracts you while another takes your bag or phone. Do not leave your phone on a table or seat, and avoid sleeping on the airport train. An eSIM cannot be pulled out and reused like a plastic SIM, but you will still want to lock or erase a stolen phone remotely. **Fake police scams target tourists.** Criminals posing as plain-clothes officers ask to check cash and cards, often citing a counterfeit money investigation. Real Dutch police rarely do this and do not carry shiny badges. If in doubt, ring the **police non-emergency line, 0900 8844**, to be put through to the nearest station. For emergencies, dial 112. ### Sources for the Netherlands guide - [Public transport in Amsterdam – I amsterdam](https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/travel-stay/getting-around/public-transport) - [OV-chipkaart – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OV-chipkaart) - [OVpay – Trans Link Systems](https://www.ovpay.nl/en) - [KPN – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPN) - [Odido – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odido) - [Netherlands travel advice: safety and security – GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/netherlands/safety-and-security) ## Seven days in the Netherlands: Amsterdam, Haarlem, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Kinderdijk and Delft 7-day itinerary · 7 days · Source: https://viasimo.com/destinations/netherlands/#itinerary A train-based week that suits first-time visitors: two days of canals and museums in Amsterdam, then short hops to Haarlem and Zaanse Schans, Utrecht, Rotterdam's modern architecture, the windmills of Kinderdijk, Delft and The Hague, tapping in with a bank card throughout. **When to go:** Mid-March to mid-May for tulips, with Keukenhof open for about eight weeks in spring; June to September is mild and long-lit, while King's Day on 27 April packs Amsterdam and winter is grey but quiet. ### Day 1 in Netherlands: Amsterdam: the canal ring and the Rijksmuseum - **Base:** Amsterdam - **Getting there:** Trains from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal take about 15 to 20 minutes; tap in and out with a contactless card. - **Plan:** Take the train from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal. Walk through the UNESCO-listed canal ring along Herengracht and Keizersgracht, then cross to the Museumplein. Spend the afternoon at the Rijksmuseum, where Rembrandt's Night Watch hangs in the Gallery of Honour, or at the Van Gogh Museum next door; book both ahead. End with a canal boat tour or a walk through Vondelpark. - **Mobile signal:** KPN and Vodafone 5G are strong across central Amsterdam. Signal can dip briefly in the tunnels under Centraal and on the Noord-Zuidlijn metro. ### Day 2 in Netherlands: Anne Frank House, the Jordaan and Amsterdam Noord - **Base:** Amsterdam - **Plan:** Start at the Anne Frank House on Prinsengracht; tickets are sold only online and are released six weeks ahead, so book early. Wander the narrow streets and hidden courtyards of the Jordaan, including the Begijnhof near Spui. In the afternoon, take the free ferry behind Centraal across the IJ to Amsterdam Noord for the EYE Film Museum and the A'DAM Lookout. - **Mobile signal:** Excellent 5G across the city and on the IJ ferries. Keep your Anne Frank House ticket saved offline. ### Day 3 in Netherlands: Zaanse Schans and Haarlem - **Base:** Amsterdam - **Getting there:** About 20 minutes by train to Koog-Zaandijk for Zaanse Schans; Haarlem is about 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam. - **Plan:** Go early to Zaanse Schans, a riverside collection of working windmills, wooden houses and craft workshops, before the tour buses arrive. Then take the train to Haarlem. See the Grote Kerk on the Grote Markt with its huge organ, and the Frans Hals Museum for Dutch Golden Age portraits. Walk the quiet canals and almshouse courtyards before returning to Amsterdam. - **Mobile signal:** Strong 4G and 5G throughout. Download the NS app to check connections between stops. ### Day 4 in Netherlands: Utrecht - **Base:** Utrecht - **Getting there:** About 25 to 30 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal. - **Plan:** Take the train to Utrecht. Climb the 465 steps of the Dom Tower, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands, for views across the country. Walk the Oudegracht, a canal with two-level wharves and cellars at water level, and visit the Centraal Museum. If you like design, book a tour of the Rietveld Schröder House, a UNESCO site and a landmark of the De Stijl movement. - **Mobile signal:** Good 5G in the city centre. The Dom Tower's stone staircase and the canal cellars can weaken signal. ### Day 5 in Netherlands: Rotterdam and the windmills of Kinderdijk - **Base:** Rotterdam - **Getting there:** Utrecht to Rotterdam is about 40 minutes by train; the Waterbus from Rotterdam's Erasmusbrug pier to Kinderdijk takes about 30 to 45 minutes depending on the route. - **Plan:** Travel to Rotterdam and drop your bags. Take the Waterbus up the river to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO site with 19 windmills built in the 18th century to drain the polders; walk or cycle along the dikes and go inside a museum mill. Back in Rotterdam, see the Cube Houses and the Markthal by Blaak station, then walk across the Erasmus Bridge at dusk. - **Mobile signal:** Good 4G and 5G in Rotterdam and on the Waterbus. Coverage is reliable along the Kinderdijk dikes, though it can be weaker inside the mills. ### Day 6 in Netherlands: Delft and The Hague - **Base:** Rotterdam - **Getting there:** Rotterdam to Delft is about 15 minutes by train; Delft to The Hague is about 10 minutes. - **Plan:** Take the train to Delft. Walk the Markt between the New Church, where the Dutch royal family is buried, and the Renaissance town hall, and visit the Royal Delft pottery to see the blue-and-white earthenware being painted. Continue to The Hague and the Mauritshuis for Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, then take the tram to the beach at Scheveningen for the evening. - **Mobile signal:** Strong 5G in Delft, The Hague and on the coast at Scheveningen. ### Day 7 in Netherlands: Leiden and departure - **Base:** Amsterdam - **Getting there:** About 35 minutes by train from Rotterdam to Leiden, and about 15 to 20 minutes from Leiden to Schiphol. - **Plan:** Head to Leiden on your way to the airport. Walk the canals and visit the Hortus Botanicus, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, or the National Museum of Antiquities. In spring, you could instead take the express bus from Leiden Centraal to Keukenhof for its tulip gardens. Continue to Schiphol for your flight. - **Mobile signal:** Reliable 5G throughout. Download your boarding pass before Schiphol, where crowds can slow mobile data. ### Staying connected on this Netherlands route - Use a contactless bank card or phone wallet with OVpay for trains, trams and the Waterbus where accepted; keep using the same card to tap in and out. - Book the Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum online in advance and save the tickets offline. - Carry your passport or ID; everyone over 14 must be able to show identification. ### Sources for the Netherlands itinerary - [Holland.com (Netherlands Board of Tourism)](https://www.holland.com/global/tourism.htm) - [Anne Frank House: tickets](https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/tickets/) - [UNESCO: Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/818) - [UNESCO: Seventeenth-Century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1349) ## About this eSIM The Netherlands is small, dense and almost entirely navigated by app: train departures, bike routes, museum time slots and canal-boat pickups all live on a screen. That makes a working data line less of a convenience here and more of the thing that holds the day together. A Netherlands eSIM gives you one from the moment you step off at Schiphol, running as a second line so your usual number stays switched on behind it. ### Getting online when you land Add the profile before you travel, at home, on wifi. Installing it is a download in its own right, and doing it at the gate or in a taxi queue is how people end up standing offline next to a machine that wants them to be online. At Schiphol, Eindhoven or Rotterdam The Hague, drop out of airplane mode, turn the travel line on, and select it for mobile data. Data roaming is set per line, so enabling it for the travel line leaves your home number untouched. Switch mobile data off on the home line, keep its calls and texts running, and that is the whole setup. The first thing it earns you is the train. Schiphol has a station directly beneath the terminal, and everything about using it, from checking which platform the Intercity leaves from to buying a ticket in the app, assumes you have data in your hand. Same story for the OV bike you pick up at the other end. ### The networks you'll be on Traffic here rides on two Dutch national operators, KPN and Vodafone, both carrying 4G LTE and 5G where it has been rolled out. Your handset picks and moves between them without asking you, and the practical experience is 4G LTE or better nearly everywhere you will be standing. Whether you land on 5G matters less than you might think in a country this well built out. Capacity in the Randstad is good, and the things you are doing here, journey planning, maps, tickets and messaging, are not bandwidth problems. ### Where coverage holds, and where it thins This is one of the easier countries in Europe to stay connected in. The Randstad is effectively continuous coverage: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Delft, Haarlem and Leiden all hold signal at street level, and so do the intercity corridors linking them. Trains keep a usable connection for most of the run, with brief drops in cuttings and under stations. Eindhoven, Groningen, Maastricht, Nijmegen and Arnhem are all fine. Where it eases off, it does so gently. Rural Friesland, Drenthe and Zeeland, the polder roads, the dyke routes and the quieter parts of the Hoge Veluwe can slow down rather than disappear. The Wadden Islands are the real exception: on Texel, Terschelling, Vlieland, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, coverage clusters around the villages and harbours and gets unreliable out on the dunes, the beaches and the mudflats. Ferry crossings and the far end of a long beach walk are worth planning around. Underground, expect the usual: metro tunnels in Amsterdam and Rotterdam are variable, and thick-walled old buildings and church interiors can swallow a signal entirely. ### What you'll actually use data for here Transport, mostly. The national rail app for live departures and disruptions, tram and metro planners in the cities, ferry timetables in Zeeland and up to the islands, and a bike navigation app that routes you along the fietspad rather than the road, which is a genuinely different route. Then bookings. The Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum and Keukenhof in season all run on timed entry, and those slots get bought and shown on a phone. Restaurant reservations work the same way, especially in Amsterdam and Utrecht on a weekend. Everyday payment and parking apps assume connectivity, and so does anything involving a shared bike or scooter. Add weather, which here is not small talk but an actual input into whether you cycle or take the tram, plus messaging, maps and the occasional translation when a sign or a menu is Dutch only. ### Before you fly Install the profile on home wifi and check it shows as active before you pack. Download an offline map of the cities you are visiting, and if you are cycling between towns, download the region rather than just the city. Bike routing works far better with the map already on the device. Install the national rail app and any city transport app before you arrive, so the first thing you do at Schiphol is buy a ticket rather than wait for an app store. Book timed museum entry in advance and save the QR codes to your phone wallet so a weak signal in a queue is not a problem. Keep your home line active for calls and texts with its data switched off, and let the travel line carry everything else. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does an eSIM work in Netherlands? Yes. Your Netherlands eSIM connects automatically the moment you arrive, with no roaming fees and nothing to set up at the airport. The host networks it can use are KPN, Vodafone. Coverage runs on 4G LTE and 5G where the network has rolled it out, and falls back to 4G elsewhere. ### Do I get 5G in Netherlands? Yes, where it has been deployed. 5G runs on KPN, Vodafone in Netherlands, and your eSIM uses it automatically on a 5G-capable phone, dropping back to 4G LTE outside covered areas. No country is covered everywhere, so 5G availability varies by location. ### Can I pay for Dutch trains and trams with my bank card? Yes. With OVpay you check in and out on trains, trams, buses and metros using a contactless Mastercard, Visa, Maestro or V PAY card, or a phone linked to them through Apple Pay or Google Wallet. In Amsterdam, GVB trips paid this way are capped at €10.50 a day. Always tap out with the same card or phone. ### Is the OV-chipkaart being discontinued? Yes. Trans Link Systems announced in January 2026 that the OV-chipkaart will be fully discontinued by 2027 and replaced by a new card, the OV-pas, which works with OVpay. Visitors can skip it entirely by tapping a contactless bank card or phone. Use up any balance left on an old card. ### Is there still 3G in the Netherlands? Not on KPN, which ran its 3G network until 31 March 2022 and reused the spectrum for 4G and 5G. KPN still runs 2G for basic calls, but mobile data in the Netherlands now depends on 4G and 5G. In weak spots, such as remote parts of the Wadden Islands, expect slow or no data rather than 3G. ### Do I need to carry ID in the Netherlands? Yes. Everyone aged 14 or over must be able to show identification, and GOV.UK tells British visitors to carry their passport. Fines are €100 for those aged 16 and over and €50 for 14- and 15-year-olds. Keep a photo of your passport on your phone as a backup, not a replacement. ### How much data do I need for 7 days in Netherlands? For 7 days in Netherlands, Viasimo sells 1 GB for $1.59 and unlimited data for $13.99. Our sizing recommendation, not a measurement: maps, messaging and the occasional lookup, about 1 GB a week; maps, social, photos and some browsing, about 3 to 7 GB a week. The data calculator on this site works it out from how you actually use your phone. ## Information and verification - **Prices and plans**: Every price and allowance on this page is read from the live catalog, not typed in. Verified October 30, 2026. - **Host networks**: The operator list comes from the network partner that carries this eSIM. Verified October 30, 2026.