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2019 Rotterdam

General information

How to travel to Rotterdam

Best way to travel to Rotterdam is via Schiphol Airport and thereafter take the high speed train to Rotterdam (intercity direct) in 25 min which runs every 15 min. The taxi will be 1 hour (or longer) and cost 200 euro whereas the train is 25 min and costs 13 euro.
For more information please see video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stQQpaX650w

Languages

Dutch. Many Dutch people speak English as well.

Currency

Euro (€)

Money
You can exchange cash at Banks, post offices and GWK exchange offices. Also, many hotels have an option that visitors can change cash there. There are many ATM machines throughout Rotterdam. Credit cards including Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted in Rotterdam but American Express card is less accepted than these two. By credit card you can pay restaurant bills, hotel bills and in department stores. In smaller shops, paying by credit card is less common.

Tipping

Tipping is not expected in Netherlands. Many services include the service charge added to the bill. In restaurants, bars and cafés, leaving extra charge is common. If the service in restaurant was good or exeptional, around 5-10% tipping is expected. The best option is to give the tip directly to the service person. In café or bar, it is suitable to leave small change or round-up the bill. In hotels,  there is often a 15% service charge already added to the hotel bill. If you want to tip your porter you should tip 1 or 2 Euros per bag.

Time Zone

Netherlands is in the Central European Time Zone. Central European Standard Time (CET) is 1 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+1). Like most states in Europe, Summer (Daylight-Saving) Time is observed in Netherlands, where the time is shifted forward by 1 hour;  2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+2). In the year 2019 the Daylight Saving Time starts on 31st March and ends on 27th October.

For the current time info please click HERE.

Climate

The weather is very changeable. North Sea has a strong influence on Nethreland´s climate. It is handy and practical to keep an umbrella and coat every season of the year. Summers are both hot and cold because it is changing every day. One day may be hot and the other cold and rainy. Winters are cold and snowstorms and strong nothern winds can occur. Other times, it is sunny.

Telephone Codes

If you want to call out from the Netherlands, you need to use IDD code (International Direct Dialing) or ISD code (International Subscriber Dialing) which is 00 for Netherlands.

Country code is needed when you need to dial in to the country. Unique dialing code for Netherlands is 31.

If you want to call to Rotterdam, it has it´s own area code 10. So the dialing code for Rotterdam is +31 – 10.

To provide an example, from outside Netherlands, a caller would dial their international call prefix (typically 00 in Europe and 011 in North America), followed by 31 (the country code for Netherlands), then the area code, which is 10 for Rotterdam.

Shopping

Rotterdam is the best shopping area in Netherlands. There are many major department shops, fashion stores as well as specialized shops. Most shops are located in down town Rotterdam. Except this, there are two huge shopping malls oustide the city centre- Zuidplein mall and Alexandrium mall). Shops in Rotterdam are opened 7 days a week.

Well-known shopping streets in Rotterdam are  Lijnbaan, Koopgoot, Hoogstraat and Meent as well as the exclusive shopping street Van Oldenbarneveltstraat. 

For more info and recommendations, please click HERE and HERE. 

VAX (Tax)

Value added tax of 21% is added on to the price of all consumer goods and services.

If you live outside the European Union and make a purchase in Netherlands, in many cases you are entitled to a VAT refund. The conditions include that the item purchased is for personal use, not used and in cabin baggage, transported to your own country within three months from the purchase. The minimum amount specified on the invoice is €50 in Netherlands.

For more detailed information please click HERE.

Safety

Rotterdam is like any other big city and basic common sense rules apply. To avoid theft it is good to not carry money or bis sums of money, bank/credit cards and your passport in the same bag or pocket. Making a photocopy of your passport and itinerary is also a good practice.

Emergency Services

In case of emergency, there is general emergency number 112 for fire, police and ambulance.

In case of an emergency you can contact Fire service and Medical service by dialling 100 and Police service by 101. The number 112 can be dialled to reach all emergency services – medical, fire and police – from anywhere in Europe.

Electricity & Conversions

In Netherlands the power plugs and sockets are of type C,F. The standard voltage is 230 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz.

If the standard voltage in your country is in the range of 100 V – 127 V (as is in the US, Canada and most South American countries), you need a voltage converter in Nedtherlands.

LOW INCOME COUNTRY FUND: 
We need your help!  Each year, we use the money in this fund to help one or two doctors from lower income countries attend this Congress.  In the past years, we have not had enough in this account to actually make this happen. If each of you gave just 10 EUROS, we would have enough to send three doctors to Brussels this year – please help us make this happen this month.

 Click here to donate and go to the online Registration Form (will be available during February 2019)