Travel Archives - Page 8 of 8

Thousands of dead chickens close road after crash on A2

Thousands of dead chickens spilled from an overturned truck on the A2 have caused the road to be closed heading northwards from Eindhoven, reports NOS. The truck, which had a trailer full of 3,200 chickens, overturned early on Tuesday morning and many of the fowl died in the crash or in collisions with cars. The road is closed from De Hogt junction while vets examine the surviving chickens and rescue those with a chance of survival. Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch transport... More >

Self-driving bus passes first road test

Self-driving buses have been tested on the open road for the first time between Schiphol airport and Haarlem. The buses are equipped with 20 cameras that can react to traffic lights and are programmed to travel in the middle of the road. A driver sits at the controls ready to step in if the automatic system fails, BNR reported. The goal is to have the first automatic buses in service by 2020. ‘I think it’s going to be a while... More >

North-South Amsterdam metro line delayed (again)

The North-South metro line will open in July 2018, nine months later than the last projections, reports NOS. The head of transport at Amsterdam municipal council, Pieter Litjens, said there were several problems, including co-ordinating the necessary software, testing all parts, and the bankruptcy of two contractors. ‘There has been a lot of nuisance caused by the works in recent years,’ he admitted. ‘So it is even more annoying that there is a delay.’ The late opening will affect... More >

France remains top Dutch holiday destination

Almost one in five Dutch people choose France for their summer holiday, according to the most recent figures from the CBS statistics office. Tomorrow, the summer break starts in the middle region of the Netherlands, and the press has been full of tips on how to avoid ‘black Saturday’ traffic queues. The CBS has published last year’s run-down of holiday destinations and, as usual, driving holidays south lead the pack. Last year, 11.7m people went away on holiday and 18.3%... More >

Driverless cars, bikes and light rail: public transport for the future

Public transport companies have pledged to join up services in the Netherland’s main urban belt so people can get from one place to another within an hour, reports NOS. The Dutch public broadcaster said on Thursday that the public transport services NS, Qbuzz, GVB, RET and HTM will ensure trains between the four major cities take no more than half an hour, offering more public connecting services including shared cars, bicycles and taxis. Jaap Bierman, chief executive of HTM bus and tram company... More >

11 of the prettiest Dutch villages which aren’t too over-run by coach parties

Cobbled streets, waterways, tiny thatched cottages covered with roses, secret gardens and wooden bridges – Dutch villages can be a delight. So this is a totally subjective compilation of places we think worth checking out – and which (we hope) won’t be totally full of coach loads of tourists. Appingedam Appingedam first evolved on the banks of the Delf river in around 1200. With open access to the sea, it was somewhat prosperous and second only in importance in the... More >

Investigation into death of honeymoon couple in Dominican Republic

Authorities in the Dominican Republic are investigating the death of a young Dutch couple on their honeymoon. The 31-year-old man and his 28-year-old bride from Voorburg died in hospital after falling ill in their hotel in the Punta Cana area on Saturday night. The pair had spent the day on a trip to a nature reserve before dining in their hotel, said a spokesman for travel agent TUI. During the night the woman awoke complaining of food poisoning. The Dominican... More >

Amsterdam starts experiments to tempt tourists out of the centre

Amsterdam is running 18 experiments to encourage tourists out of the over-crowded city centre, reports ANP. It is trying to stop buses driving around the Museumplein – home to the city’s most famous museums and its concert hall – and getting them into a special coach park. The city is building new footpaths to encourage people to take a walk in the east, creating bus links to interesting places outside the centre, and developing rural areas for tourism. If... More >

Beggars, tramps and buskers cause more problems on Dutch trains

Complaints about beggars, tramps and buskers on the trains rose by just over half last year to almost 2,000, reports the Telegraaf. A report published on Wednesday by the Dutch transport ministry showed nuisance on the trains rose last year. It also said that verbal abuse, theft and vandalism at train stations increased, although fare dodging dropped. In 2015, there were 1,960 reports of nuisance on the trains, caused by people begging, busking or hanging around – a rise of... More >

New panoramic views in Amsterdam and Rotterdam

The Netherlands gained two new panoramic viewpoints over the weekend, one in Amsterdam and one in Rotterdam. In Amsterdam, the former Shell offices on the north bank of the IJ reopened on Saturday with the name Adam Toren. The 80 metre tower offers a fast lift service to the observation deck with views as far away as the coastal dunes and Utrecht. The price of a ticket for the lift – €17 – makes the trip one of the more... More >

Travel firms to brief holidaymakers on their trip’s environmental footprint

Dutch travel firms are to start informing holidaymakers how much environmental damage their trip is doing by listing ‘holiday footprints’ in brochures and on websites, travel sector organisation ANVR says in Tuesday’s Volkskrant. ‘We aim to eventually allow consumers to calculate their own holiday footprint via an app or website,’ ANVR spokesman Gerben Hardeman told the paper. ‘We are still a long way off that. But we are now working with a group of travel firms to determine how we... More >