All roads lead to Rome, but luckily quite a lot also to Rotterdam. You can get to the city by car, bus, train, boat or airplane.
By car
You can reach Rotterdam easily by car. From Amsterdam take the A4 South. Near The Hague you can choose to either stay on the A4 or switch to the A13, depending on traffic. From Utrecht take the A12 and change to the A20 just after Gouda. If travelling from the south take the A16 or the A29.
Traffic congestion on highways is common during peak hours, especially on the northern and southern part of the beltway (Ring Rotterdam).
Nearly all parking options require a card (debit and credit) for payment, cash is often not accepted. Most parking machines have an English, French or German language option.
If you don’t feel like driving all the way into the city center it’s also possible to park your car on the outerskirts of the city near a Park & Ride facility. The parking is often free when you travel to the centre with public transport, you just need to scan the ticket at the ticket machine.
By bus
From within The Netherlands there are several companies offering bus services to Rotterdam from a number of cities. For info see the website 9292.nl.
Flixbus operates bus services between Rotterdam and many cities throughout Europe. Buses arrive and depart at Rotterdam Central Station.
By train
Rotterdam is well connected to the Dutch railway network and has several international connections to cities in Belgium, France and Germany. National trains services are mainly operated by the NS, and internatonal train services are operated by the NS, Thalys and Eurostar.
A total of seven train stations are located within city limits of which the Central Station, Rotterdam Blaak and Rotterdam Alexander are the busiest.
By boat
Several companies offer ferry services to Rotterdam from the United Kingdom. P&O Ferries has a daily overnight sailing from Hull to Rotterdam Europoort. StenaLine has a daily day as well as a daily overnight sailing from Harwich to Hook of Holland. From Hook of Holland Haven you have a connecting lightrail service to Rotterdam Centraal Station that takes you to the city centre of Rotterdam in 30 minutes.
By airplane
Rotterdam-The Hague Airport
Rotterdam has it’s own airport located about 6 kilometers from the city center. The airport used to be called Zestienhoven, but since 2010 it was dubbed Rotterdam-The Hague airport. It offers direct flights to about 50 European destinations.
RET Bus #50 operates service to the Meijersplein Metro Station, from where you can transfer to metro line E to Rotterdam Central station or Metro Line E to the Central Station of The Hague. Alternatively, Bus #33 runs frequently to Rotterdam Centraal Station; the journey takes roughly 25 minutes.
Schiphol Amsterdam Airport
One of the busiest airports of Europe, Schiphol Amsterdam, is also relatively close to Rotterdam. A direct hi-speed train connection to Rotterdam Central Station only takes 25 minutes and is serviced by the NS.