The Netherlands is a cycling country! Every single soul uses this wonderful invention to go to school or to work, run errands, or use it to get home after a night out.
Renting a bike is therefore a must during your visit to Rotterdam. There are good bicycle paths almost everywhere to drive around safely. And when the sun shines, it is a really fun activity.
There are a number of ways to rent a bike in Rotterdam:
1. OV-bike
You can pick up an OV-bike (bike sharing) from bus and metro stops and some P+R areas throughout the city. This costs € 3.85 per 24 hours. After 72 hours you pay a surcharge of € 5.00. You then return the bike to the point where you picked it up.
Please note: you need a personal public transport card to rent an OV bicycle. With this card you can be identified by means of the chip in the card.
2. Rental companies
Are you visiting Rotterdam just for a few days and therefore don’t own an OV card? Or would you rather rent your bike from an actual shop? Then there are many other options.
BimBimBikes
This rental company is an online intermediary between you and other bicycle rental companies. Here you can book and pay for your rental bike online. Super handy if you don’t want to search much. How that works exactly we explain below:
Step 1. Surf to the website of BimBimBikes and select the country you want to go to. Then type in Rotterdam. If you want to read the website in another language, you can do this at the top right of the page.
Step 2. View the rental companies at your chosen location and compare the prices. Here you make the decision where you would like to rent a bicycle.
Step 3. On the page of the company where you would like to rent your bicycle, make a choice in the number of days in the calendar at the top right.
Step 4. Also enter the type and number of bicycles you want to rent. The total amount of your chosen bicycle(s) will automatically appear on the right.
Step 5. Complete your payment with Paypal, Mastercard, Maestro, Visa or iDeal. As soon as your booking with BimBimBikes is received, they will send you a confirmation.
Book your bicycle through BimBimBikes here.
3. I would like to have my own bike!
If you plan to stay in Rotterdam for several months or even without an end date … buy one! We recommend buying a second-hand bike if you don’t want to spend that much money. For example, check out Marktplaats or a Rotterdam community Facebook group.