Netherlands and Belgium on a scooter?
February 15, 2016 9:47 AM   Subscribe

We are planning a two-week trip to Amsterdam for the last two weeks in May. Can we do it on rented Vespas?

We are a retired 60-year-old couple, have owned our Vespas for about five years and consider ourselves very experienced riders. We do not speak any Germanic languages.

Our plan is to stay four or five days in Amsterdam, travel for four or five days through Brussels, and then four more days in Amsterdam. We would like to visit The Hague, Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussells, more or less (with more questions coming later!). We would like to do this on a rented Vespa-type scooter, IF the weather cooperates, and stay on back roads.

Google hasn't helped much. We can rent a car, but scooters are so much more fun. Will it even be possible to find scooters to rent? Have you ever done this?

Thanks!
posted by raisingsand to Travel & Transportation around Belgium (9 answers total)
 
Yes, you can do that. And there will be bike paths on which you can ride your scooter all through Holland, and probably also in Belgium (check a Belgian for that). They are like back roads, and usually really pretty

If you could: please rent an electric scooter - the noise of the ones that ride on gas drive me nuts.

That's one for electric ones
http://www.stern.nl/4446222/Elektrisch-scooter-rijden.html
Though the radius is only 75km and then you need to hook it up.
btw there are charging stations in most big cities in Holland..
and gas will be easier to find.

You most likely have to return it to the starting point - they're not as prevalent as rental cars. And you can't bring a scooter on a train - though you could bring a bicycle. (easily)

-- and everybody in NL will speak English - 80% of Belgians will (well, of the Flemish ones)
posted by Thisandthat at 9:57 AM on February 15, 2016


I would recommend giving Brussels a miss. You'd enjoy staying in Ghent, Antwerp, or Brugges much more.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:07 AM on February 15, 2016


Googling "Motorcycle rental Amsterdam/Netherlands/Europe etc" should give you a few hits. Eaglerider for instance looks like a Harley-Davidson thing, but actually has several makes of scooters available.

I did something similar a little over a year ago, though not a rental, I more or less "bought" a motorcycle through a friend in Belgium. Be aware that lanesplitting is the norm there, not only allowed but expected.
posted by rodlymight at 10:33 AM on February 15, 2016


If I understand correctly, you want to use scooters to travel for day trips from Amsterdam/ Brussels? This is certainly possible, but I wouldn't recommend it if you want to visit a city like The Hague. It would take forever, especially because you have to use back roads/ bike roads. Renting a car is of course an option, but most cities are impenetrable by car and parking is a drag and expensive. Traveling by train is by far the best option, I think. It's the fastest option and an easy way to get to the city center.

You could also consider bikes as an excellent alternative to scooters if you want to explore the city itself and the surrounding scenery. There are bike rentals everywhere, you can take them on trains (there are bike rentals at most central stations though, you won't even have to take them on the train itself) and if you are worried about the amount of exercise, they probably have electric powered bikes too. And biking is relatively safe in the Netherlands (relative to my experience in other countries), there are special bike paths everywhere.

And yes, everybody speaks English. Or at least they think they do.

(Also, you should definitely visit Leiden from Amsterdam, it's only a 30 minute train ride away and one of the most beautiful, charming cities near Amsterdam, though I might be a bit biased, being a resident.)
posted by leopard-skin pill-box hat at 2:56 PM on February 15, 2016


Look into the relevant traffic regulations because f.i. in the NL they're rather different from the US wrt to types of scooters and the relevant traffic signs.
There are three types of scooters: the motor bike type, the moped type and the snorfiets.
Only the first is allowed on the motorway. The second rides with the cars within city limits and with bikes on special fiets/bromfiets paths and the third is allowed on all bike paths.

If you rent the motor bike type you can ride on all the backroads that cars can.
On the other extreme with a snorfiets you can experience all the myriad special bike paths in the NL. And follow the fietsknooppunten f.i. There are some very beautiful sights to see that way in the NL. (exclusive bike paths are a bit less frequent in B). Of course you'll go much slower then: 30 km max.
The moped is inbetween.
posted by jouke at 6:58 PM on February 15, 2016 [1 favorite]


I can't help with the scooter rental, but here are two important traffic rules to know in Belgium: buses and trams have priority over everyone else, and in an unmarked intersection, the vehicle coming in from the right has priority.
posted by colfax at 10:14 PM on February 15, 2016


Scooters that are offered for rent will generally be of the 'snorfiets' category, a helmet is not required, the maximum speed is 25 km/h (legally; in practice, never above 35 km/h.) You'll want to use that number to make some calculations against the distances you have in mind. I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't do it; yes, it will take several hours to get from one city to another, and you may very well love it. I have done this kind of distances on a 'moped' which was only slightly faster and the small roads and bicycle tracks are often a joy.

It's a lot harder to rent a scooter of the 'moped' or 'motorcycle' categories simply because they're rarely available for rent. But some motorcycle rental shops do offer 'motorscooters' (= scooters in the 'motorcycle' category: helmet required, can do on highways, cannot go on bike paths, in the legal sense this is a car.)
If you want to go this route, you should first track down a rental shop that offers motorscooters and contact them to talk about the options. They'll speak English.
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:50 PM on February 15, 2016


Best answer: Longtime vintage Vespa rider here, currently living in Amsterdam. While you can certainly do this trip this way, I don't think you'd have a very great time. Most rental scooters are (currently) relegated to the bike lanes, where they are almost universally hated by cyclists. As Leopard-skin says, travel by train is BY FAR the best way to get around this part of Europe. If you must do two-wheels, rent bicycles.
posted by Brittanie at 4:25 AM on February 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Thanks, yall. We will probably train to the cities and walk while there.
posted by raisingsand at 10:26 AM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


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