Museumkaart: the Dutch museum pass explained for visitors

The Museumkaart is the Dutch annual museum pass, and with it you walk into participating museums across the Netherlands without buying a ticket. Dutch residents use it all year, but as a tourist you can buy one too. The catch is in the details. Outside the EU you cannot order the digital version, and the card you buy at a museum desk is a temporary one with limits. On top of that, several big museums still ask you to book a time slot. This guide walks you through what you get, how buying works and when the Museumkaart pays off.

The Museumkaart is a personal pass issued by Museum.nl. According to its own FAQ, it gives you unlimited access to participating museums throughout the Netherlands for a full year. At the time of writing, the adult card (19 and over) costs €75, and the cards for young people aged 13 to 18 and children up to 12 cost €39 each. The pass is strictly personal, so you cannot lend it to a travel companion. Every adult in your group needs their own Museumkaart. Two things stay outside the deal: a museum may occasionally ask a surcharge for a special temporary exhibition, and if you leave your pass at the hotel, you pay for a regular ticket that is not refunded.

Most of the large Dutch museums take part, along with many smaller ones. In Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum accept it. In The Hague, the Mauritshuis lets holders into both the museum and the Prince William V Gallery. Read the small print, though. At the Kröller-Müller Museum the pass covers the museum but not the national park around it, so you still pay park entry. Private museums often stay out: Moco Museum does not accept the Museumkaart and gives holders a discount instead. Our museum map helps you plan a route.

How you buy depends on where you live. The digital pass in the Museumkaart app is only available to residents of the European Union, and a permanent card needs a home address in the Netherlands or another EU country. If you live outside the EU, you buy a temporary Museumkaart at the desk of a participating museum. It works straight away and is valid for 31 days from the date of purchase, for a limited number of museum visits. Museum.nl gives different figures for that limit on different pages, so ask at the desk how many visits your card includes. If you have an EU address, you can register the temporary card online and turn it into a year pass.

A pass does not replace planning. The Museumkaart FAQ says most museums no longer require reservations, but some still work with time slots, and those are often the ones you came for. The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum both require you to book a start time online, also with a Museumkaart. With single tickets, you pay and book in one go. With the Museumkaart, you book a slot for free but still need to do it ahead, because popular slots fill up. Treat the pass as a way to skip paying, not a way to skip the queue for a booking.

Do the sums before you buy. Add up the adult ticket prices of the museums you actually plan to visit, using each museum's own website. If that total is higher than the price of the card, the Museumkaart saves you money; if not, single tickets are simpler. Keep the visit cap of the temporary card in mind, because it limits how much a short trip from outside the EU can save. The pass works best if you stay longer, live in the EU and can register it, or plan several expensive museums in a few weeks. If you only see one or two museums, or mainly private ones, buy single tickets and skip the paperwork.