Language: Dutch

Climate: Temperate maritime climate with cool summers and moderate winters. Daytime temperatures varies from 2°C-6°C in the winter and 17°C-20°C in the summer. Rainfall is distributed throughout the year with a dryer period from April to September.

Time Zone: CST — Central Summer Time

International phone code: 31

Currency: Euro

Capital: Amsterdam

Transportation: Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam, is a European hub, and travellers can easily fly in from most places around the world and then connect with The Netherlands' biggest airline KLM. Some budget airlines also fly to the Netherlands, including Jet2.com, Easyjet, Transavia and other low-cost carriers which provide a fairly economical way to city-hop in Europe. From Schiphol there are excellent railway connections: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and most large cities have a direct train service. International high-speed trains leave for Brussels and Paris, Intercity trains go to Germany and there are three ferry services to the UK. Eurolines is the main operator for international buses to the Netherlands. Bus services are limited: only a few main routes have a daily service but this is the cheapest way to travel. The Netherlands also has a well-organized public transportation system, which consists of a train network that serves as its backbone, extended by a network of both local and inter-local buses.

Gay Netherlands:

The Netherlands is one of the gay-friendliest countries in the world. It was the first country to recognize same-sex marriage. Discrimination and violence against gay people is rare, but there are some religiously conservative neighbourhoods in the larger Dutch cities. But for the most part, it's as close to Gay Utopia as you can possibly get.