Cycling in The Hague: What Nobody Tells You Before You Try
I grew up cycling in the Netherlands, which means I know exactly how terrifying it looks to someone arriving from a country where cycling is either a sport or something children do on cul-de-sacs. The infrastructure here is real and it works, but it has rules that locals follow without thinking and that will get you honked at or worse if you don’t figure them out quickly.
The rules you actually need to know
Ride on the fietspad — the red-surfaced bike path. Do not ride on the pavement (voetpad). Do not ride on the road if there is a fietspad running alongside it. These are not suggestions. Pedestrians will be irritated by you on their pavement. Drivers will be irritated by you on their road. Other cyclists will be irritated by you regardless.
At intersections: there are often separate traffic lights just for bikes, with a little bicycle symbol on them. Wait for yours. Don’t run red lights even if it looks clear — cameras exist and the fine is €160.
Indicating: stick your arm out when you turn. Left arm out for left. Right arm for right. No one expects a signal at low speed turns in a bike lane, but at intersections and when crossing traffic it matters.
Locks: use two. One through the frame and wheel attached to something immovable (a rack, a post), one through the front wheel. Axa and Kryptonite are the standard brands. Budget at least €40 for a decent lock. Den Haag has a genuine bike theft problem and a cheap lock is not a deterrent.
Where to cycle in Den Haag
The route from Centrum to Scheveningen via the Scheveningseweg is well-marked, mostly flat, and takes about 20 minutes. It’s a genuinely pleasant commuter route. The coast path from Scheveningen north toward Kijkduin runs along the dunes and is one of the better cycling routes in the Netherlands — wide, quiet, sea view. Worth doing on a weekend morning when the weather allows.
For getting around the city day-to-day: the Laan van Meerdervoort running through the Statenkwartier has a wide bike lane in both directions. The Torenstraat and Denneweg in the centre are narrow and busy but navigable. The Bezuidenhout area has good dedicated lanes running east from the centre.
Where to rent
OV-fiets is the national shared bike system at train stations — €4.25 per 24 hours, requires a registered OV-chipkaart. Good for occasional use. For longer stays, Swapfiets offers monthly rentals from €19.50. And Marktplaats is the best place to buy a secondhand bike — budget €80–120 for something solid.
