Check in and check out, and skip Amsterdam for a day

On trains, trams, and buses you tap your bank card or an OV-chipkaart at the start and the end of every trip; forgetting to check out costs you the maximum fare. Trains don't need reservations and run every 10 to 15 minutes between major cities, so a day in Haarlem (15 minutes), Utrecht (30), Leiden, or Delft is easy and far quieter. Dutch people are direct; a short, plain answer isn't rudeness.