Secure parking in Amsterdam

CramCycle

Heading over to the Netherlands next month and I am taking the bike. Wanted to stay in Amsterdam for a night but the stories of bike theft over there are putting me off. Does anyone know of any secure parking through a hotel or paid parking?

Any help would be greatly appreciated or could I bag it up and bring it into the hotel room?

Also has anyone been to the city of Zwolle, how is it for safe parking of bikes?

Idleater

I don't want to put you off cycling in Holland, nor taking a bike with you, as it's a great country for cycling, but I would not lock a "nice" bike outside in the bike parks (of which there are plenty) - even paid ones overnight unless I really had no alternative.

Reasons for this is that you have no guarantee who parks beside you, nor how they remove their bikes from the rack. Personally I have always kept mine indoors, and when cycling around, and stopping for a break kept it beside me nearby on a terrace.

Nice bikes get taken, just like here, so I would apply the "Dublin" principle - if you would lock said bike in the same location in Dublin, then you would be okay in Holland. Having said all that, Amsterdam is worse for parking nicer bikes outside than other towns but I've never brought my bike to Amsterdam - more to the south/east so can only go by what I have seen there and experienced elsewhere.

Due to this, again depending on what kind of bike it is, you could ask the Hotel Manager (if that's where you are staying) if there is an underground carpark or storage area that you could lock it safely. They will understand your concerns and I was able to do this in Hostels in Holland and Belgium.

Raam

If you ring the hotel now you can usually arrange to keep the bike indoors. I have done this in Germany and Belgium. Ireland too, actually. There is always a store room somewhere in a hotel.