
How Far Ahead Should You Book?
Peak and Shoulder Season: Book 2 to 3 weeks ahead. Early morning slots go first. Typically, the last available morning slots will disappear about 10-18 days ahead during the busiest times of the year. Interestingly, shoulder seasons in April and August may have less availability than the middle of the peak Summer months.
Winter low season: one week ahead should be far enough to get your selection at virtually any timeslot. You can often find a few timeslots available even 1-2 days before during the Winter.
If your dates are fixed and non-negotiable, book as soon as you know them. There is no advantage to waiting; knowing the weather won't change the experience inside the museum.
Why a Timed Slot, and What That Actually Means
Your ticket will only be valid on the date and at the time printed on it. It is not a day pass and it is not flexible. Arriving an hour early does not get you in early, and arriving after your window has closed can lead to being denied entry if the museum is crowded.
Get to the museum about ten minutes before your slot. The queue you see outside is normally people waiting for their own slot to open, not a line for tickets.
What It Costs
Adult admission is €25. Booking is done online through the museum's own ticket website.
Buy from the museum directly rather than from a reseller like Viator or GetYourGuide. Those resellers add a markup, and because the ticket is tied to a specific date and time, a resold ticket is harder to change if your plans happen to change.
What If Your Date Is Already Sold Out?
A few things are worth trying before you give up on the date.
Check the last slots of the day. Late afternoon tend to hold availability longest, and both are better visits anyway.
Check again a day or two out. Cancelled and unclaimed slots sometimes do reappear, so a date that shows nothing three weeks ahead is not always closed for good. However, I will say from experience that these last-minute tickets are less likely to show up on the last day than some other museums and attractions.
Consider moving your museum day rather than your slot. Amsterdam's other major collections rarely sell out on the same days, so it is often easier to swap the Van Gogh Museum to a different morning than to squeeze into a full one.
Resellers like GetYourGuide have the same ticket avaialbility as the official shop, and if anything, I've actually seen fewer dates and times available on GetYourGuide than on the official website, so this is likely NOT a viable workaround (but you can of course try!)
If the date really will not work, the best answer is to change the day of your visit.
The Short Version
Book ahead, always. Two to three weeks in peak season, a week in winter, and buy from the museum rather than a reseller. It is a small amount of planning for a museum that is worth arranging your week around.
For opening hours, how long to allow, what to see and everything else about visiting, see our full Van Gogh Museum guide.


