Get the OV Chipkaart from the station, or at the tourist office in the city centre. The card itself costs 7.50 euros but the one being sold at the tourist office is 15 euros with 7.50 euros worth of credit.
Alternatively, you can get the personal OV Chipkaart (which allows you to get a pass for 50 euros/year and get 40% discount of the ticket during off peak period). Just buy it from the NS dutch website (I used google translate to change it to English), and the OV Chipkaart will be free.
The 40% discount is valid for the cardholder and 3 other people. You’ll recover the cost of the pass if you are going to Amsterdam/Schipol Airport at least twice during your exchange (assuming 2 people go at all times).
NS does offer discounts periodically so just check their website regularly. For example, we had the group discount for 10 people and everyone paid 6.40 euros for a return trip to anywhere, with no limit on the transfers/time Oo
Oh yes, and if you want to check on any bus/train timings or basically just plan trips within Netherlands, use 9292.nl/en. They also have an app for it but it requires Internet connection (and most trains have wifi 🙂 ).
random walk in maastricht 