hi fodorites,

i'm trying to wrap my head around a bunch of stuff about AMS (schipol) and i'm feeling very confused/stupid about my upcoming trip.

DH and i are flying YYZ - AMS - BCN on KLM. our return flight is CDG - AMS - YYZ.

my questions are:

1. on my way FROM Toronto, where will I go through customs? in AMS or in BCN?

1a. will i go through customs between AMS - BCN and CDG - AMS? (i think the answer is no but i just want to double check).

2. when I get off the plane from YYZ in AMS, I will have just under three hours before my AMS - BCN leg. will I have enough time to peruse some of the shops in AMS and get a bite to eat?

3. i'm gathering (from another thread that I posted about shopping at AMS) that there are two 'areas' of the AMS airport ... one that is considered "within the terminal" (i.e. i wouldn't have to go through security to get onto my AMS - BCN flight) and one that is considered "outside of the terminal but still attached" (i.e. schipol plaza ... if i go here, i will need to come through security to get onto my AMS - BCN flight). is this understanding correct?

4. if i have to go through security at AMS to board my AMS - BCN flight, how much time should i allot?

5. is my CDG - AMS flight considered 'international'? i am very confused about this ... i have read varying arrival/check-in times for CDG ... some say 3 hours, some say 2 hours. my CDG flight leaves at 9:30 am on a friday ... i was planning to get to CDG by 6:30 am (overkill? maybe - but i'd rather sit and wait at the airport terminal knowing that i'm going to make my flight than be panicking somewhere along the way!). i called KLM and they advised a minimum of 2 hours.

sorry for all the complicated questions ... every time i've flown out of europe previously, i've always taken a direct flight. and this AMS stopover is throwing me for a loop.

thank you!!

1. on your way FROM Toronto you will go through customs in BCN.

2. Yes, 3 hrs is plenty of time to peruse some shops and get a bite to eat. It shouldn't take you too long to clear immigration.

3. If you exit the secure area you will need to pass through security to get to your gate, correct.

4. You'll need to check the lines and make the call yourself. I wouldn't be terribly concerned.

5. CDG - AMS is considered a domestic flight, as both countries are members of the Schengen treaty zone that has eliminated border controls among the members. 6:30 for 9:30 domestic flight is overkill. Since you're flying KLM they won't have a gazillion passgengers checking in for many destinations. I personally would plan to be at the airport around 8, with the expectation I'd wait about 45-60min at the gate for boarding.

You will go through <b>immigration</b>, i.e. passport control. You will not go through <b>customs</b> there.

Your YYZ flight will arrive at the non-Schengen area. You will pass through immigration to get to the Schengen area to board your flight to BCN.

On your way back, your flight from CDG will arrive at the Schengen side of AMS, you will go through immigration to get to the non-Schengen side to board your flight back to YYZ.

hi all,

thanks for the detailed responses!

lilaki

1. You will go through passport control at AMS in order to proceed from the non-Schengen side (where you arrive from YYZ) to the Schengen side (where you depart for BCN) of the departures area. Right after passport control, you will clear security. In between this passport control and security checkpoint there's technically a customs check point for your <i>carry ons</i>. This generally goes unnoticed by the majority of passengers and is pretty much a non-event. However, on occasion, I've seen custom agents pull passengers aside. Customs for your through checked bags will be at BCN. Again this is pretty much a non-event involving walking through the green nothing to declare area by the majority of passengers.

2. Plenty of time.

3. Because you're transferring from a non-Schengen to a Schengen flight, you'll need to go through passport control and security regardless of whether you stay in the departures area or head to Schiphol plaza (but they would be different passport control and security check points). There are lots of shopping and dining options on both the non-Schengen and Schengen sides of the departures area.

4. Half an hour should be sufficient for both passport control and security. It's usually taken me less time.

5. 2 hours is plenty of time for intra-Schengen check-in.

On your return, you'll go through passport control at AMS and security at the YYZ gate. Gate security generally opens up 1 hour prior to departure.

If they are flying KLM all the way from home to BCN then there will be no check-in required in AMS. They'll be checked in and get boarding passes in YYZ.

1) You clear customs in BCN. You clear passport control in AMS.

1b) You will clear customs only when you arrive in Canada

2) This is TONS of time. Frankly, it might be too much time. AMS is a nice airport, but the shopping isn't anything special.

For food, you might want to look at the restaurants on the non-Schengen side (the side you arrive in) before heading through passport control and security. There are some options there that aren't duplicated on the other side. For the most part, though, the food at AMS is strictly.

3) You go through security either way. But the lines, both for passport control and for security are significantly shorter for connections than coming from Schiphol Plaza - the security lines from Schiphol Plaza can be very long at times. Personally, I don't think there is really anything worth going to Schiphol Plaza for, and would stay within the airport terminal proper.

4) I usually make it through passport control and security in under 5 minutes.

5) I would just do 2 hours.

One thing to remember is that for your return flight, you will go through security at the gate for your AMS-YYZ flight. Past this security check, there is literally nothing. It is a lot like a holding cell, with too few seats (but it will have a bathroom). I usually wander over to the gate area when they announce boarding, but mill about in nearby shops until the line is basically gone. At that point, I go through security. This minimizes the time you have to spend in the holding area.

Also, since you do security at the gate, you cannot bring any liquids (beyond the 1 liter bag). So you can't buy a water to bring on the plane.

the food at AMS is strictly... food-court-type stuff.