5 Hour Layover in Amsterdam
 

Hi all,

I have a 5 hour Layover in December. I am traveling from the US to India. Is 5 Hours enough time to leave the airport and be back? We don't need to do any sight seeing, but I would love to just see the city.

Thank you!

It's really easy and quick (15mins) to take the train from Schiphol to Central station and walk around that area a little bit. The security lines at Schiphol tend to be really long, at least in my experience, so would allow plenty of time, say 2.5 hours, so that doesn't leave much time for seeing Amsterdam.

Would you suggest not leaving the airport?

I assume you will be checked through to India.

A lot depends on whether you really have 5 hours on the ground or not.
The queue for passport control may be long, the plane may land on the Polderbaan, in which case it will be 20-30 minutes before you even reach the gate, never mind disembark.

Do you have euro coins (€8 for a return ticket) so you can use the ticket machines for the trains? Queuing at the window will eat into your time.

Do you have bags you need to store? If so that is more time. Trains are frequent, and take up to 20 minutes, depending on the train. But if you just miss one that is a few more precious minutes eaten up.

You need to allow about an hour to 90 minutes to get to Centraal, from touch-down and you need to be back in plenty of time to go through security again. Gates close about 50 minutes before departure on intercontinental flights, so that means leaving Amsterdam no later than 90 minutes before your flight, and better yet 2 hours before. Who knows how far you may need to walk to the gate.

Only you can decide if it is really worth the hassle and the risk of missing your flight due to a train failure or traffic snarl-up. In December it will be dark very early, and the chances of a foul up are higher than in say June, due to unpredictable weather.

I think I would stay at the airport. There is lots to do there - you can see the small Rijksmuseum exhibit there. There is a library, plenty of shops, cafés and quiet areas, even outside space to get some fresh air. I know I am a wimp when it comes to such things, but I'd rather be bored at the airport than stressing about missing my flight, and not being able to enjoy a brief visit to Amsterdam.

You could always decide on the day, if your flight in is very early for instance, or better yet come back another time and give the city the attention it deserves.

You can also gamble as I recall.

<i>Dukey1 on Apr 23, 14 at 3:01pm
You can also gamble as I recall.</i>

Gamble in that smokey slot machine closet or gamble that you will get back to the airport in time. With only 5 hours between wheels down and wheels up I would stay in the airport. Schiphol is the best airport in Europe for a long connection. I think there is an open seating snooze area upstairs.

I've been transiting AMS forever, and have gone into the city with as little as 3 hours, though 4+ is way better. I actually prefer going to Haarlem - - you walk out the front door of the terminal, and the #300 Zuidtangent bus goes about every 6 minutes, and takes 25 minutes to Haarlem (get off at the Centrum/Verwulft stop, where most people do). The ride through the countryside along a special throughway designed/built solely for this bus is pretty and interesting. You get set right in the center of Haarlem, and by the bus stop there is a nice market with a great fish stand, nice cheese booths, etc. You can stroll through town, taking as little as half an hour or as much as a couple hours. It is very sweet and casual, in contrast to going to Amsterdam Centraal, which is very busy and hard-touristed. Then you just hop back on the bus to Schiphol. It is very easy, and very pleasant.

<i>dfourh on Apr 23, 14 at 5:58pm
I've been transiting AMS forever, and have gone into the city with as little as 3 hours, though 4+ is way better. I actually prefer going to Haarlem - - you walk out the front door of the terminal, and the #300 Zuidtangent bus goes about every 6 minutes, and takes 25 minutes to Haarlem (get off at the Centrum/Verwulft stop, where most people do)</i>

That is an excellent suggestion. I have used that bus several times but I thought that it took 45 minutes, not 25. The first stop in Haarlem is the train station where the bus waits about 10 minutes. The OP might want to get off there, walk south to and through the Grote Markt and then catch the return bus at Centrum/Verwulft in front of the V+D department store.

There are convenient luggage lockers in the secure sector of Schiphol, and in the lower level of the non-secure sector.

Could it be a different bus you are describing? The #300 first stops at Centrum/Verwulft before it continues on to the station. Though I pulled it up just now at http://www.connexxion.nl/ and it does take 35 or 35 minutes, not 25 (but still well worth it). One nice thing is that it runs so often that you don't have to worry about the schedule, you just go back to the bus stop. Here's the wiki showing the route, and the station is end of the line, with Centrum/Verwulft closer to Schiphol: http://wiki.ovinnederland.nl/wiki/Li..._Bijlmer_ArenA

Even so, with only 5 hours, and in December, I would stay at the airport. The bus is even more liable to be affected by traffic/weather conditions than the train.

Except that the #300 has its own right of way - - they built tunnels and an elevated highway just for the bus. Along main highways it has its own lanes, with its own traffic lights, that are timed as it approaches so that it can pass while the rest of traffic stops. It's really cool: http://www.livingtransport.com/gallery.php?id=78

Well, arrival in December does make a difference. Otherwise you could get a brief tour as we did years ago with a five hour layover en route to Israel. That give us a glimpse of Amsterdam and area.

I still wouldn't do it in December. It could snow, freeze, be black ice, pouring with rain, or just plain miserably grey and cold. Any weather except the last could affect the bus, or trains, special tracks or not,
and the last is just so downright depressing.

Given the intercontinental connection I just wouldn't risk it.

I have an additional question. My flight arives in Amsterdam at 7:40am and my connecting flight is at 1pm. Would this be enough time to step out of the airport to meet a friend? Is there anywhere a short/walking distance from there that we could go to?

Thank you!