stewart_life

Hi all,

I'm going overnight from Singapore to Nice, France and will have a transit at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for 5 hours and 45 minutes. The arrival date is 6 March 2011 in the morning. I'm thinking of going the city to walk around for a short time (even for only 1-2 hours), as I have never been in Amsterdam before. I'm bringing a daypack to the cabin, so I will have that from airport to the city and back.

The arrival time to Schiphol airport is at 07.50, and the departure time from Schiphol airport is at 13.35. So, here is the schedule that I'm thinking:

(1) Arrive at Amsterdam: 07.50
(2) Passport control: 30 minutes, finished at 08.30
(3) Train to city: 30 minutes, arrive at the Centraal station at 09.00
(4) Walking around the city for 2 hours from 09.00 - 11.00
(5) Train from city: 30 minutes, start from Centraal station at 11.00 and then arrive at the airport at 11.30
(6) Security check, re-check in, and passport control: 45 minutes, in the boarding room at around 12.15
(7) Depart to Nice: 13.35

Do you think it is doable? Any advise for this? Thanks a lot!

rs899

I would say it's possible, but I wouldn't count on 2 hours in the city . We did something like this last year. One snag we found was that the train self-service kiosk only took euro coins (so have a lot, or head for the ticket booth queue)

hetismij

It could just about be doable assuming you land on time, and not on the Polderbaan - if you land on the Polderbaan it takes 15-20 minutes to taxi to the terminal, before you even get in any queue for immigration.

As rs899 says you need coins for the ticket machines for the trains, and the queues for the windows can be long, and it will cost you extra.
It is €7.40 return at the machine.

Will you be checked though? If so you won't need to check in again - you should be issued with your boarding passes in Singapore.

Since Nice is in Schengen you will not go through passport control again, but will go through central security where the queues can be long, unless you are flying business class.

Whether it is worth the stress is another matter. Coming from Singapore you will have had a long flight and be jetlagged and maybe just relaxing at Schiphol will be more attractive on the day.

tcreath

We had a 5 hour layover in Amsterdam a few years ago. We got through passport control in no time (granted it was a Sunday morning at like 6 am) and were able to go into the city for a few hours and still get back to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I would just play it by ear and see how the flight goes. If you get in on time and get through passport control quickly then go for it!

Tracy

travelgourmet

It is possible, but you won't have a huge amount of time - enough time to walk around a couple of canals. Obviously, if things are delayed, you'd have problems, but as long as you keep an eye on the time, why worry about delays at this point? You can always abandon the plan if your flight lands at 9:30, for example.

Personally, if the weather is good, I'd consider it, but wouldn't bother if it was raining. That flight from SIN is a LONG flight, so I'd probably be too tired.

<i>but will go through central security where the queues can be long, unless you are flying business class.</i>

Or have SkyTeam Elite Plus status.

hetismij

Yes forgot about that - same with any FlyingBlue or any of the FF schemes - if you have an elite status you get through the fast lane. My husband does. I don't .

rs899

Unfortunately, it's hard to allocate time for security. When we did this stunt, we allowed, I think at least an hour, but still sweated the return. When we got back to AMS, it took all of five minutes to clear security and then we had more than an hour to kill that could have been spent sightseeing.

stewart_life

Hi all, thanks a lot for all the helpful and informative comments.

I won't have any Euro coins when arriving at Amsterdam, as that will be my first stop in Europe. How much difference is the cost to buy the ticket from the ticket counter instead?

I'm not flying business class, and I don't have elite frequent flier either. Yeah, I think I will probably have 2 boarding passes when checking in at Singapore airport, so you're right I don't have to check in again for AMS-NCE flight. Then that will save a bit of time.

I will of course have to see when arrival whether the plan is still doable or not (delay, rain, long queues, etc). If not, then probably just wandering in the airport or check the museum inside the airport.

MademoiselleFifi

Yes, definitely doable if you land on time. I had about the same amount of time last year and did it with plenty of time to spare, but in your case it would be even less stressful because you will have gone through immigration first and won't have to guess how much time to allow for that (I was returning home and had to do go through passport control AFTER the excursion), and for the AMS-NCE flight you won't have to board as early as for a trans-Atlantic flight.

Don't give up on the idea even if it's raining, as that can change quickly-- it was gray and rainy when I landed at Schiphol, but by the time the train got to Centraal station, the weather was absolutely beautiful. When you arrive at Centraal station, check the schedule for the trains returning to the airport. The person at the info desk at Schiphol advised leaving from Centraal Station one hour before your boarding time.

Instead of just walking around, consider taking a canal boat ride if there's a boat leaving soon after your arrival. This part of my old trip report had photos from the boat ride:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-6628777

hetismij

Leaving AMS Centraal one hour before boarding is cutting it fine. The gate closes normally about 30 minutes before departure for European flights. It costs airlines a lot if they miss their slot so they want the gate closed asap.

The queue security could be a breeze or it could be a total pain.

amer_can

If you decide to stay at the airport for whatever reasons there are several lounges that are not directly connected to airlines and thus prohibitive. They are comfortable, clean and convenient.As any info desk.

stewart_life

Thanks all for the additional suggestions.

MademoiselleFifi, what a nice trip reports you have!