Amersterdam in four hours?
 

I have four hours between flights,( no luggage) do I have enough time to get into Amsterdam, and where/what should I do?

Do you mean four hours before you have to get into the security line to take your next flight soobloo? I have had that amount of time at Amsterdam between flights and personally I would have never felt comfortable going into Amsterdam as tempting as it was and inspite of the train station being at the lower level of the airport. It will be interesting what others have to advise.

If you have four hours after arrival and departure formalities are accounted for, I'd suggest a canal tour, perhaps with a meal if your time in town lines up with mealtime.

http://www.amsterdam.info/tours/canalcruise/

If you actually have four free hours, a short excursion into Amsterdam is quite do-able. And if you haven't been there, I think you should do it!

The trains from the airport to Amsterdam Centraal Station run every 10 to 15 minutes. The train trip itself takes roughly 20 minutes, plus or minus a few minutes depending on the train. So even if you had the longest wait for a train, you could be at Centraal Station in 30 minutes or so.

I think Robes' suggestion above of a canal tour is a good one, given your time constraints. They usually take between an hour and an hour and a half. Don't know how often they run - depends on the company. There are several different tour companies within a few blocks of Centraal Station.

If for some reason the canal tour doesn't appeal to you or the schedule doesn't work for you, I would just suggest walking around the Jordaan neighborhood. It's easily walkable from Centraal Station. Just wander around and enjoy the architecture, canals, people-watching, sidewalk cafes, etc. Amsterdam is such a beautiful and unique city.

I would caution you that it is extremely easy to get lost in Amsterdam - temporarily of course, but when you're on a schedule keep that in mind. The horseshoe-shaped canal streets that keep the same name while going in totally different directions and other street names that change every block or two even though they go in a straight line, etc. conspire to confuse people. So make sure you give yourself enough time to find your way back to Centraal Station if you've wandered around some.

thanks, actually its four hours between flights, so I would have maybe an hour and a half in Amsterdam, I know its crazy but I will just go in and have a coffee around the Jordaan neighborhood.....I couldnt just wait at the airport, may never get back to Holland!

I wouldn't risk it. One time we were late getting to the airport because of train delays (and we had allowed plenty of time to get to the airport).

Four hours between flights is not enough time to leave the airport. Security lins for ongoing flights can be very long and you don;t want to be stuck behind a huge crowd. If you have 4 hours free (after considering landing/immigration time nd security for the next flight) then a very quick trip would be possible.

Four hours total - no way.

"Four hours between flights" is NOT enough time to leave the airport imo. By the time you count landing, getting of the plane, and checking into your next flight, you have only a couple hours free at best.

Luckily Schiphol is a fairly interesting airport check out their website:
www.schiphol.com

dont take the risk.

ok....I will just spend my money in airport...thanks for all your help

We had a stopover into Schiphol on May 2 with 4 1/2 hours between flights. Our departing gate was changed twice in that amount of time, the security line was very long, and you do have to go through security for your flight, even if you haven't left the airport.

On May 16 we had 6 1/2 hours, the gate was not on the big schedule screen yet before we left, but we did have plenty of time to take the train, do a 1 hour canal ride, eat lunch, & wander a bit, return, go through security.