Amsterdam Airport arrival, then another flight to Hamburg -- question re the time between flights...
 

I will have 3:40 hrs between flights in Amsterdam. I am assuming I will be coming out through Customs and then have time to validate railpass, drink coffee, etc. Am I correct in assuming I will then have to go back through Security to the KLM Cityhopper gate?

You will pass through immigration as Amsterdam is your entry point into Schengen. You will pass through security checks. You will not pass through customs unless you have to collect & recheck your luggage

Otherwise you can stay airside.

Don't know why you have you validate a railpass though

We had a 4 hour layover on our return from Venice in 06 and there is a tourist counter inside the departure area where we booked a two & 1/2 hour tour seeing the sites i.e. wooden shoe factory (sounds cheesy) but it was interesting then a tour to a windmill and finally an interesting tour of the city. It was 30Euros per person and the driver took us in an 8 seater van. We thought it was worth it and I loved the city so much we plan to return in a couple of years.
J

I'm confused by the railpass validation, as well, but alanRow is right, you clear passport control/immigration and then security and are in the Schengen departure area. Total connection time should be maybe 30 minutes, maybe 45 if you arrive or depart from a distant gate.

With 3:40 minutes, however, you would have plenty of time to head into the train station area, if you were planning on validating your railpass there? If that is the case, then you would clear passport control and customs, as you would be entering Holland. You will then just make your way to the departure level and go through the normal security checks, as if your point of departure were Amsterdam.

With just a carryon, I'll come through Customs/security into train station area so I can validate my railpass right away instead of doing it in Hamburg where I'll have less time. Then, depending on time, I could possibly head to Amsterdam main station and walk around a bit. Sounds like my other flight will be just going through the normal security. Arriving 45 minutes before flight time, I assume, is sufficient?
Thanks for the info about the tour, Sominex. If you return to Amsterdam in a couple years, be sure to check out Haarlem also. It's a great little town.

<i>Then, depending on time, I could possibly head to Amsterdam main station and walk around a bit.</i>

I don't think 3:40 is enough time, myself. And I like to cut it close. Assuming that you whiz through immigration and customs and validating your pass takes next to know time and the train is ready to go as soon as you get to it, I would think you could easily be looking at (at least) an hour from gate to city center. The train back is something like 20 minutes. Plus waiting time, you are likely looking at 30-40 minutes. You would then need to allow for roughly an hour for security and to get to the gate. Let us call it 1:30.

By my count, you are looking at a bare minimum of 2:30 minutes just for travel back and forth + a reasonable time to get to your gate. I just wouldn't risk some sort of delay for the possibility of maybe an hour near the Amsterdam train station

<i>Sounds like my other flight will be just going through the normal security. Arriving 45 minutes before flight time, I assume, is sufficient?</i>

As I suggested above, I would give myself an hour. The security line can be decently long when departing from AMS, and some of the walks to the gate can be pretty long, as you enter from the far corner of the Schengen &quot;terminal&quot;.

You've convinced me! I don't really like cutting it too close either. I'll spend the time eating/drinking/looking around/people watching in the airport/train station area. thanks for your replies!

travlsolo2

I don't think there is a train station at the Hamburg airport. You can take the bus into the city center.

If you are interested in art, you might check out the Rijksmuseum Schiphol - a small outpost of the Rijksmuseum right in the airport.

See http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/tentoonste...hiphol?lang=en

It's pretty small, but free.

hi, travlsolo,

i agree that you're cutting it a bit fine to get into A'dam and back. we had a 3 hour lay-over at Schipol last July, which got cut down quite a bit due to the time it took to get from the plane to the airport buildings.

we spent the time by having a meal, looking round the museum, window and real shopping.

I remember a recent thread by someone praising one of the lounges at schipol, where you could have a nap and a shower, and got free tea, coffee etc.

if you have to be stuck in an airport for over 3 hours, Schipol must be one of the best ones to be stuck in!

regards, ann

You can also take the S-Bahn into Hamburg depending on which airport you are flying into.

That's a great airport. Nice shopping, great icecream and fun people watching. Plus I bought these inexpensive boxes of chocolate &quot;wooden&quot; shoes that were a huge hit when I came home.

Thanks for the additional replies. I'm always so impressed with how helpful everyone is.
Scatcat -- In Hamburg I will be taking the bus to the main train station and then on to Lueneburg as quickly as possible; that's why I'd like to get the railpass validation out of the way in Amsterdam.
Msackton -- I'll definitely check out the museum. Sounds nice.
Ann -- Yes, Schiphol is a good airport to have to &quot;hang out&quot; in. :) I feel the same way about the train station in Hannover!