I'm planning a trip this autumn where I'll be in Amsterdam after a train journey from Denmark and Germany. On my last trip, I left Amsterdam for Paris and was advised to have the taxi drop me off at the back entrance, where it was safer/less crowded and the access to the Thalys was very direct.
Question(s) for next trip:
If I'm coming in from from Hamburg or Bremen, which set of tracks will I land at?
Is the back entrance a good place to pick up a cab to take me to my hotel in the Canal Ring? I'd just really like to avoid, if possible, the hubub of the main front entrance to Centraal and have as little contact with some of the sketchier characters hanging about as possible. Any advice is much appreciated.
Dank u!

For information on Dutch rail, see
http://www.ns.nl/international/index.cgi.
(This takes you to the English site). You can also find track information about your particular German train on www.bahn.de (they also have an English version)

There could be some difference between what is posted on the sites and reality, because Centraal station was undergoing extensive renovations when I was there in April. That said, there are two good reasons why the "front" (south-facing) portion of the staion is more crowded. First, that is the direction to the Centrum - the other direction faces onto the Ij river. Secondly, the south side is where all the transportaion options are - metro, trams, and taxis. If you don't have too much luggage, buy a stippenkart from one of the machines or from a teller in the station, and try using the trams. They are fun and will take you to the canal rings with 3 or 4 stops.

I think the front of Centraal station is one of the most exciting places in Europe - you never know who or what you are going to see. Just keep your wits about you, as you would in any crowded area.

I think also someone may have been "pulling your leg" (making a joke on you) about the back entrance to the centraal station. Late at night, this area becomes the haunt of heroin-addicted prostitutes, many of whom are believed to be HIV positive.

Nevertheless, have fun in Amsterdam. If you can't have fun there, you must be dead.

That "hubub" and the number of "sketchier" charcters will depend a great deal on the time of day/evening you are arriving. Are you afraid of being "acosted" by one of those people? Less likely in broad daylight where there are a lot of people than in some out of the way "side" entrance...there isn't any "back" entrance as such. As an alternative, you might try exiting from the side in the front of the building instead of going straight out the front doors..there are entrances/exits at either end...but not sure how convenient this will be for getting local transportation.
It will be almost impossible to predict where you will arrive (on which track) unless you can get someone who lives there to check that out for you in advance or you use one of the rail websites that tells that information. Arrivals may change from month to month.

Hello --

I think I was the one who suggested to you the rear entrance to the station. Unfortunately, you are not likely to find a taxi at the rear of the station. (At least, I have not seen a taxi stand there.) And because an empty taxi in the area will almost certainly go to the front of the station, the chance of an empty taxi passing by is slim. However, thousands of people pass through the station every day, and the likelihood of your encountering anything more than a nuisance-level of trouble is very slim indeed.

(Incidentally, contrary to what Bootman4u suggests, it's my experience that trains always arrive on the same track. In each station, you'll find one or more kiosks that list the departures from each track and the arrivals for each track.)

Whether you come in from Hamburg or Bremen you will be on the same train (and likely have to change trains at Duisberg). That train usually arrives at track 7b but these things change all the time. There is also a train where you would change at Osnabruck but I don't believe it goes to Bremen. That train stops at track 14a. It doesn't matter all that much which track you get off at--they all eventually lead out of the station.

I found this info out by searching at www.ns.nl in the International section for a train from Hamburg to Amsterdam Centraal, then under the detailed itinerary seeing at what time it made each stop. Noting the stops it made once in Holland (i.e. the 6:46 am train from Hamburg stops at 12:23 in Utrecht), I used those times and went back to the Domestic section, and in that section you can see which track (ie the 12:23 from Utrecht going to Amsterdam Cebtraal)it arrives at. That may not have made sense the way I wrote it, but I think if you look at the site you'll see what I mean.

Thank you everyone!
A note to Rizzuto - I did find it VERY helpful to have the taxi to Centraal drop me off at the back entrance, since it was closer to the only escalator going directly to the Thalys tracks (and right by that nice grocery/convenience store). Thanks for letting me know that the same entrance is not so good an option for picking up a cab upon arrival.
I'm going to time my arrival into Amsterdam for daylight hours and a weekday, to minimize any safety concerns.
Thanks for all the information!