jmoy

The Wiechmann Hotel gave us these directions: you can take a train to Central Station, walk out across the station square to the Victoria Hotel and pick up the "OPSTAPPER" ( this is a mini van, public transport, not on Sunday ). Just ask the driver to stop in front of the hotel.

1) Our flight lands at AMS at 8:30pm - is it safe enough to take the train from the airport to the Central Station?

2) What time does the OPSTAPPER service stop?

Thanks!!!

Intrepid1

It is safe to take the train in from Schiphol and the trip takes 15-20 minutes max <b>but</b>

please be aware of the following periodic circumstances:

a lot of the trains to Centraal will make an intermediate stop at A-dam Sloterdijk station. <b> DO NOT </b> leave any luggage unattended at any time during this brief trip, particularly near the doors of the train cars.

At Sloterdijk folks have been known to reach in and grab unattended or even &quot;somewhat attended&quot; luggage sitting near the doors and run off with it.

When you exit the front doors (assuming those Centraal renovations have been completed) of the station look straight ahead and then slightly to the right..the Vicoria is that more or less Victorian hotel across the canal and sitting right on the corner of the Damrak..can't miss the place.

Cannot comment on the transfer service, however.

Enjoy your stay.

jmoy

Thanks so much Intrepid1! It is good to know that it's still okay to take the train at that time of night. I appreciate the tips on luggage safety, as well as the directions to Victoria Hotel.

I've emailed Hotel Wiechmann regarding the OPSTAPPER's running hours.

I'm looking forward to Amsterdam ! (Sep 10-13)

Intrepid1

I'm wondering if that airport transfer bus service would be more convenient even if it might sytop at your particular hotel...just a thought.

suze

Connexxion, an airport hotel bus service, is very convenient and easy. It makes a loop of various hotels, so you might check if your hotel or one nearby is one of their stops. It was 10 euro 1-way 18 euro round-trip two years ago.

jmoy

Intrepid1 - yes there is an airport hotel shuttle bus recommended by the hotel, but it only runs until 8:30pm (same time as our plane lands at AMS)

Suze - don't know if Connexxion is the same airport shuttle bus that only runs until 8:30pm, but will google it and try to find out the running times! Thanks!

Travelnut

We have taken the train to Centraal, then a taxi to a hotel on the south side of Leidseplein - the cost was about 10&euro;. So you can always fall back on that plan.

A taxi from the airport during daytime is about 35&euro;, so even that isn't terrible.

jmoy

Travelnut - thanks for the suggestion, it's good to have an idea of how much it would cost to take a taxi from Central, as a backup plan.

Per Suze's suggestion, I've looked up the Connexxion website. They have a choice of taking the Schiphol Travel Taxi, Schiphol Hotel Shuttle or Schiphol Business Taxi.

Here are the links:
http://www.schipholtraveltaxi.nl/shop.asp (56 euros for 2 adults, round-trip from airport to Hotel Wiechmann - I can't get the website to calculate fares on a one-way)

http://www.schipholhotelshuttle.nl/site/home.asp (11 euros one-way, 17.50 round trip)

'Looks like the travel taxi is the best bet for least hassle! Thanks Suze for leading me to the Connexxion website!

suze

You're most welcome. The one I took was a normal sized big bus (&quot;hotel shuttle&quot; I guess). The driver wrote a list of the names of each person's hotel when you boarded, then made his stops only at those places. You boarded right out front of the airport where all the various transportation options lined up. Good luck &amp; have fun!

jmoy

Yeah, I'm so excited!!!

Larry

Also from Centraal Station until 12:30 AM take the # 13 or 17 tram to Westerkerk and you'll be within a block of the Wiechmann.

MaureenB

Have fun in Amsterdam. We really enjoyed it last month. If you click on my screen name above, you will find my trip report of London-Paris-Amsterdam, with specific recommendations for some great restaurants and cafes we found there. We were surprised by how much we loved Amsterdam's friendliness, contemporary style, and charm.