Haarlem, early flight out, should we stay at airport
 

I have 2 days in Amsterdam and would like to see Haarlem, (been Amsterdam many times) but have a 7 am flight out of Amsterdam on 3rd morning. Is it better to stay near airport and take the bus into Haarlem rather then one night in Haarlem and second night near airport? We arrive Thursday morning and leave at 7am Saturday morning. With such an early departure I want to be near the airport on the second night.
Thanks!

I think Bus 300 would get you to the airport before 6 in the morning from Haarlem

This may be a mental impediment. It is best to actually compare the options side by side.

Suppose you stayed 5 nights in Amsterdam downtown. Would be have moved to the airport the last night? If not, there is not much difference doing the same from Haarlem.

Unless your airport hotel means Sheraton Schiphol, the time difference between other airport hotel options and Haarlem would be probably ~30-40 min. In return what do you get by staying overnight in Haarlem for the last night?

You can take a taxi or a bus http://9292.nl/en. The bus station is in front of the Haarlem train station. Up to 4:18, there is hourly N30. From 4:48am on, there is #300 running every 10 minutes taking 43 minutes to the airport. If your return trip is international, you would probably have to take the N30. The bus uses dedicated bus lanes and don't get bogged down by traffic even if there is any at this wee hour in the morning.

If your flight really is at 7 am you need to be at the airport by 5.30, at the very latest, given that it is generally pretty quiet at that time. 5 would be better though in case three are a stack of charters leaving early too.
Personally I would book a taxi for the trip if staying in Haarlem. Tell them your flight time and they will know what time to pick you up.

You could stay at the Sheraton, or Citizen M at Schiphol. There are plenty of hotels only 10 minutes away, from the terminal, still within Schiphol, but I don't know how many of hem have a free shuttle that early. Likewise others off the airport but still only 10-15 minutes away. Have a look at the Schiphol site - they have links to hotels in the area, and you can generally see the hours of the free hotel buses too. http://www.schiphol.nl/Travellers/Tr...AtSchiphol.htm

We have used the Ibis Amsterdam Airport a couple of times, for Park, Sleep Fly. Their buses start at 5 I think. A perfectly serviceable hotel, with quite a nice restaurant, and considerably cheaper than on airport hotels.

For two nights, i'd stay at the airport just to avoid the hassle of a bus or expensive taxi the morning of the flight. Plus, surely you can get a great deal on Hotwire or priceline express or bidding. check out betterbidding.com to see how much people have bid for the aiprort area if you don't see a great hotel on Hotwire.

If you stay at the "airport" be sure you don't get a place that is actually a long shuttle away - - or with a shuttle that is more trouble than taking the #300 bus from Haarlem. One convenient Haarlem option is the Van der Valk hotel which is just on the eastern edge of Haarlem right at the Europaweg stop of the #300 bus, which takes you straight to the airport with greater frequency than an airport shuttle.

the 300 would mean they got to the airport with very little time, especially if they have bags to check, or need to print a boarding pass. You still need to be at the gate at least 30 minutes before departure, and the gate can be a long walk from where you get airside. The new security system isn't (yet) as seamless as was hoped either, which could further delay them.
I am a worrywort when it comes to flying, and would rather spend a couple of hours in an airport before my flight than panic to catch it, or risk missing it.

I like being in the airport with extra time as well. I also agree that staying "at" the airport should probably mean staying in one of those hotels from which you can walk into the Schiphol Plaza area.

I recently stayed at the Dorint Hotel near Schiphol. I got it on Hotwire for about $50 USD (I had expected to get this hotel based on research, so it was not a surprise). It's on the same Ibis shuttle bus line mentioned above. My flight out wasn't that early, but the shuttle seemed reliable - only a 10 minute ride or so. I wouldn't waste a lot of extra money staying at a more expensive hotel that is directly at the airport myself, if the shuttle leaves early enough. At worst, taking a taxi from that hotel might still be a lot cheaper than staying at a hotel that is directly at the airport.

Wow! thanks for all the great info. I did some research on the sites that were given and decided to do one night in Haarlem, taking the bus 300 and staying downtown. Got a great price and then splurged on airport hotel. With the shuttles only running every 30 min and finding out that many don't start until 5am,I picked the Sheraton as it was connected (or walking distance) to the airport. It was more then I would spend but we can spend most of the second day in Haarlem and know we are steps away from a very early morning flight. My daughter is going on to Bulgaria for a school so am getting her as far as Amsterdam.(I work for an airlines so can do this part for her, thank goodness!)