irishdame

I found some posts regarding this in my searches however they were about 7 years old. I need to stash my luggage for about
6-8 hours at Central Station in AMS before getting on Thalys to Paris and I know they have lockers but some of the old posts stated that there is a "luggage room" for larger peices? Is this still the case? My traveling companion simply cannot go anywhere without bringing the kitchen sink unfortunatly, so he's going to need some place to stash is stuff! I of course will only need a small locker for my one small bag. Also, where are the lockers located in CS? I'm somewhat familiar with this station but can't remember ever seeing the lockers.

yk

I don't have first-hand information, but according to this website, there are lockers at Central Station:
http://www.amsterdam.info/transport/station/

PalQ

There are lockers of various sizes but several times i've been there they were all full, as was the manual left-luggage depot. In a pinch hop the train to Schiphol Airport where there are always a raft of lockers, including some large size ones that will be available. The Thalys trains all stop at Schiphol so you can board them there as well. But it's not unusual to find everything full up at Centraal Station -depends on time of day and season - many young travelers come and go from Centraal Station and they tend to clog up lockers, some using them as storage space so they don't have to leave luggage in dicey low-budget hostels perhaps.

Intrepid1

Personally, i would do it at Schiphol if you are on your way to Belgium anyway.
The airport lockers provide two options: small, medium, and large lockers you load and pay for and receive a bar coded receipt in return which you use to open the locker; or the attended luggage area (next to the lockers).

It is probably pricier than the storage at Centraal (you can get the prices by going to www.schiphol.nl) but the big advantage would be that you are less likely to get there and find all the lockers full.

irishdame

Thanks for your suggestions everyone! When I buy the tix for Thalys, it does not give me an option to board train there? Sorry, but I'm an idiot when it comes to train travel.

The suggestion to leave luggage at Schiphol is a good one. So this is what I should do: We arrive into Schiphol from USA, I could stash luggage there after arrival, take local train into CS and spend several hours in Amsterdam, then take local train back to Schiphol, then retrieve luggage and hop on Thalys to Paris?

PalQ

Exactly what you should do. And to my knowledge all Thalys trains do stop at Schiphol but re-check that. The Schiphol lockers are in the basement just under the Customs exit; the train station is also a short stroll from Customs exit.

irishdame

Ok...according to the timetable, Thalys AMS-PARIS Nord stops at Schiphol approx. 15 mins after leaving Central Station. Now, when I look at the departure stations on sncf.com they do not list Schiphol. I suppose I could buy the ticket for a AMS CS departure but get on the train at Schiphol?

Thanks everyone for your help!