We have 23 hours only in Amsterdam....hotels and location??
Jan 10th, 2015, 05:08 PM
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We have 23 hours only in Amsterdam....hotels and location??
Hi All!!
My husband and I will be travelling through Amsterdam the end of September for a one night layover from Rome then on to Canada at 12 noon the next day..(we roughly have 23 hours!)
Having never been to Amsterdam, we are excited to do a little touring around!
We were wondering if it is more convenient to just stay at a hotel near the airport vs downtown...(suggestions?? no more than 250$/night please).
Please also if someone could tell us which train to catch to get downtown from the airport area as well as a few suggestions to see the "touristy" spots in Amsterdam. (thought I would love to do a canal tour-if so, do they need to be prebooked?)
Thank you to all in advance!!
My husband and I will be travelling through Amsterdam the end of September for a one night layover from Rome then on to Canada at 12 noon the next day..(we roughly have 23 hours!)
Having never been to Amsterdam, we are excited to do a little touring around!
We were wondering if it is more convenient to just stay at a hotel near the airport vs downtown...(suggestions?? no more than 250$/night please).
Please also if someone could tell us which train to catch to get downtown from the airport area as well as a few suggestions to see the "touristy" spots in Amsterdam. (thought I would love to do a canal tour-if so, do they need to be prebooked?)
Thank you to all in advance!!
Jan 10th, 2015, 08:00 PM
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It's super easy to get from Schiphol Airport into the center of Amsterdam by train. There are lots of trains - just google for "Schiphol trains." I think it's only about a 15 minute ride.
My preference would be (was in 2011) to get a hotel closer to the Centraal Station or somewhere in the center of town vs. at the airport. The trams can get you to/from the train station around town pretty quickly. If you want to do a whirlwind tour of Amsterdam in the afternoon, you could stop back at your hotel and then go out again in the evening for a late meal, gawk your way through the red light district with all the other tourists, etc. You'd be able to get back to the airport fairly easily without needing get up super early.
If you get a hotel by the airport, you're going to need to use their shuttle/and/or the train anyway, so you probably wouldn't want to waste the time to go back to your hotel that final day - a long day of touring in the city. The only advantage would be sleeping a little later the final morning, for your not-that-early flight home.
The Leidseplein district is kind of fun - I spent one night in a hotel there years ago on an earlier visit. Wouldn't be a bad place to base yourself, but it's a tram ride away from the Centraal Station so you'd need to get up a little earlier the final morning.
It shouldn't be hard to find a place for $200/night USD . I got the Mövenpick (a 4+ star hotel) for half of that in 2011 via Priceline near the train station.
My preference would be (was in 2011) to get a hotel closer to the Centraal Station or somewhere in the center of town vs. at the airport. The trams can get you to/from the train station around town pretty quickly. If you want to do a whirlwind tour of Amsterdam in the afternoon, you could stop back at your hotel and then go out again in the evening for a late meal, gawk your way through the red light district with all the other tourists, etc. You'd be able to get back to the airport fairly easily without needing get up super early.
If you get a hotel by the airport, you're going to need to use their shuttle/and/or the train anyway, so you probably wouldn't want to waste the time to go back to your hotel that final day - a long day of touring in the city. The only advantage would be sleeping a little later the final morning, for your not-that-early flight home.
The Leidseplein district is kind of fun - I spent one night in a hotel there years ago on an earlier visit. Wouldn't be a bad place to base yourself, but it's a tram ride away from the Centraal Station so you'd need to get up a little earlier the final morning.
It shouldn't be hard to find a place for $200/night USD . I got the Mövenpick (a 4+ star hotel) for half of that in 2011 via Priceline near the train station.
Jan 10th, 2015, 08:29 PM
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Erin-we were in Amsterdam in July for just a weekend.
Just like Andrew says the train from Schiphol Airport is very easy and convenient. It takes you right to Central station.
We had a hotel just near the station and we walked with our suitcases. Later we were just able to walk all over the touristy area. We covered a whole lot of sights in the 2 days we were there.
Search for hotels near the Central station so you can walk everywhere. There are tons of trams all over the area too, in case you don't want to walk but like to ride.
Lots to see and do. Missed the Anne Frank house as the line was at least a mile long!
Great food in small restaurants at a pretty reasonable price too.
Enjoy planning your trip. Read some guides, get info. on Google too.
Have a great trip.
Just like Andrew says the train from Schiphol Airport is very easy and convenient. It takes you right to Central station.
We had a hotel just near the station and we walked with our suitcases. Later we were just able to walk all over the touristy area. We covered a whole lot of sights in the 2 days we were there.
Search for hotels near the Central station so you can walk everywhere. There are tons of trams all over the area too, in case you don't want to walk but like to ride.
Lots to see and do. Missed the Anne Frank house as the line was at least a mile long!
Great food in small restaurants at a pretty reasonable price too.
Enjoy planning your trip. Read some guides, get info. on Google too.
Have a great trip.
Jan 10th, 2015, 08:32 PM
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I do this kind of layover all the time when I go through AMS. It is more useful than a shorter hard-to-use layover like this http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...els-at-ams.cfm
Rather than following "I always stay downtown", "I always stay a airport" rules detached from your particular circumstances, compare two options side by side.
What kind of places can you find within your budget at downtown vs. airport?
How long does it take to get settled at each place and start visiting?
How late can you stay out for each case?
What merits are they in the morning? You can sleep in later at airport while you can walk around town if are the type who way wake up early before a transatlantic flight home.
When do you have to leave hotel and head to the airport?
There are two approaches by public transit to Amsterdam. If you are staying at the south end, Leidesplein and south, you can take a connexxion bus #197 to/from airport. You don't have to buy tickets before you board. You pay the driver. If you are staying at the north side, take a train to Amsterdam Centraal. I use both ways to travel to airport depending on where in Amsterdam I am starting from.
Here is the route of bus #197. Click "Kaart" to see the route map. http://www.connexxion.nl/dienstregel...7&dgCode=12345
If you stayed at airport and if you are heading to the Museumplein, if you take the bus #197, the bus from the airport stops at Museumplein. You by-pass Amsterdam Centraal and subsequent need to take a tram from Amsterdam Centraal to the Museumplein (Hobbemastraat). The airport bus stop is "Schiphol Centrum Airport /Plaza."
Rather than following "I always stay downtown", "I always stay a airport" rules detached from your particular circumstances, compare two options side by side.
What kind of places can you find within your budget at downtown vs. airport?
How long does it take to get settled at each place and start visiting?
How late can you stay out for each case?
What merits are they in the morning? You can sleep in later at airport while you can walk around town if are the type who way wake up early before a transatlantic flight home.
When do you have to leave hotel and head to the airport?
There are two approaches by public transit to Amsterdam. If you are staying at the south end, Leidesplein and south, you can take a connexxion bus #197 to/from airport. You don't have to buy tickets before you board. You pay the driver. If you are staying at the north side, take a train to Amsterdam Centraal. I use both ways to travel to airport depending on where in Amsterdam I am starting from.
Here is the route of bus #197. Click "Kaart" to see the route map. http://www.connexxion.nl/dienstregel...7&dgCode=12345
If you stayed at airport and if you are heading to the Museumplein, if you take the bus #197, the bus from the airport stops at Museumplein. You by-pass Amsterdam Centraal and subsequent need to take a tram from Amsterdam Centraal to the Museumplein (Hobbemastraat). The airport bus stop is "Schiphol Centrum Airport /Plaza."
Jan 10th, 2015, 09:23 PM
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There is one small wrinkle about getting trains from Schiphol, and that is that, while most trains will run into Central Station (usually listed on the indicator boards as Amsterdam CS), some will run round to the south of the centre, to Amsterdam Zuid and Amsterdam RAI. You won't want those, and it isn't difficult to avoid them - the public announcements will refer to Amsterdam Centraal and are commonly in English as well as Dutch.
AFAIK you don't need to prebook canal tours; there are several providers all located near Central Station - they're usually hard to miss. You can also do a sort of self-guided tour on the trams, too - from Central Station, take either the 5 or the 24 to Museumplein, and the other back to Central Station (all the tram stops will have a map of the system, timetables for the lines serving that stop, and a map of the immediately surrounding streets and stops).
AFAIK you don't need to prebook canal tours; there are several providers all located near Central Station - they're usually hard to miss. You can also do a sort of self-guided tour on the trams, too - from Central Station, take either the 5 or the 24 to Museumplein, and the other back to Central Station (all the tram stops will have a map of the system, timetables for the lines serving that stop, and a map of the immediately surrounding streets and stops).
Jan 10th, 2015, 11:56 PM
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In your case I would stay at the airport. A 12 noon departure means you have to be checked in by 9 am. Gates for intercontinental flights close very early and you can't afford to hit any snag getting out to the airport. You don't have time to see anything in the morning anyway, by the time you have checked out and get to the station.
Jan 11th, 2015, 08:26 AM
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Thanks all!
Hetismij2-- I was unaware that we had to check in 3 hours early! We have always gone 2 hrs in advance for any trip we have taken so I am really glad to know this!!
I do think for convenience sakes, it may be easier to just stay near the airport then we are minutes away. Our fight is actually at 12:40 so will just get up , ck out & then head to the airport.
The day we arrive,after we ck in then we will catch the train downtown to Central station and from there how do we get to where the main canal tours are?? that is a must for me!!
THANKS!!
Hetismij2-- I was unaware that we had to check in 3 hours early! We have always gone 2 hrs in advance for any trip we have taken so I am really glad to know this!!
I do think for convenience sakes, it may be easier to just stay near the airport then we are minutes away. Our fight is actually at 12:40 so will just get up , ck out & then head to the airport.
The day we arrive,after we ck in then we will catch the train downtown to Central station and from there how do we get to where the main canal tours are?? that is a must for me!!
THANKS!!
Jan 11th, 2015, 09:04 AM
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Three hours early at Schiphol seems like too much to me, unless you're flying out on a busy weekend or holiday. Granted my last experience checking in at AMS was 2011, but two hours seemed plenty. (I was also not checking any bags in.) For my flight back to the US, security was at the gate (basically no line when I got there) - same for a flight to Canada I assume? The only line was at passport control before that, which was only 15 minutes, maybe less. I had plenty of time at the gate. Obviously, airport procedures can change and it can be busier at different times of the day/year so wait times at passport control could be longer, but Schiphol has always seemed like an efficient airport to me.
I'd never stay at the airport for a 12:40 flight out of AMS. For a 9:40 flight? Perhaps. But I would hate to get into town at 13:00 the previous day and then have to stay there the entire day through the evening before finally going back to the hotel late - or needing to cut my evening short because I needed to hook up with an airport shuttle. At worst you get up early the final morning - not too early. Even if you got to AMS at 9:40, you could probably leave your hotel at 9:00. Even if you get a hotel near the airport - unless you stay AT the airport - the shuttle won't leave instantly or get you to to the airport instantly. It may let you sleep an extra 30 minutes.
(By contrast, in 2007, I got to Rome's Fiumicino airport two hours early and barely made it - the place seemed woefully disorganized with long lines and multiple shuttles to get to my gate.)
You can take a tram (not sure which one) from Centraal Station to anywhere you wish to go in the center of town - or you could just walk. FYI, Amsterdam is not Venice. The buildings are interesting for sure and it's probably worth doing a canal tour, but a lot of the canals are dirty.
I'd never stay at the airport for a 12:40 flight out of AMS. For a 9:40 flight? Perhaps. But I would hate to get into town at 13:00 the previous day and then have to stay there the entire day through the evening before finally going back to the hotel late - or needing to cut my evening short because I needed to hook up with an airport shuttle. At worst you get up early the final morning - not too early. Even if you got to AMS at 9:40, you could probably leave your hotel at 9:00. Even if you get a hotel near the airport - unless you stay AT the airport - the shuttle won't leave instantly or get you to to the airport instantly. It may let you sleep an extra 30 minutes.
(By contrast, in 2007, I got to Rome's Fiumicino airport two hours early and barely made it - the place seemed woefully disorganized with long lines and multiple shuttles to get to my gate.)
You can take a tram (not sure which one) from Centraal Station to anywhere you wish to go in the center of town - or you could just walk. FYI, Amsterdam is not Venice. The buildings are interesting for sure and it's probably worth doing a canal tour, but a lot of the canals are dirty.
