Mattress_Runner

Doing a MAD-VIE trip this fall, with layover in AMS. How many hours will I need for my wife to do a quick shopping tour? How long does it take to get back and forth from the terminal? Thanks ahead!

RTW1

Your best bet would be to travel by train (station is below arrivalshal) to Amsterdam Central. The trainride itself takes 15 min but it might take some time getting through customs/immigration.

I figure if you have a layover less than 3 hours you shouldn't bother, 4 hours would be a little better....

Sez_Who

IMO, 4 hrs is an absolute minimum. When you account for the time to purchase your ticket, get to the train gate, wait for the train, and the 18-min ride, then get off the train and walk through the station, you have already used maybe an hour.

Add the walk to the shopping areas (there are many!) and you will wish you had at least 5-6 hrs there. So much to see, so little time. Great city to visit.

nabeckman

schiphol has GREAT shopping. you may consider not leaving and shopping at the airport and grabbing a bite to eat.

Bowgie

Sez_who and nabeckman are right.

Besides all of the shopping inside the gate areas, there's a shopping mall outside of security, but before you go downstairs to catch the trains.

Eight hours would be a good minimum to allow one to catch the cable cars outside the downtown Amsterdam rail station to go to the museums or some other sight.

Osakaboy

If you have over 5 hours layover, it is good to go to center.
3-4 hours is not enough, depending on what you do.
If you want to visit around amsterdam central station, take a train.
If you go to Gogh or Rijks museum, take a express bus(N370).
It only takes 20-25min(you dont have to change to tram) from schiphol to those museum!!!!!!!
Have a good time in AMS.

Mattress_Runner

Shopping in the terminal is a great backup idea. My dilemma now is, I'm two Courtyard stays away from 2 RT Tix (at 60K on Delta). Looks like they just raised the cost to 132K for my itinerary today. I assume these 'point' prices change day to day? Again, thanks for the info.

florin

Low awards for int'l flights are a very rare occurrence. Yes, award inventory does change, but getting a 60k RT to EU is NOT going to be easy.

pbarnette

Depends upon what you are buying and where you are from. There is a decent electronics selection, but the prices are not that special and certainly no better than your local Best Buy. The fashion selection is weak and offers only major international brands available anywhere. The luxury goods selection is very weak compared to some other major airports, like CDG and LHR. Beyond that, it is booze, cosmetics, and chocolate with varying levels of value. I do a fair amount of shopping at airports, if only for the convenience and selection of certain items (esp. booze), and I would not classify AMS as having great shopping and would put them in the middle of the pack for European airports.

The Schiphol Plaza area is nothing special, either. There are some places to get basics (t-shirts, cds, groceries, etc), but nothing I would seek out and the browsing isn't worth much.

dgxoxo

I always schedule a 6+ hour layover in AMS so I can hit a coffee shop in the city and come back to the airport uber-relaxed for my ongoing longhaul.

This may be a pleasant alternative to shopping. Or have a pint and a schnitzel somewhere

MSPeconomist

Like some others above, I'm having trouble making sense of the plan for a quick shopping trip to Amsterdam. AFAIK, the only unique merchandise is some stuff at the flower market that one cannot legally bring into the US. The interesting boutiques are scattered around the city along the canals in various neighborhoods and thus hard for a visitor to find the special one in a few hours. There are some larger stores around the Dam and a historic building turned into a shopping mall somewhat focused on tourists, but again nothing special and no particularly known bargains.

The airport has lots of shops but as others have mentioned, a somewhat weak overall selection. The exception would be Dutch items, which seem to be available in good variety and good quality, although airport stuff is not particularly cheap. My suggestion would be to focus on this, which wouldn't require lots of time beyond the usual connection.

If you have time and want to see the city, either (a) take the airport-sponsored tour, easiest for new first-time visitors, or (b) take the train and then stroll around the canals, the Dam (overrated IMO), the red light district if you wish, etc. (easy, especially if you've traveled to Europe a few times), or (c) plan to take a public bus to a particular museum, ideally with pre-purchased tickets (a bit harder to manage, but remember that almost everyone speaks English well and the public transportation system is modern and efficient).

If you're flying coach, you might want to do lunch in town, either in a "new creative Dutch" restaurant or in an Indonesian place. Other ethnic foods are respresented too--for instance, there's a Chinatown withing walking distance of the main station.

dgxoxo

I would add - don't get run over by a tram. They silently glide around the city and have almost run me over a few times

mAAine_flyer

But, as of a few weeks ago, a large section of the shopping plaza was closed for construction/remodeling and the remaining stores were full of hideous orange World Cup paraphernalia...which is now presumably available for a hefty discount

DCFlyer0306

Agree with the above - definitely go into the city if you have 4+ hours and hit up a museum and some Indonesian food. Also, Schipol has large luggage storage lockers that you can rent by the hour, making the trip downtown even easier.

Himmelhund

AGREE!