AMS layover tips
 

I found a small article in the January issue of World Traveler on what to do when you have a long AMS layover (p.12). Timely article since I have one coming up in a week and this is my first AMS experience. Here are some ideas if you have more than 4 hours of layover, although these activities are probably suited for non-winter time.
* Boat tour of the city’s canals
* A guided tour of Rembrandt walk
* Stroll through Art galleries or library
* Botanical garden (Hortus) tour

Any other ideas?

Toke in the Grasshopper? :)

I read that article yesterday. My worry is this. most people are usually pretty burnt out at ams. you can easily jump on the train and be downtown in 20 min but the thought of trying to do something and then start worrying about trying to get back without missing your flight seems to much to bear. most people flying into ams are allowed a free stopover so why not stay a day and enjoy it. ps sometimes you can get lost for 4 hrs in town :D

I did a 7.5 hour layover (actually 5.5 hours, because JFK-AMS was 2 hours late) in AMS in November and had a very nice time. Took the train into town, got some lunch, went to the Rijksmuseum, and wandered back downtown in time to catch the train and be back at AMS with plenty of time to spare. It's a very nice way to break up the travel from NYC to points beyond AMS as long as you're not somebody who gets totally wrecked by an overnight flight.

I'm doing the same layover again with a friend at the end of February.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...terdam+layover
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I went to the Anne Frank House, one of many choices that you may want to see. If you go, go early or very late to avoid the lines.

If you want to be bad, secretly take a photo of the window girls in the red light district. I thought of it only because some windows have signs warning people not to take photos. Try taking one with the camera hidden in your palm and sleeve, 008.

Normally I would suggest heading straight over to the Rijksmuseum--however I'd skip it altogether until they are through with the remodel. I got burned this summer--they've kept the same entrance fee but you only get to see 1/10th of the collection at best (not even a single Huysem!) :mad:

When I was at the Rijksmuseum in May 2003, they'd closed off most of the museum for asbestos removal, but they'd also significantly reduced the entry fee for the remainder of the museum that was still open and were giving away the audio tour for free. This was within the first month after they closed it off, so maybe they've been able to reopen parts and feel justified to charge the regular fee now.

So would a 4-hour layover be enough time to duck into town and see some sights?

Four hours is plenty of time. The train station is right under the airport after you get out of baggage/customs. The train ride takes 20 minutes and trains leave every 7-12 minutes during the day.

Centraal Station is a beautiful station (from the outside) in itself and you can find plenty of cafes, coffeeshops, etc. right outside. Or, just outside is the canal cruise (though I don't think your layover is long enough for a worthy canal cruise).

Trip costs less than 5 euro for a return ticket. However, Schiphol is also a nice (and huge) airport to get lost in for awhile if you don't want to take the train.

Enjoy.

RM

Once again, great info here on FT.

I have a 3 hr layover in AMS in a few weeks, and in the past I have just gone to the KL club in the Schengen area while waiting for my outbound flight (to a Schengen country). Now I'll head into town and try to see some of what has been posted here.

In doing this, should I go thru passport control in the baggace claim area? Or just do what I have always done, which is go thru passport control inside security (using my passport and outbound flt boarding pass) and head into town from the Schengen area of the airport?

Thanks for the great info here.

Do any of the locals know about a picturesque neighborhood that is within walking distance of Schipol? A seatmate mentioned that one of his friends who lived in Amsterdam had told him about the spot that was well worth visiting and he planned to walk there.

When we laid over at Schipol, the time passed so quickly while shopping in the little grocery store. It that had very good deli items and the prices were reasonable for an airport. I found the info searching flyertalk.

That sounds great but how long will it take to get through customs and immigration? And how long should I budget to clear security once I return? I'm used to long security lines, etc., in the U.S. so four hours seems like just enough time to get downtown, step off the train, get back on the train, and get back to the airport to ensure I make my flight on time.

Did you try any of the links above?

What a novel idea. @:-) Sorry, it just didn't occur to me to do a bit of research. And me a grad student!

>>>>>>>I have a 3 hr layover in AMS in a few weeks, and in the past I have just gone to the KL club in the Schengen area while waiting for my outbound flight (to a Schengen country). Now I'll head into town and try to see some of what has been posted here. In doing this, should I go thru passport control in the baggace claim area? Or just do what I have always done, which is go thru passport control inside security (using my passport and outbound flt boarding pass) and head into town from the Schengen area of the airport?


If you are both arriving and departing from/to Schengen countries (in which case all flights should be transiting concourses B/C/D), then there IS no passport control in the baggage claim area--you just walk past the carousels, and stroll out through customs to the train station--a cakewalk with no formalities and hardly a glance--unless you are wheeling out large cages full of heroin, cocaine, and rabid weasels. (Just be sure to go straight to baggage claim, and do NOT go through the passport control that leads to international concourses E/F/G.) You will, of course, have to show ID with your boarding pass to get back through security when you re-enter the B/C/D concourse area for your Schengen flight (again, do not go toward the E/F/G concourses when you return--but this will be obvious because if you are departing within Schengen your flight will leave from the B/C/D area, and you just use that security entrance, not the E/F/G entrance).

Unless a layover is really long, at least 6-8 hours, I would recommend skipping the downtown bustle and worrying about getting back and thru security on time. With this much time a trip to the Central Station will get you a one-hour canal boat ride (nice) and nothing else attractive in the area; or an hour at the Rijksmuseum will only leave you wishing you waited till you had a whole afternoon for it.

Instead, for the more typical 2-4 hour layover you can't beat just relaxing and wandering around in Europe's most pleasant airport. Every kind of shopping is available at a well designed free-form mall. Unlike the concessions at most airports, prices are about the same as the downtown shops, and there are genuine mark-downs here and there instead of the usual phony airport sales. Prices are in Euros, which will reduce a lot of Americans to window-shopping, but shopping that's eligible for duty-free will get a substantial rebate. There are countless services from a Kinko-style bureau with internet, to massage parlor to nap room.

One caveat: Unless you've had a very large inheritance recently, don't be tempted by the convenience of the casino in the airport. I had about 50 euros still in my pocket before flying back to the U.S., so I went to the casino planning to buy about 25 2-euro chips for roulette. The minimum chip price was 10 euros! For not much more than that I could join the princes and sheikhs in the private rooms at Monte Carlo.

Considering that the transatlantic flights arrive between 6 and 11 a.m. with some exceptions, even a 3 or 4 hour trip downtown will let you be at the airport again around noon and normally during those times the walk from the railway station through security to your gate will not take more than 10-15 minutes , so to fear that security will take too much time should not prevent one from going downtown, even if it is only for an hour or so.

We are talking about Old Europe in one of its best forms, a beautiful city and especially for the not so seasoned traveler over to Europe a must see, even if you are only walking around the downtown area for an hour or so.The train is reasonably priced for an airport-DT connection and it is very efficient and normally on time.

After the latest modernisation and expansion Schiphil is now named
" Fabulicious Schiphol " and considering the dutch are pretty low key even this term is really not exaggerating, we are talking about the best airport by far outside of Asia.

Just came back from a trip with a 6-hour layover in AMS. The plane from IST arrived at AMS around 8:30 a.m., and the AMS-DTW flight departed at 2:25 p.m. In actuality, this means the net layover is about 4.5 hrs, as KLM wanted me to be back at the check-in gate around 1 p.m. or so. They do this because of immigration check & questioning, which was impressively thorough. Our port of entry enforcement officers can certainly take lessons from AMS officers.

Anyway, what I ended up doing in 4.5 hours were exchanging $$$ to Euro, talking to travel agents to get a map and some basic info, taking a 20-min. train ride to downtown, wondering near the Centraal station, cafe, canels, the Red Light district, getting a take-out lunch, taking a few shots along the way (sorry, no window girl pics :p) before heading back to Schiphol. Having no familiarity, doing these simple things took more than I anticipated, but I was back by 1 p.m. comfortably.

Looking back, travel agency was probably an unnecessary step, and I should have exchanged currencies in downtown (to same time and to save rediculously high commission charge). So, I'd say if you have 5 hours of gross layover time, you could do a fun walking tour of AMS and be back at the airport with no stress.

You will see some scenaries around the Centraal station starting at the 2:48 mark of the slideshow, Istanbul the movie

one option is the Stedelijk MuseumCS which is about a 15-minute walk from Centraal. mostly modern art and exhibits, easy to kill 2-3 hours there. however it may have moved back to its old home behind the Rijksmuseum; the location by Centraal is/was temporary while the old location was undering renovation.

The museum does not move back to its old location until either next year or 2007. Not sure which. Definately worth visiting if you are fan of 20th Century art.

Just returned from a trip through AMS, and am happy to report that the free showers are still alive and well. As pointed out in this thread, they are upstairs, in the restrooms between the BA lounge and KL #41 lounge. Pretty simple setup - you walk into the shower room, the 1st part is a change/dressing room, and right behind it is the shower. Once in the shower, press a button, and warm (not boiling hot) water comes out for 3-4 min. Not done yet? Press the button again. Easy and free... Oh, and as posted earlier, bring your own towel and soap/shampoo...