Layover in Amsterdam - Leaving Airport?

srisport · 21 February 2017 at 4:01PM

Hi all,

We have a 4.5hour layover in Amsterdam with KLM with a flight which starts in Dublin and lands in San-Francisco.

We are going business class which is great because we get access to the lounge.

Just wondering if its worth visiting Amsterdam between flights? I never done a layover before so not too sure how it would work or even if its possible. Both flights will be with KLM so I'm hoping our hold luggage will be transferred from 1st flight to 2nd flight.

Any suggestions and help would be great.

Regards.

agrinnall · 21 February 2017 at 4:29PM

It depends whether your transfer keeps you airside or not. The fact that you're travelling from a non-Schengen country means you will need to go through security, so it's quite likely that at some point you will find yourself landside, so in theory that should mean you'd be able to access the railway station and get a train into the city.

4.5 hours probably is enough time to do it but you wouldn't have a great deal of time to sightsee, and if it was me I'd be worrying about hold ups getting back or getting through security, so I'd probably opt for the lounge.

Alan_Bowen · 21 February 2017 at 9:58PM

Although the train journey is only 20 minutes or so, by the time you have bought your ticket and depending where the plane leaves you, Amsterdam is one heck of a large airport, it will be over an hour before you are in Amsterdam. That would give you barely an hour before you would need to think of going back to the airport, just imagine if you got back to Amsterdam Central Station to discover trains had been suspended, yes you could probably get a taxi if they haven't already been taken by others in your situation but for four and a half hours I would not risk it.

I am a great risk taker, often arrived at the airport well under an hour before departure in 'the good old days' but with the opportunity to enjoy the lounge, the Art Gallery and all other other facilities at the airport, I wouldn't try it.

eDicky · 22 February 2017 at 8:30AM

It's possible. You will probably be issued with your onward boarding pass in Dublin (or online?), if not you can pick one up at the KLM transfer desk or machine at Amsterdam Schiphol. You can stay in transit, no immigration or security to pass, but there is nothing to stop you from exiting the airport through immigration, go into town, then back to enter through security and immigration to take your onward flight. Checked baggage will stay in the baggage transit system. You can take fast track security with your business class boarding pass. There used to be an immigration priority lane but now the machine lanes take many national's passports, no doubt including yours.

As for the time factor, you can be out in minutes and on the train or bus. I would take the no.197 dark red bus which runs from the second lane right outside the terminal every 10-15 mins, taking you to Leidseplein, a square in the heart of the city more interesting than the central station area. You can buy the ticket from the driver, instead of probably having to queue for a rail ticket. Once you are out of the airport you can assess your available time, to decide whether to continue or retreat back into the transit area and lounge.

There's always a risk of course, but unless the highway gets totally clogged (happens sometimes at rush hour) at the same time as a rail power failure, you can always hop in a taxi for the 15min ride back to Schiphol. If it's not rush hour I would go for it. (But then, I would...)

agrinnall · 22 February 2017 at 9:52AM

eDicky wrote: »

You can stay in transit, no immigration or security to pass,

Are you sure about this? As I said in my previous post, Ireland is not a Schengen country so I would have expected that a transfer would require passing through security. I flew from Aberdeen to Bilbao via Amsterdam a couple of years ago and I'm pretty sure I had to go through security, and I can't see that a flight from Dublin would be treated any differently.

eDicky · 22 February 2017 at 10:39AM

agrinnall wrote: »

Are you sure about this? As I said in my previous post, Ireland is not a Schengen country so I would have expected that a transfer would require passing through security. I flew from Aberdeen to Bilbao via Amsterdam a couple of years ago and I'm pretty sure I had to go through security, and I can't see that a flight from Dublin would be treated any differently.

I'm pretty certain. You arrived from non-Schengen and entered the Schengen area departures, no doubt passing through immigration also, whereas OP arrives from non-Schengen and departs to non-Schengen (USA). The other thing is that two years ago they probably still had their security checks individually at each departure gate, whereas they now have it centralised before immigration for departing passengers. Airside is one big 'open' space apart from Departures A for Schengen.

A couple of minor clarifications to my post for OP: you must have that onward AMS-SFO boarding pass in your possession to enter departures security and get back Airside (gate scans paper or phone barcode), and you will need cash euros to buy a bus ticket onboard, also probably for a train ticket as machines don't take UK cards, the counters (possible long queue) might do for a fee. Ah, coming from Dublin you will probably have € cash. Now I think about it, it's probably hard to find a rail ticket machine that takes cash. The bus is thirty minutes to downtown, indicator at the bus stop can show you when the next is due.

Hopefully they're still reading after all this...

martindow · 22 February 2017 at 11:14AM

eDicky wrote: »

also probably for a train ticket as machines don't take UK cards, the counters (possible long queue) might do for a fee. Ah, coming from Dublin you will probably have € cash. Now I think about it, it's probably hard to find a rail ticket machine that takes cash.

The ticket machines accepted my card but I've read in several places of other people having problems.

agrinnall · 22 February 2017 at 12:23PM

eDicky wrote: »

I'm pretty certain. You arrived from non-Schengen and entered the Schengen area departures, no doubt passing through immigration also, whereas OP arrives from non-Schengen and departs to non-Schengen (USA). The other thing is that two years ago they probably still had their security checks individually at each departure gate, whereas they now have it centralised before immigration for departing passengers. Airside is one big 'open' space apart from Departures A for Schengen.

Actually that's a good point that I hadn't thought about as I was going non-Schengen to Schengen, so you're probably right. I was there a couple of times last year but I wasn't flying on anywhere so probably wouldn't have spotted the change you describe.

eDicky · 22 February 2017 at 12:56PM

martindow wrote: »

The ticket machines accepted my card but I've read in several places of other people having problems.

What kind of card? Machines at Schiphol? Was there an extra fee? Useful to know. I haven't needed to buy a ticket myself for years, having a stored value card valid for all NL public transport including mainline rail (OV-Chipkaart). Maybe at Schiphol they've started accepting foreign cards for tickets more.

pogofish · 22 February 2017 at 1:42PM

I had to go through a check when crossing between Schengen/non-Schengen areas at Schipol just a few weeks ago. It was a big queue but moved pretty quickly. It took about an hour to go between the gates for my flights.

Farel01 · 22 February 2017 at 3:08PM

Schiphol is actually a pretty fun airport, I could definitely fill 4.5 hours puttering about, especially with lounge access. It's massive with loads of shopping and restaurants. If it were me I wouldn't risk it, Dutch railways are notoriously bad with delays...