Amsterdam in Sep (late afternoon)

Either way (staying near the airport or near Central station) could work. It might depend on whether getting going very early is easy or hard for you versus how comfortable you are on public transportation at night. As an older solo woman traveler, I felt safe in Amsterdam. One consideration is whether your flight is direct to the US or do you have a stop in another Schengen country? For within Schengen flights, it is recommended to arrive at the airport 2 hours in advance whereas for non-Schengen flights, 3 hours is recommended. The train trip from the airport is listed as 14-17 minutes and the airport train station is literally right in the middle of the airport.

For walking, the RS gruidebook has a self-guided walking tour which I believe might start at the train station. If it is still daylight, you could follow that to Dam Square and nearby sights. Another possibility that might be fun and relaxing would to take a canal boat tour.

Thank you for the reply.
Amsterdam is just a long layover on my way back to the United States. I've traveled a fair amount where I took transportation late or early in the morning.
My flight is direct to the US on KLM, I won't be checking a bag. I did a quick search and hotel prices are so more expensive in the city center for a very tiny room. Maybe I should just stick to an airport hotel.

there are quite a few hotels in the vicinity of the airport (I have stayed at 4 of them over the years) but almost all of them require a shuttle and most hotels only run their shuttles every half hour in my experience.

For you to be able to check in at 6:00 AM you will need to be up pretty early to be sure you get a shuttle that will get you there.

There are hotels actually on the airport, Hilton, Sheraton, Mercure, Citizen M, Yotel - all less then a 10 minute walk.

My advice would be to take one of either of those. You can check in, drop your bags get on a train right at the station which is in the airport and be in central Amsterdam very quickly Have a nice evening and back to sleep enough that you could be up early enough. Get breakfast either at the hotel or the La Place and then toddle down to the check-in gates.

I would prefer that myself rather than trying to get to a train station and catch one of the trains to the airport or wait for one of the shuttles at one of the nearby hotels.

But perhaps my priorities would be different than yours

I have stayed at Citizen M twice in the same situation. It's a five minute walk under a covered walkway from the terminal entrance to the hotel. Check in time is around 2 I believe so by the time you clear passport control (if you're not coming from a Schengen country) you should be able to check in, drop your bag, and head back to the terminal to get the train to the city (the station is under the airport). They used to offer a great breakfast but I can't tell if they still do since Mariott bought them out. You have plenty of options in the airport. The airport website can help you plan your departure morning https://www.schiphol.nl/en/my-travel-day/today/departures/ and you can reserve a time slot at security https://www.schiphol.nl/en/timeslots/

Thank you all very much!
I didn't realize the Hilton was connected to the airport. The price ended up being not that much more than the Novotel once you factor the convenience. I'm a Hilton member so got a discount and better price than the other airport hotels with the "cancellation policy" up to 2 days before check-in.
I understand the Hilton is the furthest away from the 3 airport hotels from what I read, but the price for the others was coming up $130 more, and the Hilton is not that cheap. Probably the most I've paid for an airport hotel.

Now off to plan my afternoon in the city!

To be honest, everything is so compact and easy to get around, I think I would enjoy an evening near a good meal and an evening walk.

Leiden is only 15 minutes by train to the airport, a charming town, and the station at the airport is directly under the entry hall, basically as quick as staying at a nearby airport hotel.

For Amsterdam proper, there are a number of hotels near the Sloterdijk train station (I have stayed in the Holiday Inn Express several times, just steps away from the station) That is just over 10 minutes to the Airport, and less into Amsterdam Centraal.

Both options get you to the airport in as little time as staying at a hotel near the airport.

I was going to suggest the hotels at Sloterdijk too. One stop away from the airport, and one stop away from Centraal. Lots cheaper and so easy to get to (nothing thrilling there but the five-minute train ride to either the airport or Centraal makes the savings worth it).

But you might not find a deal you like as much as the Hilton you have booked (I have no idea if there is a Hilton there).

Amsterdam is lively and easy to walk around as a solo traveler. English is widely spoken and the train stations use English signage, so that made it easy also.

For a quick visit like you describe, I'd suggest getting out of the train station and walking up the main street: the Damrak. If you have a few sites in mind, use your Google maps and go from one to the next. Then cross the canal and come back down on the other side.

The area before the train station is lovely as the sun dims - the colors come alive along the canal as the buildings light up.

Enjoy!
Lee

Hi Lee - this sounds lovely and I plan to use Google maps after I mark a few spots to visit. I really don't have any outside some pretty canals, the old church and that's about it. I don't need to see the royal palace. If I had more time, I would visit Anne Frank's house. Maybe I do? I just checked and they are open until 10pm. Maybe I can book a time early evening.
Are restaurants open late on Saturday around that area, if I were to grab dinner around 20:30hs near the Anne Frank's house before heading back to the hotel at the airport?

The place you described with the sun dimming and hitting the buildings, which area would that be? Cross streets/canals that I can pinpoint on the map.

We have the same situation later this year. Because we spent time in Amsterdam last spring, we are going to Leiden instead. However, I highly suggest you see the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Please familiarize the website for when the tickets go on sale for the date you want. It's very specific on how ticket sales are released and they sell out very quickly.
Enjoy your trip!

Already booked date on my calendar. A Tuesday that is six weeks before my desired date. Wish me luck!

Already booked date on my calendar. A Tuesday 6 weeks before my
desired date. Wish me luck!

I suggest you also check out the official Anne Frank ticking website the Tuesday the week before your deadline day so you can see how the process works so you are armed with that info when you need it. Also make sure your payment method won't block international transactions (some have reported this to be an issue). I've been in the evening hours and it is often less crowded but no less moving. I recommend booking the ticket that has the introductory program first, it's a short presentation before you access the museum for context. Worth the extra few euros.

Thanks, great idea. I'll try to go thru process (except final purchase) a week before the week I need to be online :-)
I also have other saved dates to purchase other tickets for my trip, including Auschwitz in Poland (I'm buying directly from the museum) and some train tickets in Europe.

I know this is really advance planning, but I like the research and process. Then fine tuning activities once closer to travel date.