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Amsterdam Long Layover

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My husband and I will be traveling from Dublin through Amsterdam back to the US and have a long layover (8 hours total). We are planning on going into the city, and I was wondering how long it will take to get there by train or taxi. I don’t believe we have to go through passport control since we will be coming from an EU member state but not quite 100% sure. How long should we reserve to get to our gate to come back to the states? Arrival time is 8:30AM and departure time is 4:50PM on Saturday November 28.

Also, any suggestions on what to see and eat would be helpful! This is my first time seeing the city, and I’ve thought about a canal ride and going to see the van gogh museum.

I’m assuming I also need to take a covid test in Dublin 48 hours before entering Amsterdam. I have my US test from to get back into the US that may be sufficient.

Many thanks!

Posted by
21153 posts

Trains go on average every 10 minutes and it takes 18 minutes to Amsterdam Centraal, unless you happen to catch an express that takes 14 minutes.

I believe the Van Gogh Museum has gone to a timed entry, so you will need to make a reservation at their website. You can take a tram from Centraal to the museum.

Canal tours are available from many locations, including Centraal and the Stadhouderskade Canal in front of the Rijksmuseum near the Van Gogh Museum. You should probably head back to the airport about 2 pm to get through security and passport control.

Posted by
571 posts

I don’t believe we have to go through passport control since we will
be coming from an EU member state but not quite 100% sure.

Unfortunately you do have to go through passport control. Ireland is indeed an EU state, but it is not a Schengen state, and that's what matters in this context.

You will need to clear Schengen entry passport control when you arrive in Amsterdam from Dublin and then clear Schengen exit passport control when you depart Amsterdam for the United States (assuming it's a flight to the US and not with further stops on the way).

Edited to add (to be clear for any future readers) -- you have to clear Schengen passport control twice because of your plan to go into the city. If you had just been staying in the airport for the layover you would not need to clear any passport control, as you would have just been in transit through the airport.

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