Anne Frank Huis during 6 hr layover - advance tickets needed?

Only people with pre-purchased tickets and timed reservation are admitted before 3:30 pm.

Thanks for the headup, I missed that important bit of information. We will purchase our tickets on-line and keep our fingers crossed that we don't have a flight delay..

If you are coming directly to Amsterdam from the US, remember you will have to go through immigration to leave the airport. If your bags are not checked through to your next destination, you will need to find a left luggage at Schipol.

Hi Janice, tickets sell out quickly so don't wait until the last minute to buy them. They go on sale 2 months in advance.

Left luggage at Schiphol is easy and convenient, located at the semi basement level near Arrivals C with easy lift access. From There it takes no more than 5 minutes to the train platforms assuming uuou already have a ticket,

As soon as I saw the post indicating we needed advance tickets I went to the website to purchase the tickets on-line. As my sucky luck would have it, the whole morning was already sold out. l am just sick about it - such a huge disappointment. I also tried checking some organized tour groups but they were full as well. So my advice to others is mark your calendar and buy tickets the minute they become available.

I would never go to this site without a reservation; the lines in my experience are hours long without. The place is tiny.

Janice,

I recommend getting a prepaid ticket for the Anne Frank Huis, even if you're not sure when you'll be able to arrive at the site. When I visited the Secret Annex, the line looked like it took a two-hour wait. My wait with a prepaid ticket was about 10 seconds. After the person staffing the prepaid door saw my ticket, I was ushered right in.

Enjoy the incredible site with the incredible story behind the Anne Frank Huis. If you have the time, visit the other Anne Frank Huis at 37 Merwedeplein, the address of the Frank family residence. It's not open to the public, but worth seeing nonetheless.

Janice, it's worth a try to start checking ticket availability again closer to your desired date. In the past I have sometimes seen tickets become available a week or two in advance.

We recently went through immigration at AMS and the lines were long.

I realize this is not the norm but five of six years ago we had a several hour layover in Amsterdam. It was a chilly, drizzly Sunday morning. Not having any sort of plan (or tickets to anything) we walked around the city for a few hours and decided to go see the outside of the house. When we arrived there was virtually no line. We waited for less than ten munutes, purchased tickets and in another few minutes we were inside. I wouldn't plan on being able to do this again but if your heart is set on seeing it my experience is to at least go by there and maybe you'll get lucky.

Try and get reservations for the Corrie ten Boom house in Harlem. We enjoyed the tour. Take a look and see if this might work for you. It is very easy to get to from the airport by bus or train. It is about a ten or fifteen minute walk from the bus/train station.

Hi Janice, I second the advice to keep checking. When we went last year, the dates we wanted were originally sold out. I kept checking everyday and they did add additional tickets for our time frame and we were able to go.

Currently you can only get into the Anne Frank House with an advance reservation while they are doing some renovations. It is a must-see sight -- but it might not work for your trip. Keep trying on the website to see if they release more tickets. The Corrie ten Boom House in Haarlem is the flip side of the story, as it explains what one Dutch family experienced as they hid Jews and Resistance fighters. It's a great tour, and Haarlem is only 15 mintues away from Amsterdam Central by train, so you might consider it. Be aware that the house is run by a religious foundation and there will be some Christian proselytizing; if that's a turn-off, you might not want to consider it.