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How long should I plan from deplaning at Schiphol to catching a Eurostar train to Antwerp/Bruge?

I will be landing at Schiphol at 10:10am on Tuesday November 28th. US passport. How much time should I give myself before catching the Eurostar (Thalys) train to Antwerp? There is an 11:32, 12:32 and 13:32 train. I plan to transfer to an intercity train in Antwerp to Bruge. I’m not interested in the Brussels route. If I buy a fully refundable premier ticket can I just switch to a later train at the ticket window (or on the app) when I arrive at Schiphol if my plane is late? And/or switch to the earlier train if my plane is early?

Posted by
20103 posts

The other option, if you are comfortable with a full fare ticket, is just buy it when you get to the train station ticket window.

Posted by
4000 posts

The big question mark is will your inbound into Amsterdam be on time. I would pick the last one which gives you 3 1/2 hours if you buy a value nonrefundable rail ticket.

If you buy a fully refundable rail ticket, read the rules to see if this means you can also change trains for any other train that day or even the next day, if necessary. I don’t know the rail ticket rules.

Posted by
1309 posts

The easiest and in your case most obvious option, would be to forget about the highspeed Eurostar and take the regular international intercity train that runs between Amsterdam and Brussels. This train also stops at Antwerp. Not being a highspeed train, the Intercity train is a bit slower, but the major advantage is that tickets for the international intercity train are not tied to a specific train on a specific time. Trains have free seating and tickets are valid all day on all international intercity trains.
Buy your ticket for your entire journey from Schiphol to Bruges at the official website of either the Netherlands national railway company https://www.nsinternational.com/en or its Belgian counterpart https://www.b-europe.com/EN

Posted by
11180 posts

Given late November weather, I would not expect an early arrival to be a contingency that needs to be planned for.

Looking at tomorrow's departures, some times look to be sold out, so buying a ticket when you get there does have some risk, at least in that your options may be limited

Posted by
20103 posts

Only the earliest ICD train goes direct to Antwerp, all the other ones require a transfer at Rotterdam, so it is about 50 minute longer journey time than using the Eurostar. Its an option, and less expensive.

Posted by
1309 posts

“ Only the earliest ICD train goes direct to Antwerp, all the other ones require a transfer at Rotterdam, so it is about 50 minute longer journey time than using the Eurostar. Its an option, and less expensive.”

I’m sorry, but this is not correct. On Tuesday November 28, there are direct Intercity trains from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Antwerp all day long. Starting at 6:43 these direct trains leave every hour at .43. So at 6:43, 7:43 etc etc, and also 11:43, 12:43, 13:43 etc etc.
Please refer to the above mentioned websites for the schedules.

Posted by
18 posts

Thank you everyone for your input. As i read the fine print on the Eurostar refundable ticket, I can change to a later Eurostar if I miss the first one - “ Exchangeable and refundable without a fee until 1 hour after the departure time. In case of an exchange, the possible price difference between the old and the new ticket applies.”. I looked at all the permutations and the Eurostar will get me to Bruge 60 to 90 minutes earlier than the earliest Intercity I could make depending on whether I try the sprint exchange at Ghent or just wait for the direct Antwerp to Bruge train. I will have been traveling for well over 14 hours by the time I get to Amsterdam so this is my preferred route. Really what I’m wanting to know is whether I have a chance of making it from my plane to the Schiphol departing train at 11:32 if my plane lands at 10:10, I’m in business class (so first off) and I have no checked bags.

Posted by
5764 posts

I think you really want to monitor your flight for a week or two to get some idea of it's timekeeping (on the likes of Flight Radar or the Schiphol website).

Given that you are catching the train direct from Schiphol, the earlier comment [now deleted] about switching trains at Amsterdam C doesn't apply.

I think I would personally play it reasonably cautious and book for the 1232, especially (and it's not quite clear from what you've quoted or from the website) whether you can switch to the 1132 if the flight is on time or even early. You do also have access to the NS International Lounge at Schiphol if you are early

Posted by
1309 posts

The biggest issue at that time of day is passport control. In the morning, a lot of intercontinental flights arrive. Which means that a lot of people will have to go thru passport control. EU-passport holders can use the automated gates upon arrival, US (and other) passport holders can’t. When I arrived back at Schiphol in January this year, there was a sign that said that the wait for passport control for non-EU passport holders was 60 minutes. Judging by the enormous line, I would guess that was about right.

Also if Bruges is where you want to go to, have you considered flying to Brussels instead of Amsterdam?

Posted by
2344 posts

Chiming in re: Amsterdam passport control timing and not to underestimate how long this could take. On my way to Turkey in mid-September, I transferred at AMS and there was a massive line for passport control. I don't know how long it took folks to get through (I couldn't see the wait time signs), but it didn't look pleasant. On my return, I stayed in AMS overnight and had a 70 minute wait at passport control. If you check luggage that can also take a good long while - I still had to wait about 15 minutes for my bag after I got through the 70 minute wait.

About two weeks ahead of your travel date you can check the anticipated busyness of the airport on the Schiphol website. You can also check it now for your flight to get general idea of timing.
https://www.schiphol.nl/en/my-travel-day/today/arrivals