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5 hour layover at Schiphol. Haarlem?

I have a 5 hour layover in Amsterdam and I REALLY want to see Corrie Ten Boom's house in Haarlem. Is that even possible? I will be going on a day that the museum is open. The only problem is the museum opens at 10:00 am and my flight to Athens leaves a little after 12:00. Should I try taking an expensive taxi back to the airport? How much time should I allow to get on the plane to Athens?

Posted by
334 posts

We took the tour last summer and it is well worth doing, BUT they only do so many tours and you won't know ahead of time what time those are. We checked the time, then wandered town and got lunch before our time came up. You would never make your flight. As another poster indicated, you have time to do a short visit to Haarlem, just not time to do the tour.

Posted by
9099 posts

Sorry you don't have enough time...even if you had a police escort. See if the airline taking you to Athens has any later flights. If they do....on the day you arrive at Schipol go to their transfer desk explain the situation and ask very nicely if they could put you on the later flight...as long as there are empty seats there is a good chance they will make the switch.

Posted by
312 posts

Michael, if you return to the thread .. what is a minimum time to do such a trip? Like Cherianne, I would love to see Corrie Ten Boom's house. I have a 4 hour layover .. arrive 11:30 leave 15:30.

Probably not long enough, eh? Sigh. If anyone searches with the same question, an idea of what would be necessary for time would be lovely. Many thanks!

Posted by
9099 posts

With a five hour layover you can easily make it to Haarlem by taxi, have a stroll around the city center, get a very quick bite to eat, and make your connecting flight. The problem is that the tour takes about 1.5 hours, and doesn't always start on time. So at the very minimum you would need about a seven hour layover at Schipol to do the tour.