Amsterdam layover, connection check-in

My comfort level would to be back at the airport in the security line at least 2 hrs before my flight but that's just me. You will get a very nice taste of Amsterdam during your layover. Enjoy!

My comfort level would to be back at the airport in the security line at least 2 hrs before my flight but that's just me. You will get a very nice taste of Amsterdam during your layover. Enjoy!

Sorry for the repeated response

Sorry for the repeated response

Let's make some calculations of time not available for sightseeing: - 60 min after your plane touches the runway to get to the gate, disembark, clear customs, find your way to the Arrival's Hall, buy your train ticket. - 35 min - expected time to wait for your train and ride to Amsterdam Centraal - 35 min - expected time to ride from Amsterdam centraal to Schiphol - 120 min - minimum expected advanced time for arrival back at the airport TOTAL: 250 min (4h10) That leaves you with merely 3h50 for "useful" sightseeing. I wouldn't leave the airport.

I'd rather spend four hours in Amsterdam than stay in an airport for 8 hours...even though Schipol is probably the best airport in the world for to hang-out. Just a five minute walk from Centraal Station you can enjoy beautiful neighborhoods like this: http://g.co/maps/7shcr From there you can easily walk to the Anne Frank House, nearby have lunch at the Pancake Bakery, then walk to Dam Square and tour the Royal Palace, or the current exhibition next door at the New Church, or if you're in a giddy mood Madame Toussouds Wax Museum is across the street. From Dam Square you can walk back to Centraal Station via the Red Light District, and be back to Schipol in plenty of time for your flight....go for it! For more info read through this: http://tinyurl.com/24eep4t

I guess it is a matter of personal taste. I'm borderline paranoid on losing connecting flights and spending a lot of money, and I don't like to fast walk in a place just to tick it out of a checklist of "cities I've personally walked over in a hurry like I were in a work assignment Hail-Mary". But that is just me.

Thanks, Bruce, Andre, and Michael, for your replies. I, too, can be borderline paranoid about missing connections. But I don't know when, if ever, I'll be back in Amsterdam, as I don't travel all that much. Sadly. This may be my only chance, so I'd better take it, even if I just walk around the city a bit.

Shciphol airport has been renovated and the new configuration contains shops and even a small museum that may be enough to keep you in the airport. We had to rush by all the new stuff in October, but I think if you did a computer search you might find enough to keep you closer to your exit gate than you thought possible.

I'd agree with Michael. Schiphol is a very user-friendly airport with easy train into Amsterdam and Amsterdam is a very easy city to make a short visit. Trains run very frequently between the airport and Centraal station. I know I'd rather spend 4 hours in Amsterdam than 8 in the airport.