How long do customs/passport check usually take at Schiphol?

Well, to get the fare we want, we would have to book the non-refundable kind of tickets. I was thinking of 15:09 IC train to Brussels leaving from Schiphol giving us a little over 2 hours. There is also a 16:09, but that would get us to London at 21:30 instead of 19:56, which wouldn't be preferable...

Also, we are traveling in October.

We're spending a few days in Amsterdam before flying back to Seattle from there :)

Do you know what kind of penalty is involved if we miss our train and have to take a later one? If it means we'll have to pay full price for another ticket, I might just book the later train and deal with getting into London at 9:30pm...

Customs on this side of the pond is a "walk through" experience if you use the green "nothing to declare" or "arriving from another EU country" channels. Customs officers sometimes stop passengers for a bag check but there is no line as such.

BTW - Ireland like the UK did not sign up to the Schengen open borders treaty.

Edit - should wear my spectacles at all times!

Linda, I guess I've gotten accustomed to the customs shakedowns Stateside and in Russia. Now that I think about it, baggage wasn't a big deal in Russia, they just intimidated the crap out of you at passport control (and I'm one of their citizens)!

Steve, The ticket conditions state that it is non-transferable, non-refundable, so it doesn't look good.

I think we will tentatively go with the 16:09 train just to be safe and not spend our entire flight freaking out about missing the train. However, since we are really close to the RS store in Edmonds, a friend recommended we ask them as well, so maybe we'll do that. Plenty of time to decide, as the tickets won't be available for a few months still.

Thanks for your comments, Steve and Linda!

Anna,

We are arriving at Schiphol at 12:55 from Reykjavik, too - but in June!

We have flown IcelandAir twice before and it has always been trouble-free.

Barring volcanos(!), the main thing that delays flights are late departures and connecting flight problems.

Connecting in Reykjavic (Keflavik) could not be simpler. Within a 2-hour block of time, IcelandAir lands a half-dozen planes from the US, reshuffles passengers, and sends a half-dozen planes to Europe. It's elegantly simple and I can't imagine what would delay you for more than a few minutes.

So far, each of our IcelandAir flights (8) have landed about 10 minutes EARLY.

Personally, I would choose the earlier train. Most likely, the 2-hour lag will leave you waiting a full hour for your train. I wouldn't want to begin my vacation waiting for 2 hours for a train, and I wouldn't want to arrive at my destination so late, either.