Amsterdam travel

Published on : 23 August 20173 min reading time

Booking a holiday break in Amsterdam is easy. Schiphol International airport is used by all airlines including cheap flight carriers, and Amsterdam Centraal railway station has links to all major European cities.

Amsterdam flights

Amsterdam flights land at Schiphol Airport, including daily cheap flights by several budget airlines. Flights from London take about 45min.

Amsterdam Schiphol airport has a single terminal split into three halls. On the ground floor, the arrival halls open onto the vast Schiphol Plaza shopping centre with cafes, restaurants and a supermarket.

Getting from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam city centre is easy with several good alternatives. Buses are the cheapest, trains the quickest and taxis the most convenient.

Airport trains: Trains leave every 15min to Amsterdam and take about 20min. Trains run hourly through the night, and fares are very reasonable.

Airport roads: Amsterdam Schiphol is on the A4 (E10) autoroute from Rotterdam and the 30min journey to Amsterdam is well signposted.
Amsterdam airport car parking is good but expensive, with two short stay car parks relatively near to Schiphol Plaza. The long stay car park is on the airport access road. A free transfer bus leaves every 10min.

Airport taxis: Amsterdam taxis wait outside the Arrivals hall and can be pre-booked on the Schiphol Airport website. Airport shuttle buses also run to the main Amsterdam hotels.

Airport buses: Amsterdam service buses pick up in front of Schiphol Plaza, and KLM operates a fairly cheap half hourly shuttle bus to the main Amsterdam hotels.

For more on Amsterdam flights and info see Visit Amsterdam

Amsterdam by train

A Eurostar high-speed train runs from London to Brussels in around 2hrs 15mins, with the onward high-speed Thalys trains from Brussels to Amsterdam taking about 3hrs. It’s comparatively expensive but fast and comfortable, with frequent departures times. Amsterdam is well connected by train with all major European cities.

Amsterdam by ferry

Overnight ferries offer a decent cabin and early morning arrival with deals to Amsterdam from as low as £25.
From London: Stena Lines have four car ferries daily to the Hook of Holland, about 77km from Amsterdam.
From Newcastle: DFDS has an overnight ferry crossing of 16hrs to Ijmuiden, about 20km from Amsterdam and a coach meets the ferry.
From Hull: P&O has one ferry crossing daily of 11hrs to Zeebrugge with rail links to Amsterdam and P&O also has one ferry daily of 11hrs to Rotterdam with rail and bus connections to Amsterdam.
From Rosyth: (Scotland) Superfast Ferries has one overnight sailing of 17hrs to Zeebrugge in Belgium with rail links to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam by road

The Netherlands has an excellent highway system of fast autoroutes and slower two-lane national highways. The E231 from the south, the E231 from the southeast, the E19 from the southwest, and the E22 connect to the Amsterdam A10 ring road. All routes are well sign-posted.

Eurolines operate the main UK coach services to Amsterdam. International buses arrive at Amsterdam Amstel Station, about 10km south of the city, with a 10min metro hop to Centraal Station.

Do remember that parking in Amsterdam is very difficult. Don’t park illegally as wheel-clamp teams operate and fines unpaid within 24hrs result in the car being towed away, a very costly experience.

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