Even after a seven-hour flight with no real sleep, it’s still possible to easily navigate the arrivals process at Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport. Information is presented clearly and, when necessary, it’s exceedingly easy to get questions answered.
Connecticut travelers are going to like the fact that English signage greets them upon deplaning. Most Dutch people are also going to speak English and actually speak with an American accent because of the influence of television.
Arriving passengers from Bradley will partake in a fairly expedient passport process. On a Sunday arrival at 7:30 a.m., approximately the same time the Bradley flight will arrive, there were four passport lines open. Unlike JFK, for example, three of the lines were for passengers from all countries and only one was for European Union residents (a ratio typically flip-flopped in the U.S.). There are up to eight passport control lines.
Travel Options
As you stand in line to clear passport control, there are signs explaining the travel options to Amsterdam center. A train takes 15 minutes and costs 3.6 Euros; a taxi takes 20 minutes and costs 37 Euros; and, a hotel shuttle takes 30 minutes and will set you back 12.5 Euros. Of course, what the sign fails to mention is the train, while cheaper, is going to take as long as a hotel shuttle, if not longer, to reach a destination because of the time you’ll spend waiting for it to depart the airport and the time to catch a connecting tram or take a taxi from the train station once in Amsterdam.
Customs
Customs is going to be a non-factor for most visitors. After you clear it, there are signs to the trains, hotel shuttles, and taxis. If in doubt, English-speaking guides are in the information booth located just outside of customs, even at 8 a.m. on a Sunday.
Connections
It’s possible from Schiphol, the fourth largest train station in The Netherlands, to take international trains to Belgium, Germany and France via Antwerp. Brussels can currently be reached in two-and-a-half hours, but a high-speed train is coming that will cut that time significantly. Service to London is available via Rotterdam Central Station. It might be worth considering connecting via train, especially because of the early morning arrival of the flight from Bradley. It affords the opportunity to see the countryside and arrive at your destination in time to check in.
The train to Amsterdam is a double-decker with a split-level entrance requiring luggage be dragged up or down a tight set of steps. It’s a great train for carrying a lot of commuters, but it’s fairly inefficient for ferrying travelers and their suitcases.
Timely Advice
Keep in mind that the flight from Bradley arrives at 6:25 a.m. Figure on arriving at your hotel, barring unusual delays, by 9 a.m. at the latest. Most hotels aren’t going to be ready for check-in at that point. A business traveler out of Illinois shared this tip: Drop off your luggage. Then, stop off for a coffee. After that, take a canal boat tour of Amsterdam. It will give you a great lay of the land and help you see what’s where.
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