Leaving the airport during a stopover

rodgered

Hi,

I have a 12 hour stopover in Amsterdam and am wondering is it possible to leave the airport and have a look around or how does it work?

Bit of a rookie!

Thanks

BuffyBot

Perfectly possible. Assuming you're an Irish passport holder there is nothing to stop you leaving the airport and heading into town for a few hours

rodgered

Travelling on my British one actually but I assume you mean as long as I from within the EU?

Thanks a million!

number10a

In Amsterdam, all connecting passengers have to go through security again anyway, whether or not you leave the airport. So no one will ever know if you left or not anyway. Enjoy it for the 12 hours!! It's an amazing city. Train in from the airport is 15 mins every 15 mins.

BuffyBot

rodgered wrote: »

Travelling on my British one actually but I assume you mean as long as I from within the EU?

Thanks a million!

Yup, you'll be fine

clearodara

Go straight to the Greenhouse Coffee shop, best one in the dam.

ardmacha

Not only can you, but with 12 hours you absolutely should.
Not sure how you ended up with 12 hours on one ticket other than an overnight.

rodgered

Yeah it is overnight, heading to Toronto from London, hit Amsterdam at 10pm and leave at 10:30am the next morning. Delighted with it to be honest, will be nice for a few pints. Going booking it through Expedia Friday.


Thanks for all the replies folks!

The Davestator

Nicest Heineken in the world in Amsterdam.:D

schemingbohemia

rodgered wrote: »

Yeah it is overnight, heading to Toronto from London, hit Amsterdam at 10pm and leave at 10:30am the next morning. Delighted with it to be honest, will be nice for a few pints. Going booking it through Expedia Friday.


Thanks for all the replies folks!

How much are you saving by doing such a convoluted route? You'll probably spend that in Amsterdam itself, allied to the likelihood of flying a long journey with a hangover, not for me.

Maybe use www.skyscanner.com for alternative prices?

Of course, if you want it as an excuse to visit Amsterdam, fair enough.

rodgered

I know I have been thinking the same thing myself.

For 550 I leave London Thursday, have the night in Amsterdam and fly to Toronto the next morning.

660 I leave London the Friday and straight to Toronto.

Thing is I could get a night in Amsterdam without losing a night of my holidays in Toronto plus I have never been. Can kip in the Airport if stuck and their is a luggage storage for when I was in the city Thursday night.

Seems a bit daft so still undecided.

schemingbohemia

If it were me, old and boring and been to Amsterdam before, I'd just go straight to Toronto.

You could end up having a space cake too many and missing your flight.

MadsL

The Davestator wrote: »

Nicest Heineken in the world in Amsterdam.:D

And fortunately Holland is next to Belgium so you don't have to to drink Heineken swill. Lots of nice Belgian beer on tap instead.

Honestly, why is that for a nation known for drinking, the Irish have awful taste in beer?

ProudDUB

rodgered wrote: »

I know I have been thinking the same thing myself.

For 550 I leave London Thursday, have the night in Amsterdam and fly to Toronto the next morning.

660 I leave London the Friday and straight to Toronto.

Thing is I could get a night in Amsterdam without losing a night of my holidays in Toronto plus I have never been. Can kip in the Airport if stuck and their is a luggage storage for when I was in the city Thursday night.

Seems a bit daft so still undecided.

I think it is daft. It sounds doable, and just a tad exciting on paper, but not in any practical sense. The cost of getting into Amsterdam, the cost of booze and food and other incidentals ( ) while you are there, the cost of getting back to the airport & the money you'll spend knocking around the airport, will eat up a lot of the 100 quid you'll save by going that route imo.

You won't get much kip at the airport. Airport seats are designed for sitting, not sleeping. Have you ever flown the Atlantic before & experienced jet lag. Have you ever done so without having slept the night before? Have you ever done it after having a feed of pints before you flew? Add all that up, and you won't be up for much when you get to Toronto. I think you lose a lot more than just one night in Toronto if you do it the way that you are intending. Shame really as I don't think the financial saving makes it worthwhile.

ThunderApple

Lol, I came here to ask the same question about Madrid.
I'll have 6 hours between my flights in Madrid and I'm going to have a walk in the city. The airport website says it takes just 12 minutes to get there, so I'd be an idiot to miss such a chance.
The only thing I wasn't sure about is - am I allowed to do so? I know I'll have to pass the security control again when I come back but that's it, right? They don't care if I go out for a while, do they?

schemingbohemia

It will take you a lot longer than 12 minutes to get to the city centre. The walk within the airport to the metro takes a good while, plus waiting on metros, it would be the guts of an hour to really get somewhere nice.

Then you'll have to give yourself a couple of hours to get back, metro plus going through security, so you'd really have 2 maybe 3 hours to look around. Do you have somewhere specific in mind to visit? A wander around the Retiro park could be nice if the weather is ok.

Presumably you're travelling on an EU passport and your bags will have been checked straight through?

rodgered

Lots of decent replies here with good advice so thanks folks.

Never been to Amsterdam so still not sure, I am booking Friday on pay day so will decide then. Also rejigged flights so I would be in Amsterdam at 10pm the Thursday and not leave til Friday at half 1.

Thanks again guys.

zippygirl

@ThunderApple no no they dont care, you will just have to go back through security again when you get ready to take your flight!
@rodgered Amsterdam is great - easy to get around, clean and fun! I would recommend checking out Rotterdam- its a beautiful city but dosent get as much PR as Amsterdam since most people dont know about it!
I was actually thinking about booking a trip to Greece for this summer... anyone have any recommendations?

The Davestator

MadsL wrote: »

And fortunately Holland is next to Belgium so you don't have to to drink Heineken swill. Lots of nice Belgian beer on tap instead.

Honestly, why is that for a nation known for drinking, the Irish have awful taste in beer?

You forgot to add 'in your opinion'

Beer snobs are worse than wine snobs.

Slashman X

ProudDUB wrote: »

You won't get much kip at the airport. Airport seats are designed for sitting, not sleeping. Have you ever flown the Atlantic before & experienced jet lag. Have you ever done so without having slept the night before? Have you ever done it after having a feed of pints before you flew? Add all that up, and you won't be up for much when you get to Toronto. I think you lose a lot more than just one night in Toronto if you do it the way that you are intending. Shame really as I don't think the financial saving makes it worthwhile.

There is a big area in Schiphol airport with nice reclining leather seats. Admittedly they aren't beds but they're a lot better than any seats you'd get in Dublin airport

rodgered

Slashman X wrote: »

There is a big area in Schiphol airport with nice reclining leather seats. Admittedly they aren't beds but they're a lot better than any seats you'd get in Dublin airport

Seen this myself! Thanks. Turns out the flight arrives in at 10pm Thursday and leaves at 1:30pm on Friday so think I will stay and have the morning in Amsterdam. Will weight it all up and book Friday!

Marcusm

rodgered wrote: »

Hi,

I have a 12 hour stopover in Amsterdam and am wondering is it possible to leave the airport and have a look around or how does it work?

Bit of a rookie!

Thanks

I've had trips to Amsterdam involving meetings in the city and in Utrecht which have involved less than 12 hours between flights so absolutely yes you can provided you don't need a visa. Immigration is generally quick in AMS and the airport rail station is part of the national network. Go into town, walk around if the weather is hospitable. Take a canal boat trip or tram ride if it takes your fancy.

Slashman X

rodgered wrote: »

Seen this myself! Thanks. Turns out the flight arrives in at 10pm Thursday and leaves at 1:30pm on Friday so think I will stay and have the morning in Amsterdam. Will weight it all up and book Friday!

I'm almost 90% sure that they are in a 'public' area as well, as Schiphol has the security & ticket checks as you enter your gate. But someone will have to confirm this.

zagmund

rodgered wrote: »

Seen this myself! Thanks. Turns out the flight arrives in at 10pm Thursday and leaves at 1:30pm on Friday so think I will stay and have the morning in Amsterdam. Will weight it all up and book Friday!

Now, maybe you're a lot younger and more able than I am, but I know that if I flew to Amsterdam late one night, hit the town for the night & early morning, hung around the city for a couple of hours and then went back to the airport I would be shattered. The rest of the day would be a write off.

I also don't know what you plan on doing for entertainment, but I can't imagine any city being much fun at 0530 on a cold rainy morning. The best bit about 0530 on a cold rainy morning is that it's not 0430 on a cold rainy morning and you are an hour closer to leaving.

I think the plan is slightly bonkers to be honest. Go to Amsterdam *on purpose* some other time and enjoy it. It's a great city with loads to do & see.

z

[edit] of course some places are fun at 0530, but it's just that what with making sure you don't doze off/get robbed/lose your passport/etc . . . you may end up limiting your own fun on purpose.

rodgered

zagmund wrote: »

Now, maybe you're a lot younger and more able than I am, but I know that if I flew to Amsterdam late one night, hit the town for the night & early morning, hung around the city for a couple of hours and then went back to the airport I would be shattered. The rest of the day would be a write off.

I also don't know what you plan on doing for entertainment, but I can't imagine any city being much fun at 0530 on a cold rainy morning. The best bit about 0530 on a cold rainy morning is that it's not 0430 on a cold rainy morning and you are an hour closer to leaving.

I think the plan is slightly bonkers to be honest. Go to Amsterdam *on purpose* some other time and enjoy it. It's a great city with loads to do & see.

z

[edit] of course some places are fun at 0530, but it's just that what with making sure you don't doze off/get robbed/lose your passport/etc . . . you may end up limiting your own fun on purpose.

Thanks for that. If I book a cheap hostel I wouldnt be on the streets at the time in the morning. One of my mates is coming with me now so will discuss with him. Thanks again. General consensus is thats its a daft idea!

harry Bailey esq

rodgered wrote: »

Hi,

I have a 12 hour stopover in Amsterdam and am wondering is it possible to leave the airport and have a look around or how does it work?

Bit of a rookie!

Thanks

make sure you give yourself enough time going back through security,schipol is HUGE! 10.30 is quite late to arrive,there are however places to wet your whistle into the wee hours.cafe zilt opens late 7nights and is just a five minute stroll from the train station.its on a pedestrianized street called zeedijk,lots of bars and steakhouses can be found here,and the further you go down this street it takes on an Asian feel,Amsterdams Chinatown if you will. another option would be to book into a flying pig hostel,24 hour bar service in those,as for coffeeshops the only 24hour place i know is coffeeshop 420,this is again just a few minutes walk from the station.its situated in an alley called oud brugsteeg. enjoy Amsterdam!

ThunderApple

schemingbohemia wrote: »

It will take you a lot longer than 12 minutes to get to the city centre. The walk within the airport to the metro takes a good while, plus waiting on metros, it would be the guts of an hour to really get somewhere nice...

Thanks! I didn't think about the walks within the airport, of course. I've checked with the map and realised it's quite a distance but even if I spend only 2 or 3 hours in Madrid it's much better than sitting in the waiting room. All the airports are more or less the same.
I don't have any particular plan on sightseeing yet but I'm working on it right now. I'll have to plan every minute if I want to catch my connection flight on time