Request - Need advice on Amsterdam half-day tour

Hello Friends:

Here I come with a request for advice to the people with the knowledge, wisdom, and willingness to help fellow FWers.

Well, we will have about 8 hours layover at Amsterdam airport in the end of December, reaching the airport around 6:00 AM, with our connecting flight leaving around 2:00 PM. On our last trip, I saw that tours are offered at the airport itself, but I didn't have enough time then to find out more about the tour. I googled about the amsterdam tours, but could not find any information about such tours, though lots of other information about city tours. Does anyone have any information about these tours, or experience about these tours? Should I even take this tour? Or any other information that I should know?

Thanks in advance.

If this were my travel schedule, I would not leave the airport.

I know that it feels that 8 hours (from moment of landing to moment of taking off) is a long time, but you don't want to miss your second flight.

I don't know if your bags will be checked through to your final destination, or whether you will have to get them and clear customs and then load them back again, which can take some time.

These days, with security procedures at international airports, it can take a long time to get through immigration when you get off your flight, to pick up and drop off your bags (if necessary), and later to pass through security to get to the gate for the next flight, etc.

Adding that to the time it takes to get from the airport to the center of town, back again, etc. -- I would not risk it.

You might not get off the plane until 6:45, through the immigration/customs line until 7:45 - at the front of the airport to your bus, taxi, etc. by 8 (and that's if you don't have to fiddle with your luggage); then you're expected to check in for international flights 2 or 3 hours ahead of takeoff these days (at least in my experience), so they'd want you to check in at 11 or 12 for your 2 pm flight and go through the security screening to get to your gate.

I've never had any delays in the Amsterdam airport, so their procedures seem to be pretty smooth, but you never know.

On top of which, I'm assuming that you will arrive on an overnight flight into Amsterdam - I'm usually exhausted by overnight flights, even if I manage to sleep an hour or two on the plane.

Add in the time it will take to have lunch, go to the bathroom and freshen up, browse the thousands of gift shop items they've fashioned from ceramic and blue paint to hold cheese, buy some stroopwaffels for your next flight, etc. -- and that's your morning gone.

If you really want to see Amsterdam, will they let you take the same connecting flight a day later, or late in the evening on the same day?

They're giving you absolutely horrific advice. I've done Amsterdam in less than 8 hours, you'll be fine. Take the train to Centraal (about 20 mins if I remember correctly). Go to the Pancake Bakery near the Anne Frank house, eat breakfast while you wait for the house to open. Buy tix online in advance or the wait will be huge. Do the Anne Frank house, then take a tram back to near Centraal, wander around the red light district for a brief amount of time (it's 5 minutes walking from the train station), then hop a train back to the airport. You'll be fine, I've done it twice.

I think that "horrific" is an uncalled-for adjective.

Ludhianvi,

Thanks for getting back to everyone and explaining what your conclusion is - people on FW don't do that often enough.

Good thing you looked into the visa requirement. They probably don't issue instant visas at the airport.

Safe travels.