Schiphol Airport - Terminal information, Amsterdam

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The airport for Amsterdam and the whole of the Netherlands - surprisingly very provincial by English standards. Dutch TV shows an advertisement with three women going shopping in the Schipol shopping centre - it must have taken them all of 40 minutes and they have clearly never been to Bluewater or Meadowhall or similar shopping centres in England. The shopping really is a disappointment - there are not many shops and for English people very expensive. The best way to kill time waiting for a flight is to watch planes depart and arrive from the viewing area or go for a meal - there is a good choice of places to eat.
VT member pieter_jan_v has a very good Schipol section on his Amsterdam pages and perhaps I missed something but writing honestly I do not think this large airport has shopping that matches the hype that surrounds it and it is also quite basic in design. However the staff are helpful and friendly and it is easy to find your way around. Trains stops underneath the airport and there seems to be adequate parking.

When arriving at Schipol Airport, you might find yourself surprised at how incredibly easy and almost pleasant (in comparison to other airports such as Paris' CDG) it is to navigate around. This is true especially if you understand English fluently, as the language is broadcast openly alongside Dutch.

As someone who isn't terribly fond of airports, I must say that Schipol was undoubtedly the best airport arrival experience I had.

Schiphol Airport is an interesting place. I had a layover here for a while and had some rather weird experiences.

First of all, the airport is comfortable for those with a long layover. I just parked myself off to the side with my bags and chilled out. No one bugged me.

BUUUUT....when it finally came time to board my place I looked a bit disheveled (I was travelling on a budget). The airport security guys, even thought I'm sure they saw me there for the last serveral hours, pulled me a side to frisk me. I just wanted to get on my plane! :)

Anyhoot, more of the story is that the security here is pretty good, so don't do anything stupid like try to smuggle a pound of weed back home. There's dogs as well...not the type you pat on the head and go "awwww, you so cute" but rather the type that eats man balls for breakfast.

Happy trails. Just make sure they are safe trails.

Schiphol Airport is a wonderful and convenient airport that was recently built with all of the modern necessities. It is located just 9 miles south of Amsterdam and has easy highway or rail access to the the city.

We had a layover in Amsterdam while flying to Copenhagen.

Schiphol is the world's 9th busiest airport, moving 44 million people in 2005.

Schiphol Airport is 18 Kms south - west of Amsterdam city. It is renowed for its Tax-Free Shopping and one of the civilised modern airport of the world. It is so busy that there are a lot of planes either takingoff or landing ever 10 mins or so here.

I flew from London on British Air. Schipol is the coolest airport I've ever been to expept there's no good beer bars in it. The train from there to Central station runs every ten minutes and it's impossible not to find your way to it. Very simple and quick. Cheap too!!

Schiphol Airport is one of the 5 biggest airports in Europe. So if you want to catch your plane don't - like us - spend too much time in the shop/restaurant area but start walking to your gate early enough! We had to rush because the distance got bigger and bigger and bigger! And when we sat down in the plane - it had to wait for 45 minutes of course ;-)

Leaving CDG behind and arriving at AMS schipol is like day and night. Warmth and friendliness and hospitality oozes out of the AMS crew while I was glad to leave behind the sullen AF lounge people to whom smiling is an effort
I am sitting at the AMS KLM lounge at schipol near the F gates .. the flights to NAmerica depart from the F gates and aI also remember being her on two other occasions when I flew to YVR and YYZ..
this lounge has to be one of the best in that it is very spacious and the food offered is good and this month they are featuring south american menus..
the glass of champers is not bad either

salut

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Departing from Schiphol a few days ago we had a 2 hour delay and went up to the viewing area. It was great, able to see take offs and landings as well as visit the reasonably priced (for Amsterdam) Aviator restaurant.
Good place to visit if you have a wait.

I did not have the right card (no european chip in my debit or credit cards) so had to go to the far left of the station when you come up from the baggage claim---there is a person at a counter which will take our credit cards and give you tickets to get to Central Station in Amsterdam. It is 4.20 each way with a return ticket for when you need to come back to the airport. (2nd class---I guess 1st class has a little more leg room or something). They will tell you which platform to go to, and when you get on the train, you can stow your bag nearby between seats, or in the area before you get to the seats...just keep an eye on them...you can go up or down to the seats----when you get to Central Station (sometimes after a few stops in between) just follow the crowds until you get out in the air and then on to your destination via tram, bus, or your feet (my usual way of getting around!)