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Hi all,

I'm going overnight from Singapore to Nice, France and will have a transit at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for 5 hours and 45 minutes. The arrival date is 6 March 2011 in the morning. I'm thinking of going the city to walk around for a short time (even for only 1-2 hours), as I have never been in Amsterdam before. I'm bringing a daypack to the cabin, so I will have that from airport to the city and back.

The arrival time to Schiphol airport is at 07.50, and the departure time from Schiphol airport is at 13.35. So, here is the schedule that I'm thinking:

(1) Arrive at Amsterdam: 07.50
(2) Passport control: 30 minutes, finished at 08.30
(3) Train to city: 30 minutes, arrive at the Centraal station at 09.00
(4) Walking around the city for 2 hours from 09.00 - 11.00
(5) Train from city: 30 minutes, start from Centraal station at 11.00 and then arrive at the airport at 11.30
(6) Security check, re-check in, and passport control: 45 minutes, in the boarding room at around 12.15
(7) Depart to Nice: 13.35

Do you think it is doable? Any advise for this? Thanks a lot!

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1

Seems like a realistic plan to me, just a few notes.

I can't seem to find a flight from Singapore arriving at that time of the morning, the only non-stop flights are KL838 (arrival 05:30) and SQ324 (06:35) according to the timetable for March on the Schiphol Airport homepage. The flight leaving at 13:35h is operated by KLM, I see, so I'll assume you arrive by KLM as well. In that case, I assume you travel on one ticket, your bags are checked through and you'll receive your boarding pass for AMS-NCE when you check in at Singapore. In that case you do not have to re-check in (step 6); since the Netherlands and France are both in the Schengen Area, you also do not have to go through passport control, only through the security check.

If you have bought two separate tickets for this trip, the situation is different since you'll have to pick up your checked bags in Amsterdam and drop them off at the KLM counter.

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P.S. should you be looking for inspiration as for how to spend your time in Amsterdam, there are a lot of threads about stopovers in Amsterdam to help you on your way

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I haven't flown from Schipol for a few years but the arrival time of 9.00 in central Amsterdam seems far too optimistic to me. You're taking into consideration no delays, no bus from plane to terminal, quick disembarcation of a large plane as well as you being able to quickly find the railway station in what is a pretty large airport. I know that Aribo knows Schipol better than me so maybe I'm wrong but I think that you'll take longer than you think to get to the centre.

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Hi all, thanks for the prompt reply.

Aribo, I can see my schedule in KLM website and Schiphol airport website. The flight is by KLM from Singapore to Nice (via Amsterdam), depart at 01.15 from Singapore, arrive at Amsterdam at 07.50. And then depart to Nice at 13.35.

Okay, so as you mentioned I don't need to check in, because I will have two boarding pass (SIN-AMS and AMS-NCE) when checking in at Singapore airport.

As for the passport control, note that I'm using Schengen Visa to enter Netherlands and France. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think I still need to pass through the passport control in that case?

And for baggage, I have posted another topic specifically for my case: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2012427&messageID=18065031

I really appreciate if you can answer my question on that topic.

Blagger, yes my estimation is based on there is no delay. If there is a delay, I will then of course have to recalculate again the timing when arrive at the Amsterdam airport. If there is still 1 hours to 1.5 hours of free time that I can use in the city, I will still opt to go. Otherwise, I won't risk it, and probably just go around the airport. I read that there is a museum inside the airport :)

Another question is, using my plan above, will I see anything at 09.00 - 11.00 in the city at 6 March 2011? Or will it be heavy raining, as it is probably early spring, thus I won't be able to walk around the city?

Thanks!

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Stewart, I agree it's probably worth it even if it's only for an hour/ hour and a half. Regarding the weather I think it will be impossible to say so far ahead : )

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The flight is by KLM from Singapore to Nice (via Amsterdam), depart at 01.15 from Singapore, arrive at Amsterdam at 07.50
If that's what it says on your itinerary, I suppose that is the correct arrival time. I got my information from the website of Schiphol Airport and I'm not quite sure how often the long-term timetables are updated there.

no bus from plane to terminal
Larger aircraft such as those operating on the SIN-AMS route are, very exceptional cases aside, always parked on one of the gates with passenger boarding bridges (jet bridge/jetway/passenger walkway, whatever you call them), so you don't need to get onto a bus to reach the terminal building.

As for the passport control, note that I'm using Schengen Visa to enter Netherlands and France. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think I still need to pass through the passport control in that case?
You will go through passport control upon arrival at Amsterdam, which is your entry point to the Schengen Area. There are no (regular) passport checks as such for intra-Schengen flights, regardless of your visa status. Security staff and (at the departure gate) KLM staff will want to see your passport too, but that's just to make sure the name on your boarding pass matches that in your passport.
When you get back to the airport, you can head straight to the entrance to the Schengen part of the airport (Departures 1), get in line for the security check (queues can be long there, but you should be able to get through in 15-20 minutes even when it's crowded), show your boarding pass to security staff, get through security and walk to the gate. More likely than not, it will take you around 10 minutes to get to the departure gate from the security checkpoint.

I read that there is a museum inside the airport
There's a museum between the E and F piers, but don't be too enthusiastic: you can have a good look at the exhibition in 15-20 minutes, if you take your time.

will it be heavy raining, as it is probably early spring, thus I won't be able to walk around the city?
As Blagger pointed out, that's impossible to say. Technically it's still winter, I remember a quite horrible day at Schiphol Airport in early March 2005 when heavy snow caused lots of cancellations and massive delays, but you could just as well arrive to find sunny weather and a pleasant 10°C (not quite Singapore, I know). Or it rains or drizzles and everything looks grey and depressing. No-one can predict that (but no matter how the weather will be, locals will be walking around the city).

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Thanks a lot for the advices Aribo. It's great to have information from an "insider" :)

As for the weather, yeah no one knows for sure. And it seems that spring in Europe comes a bit late this year. I have never gone to a city less than 20 degrees C before, but I will have my jacket, coat, and scarf for layering in my daypack that I'll bring to the plane cabin.

Regarding the baggage, even though I have posted another topic for that, I'm just gonna ask again in here as no one has replied.

So I will have one suitcase checked in. And as mentioned above, I will arrive at Amsterdam airport by KLM at 07.50 and my next flight to Nice by KLM is at 13.35. There is, however, an earlier KLM flight from Amsterdam also to Nice at around 10am. I didn't book that 10am flight because I want a longer layover in Amsterdam.

My question is, will my checked-in baggage be placed in the same plane with me (which is at 13.35)? Or will it go with the first next plane (which is at 10am) without me?

Thank you so much!

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For security reasons checked baggage is always on the aircraft as the passenger. Mistakes are made however, but in principle your luggage will be on the same plane you are flying on and not the earlier one.

-K

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Wether in the Netherlands in march? As we say in Dutch: It can rain or snow. But 20 degrees and sunny is also an option. Hard to tell. But even in rain Amsterdam is nice. It's more quite so you can easily walk around. Buy an umbrella when leaving the train station ;)

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