"Mainport NL, flying in (and out) at Schiphol" Top 5 Page for this destination Schiphol by Pavlik_NL

Schiphol Travel Guide: 186 reviews and 505 photos

Front facade of our international airport

Schiphol, Amsterdam International Airport

Welcome to Schiphol, mainport Holland (preferably The Netherlands) and also known as Amsterdam International Airport. This is the place where some of you will enter our little country and therefor I will make this page an informative one. Maybe it helps to prepare you a little, as Schiphol is one of the largest airports in Europe and can be quite dazzling for some. However, when you speak English one thing is off your mind. There will be no lingual-problem, as there is English written everywhere. I have had some occasions that I even had to speak English in the shops, as the people behind the counter didn't know Dutch! For others, there are also many signs that are logical to understand. With this guide you will have some extra information and will find the whole of The Netherlands before your feet.

Homebase of the world's first civil airliner

The blue fleet, stationed in Schiphol

KLM, the "Koninklijk Luchtvaart Maatschappij" (Royal Air Company) was the world's first civil aircraftcarrier, flying within the Netherland and to our colonies in the Caribic, Indonesia and Suriname. Also bringing mail to the many emigrated Dutch throughout the continents. KLM is still a considerable strong airliner that is already for many decades within the top ten of the best in service. In advertisement KLM distingueses itself from the others, by using a graceful swan as symbol. The campaign is one of the better.

Wide open connection to The Netherlands

Direct connections to the trainnetwork

One of the greatest things of Schiphol is that it is perfectly connected in all ways to the rest of The Netherlands. Under the airport are the platforms of the trains, connecting with Amsterdam Central Station within 15 minutes or The Hague in less then half an hour. As Schiphol is situated within the "Randstad" the larger towns of The Netherlands surround it. By car Amsterdam is 15 minutes away (excl. parking which will take half an hour extra (-: ). Haarlem: 10 minutes. Utrecht: 30 minutes. The Hague: 20 minutes. Rotterdam: 30 minutes.
Furthermore in front of Schiphol Plaza (see General tips) there are bus-platforms and taxi-places that are always having cabs ready (no annoying taxidrivers that await you in the airport itself). Here also the hotel-coaches stop and take you to your preebooked hotels in Amsterdam or anywhere else.

Schiphol - of course - also connects to hundreds of other airport in the world, but about that ... I will not need to explane further.

Intro Written Aug 24, 2003
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Reviews (25)

See Holland in a flash during connections - Schiphol

See Holland while waiting to connect Things to Do (2)

Tip for people that want to catch a glimps of Holland when waiting to get onto a connecting flight. Offers: Amsterdam (2... more travel advice

"De Uiver"-flight, we're still proud of it - Schiphol

More Dutch aviation history Local Customs (6)

In 1934 the Dutch airplane "De Uiver" (means the Storch) won the handicap-race for airplanes from London to Melbourne.... more travel advice

An example of the more modern Fokker-airplanes - Schiphol

Fokker, our national pride Local Customs (6)

Antony Fokker lived from 1890 until 1939 and can well be regarded as one of the pioneers in aviation history. This Dutch... more travel advice

At least the IBIS also offers tulips ...on the pic - Schiphol

Yet another hotel tip with a completing... Hotels (6)

The last hotel I will mention here is the IBIS. This hotel-chain is also to be found in many European and... more travel advice

Favorites (7)
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Comments (8)

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BruceDunning Mar 11, 2010 at 12:04 PM

I agree with you. Some time ago we came through here and it was complicated to find for foreigners. But the place is well operated and your pictures/comments helpful
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nora_south_africa Apr 19, 2008 at 1:53 AM

very useful tips!
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aaaarrgh Jun 15, 2005 at 4:16 PM

Useful, thoughtful tips. You almost make an airport sound interesting :-)
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marbal Jan 17, 2005 at 2:30 AM

Schiphol... what a great place. Always the beginning of a new adventure!
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eurotravels Aug 10, 2004 at 9:54 AM

I've never been on the roof, but love the terrace outside. It's perhaps the best airport I've been to.
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Biljana Oct 19, 2003 at 10:34 AM

Schiphol is a nice airport one of my personal favorites. Perhaps next time I visit I'll get a chance to explore the country as well not just the airport while I wait for a connecting flight. By the way your little boy is really cute!
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huib-jose Sep 13, 2003 at 1:57 AM

Such helpful page for visitors to our country. Made like a true ambassador of Holland.
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matcrazy1 Sep 3, 2003 at 7:42 AM

The first detailed page on the airport I read on VT! Very usuful! I flew to Los Angeles by KLM from Shippol and I liked either KLM and the airport :-)