Air
Schiphol is the Netherlands’ main international airport and the third busiest in Europe. It’s the hub of the Dutch national carrier, KLM, and more than 100 airlines have direct flights and connections to all continents. Depending upon the departure city, travelers from the United States may have to make a connection through somewhere like Paris or London. Schiphol is a clean, efficient, award-winning airport and its shopping arcades are renowned. It’s only about 11 miles from central Amsterdam and links to the centre are excellent. The quickest and easiest way to travel is by train. There’s a direct service every 10-15 minutes to Amsterdam central station with a journey time of 15-20 minutes. A one-way ticket, costing 3.60 Euros, can be obtained from the yellow ticket machines near the platforms at Schiphol Plaza. There’s a variety of bus services and KLM operates a half-hourly service that picks up from selected hotels. Details at www.klm.com. The cab ride into downtown is about 25-30 minutes and the cost between 20 and 40 Euros. Schiphol’s web-site is www.schiphol.nl.
Train
Train links to the Netherlands are especially good from France, Belgium and Germany. The Dutch Railways website is www.ns.nl. British travellers would have to go first through the Channel Tunnel on Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) to Brussels and then make a connection to Amsterdam. A cheaper way is by the ‘Dutch Flyer.’ This involves a train journey from London to Harwich in Essex, a North Sea ferry crossing to the Hook of Holland and then a train to Amsterdam. Details on www.seat61.com/Netherlands.
Road
Central Amsterdam's narrow canal-side streets were not built for heavy traffic and driving into the city is strongly discouraged by the authorities. Moreover, there's absolutely no free parking in Amsterdam, the only exceptions are way outside the A10 Ring Road. Even if it looks like the parking is free because no warning signs are posted, there's certainly an automatic ticket machine in the vicinity and you'd best find it, otherwise a bright yellow wheel clamp (wielklem) will be attached to your car and you'll have to pay to have it removed. You can easily avoid these potential problems by parking your car in the outer suburbs and entering the city by tram or metro. It’s also possible to buy a daily, weekly or monthly city parking permit.
