Near Schiphol Suggestions

[stuartmoss]

Hi folks,

I'll need to spend 2 nights in January 2023 near Schiphol Airport, ideally a nice town / city location within 30 minutes by train of the airport, but not in Amsterdam. I've been to Utrecht so would like to try somewhere else, but it needs to have a direct rail link to the airport. Over to you geniuses!

Cheers

 

[ld0595]

The Hague is worth visiting. Bang on 30 minutes by train from Schiphol. I'd also highly recommend Rotterdam as well - a lot to do and I enjoy the mixture of old/modern architecture. You can get there in 20 minutes on the Thalys train or 25 by NS Intercity Direct.

Leiden is closer, supposed to be quite nice and also has a direct train. I've never been so can't really comment much about it.

 

[biko]

I would suggest Leiden as it's not too big, has a nice city centre and is very close to Schiphol. Cities east by train from Schiphol are not really nice and going north you only have Zaandam, which I wouldn't recommend to a tourist. Other places are a bit too far.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I'd also say Leiden. I stayed there for a while many years ago and found it a pleasant place - and it fitted my preconceptions of what a Dutch town would be like...

 

[philg999]

Haarlem is physically closer than Leiden, and a great city to stay in, with great beaches nearby as well, but there’s no train connection (apart from via Amsterdam or Leiden) … however it’s only 30 mins from Schiphol on the bus (which runs every 5-10 mins). I personally find it difficult to choose between those 2 cities for niceness…. but Haarlem I think maybe would win by a nose due to proximity to some nicer beach.

 

[AdamWW]

I'd also say Leiden. I stayed there for a while many years ago and found it a pleasant place - and it fitted my preconceptions of what a Dutch town would be like...

I'd recommend Leiden too. It certainly fits my views of a Dutch city but then again that's probably because I've spent most of my time in the Netherlands in Leiden. But it's certainly worth seeing and there are some nice hotels in the centre.

On the other hand, if you have the time and it's your sort of thing, the local transport in The Hague is also worth seeing. There's an extensive tram network with some old high floor trams as well as modern low floor ones. And the number 3 is particularly impresssive - it starts out with street running on the tram network, goes through a tram tunnel then calls at a platform suspended above the concourse at the central railway station, then becomes light rail, sharing the track with a metro line (and since the metro and light rail trains have different boarding heights, the stations have to have two platform heights), then - after it's left the metro route - eventually does a 360 degree turn passing over the line it was on earlier at a station with high and low level platforms, then eventually ending up in a bay platform at a station it's already passed through, but facing in the opposite direction. I don't think I've seen anything quite like that anywhere else.

 

[DanielB]

I would suggest Leiden as it's not too big, has a nice city centre and is very close to Schiphol. Cities east by train from Schiphol are not really nice and going north you only have Zaandam, which I wouldn't recommend to a tourist. Other places are a bit too far.

May be a bit small, but to the east Weesp is a nice historic fortified town. With Muiden nearby as well, which is home to Muiderslot castle.

Of the bigger cities indeed Leiden would be an obvious choice. Amersfoort is also worth a visit (one of the hidden gems in the Netherlands), but slightly further away (40 min. by direct train).

 

[Route115?]

Its not exactly in a town, but there are Ibis & Ibis Budget hotels at Schiphol airport about 15 minutes away on a free shuttle. The Ibis Budget cost me £240 for four nights in June at the Accor members rate. I remember thin walls & it being a bit noisy but this time I was put up in the extention which was fine & had air conditioning. They use dynamic pricing, sometimes the Ibis Budget is much cheaper than the standard Ibis, sometimes the prices are almost the same in which case stay at the main Ibis. Whenever I've checked the Ibis at Centraal is around twice the price. There is also an Ibis at Leiden Check on the Accor website - it always pays to do your homework.

 

[stuartmoss]

Thanks everyone for your great replies, I spent a week in The Hague pre-Covid, I’ve been to Haarlem / Zandvoort a few times also. So have opted for Leiden, which I visited for a weekend 15 years ago, but honestly can’t remember too much about.

 

[TheSeeker]

If you're looking for a fun hotel try the Corendon Plaza. If you like planes it has a 747 in the garden and a rooftop bar overlooking the runways.

 

[92002]

Hi folks,

I'll need to spend 2 nights in January 2023 near Schiphol Airport, ideally a nice town / city location within 30 minutes by train of the airport, but not in Amsterdam. I've been to Utrecht so would like to try somewhere else, but it needs to have a direct rail link to the airport. Over to you geniuses!

Cheers

There are a number of hotels in the Schophol area. Usually providing free transport to and from the airport.

Looking further afield there is leiden and Den Haag with good train connections. Even Rotterdam is 25 minutes away on the high speed train service However that needs a supplement.

 

[island]

There are a number of hotels in the Schophol area. Usually providing free transport to and from the airport.

Looking further afield there is leiden and Den Haag with good train connections. Even Rotterdam is 25 minutes away on the high speed train service However that needs a supplement.

...of €3 or so, won't break the bank.

 

[DanielB]

€ 2,70 is the price when buying as an E-ticket or during rush hour. Should you've got an OV-chipcard then 40% discount is automatically applied when purchasing the supplement at the supplement pole on the platform during off-peak hours or weekends. You'll not need any subscription to do that and this reduces the price to € 1,62.

However, knowing the fare structure in the Netherlands that supplement still feels a bit like being ripped-off: Rotterdam - Schiphol has the same number of fare units regardless of the route, so as the high speed line takes the shortest route you're already paying more than you'd expect based on the distance. And the supplement comes on top of that.

 

[johncrossley]

€ 2,70 is the price when buying as an E-ticket or during rush hour. Should you've got an OV-chipcard then 40% discount is automatically applied when purchasing the supplement at the supplement pole on the platform during off-peak hours or weekends. You'll not need any subscription to do that and this reduces the price to € 1,62.

However, knowing the fare structure in the Netherlands that supplement still feels a bit like being ripped-off: Rotterdam - Schiphol has the same number of fare units regardless of the route, so as the high speed line takes the shortest route you're already paying more than you'd expect based on the distance. And the supplement comes on top of that.

What would happen without the supplement? Do many people go the old way via Den Haag to save money?

 

[DanielB]

What would happen without the supplement? Do many people go the old way via Den Haag to save money?

Both routes attract their own public. For some trips it doesn't make sense to change to the high speed line, as the change in Rotterdam involves waiting longer than the time gained. So those would take the classic route.

But as soon as a significant number of ICNG sets is in use (the first ones will run next year) I suspect the supplement to disappear anyway. The new timetable setup will then have IC services from Amersfoort to Rotterdam via Schiphol and the high speed line. When I'm remembering correctly those would be coming from as far as Enschede (on the German border), so requiring a supplement would then involve a lot of new supplement posts on the platform to load a supplement on your chipcard. Not really expect that's going to happen.

 

[Whisky Papa]

A few years back, we stayed in Zaandam in a new (but then very cheap!) hotel which I think has since become part of the Best Western chain. It was only a few minutes walk to the station, which has direct services to Schiphol. As well as being only a few minutes journey to Amsterdam Centraal, it was also handy for heading North to Alkmaar and Hoorn. While the town is very modern, it felt quite pleasant and it does have some "interesting" architecture in the inimitable Dutch style. Old-world charm can be found a couple of stops further N at the Zaanse Schans open-air museum.

 

[AdamWW]

But as soon as a significant number of ICNG sets is in use (the first ones will run next year) I suspect the supplement to disappear anyway. The new timetable setup will then have IC services from Amersfoort to Rotterdam via Schiphol and the high speed line. When I'm remembering correctly those would be coming from as far as Enschede (on the German border), so requiring a supplement would then involve a lot of new supplement posts on the platform to load a supplement on your chipcard. Not really expect that's going to happen.

Could they maybe put supplement readers on the trains themselves? Maybe works better if they have a way of knowing if you tapped it when you got on, not when you saw someone coming down to check tickets...

 

[DanielB]

Could they maybe put supplement readers on the trains themselves? Maybe works better if they have a way of knowing if you tapped it when you got on, not when you saw someone coming down to check tickets...

The guard is able to see at which time you've tapped in, however, supplement readers also allow to cancel the supplement within half an hour. So readers on the train would enable you to cancel the supplement after tickets are checked

 

[rvdborgt]

The guard is able to see at which time you've tapped in, however, supplement readers also allow to cancel the supplement within half an hour. So readers on the train would enable you to cancel the supplement after tickets are checked

In addition, you'd need at least 2 readers per coach, which means lots of costs possibly nullifying the extra income from the supplements. And there's the risk that boarding will take longer.

 

[stuartmoss]

Hi everyone, thanks for your help, particularly TheSeeker, I’ve booked The Corendon near Schiphol Airport, based mainly upon the fact that there is a Boeing 747 parked in the garden. Will do a day trip to Leiden from there!

 

[TheSeeker]

Hi everyone, thanks for your help, particularly TheSeeker

No problemo. Don't forget the free shuttle bus to and from the airport. Have fun!