Start from your actual address
Amsterdam Centraal sits at the northern edge of the city centre, not in the middle of it, so the train is only the fastest option if your accommodation is within easy walking distance or a short tram ride of the station. If you are staying near Museumplein, Leidseplein or the southern canal ring, the Amsterdam Airport Express bus can be the more direct choice precisely because it skips Centraal and heads toward those areas instead.
Work out this last stretch before you land. A traveller with two suitcases discovering their hotel is a fifteen-minute walk and a tram change from Centraal will often prefer a taxi's door-to-door route, even though it costs more than the train.
The train
The train station sits directly under the Schiphol terminal. According to Schiphol's own page, you reach it by escalator or lift down from Schiphol Plaza, and trains to Amsterdam consistently depart from track 3. NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) operates the route, which the airport describes as running eight times an hour between Schiphol and Amsterdam Centraal, with a journey time of 17 minutes.
Ticketing is flexible. Schiphol's page describes three ways to travel: buying a ticket at a station machine, using an OV-chipkaart if you already carry one, or simply tapping a contactless debit card, credit card or phone at the yellow card readers to check in, then tapping again to check out at your destination. The airport's page does not publish a current single-fare figure, so confirm the exact price on the day through the NS Travel Planner or at a ticket machine rather than relying on an older number.
The Amsterdam Airport Express bus
Bus line 397 runs from a stop directly outside Schiphol Plaza into the city, stopping at central locations away from Centraal, including Museumplein and Leidseplein according to I amsterdam's own transport guide, which lists daytime departures roughly every 10 minutes from stop B17 and an hourly night service. The same contactless payment method used on the train — tapping a bank card or phone at the reader when boarding and again when leaving — works on this bus as well.
This is the more useful option than the train specifically when your destination is near one of its direct stops, since it removes the need for a connecting tram or a longer walk from Centraal. It is a public bus rather than an express shuttle reserved for air travellers, so expect it to pick up and drop off other passengers along the route.
Taxis and ride-hailing
An official taxi rank operates outside the terminal without needing to book ahead, and Schiphol's page notes that app-based ride-hailing services have their own separate designated pickup point rather than sharing the taxi rank directly. I amsterdam's guide gives an approximate typical fare of €35 to €55 into the city centre for a standard taxi — a range rather than a metered guarantee, since traffic and your exact destination both move the final number. Larger shared "Schiphol Travel Taxis" accommodate groups of up to eight passengers, which can bring the per-person cost down for a group travelling together.
Avoid anyone approaching you inside the terminal offering a ride outside these official channels; both Schiphol and the city's own guidance point travellers to the marked rank and designated app pickup point rather than unsolicited offers.
Compare by what matters to you
| Option | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Train | Light luggage, staying near Centraal, frequent departures | You still need a tram, walk or taxi for the final stretch |
| Amsterdam Airport Express (397) | Staying near Museumplein or Leidseplein | Slower than the train in light traffic; fewer departures than the train |
| Taxi | Heavy luggage, groups, door-to-door convenience | Highest cost, and travel time depends on traffic |
Late arrivals and large luggage
Schiphol's own page describes the train as running through the night, though exact first and last departure times are worth checking on the NS Travel Planner rather than assumed, since schedules can shift. A taxi rank operating without reservation removes any question of being stranded after a late landing, at the cost of a higher fare than daytime traffic would produce.
Two large suitcases are manageable on the train, since the station sits directly beneath the terminal with escalators and lifts rather than a long walk, but consider your onward journey from Amsterdam Centraal — if that leg involves stairs, a tram change, or several cobbled blocks, a taxi's door-to-door route may be worth the extra cost regardless of how you feel about the train itself.
Before you leave the arrivals hall
Decide which option you are taking before you walk past the last set of doors with your bags in hand, since indecision in the arrivals area is exactly when an unofficial driver is most likely to approach you. The signed way down to the platforms, the marked bus stop outside Schiphol Plaza, and the official taxi rank are the three channels worth using; nothing else in the terminal is part of any of the services described here.
This guide does not cover connections onward from Schiphol to other Dutch cities such as Rotterdam or Utrecht, or Schiphol's separate airport-to-airport transfer options.