What is the fastest way from Schiphol to Amsterdam city centre?

The airport calls trains usually the fastest option. In NS timetable data for late October to 12 December 2026, direct Sprinter trains to Amsterdam Centraal took 15 to 19 minutes, most of them 16 or 17. There were eight an hour between 07:00 and 20:00 on weekdays and between 09:00 and 20:00 on Saturdays and Sundays.

How much is the train from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal?

NS's 2026 price list gives €5.50 for a second-class single and €9.90 in first class on weekdays (€7.70 at weekends). A single on a single-use chip card costs €1.60 more. If you tap in with a contactless bank card, NS says you always travel second class without a discount, and each traveller needs their own card.

Do trains run from Schiphol to Amsterdam at night?

On most nights, yes. After the 01:09 Sprinter, NS night trains leave Schiphol for Amsterdam Centraal at about 02:03, 03:03, 04:03 and 05:02. The exception is the night from Tuesday to Wednesday: in NS's data up to 9 December, the night trains do not stop at Schiphol, and there is no train between 00:59 and 05:39. The N97 night bus still runs.

Which bus goes from Schiphol to Museumplein and Leidseplein?

Bus 397, the Amsterdam Airport Express run by Connexxion, from stop B17 outside Schiphol Plaza. It took 23 to 27 minutes to Museumplein and 25 to 29 minutes to Leidseplein in the timetable data. Connexxion sells singles online from €6.50. At night the N97 runs hourly instead.

How much is a taxi from Schiphol to Amsterdam?

There is no set fare to the centre. The airport advises checking that the taxi has a meter, and for 2026 the Dutch government caps the fare at €4.31 plus €3.17 per kilometre plus €0.52 per minute in a standard taxi. A fixed price is allowed only if it is agreed with you before the ride.

Schiphol to Amsterdam city centre: train, bus, taxi or car

Q: Where can someone pick me up at Schiphol?

The airport recommends P1 Pick-up and Drop-off, a 2 to 6 minute walk from Schiphol Plaza and the arrivals halls. Without a reservation it costs €2.70 per 20 minutes. The free Kiss & Ride is meant for a very short stop to drop someone off.

Schiphol is not in Amsterdam itself. It sits in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, south-west of the city: Dam square is 11.3 km away in a straight line, and by road it is 13.7 km to Museumplein and 19.3 km to Amsterdam Centraal on OpenStreetMap routing. You can cover that by train, bus, taxi or booked car. Which one suits you depends mostly on the hour you land and where you are staying.

This guide uses figures from the airport, NS (Dutch Railways), Connexxion, the Dutch government and timetable data covering 17 October to 12 December 2026. Each timetable figure below says which days it covers, because nights and weekends at Schiphol differ from the rest of the week.

The short answer

Option	Time to the city centre	Price	Best for
Sprinter train to Amsterdam Centraal	15 to 19 minutes; eight an hour 07:00–20:00 on weekdays and 09:00–20:00 at weekends; night trains roughly hourly, except on Tuesday-to-Wednesday nights up to 9 December	€5.50 second-class single; €1.60 extra on a single-use chip card	Almost everyone
Bus 397 (Amsterdam Airport Express)	23 to 27 minutes to Museumplein, 25 to 29 to Leidseplein; from 05:27 (05:25 on Saturdays) until just after midnight	Single from €6.50 online	Hotels near Museumplein and Leidseplein
Night bus N97	25 minutes to Leidseplein, 40 to Centraal Station; hourly from 01:19 to 04:19 (01:22 to 04:22 on Sundays)	Same Amsterdam Airport Express ticket	Night arrivals, especially Tuesday to Wednesday
Taxi from the official stand	No official journey time; 13.7 to 19.3 km by road	Meter; legal maximum €4.31 plus €3.17 per km plus €0.52 per minute	Arrivals with nothing booked
Private transfer	Door to door, 13.7 to 19.3 km by road	Offered by drivers when you book	Families, heavy luggage, nights without trains

Finding your way at the airport

The airport says the railway station is directly below the airport and the bus station is directly outside, in front of Schiphol Plaza. The bus station is being rebuilt, so some buses temporarily leave from different places; follow the signs at the stops. The official taxi stand is also in front of Schiphol Plaza. According to the airport, public transport signs and announcements are in English.

Train to Amsterdam Centraal: it’s a Sprinter

Many visitors expect an Intercity, but in NS’s timetable data the direct trains from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal are Sprinters, apart from the night trains and one early Intercity at weekends. The Sprinters run from Hoofddorp via Schiphol, Amsterdam Lelylaan and Amsterdam Sloterdijk to Centraal. During the day, the Intercity trains from Schiphol towards Amsterdam go to Amsterdam Zuid, a station south of the centre, and on to other cities, not to Centraal.

Sprinters took 15 to 19 minutes, most of them 16 or 17. The Intercities took 14 or 15 minutes. Here is what NS’s data showed for every day from 23 October to 12 December 2026:

Monday to Friday: the first Sprinter at 05:39, then seven trains between 06:00 and 07:00, eight an hour from 07:00 to 20:00 and seven in the following hour. From 21:00 they run roughly every 15 minutes until midnight.
Saturday and Sunday: the first Sprinter at 05:39, then four or five trains an hour from 06:00 to 09:00 (including an Intercity at 06:03), eight an hour from 09:00 to 20:00 and seven in the following hour. From 21:00, roughly every 15 minutes.
Sunday 8 November: engineering works in the evening. From about 19:20, NS’s data of 14 October shows four trains an hour, from platform 4, taking up to 24 minutes.
After midnight: Sprinters at 00:09 and 00:39 every night, plus 00:22 early on Saturday and Sunday mornings. On all nights except one (below), a Sprinter follows at 01:09 and NS night trains at about 02:03, 03:03, 04:03 and 05:02.
The night from Tuesday to Wednesday is different. NS says night trains run every night on the line through Schiphol, but in its timetable data the night trains on every Tuesday-to-Wednesday night up to 9 December run between Leiden and Amsterdam Centraal without stopping at Schiphol. On those nights the last train leaves at 00:59 and the next at 05:39.

The airport says the train always leaves from track 3. In NS’s data almost every Sprinter did, but the night Intercities mostly used other platforms, so check the screens at night.

After 25 October. The clocks go back one hour at 03:00 on Sunday 25 October, but the train pattern above is the same in the weeks before and after. On that night NS’s data lists an extra night train at 02:03. The new annual rail timetable starts on 13 December 2026, according to NS International; the data we used runs to 12 December, so check the NS planner for later dates.

Tickets and fares

You can tap in with a contactless bank card or phone at the yellow card readers, which the airport says are at the top of the escalators and lifts in Schiphol Plaza, and tap out at Amsterdam Centraal. NS’s rules for this:

You always travel second class without a discount. NS takes the day’s fares from your account in one payment the next day, or straight away if you pass a threshold amount. The fare is not shown at the gate.
Each person needs their own card. You cannot travel with someone else on your card.
Check out with the same card or phone you checked in with. NS says the gates treat a card in your phone as a different card from the plastic one. If you can’t check out, for example because your phone’s battery dies, NS charges a €33.30 correction fare, which you can have adjusted on the OVpay website six days later.
Foreign contactless Maestro, V PAY, Mastercard and Visa cards work. NS lists Revolut’s digital cards, Vivid and Paysafe among those that are not accepted.

Prices. Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal counts as 19 fare units. NS’s 2026 price list gives €5.50 for a second-class single, and NS’s price data for late October shows the same. First class is €9.90 on weekdays and €7.70 at weekends. A single on a single-use chip card costs €1.60 extra. NS also sells e-tickets online without booking fees. The airport has ticket machines near the baggage reclaim belts in Arrivals 1, 2 and 3 and at Schiphol Plaza, selling single tickets and 1-, 2- and 3-day travel passes.

These prices are from NS’s price list valid from 1 January 2026.

Bus 397 and the N97 night bus

Connexxion runs the Amsterdam Airport Express: bus 397 by day and the Niteliner N97 at night. Connexxion says the bus leaves from stop B17: walk out of Schiphol Plaza and turn right. Bus 397 calls at stops including Museumplein (for the Rijksmuseum), Leidseplein and Elandsgracht. The N97 continues to Amsterdam Centraal Station.

According to the timetable data for every day from 23 October to 12 December 2026:

Monday to Friday: the first 397 at 05:27; eight or nine an hour from 07:00 to 19:00; every 10 minutes from 20:00 to 22:00; then about every 15 minutes. The last ones leave at 23:58 and 00:19.
Saturday: the first at 05:25; six an hour (about every 10 minutes) from 08:00 to 22:00; the last ones at 23:45, then 00:00, 00:22 and 00:45 after midnight.
Sunday: the first at 05:27; about six an hour from 08:00 to 23:00; the last ones at 23:44, then 00:00 and 00:21.
Journey times: 23 to 27 minutes to Museumplein, 25 to 29 minutes to Leidseplein.
N97, every night: at 01:19, 02:19, 03:19 and 04:19 (01:22 to 04:22 early on Sunday morning). It takes 25 minutes to Leidseplein and 40 minutes to Centraal Station.

Connexxion’s page says the 397 leaves every 10 minutes. In the data that matches weekends from 08:00 to 22:00; on weekdays it runs more often during the day, and early and late in the day buses are about 15 minutes apart. The pattern is the same before and after 25 October.

Fares. Connexxion sells an Amsterdam Airport Express single from €6.50 and a return from €11.75 online, valid on the 397 and the N97. You can also buy a ticket from the driver with a debit or credit card or from an NS ticket machine, or tap in and out with a contactless bank card or phone.

Taxis: metered, with a legal maximum

The airport says to get into a taxi at the official stand in front of Schiphol Plaza, to follow the taxi signs and floor stickers, and not to use taxis offered to you without asking. It also says:

Check there is a meter; you pay the price on the meter when you arrive.
You can pay contactless in every taxi, and drivers accept credit cards.
Drivers are not allowed to refuse rides and give you a printed receipt.

The legal maximum. The Dutch government sets national maximum taxi fares. From 1 January 2026 a taxi may charge at most €4.31 as a fixed amount, €3.17 per kilometre and €0.52 per minute. In a vehicle built for five to eight people, with at least five passengers on board, or a wheelchair taxi, the maximums are €8.77, €4.00 per kilometre and €0.59 per minute. A fixed price per ride is allowed only if it is agreed with you in advance. The rules set maximums, not a fare to the city centre, so we don’t quote one.

Uber and Bolt use their own App pick-up point; the airport says to follow the signs to it from the terminal.

If someone is collecting you

The airport recommends P1 Pick-up and Drop-off, a partly covered car park a 2 to 6 minute walk from Schiphol Plaza and the arrivals halls. Without a reservation it costs €2.70 per 20 minutes (€59.50 per 24 hours). The Kiss & Ride is free and needs no reservation, but the airport describes it as a very short stop to drop someone off; long-term parking there is not permitted and may result in a fine.

Choosing by situation

One or two people staying near Amsterdam Centraal, any day before about 01:00: the Sprinter.
Staying near Museumplein, the Rijksmuseum or Leidseplein: bus 397 takes you there without a change.
Landing between 01:00 and 05:30: the night train on most nights, or the N97. On a Tuesday-to-Wednesday night up to 9 December there is no train, so take the N97, a taxi or a car booked in advance.
A family or group with several cases: every traveller needs a ticket or their own bank card, so compare per-person fares with one vehicle for everyone, door to door.

The private transfer

On LocalsRide you enter the airport, your address, the date and time and the number of passengers. Local drivers send offers showing the vehicle and a price, with a star rating from past passengers once the driver has completed rides. You choose one and pay by card online. The price of the accepted offer does not change.

The driver comes for the pickup time you booked, and airport pickups include 60 minutes of free waiting from then. A long delay can use that time up, so if your flight is late, message your driver in the LocalsRide chat. If you ask for a name sign, each offer shows whether the driver will meet you with one; otherwise you agree a pick-up point with the driver. Child seats and a note about your luggage go in your request, so drivers see them before they make an offer, and each offer’s details show the vehicle’s luggage capacity.

A booked car makes most sense when the public options are weakest: in the small hours, especially on a Tuesday-to-Wednesday night, or with a family’s worth of suitcases and an address away from Centraal, Museumplein and Leidseplein.

Checking a transfer for your date

Whether you get offers depends on the drivers available on your date. Enter your landing time and your Amsterdam address and see what offers arrive before you count on a car, then compare them with the train and bus times above for your day. Driver offers for trips around the city are on our Amsterdam transfers page.