Amsterdam Layover: What to do with 5+ hours in Amsterdam

When my sister and I were booking our return trip home from our European backpacking trip, we noticed that we had to fly through Amsterdam and could choose between a 2 hour or 9 hour layover. Even though we knew we’d be exhausted, we decided on the 9 hour Amsterdam layover to get in one more European city. We had traveled all summer with just a purse and a carry-on bag, so we checked are carry-on luggage to make life easier.

It was the perfect day- exhaustion induced mistakes included.

Although we had a great time, we made several mistakes in time management in our day, so I want to help you avoid those same mistakes. If you have a Amsterdam layover, I recommend at least having 5 hours- anything less really won’t give you enough time to explore.

Tips for a long Amsterdam Layover

Look up cafes and restaurants before you get there.

Because we thought “let’s just explore Amsterdam,” I didn’t have anything mapped out like I had for the rest of our trip. We were out of Euros, and I didn’t want to pay another ATM fee. So, we needed a place that took credit cards, had free wifi to find out where we wanted to go next, and something to ease our grumbling bellies. Do you know where we ended up? McDonald’s. Ridiculous. We knew that they would have everything we needed though- food, wifi, took credit cards, and a bathroom. A quick visit to TripAdvisor‘s Amsterdam page would have allowed us to meet those same criteria at a local establishment.

Check for Local Events

When we arrived in Amsterdam, the city was a mess-confetti and trash everywhere. We quickly learned that the Gay Pride Parade had been the day before. If we had arrived one day earlier, our day’s itinerary would have quickly changed and public transportation may have taken more time.  For any trip to Amsterdam or any major city, check out the local tourism office’s events page.

Hop on the train with a day pass.

There’s a train from the airport to the city centre every 15-20 minutes for less than 10 Euros round trip or a day pass for 15 Euros. If you want to save time and have access to a printer, you can buy your ticket ahead of time online.

However, the ticket does have a booking fee. We bought tickets at the airport with little hassle. The day pass allows you to ride the train to the airport and access the GVP public transportation for the day.

Get a free map from the Tourism Booth at the airport.

I had downloaded the Amsterdam map on the my CityMaps2Go app, but I also picked up a free map at the tourism booth because city highlights were already marked on that map. Amsterdam is a beautiful city to just roam the streets without a particular destination in mind. 

Take a canal cruise.

There are several companies that operate canal cruises right next to the train station throughout the day. It’s a way to explore the city and learn some history. The cruises usually last an hour and cost around 20-30 dollars. As we waited for our cruise, we were able to grab lunch from a local vendor. If your layover is only 5-6 hours, I recommend taking a canal cruise instead of exploring by foot. I think you will see a lot more of the city in a short time.

Know that All the museums will have a long wait.

We walked to the Anne Frank House- 3 hour wait. We walked to the Van Gogh Museum- 2 hour wait. This is typical for these popular attractions. Now, I don’t regret walking to these museums because it was a beautiful, cool summer day. However, I didn’t want to spend our few hours in Amsterdam in line, so we skipped the museums and continued to explore by foot.

Rest at I Amsterdam sign

There’s a large lawn at the famous I Amsterdam sign. Even though you’ll want to cram in as much heritage as possible, take a moment and rest on the lawn between the sign, Van Gogh museum, and the US Consulate. As I said earlier, we were exhausted after two months of traveling and running on 3 hours of sleep, so we stopped for a moment (or an hour) and enjoyed the people watching as we discussed what to do with our remaining time.

Leave time to make it back to the airport.

You don’t want to miss your flight! Amsterdam has so much to see that you need to be mindful of time during your Amsterdam layover. You will have to go through security again. We left the city centre three hours before our flight because I’m a worrier. We left an hour to get back to the airport and two hours to get through security.

Have any tips or highlights for an Amsterdam layover? Leave them in the comments!