Schiphol to Amsterdam: Train, Bus 397 and Which Ticket to Buy

What are your options for train tickets from Amsterdam airport?

Train tickets Amsterdam airport travelers need cover one short but essential hop: Schiphol Airport down to Amsterdam Centraal and the wider city, and three real options cover it, the NS train, the Connexxion Airport Express bus 397, or a taxi. The train wins on speed for most arrivals, the bus 397 suits hotels near the museum quarter directly, and a taxi trades a higher price for door to door convenience with luggage. The table below lines up time and typical cost so you can pick before you land.

Train vs bus 397 vs taxi: which one actually fits your arrival?

Option	Typical travel time	Typical cost	Best for
NS train	About 15 to 20 minutes to Centraal	A standard single fare, check the live rate on ns.nl	Hotels near Central Station or connecting onward by tram
Bus 397 (Airport Express)	About 30 to 40 minutes to Leidseplein	Similar range to the train fare	Hotels near the museum quarter or Leidseplein directly
Taxi	About 20 to 30 minutes, traffic dependent	Roughly EUR 45 to 60 to the center	Late arrivals, heavy luggage, or a group splitting the fare

Prices for the train and bus move with the wider national fare table, so treat the ranges above as a planning guide and confirm the live single fare on ns.nl before you travel.

How long does the train from Schiphol to Amsterdam actually take?

Around 15 to 20 minutes to Amsterdam Centraal on the frequent Intercity and Sprinter services that run several times an hour, making the train the fastest of the three options for most arrivals. The platforms sit directly beneath the arrivals hall, so there is no shuttle or long walk between landing and boarding. From Centraal, the tram network fans out to the rest of the city in another 10 to 20 minutes depending on your hotel, so the full door to door time from plane to pillow usually lands under an hour for a central stay.

What is bus 397 and when does it beat the train?

The bus 397 Amsterdam Airport Express, run by Connexxion, leaves from a dedicated stop outside arrivals and drives directly to Leidseplein and the museum quarter, stopping along the way near Museumplein. It takes longer than the train, typically 30 to 40 minutes, but it beats the train plus tram combination for anyone staying near Leidseplein or the Rijksmuseum, since it skips the transfer at Centraal entirely. A night version, N97, keeps the same route running after the regular buses stop for the evening.

Is a taxi ever worth it from Schiphol?

Sometimes, mainly for late arrivals, heavy luggage, or a group of three or four splitting the fare evenly. Expect a metered fare roughly in the EUR 45 to 60 range to the city center, higher in heavy traffic or deep into the night, and always confirm the driver is running the meter or quote a fixed price before you get in. For a solo traveler or a couple with light bags, the train or bus 397 usually beats a taxi on price by a wide margin, so save the taxi option for the situations where convenience genuinely outweighs cost.

Which single ticket bundles the airport leg with city transport?

The Amsterdam Travel Ticket, ATT for short, from EUR 20. It combines the NS train between Schiphol and every Amsterdam station, the bus 397 and its night version, and unlimited GVB trams, metros, buses and ferries into one barcode valid for one to three calendar days. Landing, using the city for a short break, then departing through the same airport is exactly the trip this ticket is built for, since it removes the need to buy the airport leg and a separate city ticket as two purchases.

Does the I amsterdam City Card cover the airport train?

No, and this is the honest flag every card buyer should know before landing. The I amsterdam City Card includes unlimited GVB city transport and more than 70 museums, but the Schiphol train and bus 397 run on separate national networks the card does not reach. Card holders arriving by air need a standalone train single or bus ticket for that one leg, then the card takes over for everything inside the city. Our worth it verdict covers this exact gap alongside the full break even math for the card itself.

Book the airport leg and the city in one ticket. Get the Amsterdam Travel Ticket from EUR 20 for the train, bus 397 and unlimited GVB, or check the I amsterdam City Card for museums plus city transport once you have landed.

What if my trip also includes a day trip beyond the city?

Then the ATT is not quite enough, since it stops at the Amsterdam boundary. The Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket extends the same airport and city coverage out to Zaanse Schans, Haarlem and other regional stops. Our day trips from Amsterdam by train guide walks through each destination and which ticket unlocks it, useful reading if your itinerary reaches past the city limits on any day.

How does the airport leg fit into Amsterdam’s wider transport system?

Once you clear Centraal or Leidseplein, the airport transfer is done and the standard city network takes over: trams, the metro and buses running on GVB’s own fare system, entirely separate from the airport train and bus. Our public transport in Amsterdam guide covers that whole network end to end, including how to pay once you are inside the city rather than arriving from outside it. For ticket by ticket pricing across GVB’s own day tickets, see our GVB tickets guide, and for single tram and metro fares specifically, our tram and metro tickets guide has the full breakdown.

Which travel pass actually makes sense for your specific arrival?

That depends on the rest of your trip, not just the airport leg alone. Our Amsterdam travel pass comparison lines up the ATT against the plain GVB ticket and the regional ARTT with a full coverage table, so you can see exactly which product earns its price once the airport transfer is only one part of a longer stay. The amsterdam airport transfer decision is simple in isolation; it gets more interesting once you add museums, day trips and city days on top, and the Amsterdam city card hub lines up every one of those options together in one table.

What if you land very late at night or very early in the morning?

The train and bus 397 both run reduced but real overnight service, so a late landing is rarely a problem. The night bus version, N97, keeps the Airport Express route running on the same corridor after the daytime schedule winds down, and NS operates a reduced overnight train frequency on the busiest routes including the airport line. A taxi remains available around the clock too, and for a landing in the small hours with an empty terminal and a tired travel party, the extra cost of a taxi over a night bus or train often buys real peace of mind, particularly for solo travelers or anyone unfamiliar with navigating an unfamiliar station at 3am.

Do you need to book the train or bus 397 in advance?

Not for availability. Unlike a popular museum timeslot, the train and bus 397 do not sell out capacity the way a fixed number of entry slots can, so buying on arrival works just as well as booking days ahead. The advantage of booking ahead is convenience rather than scarcity: loading a ticket before you land means walking straight to the platform or bus stop the moment you clear arrivals, without hunting for a machine or app download on unfamiliar mobile data in an unfamiliar terminal.

Frequently asked questions

Is the train or bus 397 faster from Schiphol to Amsterdam? The train, at roughly 15 to 20 minutes to Centraal, is faster for most arrivals. Bus 397 takes about 30 to 40 minutes but drops passengers directly near Leidseplein and the museum quarter without a transfer.

Does the I amsterdam City Card cover the Schiphol train? No. The card covers city GVB transport and museums, but the airport train and bus 397 run on separate networks. Pair the card with a standalone train ticket or the Amsterdam Travel Ticket for that leg.

What is the cheapest way from Schiphol to central Amsterdam? The NS train is generally the cheapest single option for one or two travelers. A taxi costs considerably more but suits late arrivals or larger groups splitting the fare.

Is bus 397 worth it if my hotel is near Central Station? Usually not. The train reaches Centraal directly and faster. Bus 397 earns its extra time mainly for hotels closer to Leidseplein or the museum quarter.

Which ticket covers both the airport and my whole city stay? The Amsterdam Travel Ticket bundles the train, bus 397 and unlimited GVB into one barcode for one to three days, built exactly for a short trip landing and leaving through Schiphol.