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Airport Basics.....
The Schiphol Airport is generally regarded as not only the biggest, but the best airports in the world. It continually ranks as such, both in terms of passenger count and service number data. The facility services international connections to about 100 countries, carrying over 45 million passengers. There (as of last count) were over 500 companies within the facility, employing between 50,000 and 60,000 hard-working folks.
Schiphol Airport Car Rental.....
The Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam is a wonderful airport full of things to do, eat and drink. With a chair massage, foot massage, oxygen bar, casino, hotel, lounge, museum, shower rooms, mediation center (for all religions), and Xpres spa, and yes, car rental this place has it all. But we're talking about car rentals here and here some of the companies with car hire desks at the Schiphol airport:
Alamo
Budget
Europcar
Hertz
National
Sixt
All of the car rental desks are located on the right side of the Schiphol plaza, more or less behind the arrivals halls.
Airport Amenities.....
This is one of those airports, that if you knew you were going to have a layover for several hours, you'd want to find yourself in. For example, there is a museum that has been 'annexed' by the Schiphol Airport. It's called the Rijksmuseum. It is situated behind the passport control area near the Piers E & F. It contains several permanent works of Dutch artists, and rotates several times per year temporary offerings. Not bad for an international airport.
Also, the airport has a Yotel. A Yotel, for those that have never used one, is a type of an temporary in-house hotel. They generally charge by the hour, and as a traveler you can rest and relax in between flights. The Yotel at the Schiphol Airport has a 4 hour minimum. Fees for a standard room will run in the neighborhood of 45 Euros. Standard rooms consist of a large bunk bed and a Monsoon Power Shower.
One of the really neat features maintained by the Schiphol Airport is the Text SMS messaging system. All one has to do is create a SMS message, send the message to a certain number and the message appears on a large screen. This is a great idea for meeting friends or business contacts at a digital meeting point. All messages are checked for validity before being projected, of course.
If you just want to pick up someone, you can arrange to meet them right in front of the Arrivals hall. Take the 'Aankomsthal/Arrivals hall' signs from the 'Schiphol' exit (on the A4). Feel free to pick up passengers here, but you may not park here.
If on the other hand you want to drop someone off, you can drop them off in front of the terminal building, if you wish. To get there, follow the 'departures' signs after taking the Schiphol exit on the A4 highway. You will then follow a road that goes in front of 3 departure halls. Next to the road, there will be signs that will tell you which airline goes with which hall. You may park in front of the departure hall long enough to let the passenger(s) out and unload the traveling baggage.
As far as bus lines that connect the airport to neighboring areas, the airport has a wonderful system of bus lines to help passengers. These include the Schiphol Sternets (picture below) that run from early in the morning to late in the evening, the Zuidtangent which is an express bus service servicing passengers of the Amsterdam airport and the Interliner, another fast bus connection.
Many hotels offer courtesy buses to and from the Amsterdam airport. For example, Hilton, SAS, Ibis, Mercure, Radisson and Crowne offer free shuttle for hotel guests. Most of these services run from early in the morning to very, very late at night. Intervals between shuttles generally run about 30 minutes.
If you don't rent a car, you may have the option of a taxi. Both combined transportation (where other folks may travel with you on multiple stops) and private transportation are generally available. Schiphol airport generally claims that taxi service eliminates waits longer than 30 minutes.
Car Rental Driving Distances.....
When using your car to tour local areas, it might be helpful to know some of the car rental driving distances. These are estimated driving distances from the Schiphol Airport. If you are looking for exact distances, you might want to reserve a GPS system when hiring your vehicle out of the facility.
Airport to the Jordaan, 17 km
Airport to Anne Frank House, 16 km.
Airport to Downtown Amsterdam, 14 km
Airport to Haarlem, 18 km.
Airport to Amstelveen, 10 km.
Airport to Hoofddorp 8 km.
Airport to Nieuw-Vennep, 12 km.
Airport to Leimuiden, 13 km.
Airport to Lisse, 18 km.
Airport to Sassenheim, 20 km.
Airport to Leiden, 30 km.
Airport to Wassenaar, 34 km.
Airport to Den Haag, 45 km.
Airport to Zoetermeer, 46 km.
Airport to Delft, 45 km.
Airport to Rotterdam 60 km.
Airport to Schiedam, 60 km.
Airport to Vlaardingen, 62 km.
Airport to Zaandam 20 km.
Airport to Womerveer, 30 km.
Airport to Purmerend, 31 km.
Airport to Alkmaar, 47 km.
Types of Cars Available.....
Just about any vehicle may be hired out of the Schiphol Airport. Compacts, Mini's, Economy Cars, SUV's, Luxury cars and even Minivans or Minibuses are generally available. Just a note, the more expensive the car, the more often if runs out of stock.