Amsterdam Day Trip
0415 – Met our lovely group in the Aspire Lounge in Cork airport. We had a tasty bit of breakfast and some much needed coffee.
0550 – We said goodbye to Cork Airport and started boarding for flight KL1126. The plane was quite small in size, with two rows of two, I would say there were less than 100 passengers on board. This made boarding quick and easy.
0613 – The 1 hour 25 minute flight took off two minutes before it was scheduled. The flight was one of the most comfortable I have been on in a long time, with a very calm atmosphere. I was surprised to be given a snack midway through the flight.
0852 – The flight landed 8 minutes ahead of schedule.
0900 – We had a tour of Schiphol. With its 1 Terminal Layout, it was incredibly easy to navigate. There were loads of KLM staff around the airport to assist if it was needed. There were self-service transfer kiosks, in case issues with connections, this in conjunction with the KLM staff on hand, and your Travel Counsellor only a WhatsApp away, makes for a fantastic safety net if a connection was missed. There was flight information everywhere, with a note on how long it will take you to get to your gate. We visited Rijks Museum within the airport for art enthusiasts. We stopped by the Mercure and Hotels to see where there were places to sleep within the airport. Schiphol has lots of free seating and areas to relax as well as lots of shops and restaurants to fit most budgets. Most impressively, we saw the baby room, with several cots, with large curtains around them, with a space for parents to lie down, facilities for heating bottles, and changing nappies. In addition to this there was a huge play area for children, in the shape of an airplane, with lots of slides and things for them to do. As someone with a small child, I was really impressed with this, I can’t think of any better way to prepare a small child for a long haul flight than getting them to get all of their energy out before boarding.
1030 - Time to leave the airport EU Passport holders breezed through passport control via the self-service gates, in about 10 minutes. Our UK colleagues had to join a queue which looked massive but was moving quickly. They had cleared passport control in 40 minutes.
1115 - Getting into Amsterdam The train station is just outside the airport, so we go the train into Central Amsterdam, this took about 15 / 20 minutes and was fairly straightforward.
1200 - Lunch We stopped for an early lunch in a restaurant called The Grasshopper, which was a 5 minute walk from Amsterdam Central Train Station. The food was perfect, and the service was lovely.
1300 – Sightseeing We had a quick whistle-stop tour of Amsterdam, taking in the flower market, the palace, and the beautiful views. This was followed by some free time. The museums in Amsterdam are phenomenal, you can visit Anne Frank’s house, there are loads of shops (3 of which specialise in rubber ducks, thanks to Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman) and no shortage of places to eat and drink.
1730 – Canal Tour With an informative audio guide a fantastic views of Amsterdam, this was a beautiful way to take in our last moments of Amsterdam.
1830 – Made our way back to Schiphol
1930 – KLM Crown Lounge This lounge was superb. There was a comfy seating area to watch sports, there were showers, areas for sleep, lots of quite spaces for business, and plenty of food and drink. The best thing was each area was separated by lots of space, creating an oasis of cam. This lounge is for most Business Class travellers and their SkyTeam partners (Air France, Delta and more), depending on the fare booked, as well as Platinum and Gold members. Access is available locally at a fee of €70 per person, depending on availability.
2210 – Boarding for our flight to Cork
2240 – Flight departed as scheduled. This was again, a nice small city hopper flight, and we were offered a snack and a drink midway through the flight. The crew had noticed that the passenger sitting next to me on the flight home was celebrating his birthday that day and gave him a gift of a small bottle of bubbly and a card.
2219 – Arrived back at Cork airport, 11 minutes ahead of schedule, breezed through passport control, said our goodbyes, and hopped in one of many taxis at Cork waiting to take us home.
All in all, it was a fantastic day out, we had a great group. I was very impressed with Cork Airport, KLM, and Amsterdam. I am so excited for my next long haul trip from Cork with KLM. Get in touch today to book yours!
