ExpatTraveler.com
The travel website for Expats living in The Netherlands
Free WiFi @ Schiphol Airport
January 28, 2011
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol now offers FREE WiFi access for 1 hour from anywhere in the airport terminal. That means free Internet access from Schiphol Plaza and all lounges and gates. To use the FREE WiFi network service provided by KPN, proceed as follows:
After starting up your laptop or mobile device, select the available network labelled “KPN”
- The log in page will ask you to select from two options: select “FREE, limited-time access.”
- To use the WiFi network for more than an hour, select the option for “Premium Service.”
The Premium Service is a paid, secured business service offered by KPN, and includes FREE printing at any KPN Internet Center at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
More info.
Amsterdam’s Dirtiest Hotels
January 25, 2011
TripAdvisor® has listed their annual list of the Dirtiest Hotels. On the list of Europe’s Dirtiest Hotels are 4 hotels in Amsterdam. (2 are in Turkey and the other 4 are in London.) With plenty of nice hotels in The Netherlands, you might want to steer clear of these hotels… Curious which hotels made the list? See which hotels made the list!
IHG’s Check It Free Refund — Get Up to $100 Back in Baggage Fees
January 16, 2011
Tired of paying baggage fees — on top of all the other fees out there? Fortunately some in the travel business are addressing this problem… for example, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG hotel) is extending their “Check It Free” through 30 April 2011. This means that when you enjoy a 2-night weekend stay at a IHG property, you can get back up to $100 in checked baggage fees for each roundtrip flight. This includes any of IHG’s 4,500 hotels worldwide: InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn® Club Vacations, Holiday Inn® Express, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.
Here’s the fine print: You must pay for the stay with a valid Visa credit card and all submissions must be postmarked by 31 May 2011.
Already stayed at an IHG property? Download the rebate! (And submit it with copies of your hotel receipt and baggage fee receipt of up to $100 per household for 2 bags on the same trip.)
More info.
Priceline.com has a brand-new FREE app for the iPhone called “the Priceline Negotiator App.” This app will help you save big on last-minute hotels, which comes in handy when your flight has been canceled! Once again, another app that just makes traveling a little but easier!
Get the Priceline.com iPhone App!
Vakantiebeurs 2011
January 13, 2011
Vakantiebeurs is Dutch for “vacation fair.” The one that takes place at Jaarbeurs Utrecht beginning Thursday — and lasting through Sunday — is the biggest in the nation, and attracts visitors from all over the country. Find information on every destination possible. Buy a ticket online and save €5 – and enter for a chance to win a 5-day trip to Slovenia for 2! This year’s host country is Slovenia, which means that you’ll find out plenty about this Dutch favorite destination. But no matter where you want to go in the world, you’ll be able to find information on it at the travel fair.
Ticketes Purchased Online:
Day Ticket: €15,00
Mid-Day Ticket: €11,00 Valid from 13:45
Tickets Purchased at the Fair:
Day Ticket: €17,50
Mid-Day Ticket: €12,50 Valid from 13:45
65+: €15,00
Children (0-16): Free
More info.
Special Offers for Train Passengers
January 11, 2011
Severe winter weather wreaked havoc in Europe, but the trains are back to their normal timetable and the NS is working hard at restoring the trains out of service by the winter weather. To reduce congestion during rush hour, the NS has introduced a special “salt action.”
The NS is offering a special “salt action”: Travel in 2nd class during weekdays after 19:00 for only €2.50. To take advantage of this offer, purchase a Railrunner ticket. This offer is valid from Friday 7 January – Monday 31 January 2011.
Other special offers from the NS include:
• NS/OV- and Year (range) 1st class ticket holders: show your annual subscription and receive a free winter brunch (sandwich, hot drink and a piece of fruit of choice) in the bakery business at the station.
This offer is valid from Monday to Friday between 10.00 and 15.00 hours. Get a free hot drink at the station kiosk, valid Monday – Friday between 9.00 – 16.00 hours, and after 19.00.
• NS/OV- and Year (track) season ticket 2nd class: On presentation of your annual subscription, travel in 1st class on the journey
This offer is valid Monday – Friday 9.00 – 16.00 hours, and after 19.00 hours.
• Monthly subscribers: show your Monthly subscription, and get a free hot drink at the station kiosk, valid from Monday to Friday between 9.00 and 16.00 hours and after 19.00 hours.
• Advantage subscribers Hours: show your Subscription Advantage hours trip from Monday to Friday after 19.00 hours for €2.50 in the 2nd Class. To take advantage of this offer purchase a ticket on ns.nl or at a ticket machine at the train station. This action applies only to the subscriber and not for accompanying persons.
More info. (This information is only available in Dutch on NS.com.)
InterContinental is committed to connecting our well-travelled guests to what is special about a destination. Our world class concierges love to share their knowledge with you so you can experience the location – not as a tourist, but as a true insider – getting the very most out of your stay with us. Get access to insider tips, VIP tickets to sold out events and more.
Connect to InterContinental conceriges across the globe with just a simple download.
▪ View personal local concierge recommendations
▪ See video tours hosted by the concierge for each destination
▪ Experience an interactive map of recommended shops, restaurants and other local attractions
▪ Find out what a concierge’s perfect day is – morning, noon and night – for each location
▪ View insider tips (local culture, what to pack, and “in the know”)
▪ See details and book rooms at the nearest InterContinental hotel
▪ View landscape or portrait mode
▪ The majority of the Concierge Insider Guides app content does not require WiFi connection
More info.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is now offering a free Schiphol App. The new app enables iPhone and Android mobile phone users to get detailed travel information, including flight information via “push notification” (flight information and updates relevant to you) and details about airport facilities and activities. Soon, Schiphol Smart Parking spaces will also be able to be booked using the App. Other SmartPhone users can visit Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s new mobile website www.Schiphol.mobi for more information.
In development are the abilities to request customised travel information, including traffic and public transport updates. These services are also available in English. The Schiphol App can be downloaded free of charge at popular App stores or at the airport itself using Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s new free WiFi network. Schiphol offers this service in collaboration with M2Mobi.
More info.
Men Arrested at Schiphol Aiport
August 31, 2010
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security arrested two men after “suspicious items” in their luggage raised concern. It is suspects that two men were attempting to test U.S. airport security by putting bottles with electronic devices attached in checked baggage. The items were not deemed to be dangerous in and of themselves, and the matter continues to be under investigation. According to a U.S. law enforcement source, the items included an empty shampoo bottle with watches attached to it and an empty bottle of a stomach medicine with mobile phones attached. It is suspected that the men may have been testing a future terrorist plot.
The men were aboard United Airlines Flight 908, from Chicago to Amsterdam, and were identified as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi and Hezem al-Murisi. Al-Soofi originated his trip in Birmingham, Alabama, and al-Murisi from Memphis, Tennessee.
Read more.
Get a 1-Day Train Ticket for €13.50
August 9, 2010
Train travel in the Netherlands is expensive, but it is a great way to see the country. If you’re planning to travel by train, then make a stop by Albert Heijn and get the Dagkaart, Day Ticket. For a limited time, you can get a 1-day ticket for unlimited travel throughout the Netherlands at a 70% discount! That means that instead of €45,40, a 1-day ticket cost just €13,50!
Here are some of the rules:
* The 1-day ticket is available for travel for 1 person in 2nd class, through the entire Netherlands
* Tickets must be purchased between 9-22 August 2010
* Travel between 9 August and 8 October, all day on Saturdays and Sundays, and after 9a.m., Mondays through Fridays
* A maximum of 20 tickets can be purchased at one time
* The tickets can only be purchased at Albert Heijn stores, and not AH ToGo-stores or the AH webstore
* The ticket is valid on travel on all NS trains, and in trains from Arriva, Connexxion, Syntus, and Veolia
* The tickets are not valid on Thalys trains
* When you purchase a ticket you will get a unique action code on your receipt, which you then need to input at www.ah.nl/ns. You must then print the ticket as an e-ticket. (The reciept itself is not a valid ticket.)
* The ticket is a personal ticket and cannot be transfered. You must show proper identification when asked.
* the ticket is only valid if it is printed in color or in black & white on blank A4 paper in protrait format (vertical).
To get the ticket, go to your nearest Albert Heijn grocery store.
More info. (Only in Dutch)
