More and more tourists got scammed by gipsy cabs operating at Schipol Airport these last few days.

Incredible taxi fares have been reported :

Schipol -> Damrak ------ € 347.75 that happened April 20th
Schipol -> Overtoom ---- € 940.50 (April 19th)
Schipol -> Okura Hotel -- € 980.50 (April 25th)

Source : http://www.at5.nl/gemist/tv/123/22426/-/1

I assume this is illegal or is there some quirk of Dutch law that lets them charge whatever they like?
I've always said that Amsterdam taxis were a rip off, but this is a declaration of war.
Unless the driver was built like a Kodiak bear, I'd be leaving without paying a single cent.

I would write down the taxi number, toss them one cent, and call the police. Then watch them fuck off in seconds.

Regards,
Fred

Absolutely..i can't believe anybody would actually pay.

I highly recommend the following taxi service, cheaper than any of the others, driver waits for you at the meeting point in the airport.
I've been using them for years and they have never let me down.
http://www.schipholservice.biz/

Ive never understood why anyone would get a taxi , when the train is so convenient ?

I have a 7 hour or so flight, usually late at night, plus I have to go through customs and all that shit at Schipol. I want to just get to my hotel and sleep with the absolute minimum amount of effort necessary.

I've taken a cab exactly twice. The very first time I took a cab from Schipol to the Wallen because I wanted to minimize the possibility of something going wrong. The second time was after a number of visits, and was in the opposite direction. I got to Central Station and the trains were delayed. Then there was an announcement that the regular trains were not running and I'd have to take a couple of the lesser trains to get to Schipol. My mental calculation was that I could *probably* make it on time, but only if nothing else went wrong. Fortunately I made the calculation quickly, and I ran outside and grabbed a cab before they were all taken.

Some people are too lazy to look for directions and fear to get lost.

Possibly they've never been to the city and have absolutely no knowledge of the local public transportation network and the main streets.

I got ripped of yesterday. Not in Schiphol but at Nikola Tesla in Belgrade. Had to pay 10 times more then acceptable.

I have only been forced to take taxi one time in Holland and that were from Dordrecht to Schiphol when something went wrong with the trains.
Paid 230 euro and that was ok.

Its not so easy when you want to go as fast as possible to the hotel. Have been a bit ripped of in Moldova and Albania to, but that was still very cheap.

Hopefully i have now learned my lessons.

What about robbers on the train?

If you are just traveling from AMS Sloterdijk (??) to Schiphol and you are not 100% awake, you may be safer to take a taxi.

Regards,
Fred

I think first time visitors to the city are more likely to take a cab unless they have done their homework prior to travelling. Its a question that appears often on forums like tripadvisor. The reason i say its more likely for first-time visitors is

a) they are not aware of the train station at the airport,

b) they may not be sure of how to get to their hotel once they get off at centraal

There is off course the chance some people (possibly families) would choose a cab depending on the amount of luggage they have.
I think some people also just presume that a taxi is the quickest mode of transport.

Arriving at Schipol on Wednesday, there was a very persistent taxi driver touting for business where you come out of arrivals into the main public concourse area; the couple he was targeting had to say NO firmly about five times before he gave up.



I think the issue is that if you are not taking your taxi from the official Schipol taxi rank then it probably isn't a licensed Amsterdam taxi. If I'd agreed to a taxi ride from this random bloke I doubt his vehicle would be a licensed taxi and I doubt it would be in the official taxi rank. It would be easy to report a problem with a licensed taxi but if you agree to some private arrangement with a dubious individual it would be more difficult to get anything done.

For anyone reading this before a first-time trip to Amsterdam I wouldn't worry too much about taxi scams, just make sure you go to the official airport taxi rank. Or take the train and save money! With the internet it's really easy to plan this kind of thing in advance and work out the local transport options.

Info on official Amsterdam taxi rates e.t.c. :

http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/plan-your-trip/getting-around/taxis



If I licensed taxi driver tried to charge you anything unreasonable above the official rates you could point blank refuse to pay, the worst they are likely to do is take you via a longer route than strictly necessary......an unlicensed taxi can extort whatever they can get away with before they unlock the doors, a €980 taxi fare is just a form of robbery.

Iamsterdam info on arriving by plane:

http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/plan-your-trip/getting-around/arrival-departure/arrival-plane



The Schipol airport website has info on a "Schipol Travel Taxi" which you can book in advance, it picks up and drops off a few other people on the same trip but presumably works out cheaper than having a taxi to yourself:

http://www.schiphol.nl/Travellers/ToFromSchiphol/SchipholTravelTaxi.htm

I would always use the train (also used the bus once from Leidseplein area) but I suppose if you were travelling in a family-sized group it wouldn't actually save you that much money by the time you'd paid out for 4x train tickets (which you'd have to queue to buy if you didn't have an OV Chipkaart) and then maybe 4x tram tickets to your hotel (also expensive if you don't have time to figure out the OV Chipkaart or 24/48 hour tram passes e.t.c).

Travelling to Bucharest last year, they'd introduced a system at the airport to get rid of taxi scams. You choose your taxi company (based on a price per kilometre) from a little machine which prints out a ticket, then you go and wait for that specific taxi company. The hotel also did something similar; they would use some kind of app to book a cab from a reputable taxi company, then write down the actual number of the cab that was coming to pick you up. A 20km ride to/from the airport was equivalent to about €6!

As I mentioned in my post above, if you are taking a taxi from schipol; http://www.schipholservice.biz/ are the cheapest and have proven over the last 5 or 6 years (3 or 4 times a year) to be very reliable, I pay 67 Euro return to just outside the center (De Pijp), and a few Euros more to the absolute center (Krasnapolsky for example).
The taxi's you mention outside the airport entrance, are a minimum of 50 Euro each way.

Yes OK, when I say "get an official taxi" that should also include (cheaper) legit pre-booked services, not just the regular ones on the taxi stand.

The main thing is to avoid dodgy guys in the airport terminal saying "Do you want a taxi, yes? I have air conditioning, we can negotiate a price, come with me......" which is fairly obvious advice I suppose.

Whether a taxi makes sense really depends on when you are arriving, what kind of budget you have, and if you are coming from the US or UK. After a long-haul flight arriving at shit-o-clock in the morning it makes more sense. Coming on a budget flight from the UK it usually doesn't.........my most recent flights only cost me €70 return (+ baggage), so I'm not going to pay another €67 or more for the luxury of a return taxi trip to my hotel after a not-so-arduous 45 minute hop across the North Sea.

Always use the train
3 yrs ago, due to very bad sciatica, i HAD to take a taxi from the Golden Tulip [Terminus] to Schipol, i could hardly walk !!
Taxi started to head for the Ij Tunnel [by Central Station] !!
Lucky for me i speak a little Dutch and said to him sternly

" Ik wil naar Schipol " [ i want to go to Schipol]
At the last moment he did a u turn and headed to right way
God knows where i wouldve finished up and been charged if i hadnt spoke

regards

I registered to answer this one.

NEVER EVER use an unofficial taxi from Schiphol, you'll be scammed for sure

NEVER EVER take more money than needed to the RLD, You'll be robbed for sure

I routinely carry around a fairly decent amount of cash in De Wallen. I've never had any problems at all. "You'll be robbed for sure" is pretty hyperbolic.

Of course, I suppose it helps that I look scarier than most of the dudes doing the robbing in the first place.

The "you'll be robbed for sure" statement is pretty ridiculous- of the millions of people visiting the rld in one form or another annually how many are robbed?

It is surely a tiny percentage. I have never had a single issue and I don't look at all scary, I don't look like a tourist also and know where I am going so perhaps that makes a difference.

Regarding Taxi's- I have never used one from Schipol to rld and back before but may need to fairly soon- a site I used tells me it's about 35-40 Euro approx? Is that roughly correct using the official taxi rank at the airport?

If anyone has used the taxi's from the official taxi rank at Schipol can you let me know approx cost and name of company, anything I should look for as far as authenticity etc to know a taxi is legit?

Thanks in advance.

A post by bobx upthread suggests they are more like 50 euro, which is also a figure mentioned on this useful tripadvisor page about Amsterdam Taxis:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g188590-s304/Amsterdam:The-Netherlands:Taxis.And.Rental.Cars.html

Like bobx they suggest booking a taxi in advance to save money (see his post for a recommended service)

On that Tripadvisor thread it mentions that "From the 1st of June 2013 new regulations will come into force. From then only cabs with a valid permit will be allowed on taxi ranks. " I would imagine that access to the taxi rank at Schipol is controlled and only possible for licensed cabs (which is why at Schipol they talk about using the "official" taxi rank and not accepting rides from touts within the terminal). The really dodgy taxis are the "helpful" guys offering you a ride when you are still in the terminal building!

As for recognising licensed taxis on the rank:



(from this useful page which has a list of official licensed taxi operators): http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/plan-your-trip/getting-around/taxis)