Los Angeles to Amsterdam Flights (LAX to AMS): Nonstops, Flight Time and Getting into the City

Nonstop is the normal way to fly this route

Los Angeles to Amsterdam has daily nonstop service and you should not need a connection. As of recent schedules, KLM flies the route nonstop, with more than one daily departure at busy times of year, and Delta, its joint-venture partner, flies it as well. The two sell seats on each other's flights, so a Delta ticket may put you on a KLM aircraft and the reverse. Most departures leave Los Angeles in the afternoon or early evening and land in Amsterdam the following morning or around midday.

One-stop itineraries show up at lower fares on some dates, usually through Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Detroit, Atlanta or New York on Delta, or through London, Dublin, Reykjavik or Frankfurt on European carriers. They add three to six hours and a second security line, so judge the saving against the time.

Schiphol is also one of Europe's best connecting airports. Many travellers fly this route to reach other European cities on KLM's network, with a change in a single terminal and no need to leave security.

Flight time and distance in each direction

The great-circle distance between LAX and AMS is roughly 5,560 miles, about 8,950 km. Eastbound, Los Angeles to Amsterdam typically takes 10.5 to 11 hours in the air with the jet stream behind you. Westbound, Amsterdam to Los Angeles runs 11.5 to 12 hours against the wind, leaving in the morning or early afternoon and landing in Los Angeles the same afternoon or evening.

Leaving from LAX

LAX is spread across nine terminals around a horseshoe road. KLM departs from the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), while Delta uses Terminals 2 and 3, which it has rebuilt and connected to TBIT by an airside walkway. If your Delta-ticketed flight is operated by KLM, you check in at TBIT, so read the operating airline on your booking rather than the ticket seller.

Security at TBIT is slow at peak times, and the afternoon bank of European departures is one of them. Arriving three hours before the flight is sensible if you are checking bags. The FlyAway bus from Union Station and Van Nuys is a dependable alternative to a taxi, ride-hailing pick-ups use the LAX-it lot, and the Metro's airport connection is improving year by year, so check its current status before you plan around it.

Arriving at Schiphol and getting into Amsterdam

Schiphol has a single terminal building divided into piers and lounges, so there is no inter-terminal transfer. KLM and Delta arrivals from the US use the non-Schengen piers, and passport control for non-EU arrivals can take 20 to 40 minutes when several transatlantic flights land together in the morning. Dutch border officers are brisk; have your passport and onward details ready.

The railway station is directly beneath the terminal, reached from Schiphol Plaza:

• Train to Amsterdam Centraal: 15 to 20 minutes, with departures every ten minutes or so through the day and a slower service overnight. The simplest and fastest option for most of the city.
• Trains elsewhere: direct services to Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden and beyond, so Schiphol works as a gateway to the whole country without going into Amsterdam.
• Bus 397 (Amsterdam Airport Express): to Museumplein and Leidseplein in about 30 minutes, useful for hotels in the museum district.
• Taxi or ride-hailing: 25 to 45 minutes to the centre depending on traffic.

Buy a train ticket from the machines or tap a contactless card at the gates; a card tapped in and out works on NS trains without a paper ticket.

When to fly and when to book

Amsterdam is busiest from April to early May, when the tulip fields bloom and King's Day on 27 April fills the city, and again from June to August. Fares from Los Angeles peak in those periods and over Christmas and New Year. Late September and October are mild and quieter, and the winter months outside the holidays are the cheapest, with short days but good museum weather.

The city has limits on hotel growth and a tourist tax on stays, so accommodation is expensive and fills early in spring and summer. For tulip season and summer, book three to four months ahead; for shoulder and winter travel, six to eight weeks is usually enough.

Entry requirements and documents

As of recent rules, US passport holders can visit the Netherlands and the wider Schengen Area for short tourist or business stays without a visa, with a passport valid for at least three months beyond the planned departure from Schengen. The European Union is phasing in its Entry/Exit System, which records fingerprints and a photo at the border, and the ETIAS travel authorisation is planned to follow. Check the Dutch government and EU sources before you fly, because the dates have moved more than once.

Airlines may ask for proof of onward travel at LAX. Keep your accommodation details handy for the border officer.

Time zones and jet lag

Amsterdam is 9 hours ahead of Los Angeles for most of the year, with a brief 8-hour gap for a week or two each spring and autumn because the US and Europe change their clocks on different dates. The overnight eastbound flight lands you in Amsterdam mid-morning after a short night; stay outdoors, eat lunch at local time and avoid a nap longer than half an hour. Most travellers are adjusted within two or three days.

The daytime westbound flight is easier. You land in Los Angeles in the afternoon or evening, and a normal bedtime that night usually does it.

What travellers on this route get wrong

The most common mistake is going to Delta's terminal when the flight is operated by KLM from TBIT, or the other way round. The second is taking a taxi into Amsterdam when the train beneath the terminal is faster and far cheaper. The third is arriving in tulip season or on King's Day without a hotel booked months ahead. None ruins a trip, but each costs time or money you would rather spend in the city.