Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA is an area located in the south-east of Amsterdam. It is the city’s main entertainment hub with the Johan Cruijff ArenA stadium, AFAS Live and Ziggo Dome music venues. It also home to a number of large stores, the Arena Poort shopping centre and is a major business district.
Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA is very well connected to both the city and the airport, having a modern combined train and metro station. The bus station has local/regional buses as well as a number of Flixbus international coach services.
Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA has a number of surrounding hotels and is used as a base for some tourists and business travellers visiting the city.
In this article we will see how visitors can get to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA from various points around the city.
Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA
TRAIN: The train is the quickest way to get to Bijlmer ArenA from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport taking only 13-14 minutes. Intercity trains run up to 4x hourly with final destination Nijmegen or Venlo.
The cost of a one-way train ticket (2023 prices) from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA is €4.50 (2nd class) or €7.65 (1st class) plus a €1 surcharge if purchasing a disposable train ticket.
The Schiphol-Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA train journey is also covered by the following 2 useful tickets:
The Amsterdam Travel Ticket is a 1/2/3 day card (€18/€24/€30) combining airport train journey with unlimited GVB transport in Amsterdam. Valid on a day (not 24 hours) basis. Book online here and pick-up in Amsterdam.
The Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket is a 1/2/3 day card (€21/€31.50/€40.50) offers unlimited travel in entire Amsterdam region. Valid on a day (not 24 hours) basis on NS trains (in region), regional buses and Amsterdam GVB transport. Book online here and pick-up in Amsterdam.
BUS: Connexxion bus 300 runs from Schiphol Plaza to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA station up to 10x per hour. However the journey time is 33 minutes, so we would recommend sticking to the much faster train. A 90 minute Bus Tram Metro (BTM) ticket costs €6.50.
TAXI: A taxi from Schiphol Airport to the Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA area will cost about €50. Book a taxi at a fixed rate with Sneleentaxi
Uber is also present in the city and an UberBlack trip would be around €58.
Amsterdam Central to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA
Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA lies about 8km south-east of Amsterdam Central station. The fastest way to travel from Amsterdam Central to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA is to take either the train or metro.
TRAIN: The trip from Amsterdam Central to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA by rail takes 15-16 minutes. There are up to 4x Sprinter trains services per hour running with final destination either Rhenen or Rotterdam Central.
The cost of a one-way train ticket (2023 prices) from Amsterdam Central to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA is €3.10 (2nd class) or €5.27 (1st class) plus a €1 surcharge if purchasing a disposable train ticket. See how to buy train tickets in the Netherlands for more detailed info.
METRO: There is a direct metro service (line 54) from Amsterdam Central metro station to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA. The metro runs more frequently than the train and the trip also takes 16 minutes. A GVB 1 hour ticket costs €3.40 – this is cheaper than buying a disposable train ticket. See our Amsterdam Metro map.
Transport company GVB runs metro, bus and tram services around Amsterdam.
Unlimited GVB (Multi) Day tickets offer great value 1 to 7 day tickets (€9 to €41), children 4-11 €4.50 per day. Valid on all GVB transport in Amsterdam on a 24 hour basis. Not valid on airport train or airport bus. Book GVB 1-7 day tickets online here
The tickets can be picked at the GVB service points at Amsterdam Central Station, Amsterdam Zuid or Amsterdam Bijlmer-Arena.
These tickets are useful if you are based in Amsterdam Bijlmer-ArenA, allowing you to connect onto the metro and get all over Amsterdam. Note, these tickets are not valid for train travel so you can’t travel to Schiphol airport with them.
See public transport ticket options available for Amsterdam for further info.
TAXI: A taxi between Amsterdam Central and Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA will cost about €40. An UberBlack ride would cost around €35.
Amsterdam Bijlmer-ArenA by Car
Amsterdam Bijlmer-ArenA is easily reached by road being close to the A2 and A9 motorways.
There is a Park and Ride (P+R) car park at ArenA with spaces for 500 cars. The address is Burg. Stramanweg 130, 1101 EP Amsterdam. Note, to get the P+R rate you must use public transport to go to central Amsterdam.
Facilities at Amsterdam-Bijlmer-ArenA
Johan Cruijff ArenA stadium
Ziggo Dome – large indoor concert venue
AFAS Live – indoor concert venue
Pathé Arena multi-screen cinema complex
Villa ArenA (homeware/furniture mall with 50 stores)
ArenA-Poort outdoor shopping centre – 160 shops including supermarkets Albert Heijn, Aldi and Lidl.
ArenA Boulevard with superstores Decathlon (sport), Espirit Outlet (clothing), Media Markt (electronics), Perry Sport (sport) and Prenatal (baby gear).
Hotels at Amsterdam Bijlmer-ArenA
There are a number of good hotels around the Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA area:
Jaz Amsterdam
Hampton by Hilton
Holiday Inn ArenA Towers
Holiday Inn Express ArenA Towers
Courtyard by Marriott
EasyHotel Amsterdam Arena Boulevard
Last update 22 December 2022 (originally published in 2019).
