Bouwvak in the north: why you should build in a little extra time to Schiphol
Je hebt je vlucht geboekt, je koffer staat al half gepakt in de hoek van de slaapkamer, en de rit naar Schiphol lijkt een kwestie van instappen en gaan. Meestal klopt dat ook. Maar de komende weken ligt dat net iets anders, en dat komt door iets waar je waarschijnlijk niet meteen aan denkt als je aan vliegen denkt: de bouwvak.
What bouwvak actually is, and why it affects you
Bouwvak is, originally, the Dutch construction industry’s collective summer holiday. It used to be mandatory; these days it’s more of an informal standard that most construction companies still follow. What’s interesting is that it stopped being just a construction-industry thing a long time ago. Because the same weeks repeat every year, it’s become the moment a lot of Dutch people simply plan their holidays around, not unlike how school holidays work.
To spread out the impact, the Netherlands is split into three regions, each with its own bouwvak weeks, so the whole country doesn’t hit the road at once. North Holland, which includes Amsterdam, falls under the northern region, and this year that region goes first. Which is to say: right now.
What that means on the road to Schiphol
A large share of the region leaves within the same short window. You won’t notice it in the weather or at the airport itself, you’ll notice it on the motorway: more cars between Amsterdam and the airport, on exactly the days everyone else happens to be starting their holiday too. And because so many people are travelling at once, there’s more demand for a ride at the same times as well.
That’s a different kind of busy than your regular morning rush hour. It lasts a few weeks, it’s predictable in terms of timing, and it’s exactly the kind of thing you can plan around.
A bit more margin, a bit less stress
Our usual rule of thumb hasn’t changed: two hours ahead of a European flight, three for an intercontinental one. What does change is the drive itself. During bouwvak, it’s worth adding fifteen to thirty minutes to your usual travel time, and you’ll generally be fine. Not sure exactly what that looks like for your part of town and your flight time? We’ve got a more detailed breakdown with travel times by neighbourhood.
The nice thing about booking your taxi ahead of time is that the extra travel time doesn’t cost you a cent. You see your price the moment you book, and that’s the price you pay, whether the ride takes twenty-five minutes or considerably longer because the roads are busier than usual. On a metered fare, that exact difference shows up in the price the second traffic grinds to a halt.
Book it now, forget about it later
The easiest moment to arrange your taxi isn’t the morning of your flight, it’s now, while you’re already dealing with your holiday anyway. Two minutes through the Staxi App or the online form, and the rest of the planning is ours. All that’s left for you is getting that suitcase zipped shut.