Hi folks,

We arrive on a Sunday at 6:29 AM. I am trying to acquire some breakfast delivered to our rental house for that day. I want to figure out how much time I should allow to clear the airport/customs on this flight. Would 2 hours be enough? Too much?

Thanks,
-Tom

Hi Tom -- 2 hours is more than you should need. Based on our experience, the "average" works out to be 45-60 min most trips, sometimes less. I am including time to clear passport control, get luggage and walk across parking lot to get rental truck. Allow 10-15 min or so to drive to your rental home.

If you have breakfast delivered 2 hours after your scheduled arrival, you should have plenty of time to even unpack.

Have a great trip !!

Thanks for the info!

Thought of something else: Maybe I should call the place I am getting it from to let them know when we are on the ground, in case of delays. Are there pay phones or anything which I can use at the airport? Would they take US Cash? Credit Card?

Thanks,
-Tom

Your US cell phone should work.

KOB, it might work but there may also be some huge international fees involved. That was the case when I looked into it for our trip. We opted to get a Skype account for any phone calls. But obviously you have to have an internet connection for that to work.

e.

Tom -- e's right. But using those international pay phones at the airport (or anywhere on BON) can be exorbitant as well. I figure a quick call while waiting for luggage might not be too bad.

Check ahead to see what your mobile phone rates will be and, if too high, rent from Michael at Chat 'n Browse.

What about the inspection of incoming bags? That could delay getting out of the airport.

just to let you know about the phone service.. I have a verizon cell phone.. I turned it on for just a few seconds, to make sure it was charged at the end of our trip and the roaming charges cost me 1.00 and it was in Airplane mode still... beware of long calls.........

if you are flying first class, your luggage comes out last..go figure..

I would say 1 hour to 1 hour and a half is plenty of time.. that is of course if there is no HUGE KLM flight that got there just before you..

Cool, thanks for all the input.

Also, what is this first class you speak of...?

LOL that would be the seats in the front of the plane that are not the pilots

Ya, didn't consider that the pay phone charge might equal or exceed a cell phone charge. No good options unless you can find a wifi zone and Skype (assuming you have a laptop.)

e.

I'll probably just use the Canadian cell phone as suggested. A few bucks to avoid trying to figure out cash for a pay phone etc, nbd.

Is there any trick to dialing locally with a north american cell phone?

I used my AT&T phone for about 5 calls last time I was there, and I think I paid about 12.00 in fees...pretty painless for the convenience: I had looked into getting an international plan added before I left, and I think that would have been more expensive than just using it for the little bit I used it.

Do shut your phone off as soon as you are done using it. Some companies continue to charge a roaming fee as long as the phone is on, including any time someone leaves voicemail. My friend left his on through most of a business trip to South America....he could have sent his kids to college with that bill....

Tom -- dial as you would from home. In the US, 011.599.717.xxxx Also, CB is right on. Turn on the phone, use it and turn it off.


(Message edited by kob159014 on February 23, 2011)