Schiphol is close to the city compared with some places so you need to be clear about the address you are heading for - you might not need to go to Centraal Station, it's often possible to find connections between trains and local transport that are more direct.
There is an easy way to work out the journey. Start at
http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite/travellers . Set the From box to
Station and type in
Schiphol (don't forget the
h in the middle!). Set the
To box to
Address , this should cause more spaces to open up. Type in Amsterdam and the street name you are heading for. Give it a moment then click
Travel Method and select
Bus,Tram, Metro from the top of the list. Then fill in the date and time of your journey and click the blue button. It will calculate a selection of options and display them at the left of the screen, the one marked in yellow will be given in detail on the rest of the screen. To see the details of another option clcik it in the list. Prices can vary depending on whether you go to Centraal Station or get off at a local stop like Lelylaan. There is even an option to watch a demonstration of how to use the ticket machine.
there is a more complicated journey planner at
http://journeyplanner.9292.nl/default.aspx which will also give you maps for any walks between tram stop and address! On this site you need to click
Address in the From box and change it to
Airport/ferry Port before entering
Luchthaven Schiphol
Bear in mind that Dutch stations are now very much geared towards self service.
