London - Amsterdam Ferry

Hi
My flight itinerary is as follows:

Melb - London - Paris - Dubai - Melb

Flying with Emirates

It's easier to reach Amsterdam from Paris. The Thalys high speed train connects the two cities in just 3 hours 20 minutes. It's also possible to do the train between London and Amsterdam: Eurostar chunnel train from London to Brussels, then connect to the Thalys from Brussels to Amsterdam....total travel time would be around 5 hours.

I would probably route this trip by train travelling London - Paris - Amsterdam as Michael suggested.

However, if you want to travel London - Amsterdam - Paris, you might look at flights out of London City Airport (LCY) to Amsterdam. LCY is a small airport which you can easily reach on public transportation (it is on DLR - Docklands Light Rail). LCY is a great airport to fly out of and it is always my first choice for flights from London. In April, I flew Amsterdam to LCY and once again had no problems. I left my hotel in Amsterdam around 1pm and was in my hotel in London by 5pm (total 5 hours of in-transit time door-to-door). If I had flown to Heathrow, it would have easily added another two hours.

With 13 days, I believe you can easily do all three; you won't see everything, but some day you will come back and see the rest. I'd alot 4 - 5 days each to London and Paris and 3 to Amsterdam.

Are you flying open jaw (Melbourne-London and Paris-Melbourne) or will you need to return to London for your flight home?

I haven't done the "Dutch Flyer" train-ferry-train route from London to Amsterdam, but I know a good source for detailed information about it. Go here.

Flights do involve travel time and expense getting to and from airports. Cheopo airlines also often use airports that are quite far out from city, and not as conveinent to comute to and from. For instance, Beavais airport "in Paris" is actually about 80 kms outside of Paris.

Take Eurostar to Paris, 2.5 hours, city center to city center. Once in Paris you can either walk or take metro to hotel( less then 2 euros) . Then, take train ( Thalys) to Amsterdam,, personally, I might be tempted to skip it,, but that is up to you.
Book Eurostar online as soon as you can,, prices go up, not down. Try and plan travel for quiet days, generally bit cheaper tues, wed, and thurs. Play onsite to find best prices.

Julie, with your trip/flight itinerary, I'd consider the Harwich to Hoek boat journey. Did it last year and would consider again with caveats and comments.

*avoid weekends as a bus often replaces the train for at least part of the trip London to Harwich.

*go the extra few $'s for a suite rather than a berth cabin. The top-of-line suite includes large cabin & beds for two (not bunks), wall to wall windows, easy chairs/table, stocked and gratis mini-bar & fruit basket. The difference in cost for a couple is minimal (see the ferry website).

*Boat leaves Harwich at 11PM+/- so, evening train from London to Harwich, board the boat about 10PM, arrive Hoek at 8AM+/-, train to A'dam from Schiedam/Rotterdam arriving about 11AM+/- @ A'Dam Centraal. We were at our Den Haag hotel by 10AM+/- last year & A'Dam's about another 50 minutes+/-.

*You've saved a nite's hotel cost, won't be backtracking as you would if Eurostar/Thalys is used via Brussels/Paris, and no airport security/luggage hassles if flying Ldn to Schiphol. Pre-underwear bomber and lightly packed I'd consider flying, not now with all the new rules.

*The train/boat/train connections are slick and immediately adjacent to each other at both ends.

*Decent restaurant onboard for late dinner and breakfast (+ lots of duty free if interested).

*Can buy req'd Holland train tickets onboard the boat.

*It's a fun, different experience and a bit of a break after 3-4 days in London.

Have also done the Kingston-Upon-Hull to Zeebrugge boat which was better because it departed & arrived in daylight. The Harwich/Hoek boat departs in the dark so nothing much to see out all those windows (except a lot of lights onshore and from the oil rigs) until you arrive at Hoek in the AM. No regrets though, enjoyed both trips and a good option depending on itinerary considerations.

Have fun.

Jackie - A couple of years ago we took the early morning Eurostar from London to Brussels and then another train on to Amsterdam. It did take several hours but it was a trip from one city center to the other and was very easy. We later returned to London by plane. The flight was only an hour and really cheap but by the time we got to the airport, through security and on the plane, it took almost the same amount of time as the train. It was also much more stressful.

So, personally my first choice would be train, second plane and a very distant third would be your boat option.

As for your trip from Amsterdam to Paris, I second the recommendation of the Thalys. Took it between Amsterdam and Paris several years ago and it was a quick and easy way to get from the center of Amsterdam to the center of Paris.

Enjoy your trip!

Hi,
So you caught the eurostar from london - brussels then brussels to Amsterdam using Thalys?.

When Julie did her London to Amsterdam train journey a couple of years ago, its was actually a longer journey than its is now. A few weeks ago the high-speed tracks between Brussels and Amsterdam were put into operation, and that shaves more than an hour off the journey. It will be cheaper to fly between the two cities, but the train is more comfortable, less stressful, and will get you there in more or less the same amount of time.

I've travelled on the dutch flyer from London to Amsterdam and back( well London - Harwich - Ferry - Hook van Holland - Amsterdam...and return)....very convenient, comfortable and affordable...would recommend it to anyone. I took the overnight route both ways and this worked great. Check the StenaLine website and go to the Rail and Sail packages....