I am trying to finalize my plans for Europe and am debating on whether or not to fly from Amsterdam to London, or to take the ferry out of the Hook of Holland into Harwich, and then train into London. Can anybody offer any advice? If anybody has done the ferry option, can you share with me the logistics of how to get from Amsterdam to the port at Hook of Holland, and then how to get from Harwich to London? Thanks!
Posted by
OP
Fredericksburg, VA, USA
21 posts
Our flight would have to be Monday, June 6 if we were flying. I've checked EasyJet and am trying to weigh the options between the time it will take to go into and out of airports, and traveling by train and ferry, and the overall cost.
Posted by
Tempe, AZ, USA
1265 posts
Mark, What time of the year will you be traveling? Easyjet offers fares from AMS-LGW for 38 euro plus add-ons.
Posted by
Tempe, AZ, USA
1265 posts
Mark - From the Stena Line website. "For only € 45 per person each way you travel from Hook of Holland to the heart of London, including the ferry crossing Hook of Holland – Harwich and a train ticket from Harwich to London Liverpool Street Station." Here is the link to the Stena Line website. www.stenaline.nl/en
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
The €45 fare quoted by Joel includes the train from Amsterdam to Hook of Holland, the ferry to Harwich, and the train to London. If you travel overnight, you'll pay more for a berth on the ferry, but you'll save the cost of a night in a hotel. You also can get an advance purchase discount fare ticket as low as €50 for an IC train from Amsterdam to Brussels and the Eurostar from there to London. Book at NL Hispeed. Your IC ticket will be good on any train so you could stop over in Brussels for a few hours if you wish before getting on the specific Eurostar you booked.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5530 posts
I haven't taken the ferry, but I have flown a couple of times from AMS to London City Airport (LCY). LCY is a small airport (one of those where you typically walk down stairs from the plane and take a bus to the gate). I don't think I have ever spent more than 10 minutes in the passport control line there. You can connect to central London via the DLR. If you do decide to fly, I recommend flying into LCY over any of the other London airports.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
Check into flights to London Stansted too. I connected through there on the way to Edinburgh from Amsterdam. Pam
Posted by
Pantego, NC, USA
1014 posts
The problem with flying the puddle jumpers, is the extra fees, traveling out to and back from the airport, and minuscule luggage allowances. If you take the train or the bus,(see Eurolines.com) it does not take a lot longer than the to the airport and back plus the flight time and it is a LOT easier to do.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5530 posts
The "man in seat 61" has some good info on ferry/train options including a video http://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm#train+ferry http://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm#See the video If you want something to compare, the last time I flew from AMS to LCY, I left my hotel in central Amsterdam at around 1pm, took the train to AMS and flight was scheduled to leave at 4:15 pm flight. My flight was scheduled to arrive at LCY at 4:25 pm. I took the DLR and tube to my hotel at Gloucester Road and arrived there between 5:30pm and 6pm. That is a total travel time door-to-door of less than 6 hours.