We'll be in Amsterdam in late May, then plan to visit London before returning home. What would be the most enjoyable way to make this trip? The Eurostar looks interesting, but direct routes are only available from London to Amsterdam, not from Amsterdam to London (as far as I can tell). There's information, but not much clarity. What are your experiences or suggestions? Are there other train & ship options that are fun? Or other ideas? Flying may be easiest, but we'll be doing enough of that over the Atlantic.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
"but direct routes are only available from London to Amsterdam, not from Amsterdam to London" - trains are available in both directions. the difference is from Amsterdam you have to change trains in Brussels, in the other direction you stay seated on the train when it stops in Brussels.
Same route in both directions.
Direct trains are due to start sometime, not sure when.
My "fun" suggestion is to stop off in Brugge for 1-2 nights on the way.
Amsterdam - Brussels (change trains) - Brugge = 3½ hours
Brugge - Brussels (change trains) - London = 3h55
"fun" option 2: Ferry Hook of Holland to Harwich, with trin Amsterdam to the Hook, and Harwich to London.
For info on that and the other options, see here: https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Amsterdam.htm#Amsterdam-London
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6970 posts
There are rumours that the direct trains Amsterdam-London will start in late april or early may. So you might be able to book a direct train from Amsterdam to London.
Posted by
11569 posts
The trip on the Eurostar is very nice and comfortable. Easier than flying as you go city center to city center.
Posted by
Missouri, USA and Essex, UK.
1043 posts
We did a 3 Nights stop in Delft after Amsterdam. We originally had planned to take the Eurostar to London but ended up taking a cheap BA flight from Rotterdam airport to London City Airport. It was very easy - Rotterdam airport is tiny and used mainly by business people. We took a 10-minute taxi ride from our hotel in Delft to the airport. The flight is 1 hour so you end up arriving in the UK at the same time you leave the Netherlands (with 1-hour time difference).
Margaret