Day trip or one nighter to Amsterdam in Oct

[taffetacatski]

DS is desperate to go to Amsterdam. Ages ago I said he might be able to for his 7th birthday instead of having a party, thinking it was a flash in the pan thing. He's still very keen and its only a few months off. Gulp.

We can't afford a big trip really. Was wondering if anyone had seen any offers in the papers collect tokens that kind of thing or any other deals maybe Eurostar or something? His birthday is in Oct half term but we could go the week after if necessary.

How funny, I wonder why Amsterdam? My ds (admittedly an old hand where it comes to Amsterdam) is adamant he wants to go to Australia, no idea why.

Anyway, whereabouts in the UK are you? The way we usually do it is a day trip with two nights on the ferry courtesy of DFDS from Newcastle. My ds adores "the big boat" and it makes the trip for him. Due to the timings, this can only be done during school hols.

In terms of flying, as well as your budget airlines, KLM can be surprisingly reasonable if you can go from a regional airport, particularly - oddly - a small one. We flew last time and Leeds Bradford (which is on our doorstep) was a lot more expensive than Humberside / Teeside / etc.

We are in Kent, close to Ebbsfleet, hence the Eurostar thinking. Our nearest airport is Gatwick which EasyJet serve, flights are about £60 return, but its much cheaper and more straightforward for us to get to Ebbsfleet. Last year my best friend and I went to Bruges for the night in Sep or Oct can't remember using Times vouchers got Eurostar for £50 each.......

I will look at KLM see if they go from Biggin Hill.....!!

Ah, sounds like Eurostar is for you in that case. What a shame ds didn't settle his fancy on, say, Bruges or Antwerp! Are you planning a single overnight stay? One tip to reduce costs might be to stay outside Amsterdam, even at Schiphol (ironically) as it'll be cheaper. Schiphol has a massive viewing deck which is always popular. Plus double-decker trains into town, what's not to like?!

Oh he would love the viewing deck! Thank you.

No probs. The two hotels actually attached to Schiphol are the Hilton and the Sheraton but there are lots of other options by shuttle bus.