Driving to the Netherlands. How does it work?

[Runningincircles]

I'm thinking of booking a holiday in the Netherlands next year.
It looks close enough to go on Eurotunnel and then drive.

Has anyone done this?
How does it work? We would have to drive through France and Belgium. Do we go through border control for each country?
I can't find this information on Google.
Thanks

It really is that straightforward.

Border control is generally symbolic in Europe in my experience, no great barriers or anything to be worried about, just make sure all your documents are in order and handy.

You can also take a ferry direct to the Netherlands which might work better for you depending on where you are in the country.

Eurotunnel would be my recommendation. It will take about 4-5 hours to drive to the netherlands. South Limburg will take longer. Once you are in France, there are no border controls on the way. Its very easy indeed

Very easy to do. I have used the tunnel, clearance is done in England so you drive straight out, follow the A16, E40 and then , depending on where in the Netherlands, the A29 or the E19/A26. Just have your passports ready at the borders and it is pretty much drive through without delay.

We drove through Italy, France, Belgium, Netherland, UK and Switzerland this summer. No border controls between France, Belgium and Netherlands. Watch out for the cyclists though!

The only border controls are at the tunnel/ferry port

If in the south, the tunnel is likely to be the best option. Or ferry from harwich.

Check you have the right stuff for driving through France Belgium and Netherlands (headlight deflectors etc- on AA website)

Don't try to pass Antwerp at rush hour

It's easy we do it all the time

Crossing the border is literally a Welcome to Belgium! sign on the motorway. Super easy. Traffic can be really heavy around Antwerp so avoid rush hour if you can

With young kids good stop are de panne beach, or the lago mini water parks at Ghent or Bruges. With older kids Bruges is a pretty stop.

Thank you! You have all been so helpful.
I'm going to book.
I've driven in France a lot, so we have all the necessary documents. I just wasn't sure about then traveling on to other countries. Thanks to all of you, I'm confident that we can manage it.

Get the ferry direct if you are even vaguely near one of the ports: Newcastle, Hull or Harwich.

I’ve done it several times pre-Brexit, much prefer Harwich/Hook of Holland but the ferry to Dunkerque gets you quite close too. Not a great fan of Eurotunnel.

I'd say it depends entirely where in the UK you live really 🤷‍♀️

I used to live/work in Germany and would travel home (to visit family) in the UK often. Depending where I was coming I'd either go get the Rotterdam/Hull overnight ferry or Hook of Holland/Harwich. We used to call these The Party Boats...because we'd have so much fun on them 🤣 and be nice and relaxed the next day as we drove off 😍

If you're after a shorter crossing time though, obviously you can do the Eurotunnel or a day ferry crossing. I much prefer a ferry if I'm honest...I hate sitting in the tunnel, but that's just my own personal opinion...I really don't like the queues in France/Calais...it's always so busy and you just don't get that in Holland in the same way.

If you are going on Eurotunnel, do you absolutely need your car?

The Netherlands is very easy to get about by train. I'd be inclined to just train it all the way there.

just outside Dunkirk on way back into France you are now occasionally routed through a parking area where customs do some stops.

seemed to be mainly lorries that were being checked.

@Eve unless you are me...then you are ALWAYS flagged over and pulled into the bloody checking area. The scary border guards (with guns!) will then proceed to make you pull out ALL of your luggage and search it (which in my case, consisted mainly of a months worth of laundry, and a 'Big Asda Shop' of all the things I can't buy in Germany, such as a years supply of Marmite, bottles of proper bleach, 12 loaves of Warburtons bread that went in the chest freezer, Hollands Steak Puddings (guilty pleasure!) and half a dozen new M&S bras🤣). I'm sure they thought I was some sort of weird black market seller!

🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Driven through France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany etc and the only difference was the road signs and road quality.

We had to pay for fuel before putting it in the car in the Netherlands... not sure whether that was soecific to that service station or more general. (Written Dutch is pretty easy to interpret if you know German... but they are different languages!)

@SpringIntoChaos we miss the Party Boats. Always bumped into people we knew!

@PuttingDownRoots best part of the holiday! The mass exodus from camp, getting on The Party Boat, hitting the bar and meeting up with friends for a well earned relaxing evening...holiday had begun 😍

(I bet we know each other 🤣)

Also...the painful paying for fuel once we used the last fuel coupon 😱

We did it this summer.
Take the Eurotunnel Shuttle. Then drive through France and Belgium. There was no border control from France to Belgium and Belgium to the Netherlands, merely a blue sign announcing you were now in a different country 😊

Stopping at the last Petrol station that did Tax free at the border! And despite it being no where near any camp, them knowing exactly what to do with the paperwork.... (we left in 2019, we were onto cards by then instead of the coupons)

Yes, apologies, forgot about this last bit. We were rerouted but only lorries were pulled.

We went on the ferry from harwich this year and it was super easy. My husband said the Netherlands is the nicest place he’s driven, all junctions were really clearly marked.

We got the ferry (or party boat) from Newcastle over the summer. So easy. Also, it wasn't really partyish midweek if that isn't your thing! More so on a weekend though!

It’s a very easy drive from the euro tunnel. We are a Dutch/Brit family and drive several times a year. There are no border controls once you are in France, you’ll get pinged on your phone to say you’ve now entered Belgium etc.

Just take care driving once in NL, bikes have right of way everywhere and you must stop for them on roundabouts etc.

@IpanemaChic thanks for the info about bikes!!