Ferry to Netherlands - expensive!

[wineschmine]

Hi all,

Does anybody travel by ferry and could give me a few tips?

We are in the east of Scotland and would like to get the ferry to Amsterdam (or similar). I found a Newcastle to Amsterdam route that would be ideal, but for 2 adults, 2 kids and a car it's coming out at over £1k. This is on DFDS. I also tried P+O, similar route, and it was also over £1k.

We like camping holidays, Eurocamp or similar, and I'm just getting fed up airports and flights.

Because we live in Scotland, it would be a lot of driving to get right down to South of England for ferry or the tunnel, which is why I was thinking ferry to Netherlands from north of England (Newcastle and Hull seem to the the ports, I think).

Any tips/suggestions very welcome!

We are in the Netherlands right now. We took the ferry from Harwich- I researched all opens and the basic options for ferries direct to Netherlands are from Newcastle, Hull and Harwich only.

obviously all are quite a drive for you- driving via Dover ferry or Folkestone eurotunnel are also options which will be cheaper - even more driving.

the other option is flying + hire car but obvs not very practical for camping

in your shoes I’d take the Newcastle option. Looks like a nice boat but Agree it’s expensive.

harwich ferry cost us avoid £600 return for a car and a family cabin both ways

Btw if you like campsites and are ok with hiring a lodge as opposed to actual camping I’d highly recommend the landal sites. We’re currently at
https://www.landal.nl/park/de-reeuwijkse-plassen
but there are loads.
very nice site, very peaceful, good facilities, everyone very well behaved!

Thanks @StillWantingADog yes, from what I could see Harwich crossings were much cheaper, good see some decent prices, but that's a really long drive for us.

Newcastle would be good; it's not a long drive at all, and the evening crossing seemed really good - kids could explore the ferry for a bit then get some sleep and arrive in Netherlands 8am. Sounds perfect....apart from the price

I really do hate airports though, and the fact that all the airport faff means that travelling takes a whole day for a flight of 2-3 hours.

So the overnight on the ferry does appeal to me.

I'm guessing like anything it will be more expensive in school holidays? But from Newcastle maybe need to find that sweet spot when Scottish schools are off but English schools are not. Is it cheaper to book well in advance? Or last minute?

Thank you - will check out that link just now. And yes, we love the lodges.

We have left it late to book our summer holidays.. I have looked at Cherbourg to Rosslare.. £1,000 or £700 without a cabin and the short crossings from Holyhead to Dublin are £350 each way.

For the ease of having everything in the car... it is worth it and Holland is a great country to explore!! The dutch are the best campers in Europe!!

Yes, that is what I am thinking - the ease of being able to get everything packed into the car in advance then jumping in the car and going. Plus I guess we then won't have the expense of hiring a car when over there.

We are flying to France from Edinburgh at the end of June. Cheapest flights I could get was £800 for the four of us. And we will then have to hire a car which will be around £300ish.

So I guess around £1k mark for ferry is really just on a par with flying then isn't it.

I had hoped for the next holiday to be a bit more budget friendly, but it's looking like that just won't be possible with the ferry (or flying!) so I'll see if we have enough in the budget for it.

Yes, definitely keen to try the Netherlands. Or Germany, but geographically I don't think that will work with ferry/driving.

I wonder if we could go in October week...I would think the weather in Netherlands in October would be too unpredictable?

The east coast ports, particularly those north of Harwich, routes to the Netherlands/Belgium/Germany have never been cheap, and seldom on offer.

We are taking 2 adults, 2 kids and a van from Hull to Rotterdam in August. Also about £1000. We're justifying this as less much less driving (we're only an hour from Hull) so big time and cost saving, no car hire needed and 2 extra nights away. And DH HATES airports!

We've done it from Hull - it is expensive, but I much prefer it to flying. You can take your own car, and the times are really nice as you get on at tea time and off at a reasonable time in the morning - I think 9am last time? None of this getting to the airport at 3am nonsense!

We paid the extra to have a cabin with a window last time, the kids loved looking out at the other boats on the sea with their lights on at night, quite special!

Yes, that sounds good.

I'm with your DH; HATE airports

And yes, it does look like they are never cheap. Ok, so it won't be budget, but I am keen to try it for next holiday. Think the kids will love it.

Ha, you're really selling it to me....this is exactly what I'm thinking.

On the DFDS website, and selected cabin for 4 with a window (more expensive but not paying all that money for a windowless cabin!) and it does sound amazing, and yes, so much more pleasant than dealing with airports.

The cost seems to ramp up even more as they suggest you book meals though, which aren't cheap. Did you do this or are there other options to eat on board?

We regularly do Hull-Rotterdam - prices can be better if you book really early but that’s not helpful for this year. We only got windows once and now don’t bother - you can go on deck for the view. From Rotterdam it’s easy to get to Germany, France, Switzerland- as well as NL. The roads are really well signposted and easy. You also arrive well slept and ready to drive rather than wiped out after hideous airport faff.
The meals are expensive- you can bring a picnic and eat it on deck/in your cabin (windows don’t open so avoid anything smelly) if you want to avoid that. The cafe bit is cheaper if you only want coffee/croissant - but the queue tends to be massive. Plus eating breakfast fills the whole docking time.

We did m&s picnic I think last time - then a few drinks at the bar later, and brought croissants etc. for breakfast in the car.

We take a picnic on board for the kids and eat it in our bunks - always feels like a fun treat. We get a cabin with a window and it's a real highlight of the holiday. I see it as two nights' accommodation as well as travel, and that way I don't worry about the price so much. Plus taking your own car is so much more relaxing and enjoyable than flying and hiring a car.

Ferries have got very expensive this year. We used to go from Plymouth to Roscoff every August for about £800 including the car. Now this year it was quoting £1350. That's a huge jump. I suspect the one to Amsterdam you want is also jumped up. It's probably cheaper to fly.

We always get a cabin with a window and eat main meal and breakfast on board. They do a nice breakfast actually. There is a TV in the cabin too and kettle for making hot drinks.

My daughter says the trick is to book very early. She did the Harwich to Hook of Holland crossing last October (although she was on her own) and then drove to Rotterdam. I'm not sure of the exact cost but she saved for it herself and doesn't earn much.

I wonder if we could go in October week..

Schools in NL have half-term in October so I expect prices will jump up then.

We are doing the same crossing to the Netherlands and also live in the east of Scotland. We've done it twice before.
There are 5 of us so we've booked a 5 berth cabin. Yes, it's expensive but convenient, and the ability to take the kitchen sink is handy!

I love a ferry picnic! My top top is the little glass keep cups and a chilly bottle containing gin from the freezer (removes the need for ice, but you can probably get some from the bar). Keep cups will then also do coffees in the car. Small tins of tonic and a bag of crisps and then you can have a pre-dinner drink whilst children sleep in the bunks above you.

Interesting @weebarra thank you.

How much did you pay, if you don't mind my asking? And which ferry company, is it DFDS ?

I think we are probably going to go for it, although it's unlikely to be this year (we are flying to France for a week in the summer and I have just remembered we have a wedding in October so that's October week out).

So I think it will probably be next easter or summer. Any tips / recommendations?

Great idea, thank you @QueenOfWeeds

We have done this crossing. It is fun and you can take a picnic as others have suggested. I have also taken juice cartons and croissants for breakfasts in the past as well as food for the evening.

The beds are comfy and clean and it's good to be able to have a shower before you start the day.

Be warned though - they do an alarm through the tannoy to make sure everyone wakes up and it is quite loud and earlier than I thought necessary!

Yes, we're going with DFDS and paying the same as you.
We have paid for food because it's a good distraction and the food is very good - the DCs love an all you can eat buffet!
The previous times, we've gone to Duinrell and booked directly with them. We've generally gone at the start of the Scottish holidays as the South Holland school holidays tend to start a bit later. It was all Scots and Northern Irish who were there!
If you book directly you get free hours in the water park!
Recommendations: Madurodaam model village, den Haag, Atlantic wall museum

some good advice above. I’m not sure about when to book tbh but it seemed reasonable booking in January for June (outside school hols).

Thank you @weebarra and @StillWantingADog - think we're going to go for it!

Looking forward to planning....and better get saving!

If you do the Newcastle dfds one, there is a retail park (Silverlink) about 5 minutes drive from ferry port that has M&S to stock up on Ferry Picnic food, which is what we did when we used it a few years ago.
I left it too late and couldn’t get a window cabin, I do not recommend a windowless cabin, I swear we were next to the engine!