Dutch Flyer

[Smith2]

That is, the ferry from Harwich to the Hoek van Holland, then on to any Dutch station. Anyone done it lately?

Used to do it in the old days, when it was relatively cheap. Now it's more than a flight, which is irritating, as you have to buy a cabin on the night boat. But Eurostar's expensive on my dates and the buses are outrageous in high season, so needs must.

I'd be tempted to fly out and only use it for the return trip, but it doesn't seem possible to buy a ticket at this end for that, and for whatever reason I can only get the Dutch railway site to sell me a Eurostar ticket from A'dam. I suppose I could wait till I got there, but I don't like surprises.

[Grunt]

I always travel back with Euro star.

I now book via http://www.hispeed.nl and that allows me to travel from any Dutch station 24 hrs before the main Euro star connection in Brussels

When I used to book this side of the pond it is 90 odd quid through Euro star but using the above hi speed site I get it for 50 Euros from the Dam to St Pancras

Over and trout

[Grunt]

Sorry stoner moment there

Should probably read it properly before I hit send

Woof

[Smith2]

The Eurostar site offers fares at £45.50 one way, which is a bit more than your site's €50, even with the charge on the card for the conversion.

What I can't understand is why I can't book A'dam via the Hoek van Holland on that site. It claims Harwich doesn't exist. But if you can buy tickets from this end, there must be a way to do it from the other.

[Balou]

http://www.stenaline.nl/en/ferry/crossi ... d-harwich/

[Grunt]

The Eurostar site offers fares at £45.50 one way, which is a bit more than your site's €50, even with the charge on the card for the conversion.

What I can't understand is why I can't book A'dam via the Hoek van Holland on that site. It claims Harwich doesn't exist. But if you can buy tickets from this end, there must be a way to do it from the other.

You used to be able to get them from eurostar direct for about that but they went through a period without any single tickets from the Dam to Lon. You had to buy a seperate ticket from Ams to Bru, which added about 30 Euros to the cost, but now i see they have re-introduced the Dutch service is good but the hispeed site is still cheaper even after the conversion. Less money spent on transport means more money for weed......

With the Dutch Flyer, i think it is through a ferry company that sells them

Over and trout

[Grunt]

The Eurostar site offers fares at £45.50 one way, which is a bit more than your site's €50, even with the charge on the card for the conversion.

What I can't understand is why I can't book A'dam via the Hoek van Holland on that site. It claims Harwich doesn't exist. But if you can buy tickets from this end, there must be a way to do it from the other.

You used to be able to get them from eurostar direct for about that but they went through a period without any single tickets from the Dam to Lon. You had to buy a seperate ticket from Ams to Bru, which added about 30 Euros to the cost, but now i see they have re-introduced the Dutch service is good but the hispeed site is still cheaper even after the conversion. Less money spent on transport means more money for weed......

With the Dutch Flyer, i think it is through a ferry company that sells them

Over and trout

Nice 1 Balou, i just need to learn how to type faster but to be fair i did bugger off to Eurostar mid post

[Smith2]

Brilliant, Balou, thanks.

[spidergawd]

The beauty of the Dutch Flyer night crossings are that you get a full day in Holland at each end of your stay, early arrival/late departure so I see the extra for a cabin, which isn't a lot, as a fairly cheap hotel room and worth it.

I do like the Eurostar city to city deals though, I think my last trip was £98.00 return, and that was trains at times of my choosing more or less.

[Smith2]

Paid £117 in the end for the night ferry out, day ferry back. They lied about these being practically cruise ships - nothing was new since the last time I took the Beatrix in the '80s, as far as I could see, apart from the internet terminals that were very slow (and which consider ACD a banned site). I drank a pitcher of Heineken and ate bitterbollen, and went to sleep.

It was a new experience arriving in the morning with the blessing of a shower, but is the Hoek really the station from which I used to take the Berlin-Warsaw-Moscow train, breaking my journey in Utrecht to catch a day or two in Mokum? It seems awfully forlorn now, with trains going only as far as Rotterdam.

Amazed at the laxity coming back -- no X-ray scanners as on the UK side (where I was queried because my camera apparently registered as a mysterious device), and when I got to Harwich -- nothing at all. After showing my passport, I had to wait for what seemed like hours for the suitcase they'd insisted I check but was only about 10 minutes. Eventually got hold of it and put on my most innocent look for the officers I expected to see, but nothing -- just a door to Platform 1 and the London train. I couldn't believe it. In the old days I'd offer my rucksack as incompetently as I could manage, and never had anything looked at, but I was a bit worried about looking older and possibly anomalous, an aged stoner to be singled out. But there wasn't a sign of anyone, which I've never experienced anywhere.

[obligon]

http://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm

[c.p]

the cheapest flight I've had was 36 pounds return from birmingham with bmibaby...