Ferries between Amsterdam and the United Kingdom

The ferry is one of the most unique ways to travel from the United Kingdom to Amsterdam or other harbours in the Netherlands. Travelling by sea is of course not the quickest way to get to your destination, but is a unique experience. The fastest boat connection runs twice a day between Harwich and Hoek van Holland and takes about 7 hours. On the comfortable boats, you’ll find all the facilities you need. You can enjoy entertainment or have a nap in your cabin, while you are being sailed to your destination. Now that’s travelling at its finest!

From the United Kingdom, there are three ferry routes to the Netherlands departing from different places in the UK. There are also These routes are operated by different boating companies. Currently, you can book the following ferry routes to the Netherlands;

1. Harwich – Hook of Holland; the most frequent and fastest sea route with 2 departures per day. The route takes about 7 hours and is operated by boating company Stena Line. Harwich is the closest harbor to London with departures to The Netherlands. Boats arrive at Hook of Holland harbor, from where you will need around 1,5 to 2 hours to get to Amsterdam. Passengers can bring their car onto the ferry at an extra charge.
   Book now on Stenaline.nl >>
2. Newcastle – Amsterdam (IJmuiden); daily direct connection from Newcastle to IJmuiden, which is the harbor closest to Amsterdam. From the harbor, there are buses available to take you to Amsterdam within 60 minutes. The crossing between Newcastle and Amsterdam takes between 16-17 hours. The boats are operated by DFDS seaways.
   Book now on DFDS.com >>
3. Hull – Rotterdam; daily direct connection from Hull to Rotterdam, second biggest city in the Netherlands. Hull is located approximately 200 miles North of London. This crossing takes between 10-12 hours. This route is operated by P&O Ferries.
   Book now on POferries.com >>

Disclaimer: always check the latest prices on the websites of our partners. The prices above were last updated 16th of July 2019

Travel options between London & Amsterdam

Via this page, we give you a quick overview of different ways of transport from Amsterdam to London.

1. By ferry from London to Amsterdam; there are three different ferry lines from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands. The closest harbor to London is Harwich from where a ferry departs to Hook of Holland. This crossing takes 7 hours. The two other ferry lines depart from Newcastle and Hull.
2. Trains from London to Amsterdam; there are trains from London to Amsterdam with the Eurostar via Brussels, and from Brussels with the Intercity to Amsterdam. The travel time is approx. 3 hours and 55 minutes.
3. Flights from London to Amsterdam; lots of flights depart London’s airports every day for Schiphol Airport. The flight time between London and Amsterdam is approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. Fortunately, there is also a possibility for cheap tickets from London to Amsterdam.
4. By bus from London to Amsterdam; there are lots of opportunities for a bus trip from London City to Amsterdam. The entire journey takes about 6 hours, depending on the number of boarding places en route.
5. By car from London to Amsterdam; it is definitely possible to find your way from London to Amsterdam by car. There are different routes and we will be naming all of them here.

Ferries from the UK to the Netherlands

There are 3 ferry routes between England and the Netherlands, with a combined 28 sailings per week. P&O Ferries offers 1 Route, Hull to Rotterdam, which runs 7 times a week. Stena Line offers 1 Route, Harwich to Hoek van Holland that runs 14 times a week. DFDS Seaways offers 1 Route, Newcastle to Amsterdam (IJmuiden) that runs 7 times a week. Hoek van Holland is the best destination because it is the closest to Amsterdam.

The frequency and sailing times may vary. We recommend that you request a quote online for the availability and the most current information for crossings from England to the Netherlands.

Stenaline Ferry from London (Harwich) to Amsterdam (Hoek van Holland)

Taking the ferry from London to Amsterdam is also becoming a very popular trend among tourists. It offers them the chance to experience travelling on the North Sea and to even take their cars and campers with them. It can be quite cheap or relatively expensive, depending on how luxurious the traveller wants their experience to be. Check out the official Stenaline website for the latest prices. If you’re travelling from London to Amsterdam, the route Harwich – Hoek van Holland should be your best option. This is because the Harwich cruise terminal isn’t very far from London and the Hoek van Holland cruise terminal is just an hour and thirty minutes from the Amsterdam City centre.

Getting from London to Harwich

The direct Greater Anglia trains from London Liverpool Street to Harwich International provide direct connections to the ferries at Harwich. The train takes about one and a half hours to get to Harwich. If you are looking for a bit more comfort you could take an Intercity train from London’s Liverpool Street to Norwich and then change to another train going to Harwich International at Manningtree. Overall travel time is the same as when taking a direct train.

From Harwich, you can easily make the crossing with the ferries from Stena Line to Hoek van Holland with your own car, motorcycle or camper. Do you not have your own car? No problem, you can also book tickets for the ferry to Harwich even without a car. From the London City centre to Harwich is just a two-hour drive. This makes the ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland the ideal way to quickly and inexpensively travel from London to Amsterdam even if you’re with your car. You can book a crossing from a starting price of just €49,- per person on the Stena Line website.

A major advantage of taking a ferry from London to Amsterdam is that you do not have to go on a long train journey or drive to the airport and wait two hours at the airport before your flight to Amsterdam leaves. With a ferry crossing from London to Amsterdam, you can relax onboard while enjoying a snack and a drink in a comfortable chair. If you choose the ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland, you can even book your own cabin and sail across to the other side while you sleep.

Ferries from Harwich to Hoek van Holland

From the port of Harwich, Stena Line ferries sail daily across the North Sea to the Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands. Stena Line sails with two different ships to the Hoek van Holland: Harwich route from England to the Netherlands; the Stena Britannica and the Stena Hollandica. In terms of facilities and passenger capacity, both ships are the same.

The ferry during the day takes about six and a half hours, if you opt for the night cruise, the crossing from Harwich to Hoek van Holland takes around 9 hours. Regardless of which option you choose, aboard the luxury ferries from Stena Line, you never have to be bored. The Stena Line boats have various shops and restaurants and entertainment are also available in the form of a bar, casino and cinema.

Day and night ferries

At Stena Line, you have the choice to make the crossing from Harwich to Hoek van Holland during the day or at night. Regardless of which departure you choose, you can always use the many facilities on board such as the restaurant and bar.

If you take the night cruise with the Stena Britannica you will leave at 10 p.m. local time and arrive in Hoek van Holland around half past six in the morning – the total sailing time is around nine and a half hours. The day trip with the Stena Hollandica departs from Harwich at 14:15 and arrives in Hoek van Holland at 19:45. The daytime sailing time is six and a half hours. There is also a night departure from Harwich at 23:00 and around 8 o’clock in the morning, the Stena Hollandica arrives in Hoek van Holland. During the day, the Stena Britannica departs from Harwich at 9 a.m. and arrives at a quarter past 5 in Hoek van Holland.

The cabins on board the Stena Line

During the crossing from Harwich to Hoek van Holland, travellers have the option to stay in an inside cabin which is equipped with two beds with boxspring mattresses, duvet and linen, a two-seater sofa with table next to the bed, a folding table, open wardrobe, satellite TV, telephone for internal use and a bathroom with sink, shower, toilet, towels, soap and shampoo. They can also choose to take an outside cabin at an additional cost. These cabins with a porthole through which you can look outside are, however, limited available on board and can, therefore, be sold out quickly. So make sure to book on time!

Travellers can choose from various cabins onboard Stena Line ships. They can choose the basic 1-person or 2-person inside cabin: these are the cheapest cabins on board. There are also special 1-person and 2-person disabled cabins that can be booked for people in a wheelchair. Do you prefer a view if you sail from Harwich to Hoek van Holland? Then you can choose an outside cabin which is available in a one, two, three, four or five-person variants. The three and five-person cabins are suitable for 2 adults plus one child or four adults plus one child. Do you want more luxury? Then there are the Comfort cabins which offer more luxurious compared to the standard and cheaper cabins.

Do you not want your own cabin? Then you can reserve a seat in the Stena Plus lounge where, in addition to the comfortable seats, you can enjoy free water and fruit juices, coffee and tea making facilities, fine red and white wines, various refreshments and daily newspapers and magazines.

The crossings from London to Amsterdam with Stena Line can be booked via the Stena Line website. There you can indicate your departure date and which cabin you want, then you will see the total price of your booking. Or simply and quickly compare all prices of ferries sailing between Dunkirk and Dover on the Direct Ferries website. That way you never pay too much for your crossing!

Ferry rates from London to Amsterdam

The standard rate for the crossing with Stena Line including car and driver starts at 69 euros for a single journey. 15 euros per passenger is added. The prices for the crossing including public transport (train + boat) start at €49,- per person for the single journey during the night cruise. If you opt for the day crossing, the prices start at 76 euros for a single journey. The prices include booking costs and surcharges. The tickets for the crossing can be booked via the Stena Line website.

For prices, the earlier you book, the cheaper it is. So be quick and you pay the cheapest prices.

From the Hoek van Holland to Amsterdam

From Hoek van Holland, travellers can easily find their way to Amsterdam via public transportation. There is a Hoek van Holland Bus Stop where Bus Line 711 frequently runs between the ferry terminal and the Schiedam Train station. From the Schiedam Train station, travellers can take the NS Sprinter and it is a one-hour 30-minute journey to Amsterdam Central Station. Depending on the NS travel plans for that day, there could be a stop at Rotterdam Central Station where travellers will have to take another train to Amsterdam.

There is also the possibility of driving from the Hoek van Holland to Amsterdam. Travellers have to take the A15 via Delft and the Hague to Alphen man den Rijn where they switch to the A4 to Amsterdam via Lisse and Haarlem. The drive is approximately one hour 10 minutes.

Note: Please note that these directions are for planning purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, weather, or other events may cause conditions to differ from the map results, and you should plan your route accordingly. You must obey all signs or notices regarding your route.

Compare all boat ferry services via Directferries.com

Do you wish to travel from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands by boat, but have no preference from where to depart? Fill out the form below to get the prices from all three boating companies at the same time and book the preferred crossing directly.

Looking for public transport near you?

Via the Dutch public transport system, it’s very easy to get instant real-time travel information to the airport or the closest train station. Most of the people in the Netherlands use the site or app from 9292ov.nl. Via the button bellow, you go instantly to their site.

1. Fill in your departure location
2. Fill in the time and date of departure
3. Fill in your destination, and you’re good to go.

Are you interested to take a look at other places for a day trip in the Netherlands? We made an overview of the very best places for a day trip while you’re visiting Holland.