Travel from London to Amsterdam

[DanaJW]

What is the best way to travel from London to Amsterdam? "Best" may be very subjective.

 

The train might be fun, especially because my husband wants to travel through the Chunnel. Is taking the train too complicated? Are there too many transfers? We will be a group of six with lots of luggage.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[LHT28]

I would fly

 

this site gives you several options to choose from

 

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/London/Amsterdam

[Globaliser]

What is the best way to travel from London to Amsterdam? "Best" may be very subjective.

Without a doubt, if you're starting from central London: fly from London City Airport to Amsterdam.

 

The train might be fun, especially because my husband wants to travel through the Chunnel. Is taking the train too complicated? Are there too many transfers? We will be a group of six with lots of luggage.

It's not yet good, and it's not yet good enough for me to even think about it. It will be better after direct services start, reportedly in December 2017. See https://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm#by Eurostar for more details about this - and www.seat61.com is without doubt the best site to start your researches about train travel.

 

The reality of the Channel Tunnel (nobody here calls it the "Chunnel") is very boring. It goes dark outside the train for about 20 minutes, and then it gets bright again. But only if you're travelling by day. There are no fish to see.

[Ine]

The easiest way is to fly. Various airlines on this route, like a.o. Easyjet, KLM, British airways offer many flights a day.

[GrJ Berkshire]

Fly is the only easy way, as most Chunnel trains will require a change at Lille or Brussels.

The experience of the tunnel is similar to the underground between stations, very uninspiring .

 

Your main problem will be how much luggage airlines allow on a short hop. Last time flew Heathrow - schipol we were in the air 31 mins

[easyboy]

I agree with prior posts. Flying is the better alternative.

 

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[Twickenham]

Got to stick up for the train option here. It's one connection - Eurostar to Brussels, then Thalys to Amsterdam.

 

The only thing that worries me is your mention of "lots of luggage" - but as long as you can handle it yourself, you should be fine. And indeed, that lots of luggage could very well cost you a pretty penny in fees on a short-haul flight.

 

There's no way I'd fly this route. And yes, I've considered possible options for past trips.

[Cotswold Eagle]

 

 

 

There's no way I'd fly this route. And yes, I've considered possible options for past trips.

 

 

As a matter of interest (and to help the OP), why not? I always fly this route, unless I have to do something in Brussels as well, and can't think of a compelling reason to rule it out!

 

I was on the Eurostar last week and two American guys sitting behind me were going on to Amsterdam - I eventually concluded it was because they wanted to spend 4 hours drinking before the 'adventures' they were looking forward to (quite loudly) in Amsterdam.... It was the 0804 train, by the way.

 

 

 

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[Cotswold Eagle]

OP - you need to balance a 40 minute flight vs around 4 hours on two trains. Of course, there is a lot of faffing about getting on flights, but you also need to check-in and clear security and immigration for the Eurostar.

 

The train journeys are very dull from a scenic point of view, but quite comfortable. I get that travelling through the Tunnel is a "thing", it's just not an exciting thing, as described above.

 

 

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[DanaJW]

Thank you all for your responses,

[Globaliser]

Various airlines on this route, like a.o. Easyjet, KLM, British airways offer many flights a day.

From London City Airport, British Airways and KLM each fly up to about 7 or 8 times a day. flyBE also does one a day.

 

With that kind of frequency, if you're starting from central London there's no real reason to subject yourself to the pain of flying from any other airport. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the airport from central London, and if you arrive at the airport 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time of your flight, that's plenty of time for checking-in, clearing security and getting to the gate.

 

These are the reasons why (with all respect to Twickenham) flying to Amsterdam from central London makes so much more sense than taking the train.

 

Your main problem will be how much luggage airlines allow on a short hop. Last time flew Heathrow - schipol we were in the air 31 mins

This should be no problem. It's the same amount of luggage as is allowed on a longer flight. For example, if you buy an economy ticket from London to Amsterdam on BA, you're allowed one bag at 23 kg; if you buy an economy ticket from London to Sydney on BA, you're allowed one bag at 23 kg.

 

You just need to make sure that your fare includes luggage, or that you pay for the luggage that you take.

[GrJ Berkshire]

What I was hinting at as this is cc , is whether you will have more than 23kg pp if you are cruising before or after the trip to Amsterdam, having originally Travelled from the USA , with many transatlantic flights allowing 2 bags each.

You will now find that many short flights with smaller aircraft, are much stricter on cabin baggage, many only allowing 5kg in the cabin.

[Globaliser]

... having originally Travelled from the USA , with many transatlantic flights allowing 2 bags each.

If you know of a major airline whose standard inclusive baggage allowance for an economy fare between North America and Europe is two bags per person, I'm sure that information will come in very handy here.

[Anubi]

We had booked a Baltics cruise and I had done a bit of research on getting from London to Amsterdam and decided to do the overnight ferry. I found all the information I needed on the Man In Seat 61 website. https://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm It looked like a lot of fun and I don't recall the price being very high. It involves a train from Liverpool station to Harwich at about 7:30 pm, an overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland and then two quick trains to Amsterdam arriving in Amsterdam before 11:00 am.

 

Unfortunately, we had to cancel the Baltics cruise so I can't give you first hand information. :(:(:(

[Ine]

We had booked a Baltics cruise and I had done a bit of research on getting from London to Amsterdam and decided to do the overnight ferry. I found all the information I needed on the Man In Seat 61 website. https://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm It looked like a lot of fun and I don't recall the price being very high. It involves a train from Liverpool station to Harwich at about 7:30 pm, an overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland and then two quick trains to Amsterdam arriving in Amsterdam before 11:00 am.

 

Unfortunately, we had to cancel the Baltics cruise so I can't give you first hand information. :(:(:(

 

Due to major contructions on the line Hoek van Holland to Schiedam/Rotterdam (converting the train into a part of the metro connections) travel between those cities will be possible only by bus till about September 2017..I donot k now if those buses have possibilities for luggage storage.

[Anubi]

Due to major contructions on the line Hoek van Holland to Schiedam/Rotterdam (converting the train into a part of the metro connections) travel between those cities will be possible only by bus till about September 2017..I donot k now if those buses have possibilities for luggage storage.

 

Oh that's a bummer, but thanks for the head's up. :)

[FreestyleNovice]

If you know of a major airline whose standard inclusive baggage allowance for an economy fare between North America and Europe is two bags per person, I'm sure that information will come in very handy here.

 

Hear hear! Please share. :D

[GrJ Berkshire]

All our recent cruising has been with Regent and inclusive air in business class, prior to that when we have travelled to the USA, it has not been in coach class. However we always seem to have less luggage than most on cruises, even though our last 2 have been B2B trips.

I don't know how many of these people get the luggage transported, hence the advice. We have tried to limit the amount we take and use the ships laundry.

It always amazes me how much luggage some passengers have, especially in the cabin on planes, which is now being much more regulated especially on short hops.

[Cotswold Eagle]

Just to keep this thread up to date, Eurostar have confirmed that they are planning direct services (two a day) to Amsterdam from late this year (2017). Interestingly, security checks will be done at Amsterdam on the way back, so no de-training at Brussels, unlike the hour delay at Lille on the direct services from south of France. Journey time is expected to be around 4 hours.

 

 

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[Globaliser]

All our recent cruising has been with Regent and inclusive air in business class, prior to that when we have travelled to the USA, it has not been in coach class.

Then those who have benefited from a 2-bag allowance on the trans-Atlantic flight will probably continue to benefit from a 2-bag allowance on the short-haul flight, if taken in the same cabin.

 

If you fly in a premium cabin for one flight and then you choose to buy a separate economy class ticket for the next flight, you're always bound to be at risk of a lower baggage allowance on the latter flight. It's misleading to suggest that this risk comes from the fact that the second flight is a short-haul flight.