time to spend in europa after transatlantic crossing.

[harst62]

After sailing we need suggestions for spending 14 days traveling from Amsterdam to Southampton.We are leaning towards renting a car.

[LHT28]

Confused

You want to rent a car  to travel  Amsterdam  to Southampton?

Or you want to travel  from Southampton around the UK?

 

[harst62]

Renting car for trip from Amsterdam to Paris then train to Southampton.

[Heidi13]

20 minutes ago, harst62 said:

Renting car for trip from Amsterdam to Paris then train to Southampton.

 

Based on the very generic information you have provided, it is impossible to provide any meaningful suggestions, as we know nothing about your interests.

 

I suggest getting some local travel books and/or online research, and researching the areas and developing a list of points of interest.

 

With respect to the train, I assume you are aware of the challenges, as Paris to Southampton is not a direct service. The Channel Tunnel train goes to St Pancras Station, which is north of the city and the fastest Southampton trains leave from Waterloo, which is south of the river. Options are available from other stations, but they require 1 or more changes, which is never easy with lots of bags.

[harst62]

Thank you for the response but I'm doing everything you said but still looking for advice as the best way to go. At first renting car and going to Paris but end up paying big price because returning car to different place.Then I though just travel around when you rent car and take train to next town,ect.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, harst62 said:

Thank you for the response but I'm doing everything you said but still looking for advice as the best way to go. At first renting car and going to Paris but end up paying big price because returning car to different place.Then I though just travel around when you rent car and take train to next town,ect.

 

Personally, I wouldn't hire a car in Europe, especially a 1-way hire, dropping off at a different location. Trains and flights are so much more convenient and cheaper. Most cities also have exceptional public transit, buses and/or trains, so again no need to hire a car.

 

Inter-city trains are both frequent and fast, as you can often train between cities quicker than flying. When back in UK, I can get from Glasgow or Edinburgh to London (downtown to downtown) faster by train than flying.

[LHT28]

Are there places you are interested in seeing  like  Bruges or  other areas in the Netherlands ?

A train from Amsterdam  to Bruges   or Brussels  then rent a car to see some place in Belgium

train to France 

 

 

Rometorio.com is a good source  of different ways to travel to your destination

 

happy travels

 

[Dunchues]

Dropping the hire car in another country will get expensive,  the train is probably only 5 hours or so so why not rent for a few days in Amsterdam then train to Paris or Brussels and hire another one? 

[CoW mAn]

Drop off the car in Paris, take the Chunnel to London, spend some time in London before going to Southampton

[ysolde]

On 7/30/2023 at 1:25 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Personally, I wouldn't hire a car in Europe, especially a 1-way hire, dropping off at a different location. Trains and flights are so much more convenient and cheaper. Most cities also have exceptional public transit, buses and/or trains, so again no need to hire a car.

 

Inter-city trains are both frequent and fast, as you can often train between cities quicker than flying. When back in UK, I can get from Glasgow or Edinburgh to London (downtown to downtown) faster by train than flying.

This.  We have traveled, and continue to travel, around Europe extensively.  My husband and I travel by rail and plane, depending on our itinerary and the time of day that we are traveling.  We would not rent a car when traveling around Europe, as driving is not necessarily as convenient in Europe -- planes and trains get you where you want to go more smoothly.   I think if you are traveling with several small children and need to take a lot of their accoutrements with you (strollers, diaper bags, etc.) it might be a different consideration.  

 

But as to us, we travel with my small, collapsible wheelchair.  When we are on a cruise, we don't pack carry-on only, but we do take everything we want and more in a medium sized suitcase each, an underseater with a sleeve through (makes it much easier to manage in airports and on trains), and my trusty crossbody bag.

[Hlitner]

The problem with the plan (Amsterdam to Paris)  is that most rental car companies either do not want to deal with cross border one-way issues or will charge an outrageous extra fee for such a trip.  It used to be easy to do this kind of rental with Sixt, Europcar, etc. but that is no longer the case.  For example, I just looked at Sixt (we once did an Amsterdam to Paris rental with that company) and they now add a nearly $500 one-way fee.  Europcar rolls the one-way fees into their price, but you are looking at rates of $200+ per day.  

 

As one who often rents cars in Europe, I have grown to accept that cross border one-ways are not financially practical.  Our solution has often been to plan circle itineraries that let us drop a car within the same country where we rented.

 

My other solution is to lease a car rather than rent.  This requires that you keep the car for AT LEAST 21 days.  Consolidators such as Autoeurope can arrange a lease (they use Peugeot or Citroen) and there is an extra fee (reasonable) for many cross border deals.  The upside of this deal is that you actually get a new car (you choose the model when you reserve) with zero deductible insurance.  These lease deals are pretty attractive for longer rentals.

 

Hank

 

[harst62]

Thanks Hlitner I think the circle plan would work

then ride train to Paris and rent again.

[NoBoozeCruise]

In Europe you have to travel by train. It is inexpensive, comfortable, direct city to city and frequent. Book early and pay a small additional fee for 1st class. Unlike the us, you can travel between countries at 300kmh 

 

When you get to the UK, hire a car. The trains are a joke compared to the continent. 

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, NoBoozeCruise said:

 

When you get to the UK, hire a car. The trains are a joke compared to the continent. 

 

Edinburgh or Glasgow to London takes about 5 hrs by train, in a car it is 10+ hrs depending on motorway traffic. Same with Manchester, 2 hrs by train and 4+ hrs to drive. The trains might not go 180 mph, but they are still much faster than driving.

 

The number of speed cameras on the UK roads today is also ridiculous, so pushing the speed is no longer an option, on the rare occasion the motorway is not congested. Back in the 70's, on paying off the ship, I could drive from Southampton and be at the Scottish border in 5 hrs, in 2017 it took 10+ hrs for the same trip.

 

So my days of hiring a car in UK are long gone, I'll stick to the train or flights.

 

[Sixtytwo]

On 7/30/2023 at 3:28 PM, LHT28 said:

Are there places you are interested in seeing  like  Bruges or  other areas in the Netherlands ?

A train from Amsterdam  to Bruges   or Brussels  then rent a car to see some place in Belgium

train to France 

 

 

Rometorio.com is a good source  of different ways to travel to your destination

 

happy travels

 

I was going to also suggest downloading the app Rome2Rio. We have used it many times and would recommend it.