Rail & Sail: Travel your way and enjoy a long weekend in the Netherlands

Green travel Travel Tips | 2 Comments

Have you been searching for the easiest way to get to the Netherlands from London or the South East for a long weekend? Look no further than Rail & Sail with Stena Line. Rail & Sail provides a city-to-city service between the UK and the Netherlands, with travel possible from any Greater Anglia station to the Harwich International Port, where you can board one of our twice daily crossings to the Hook of Holland during the day and overnight. The journey then continues to any Dutch station within the NS Rail network.

Why Rail & Sail?

City to city travel

Looking to maximise a long weekend and use as little holiday as possible? Rail and sail is the perfect solution. If you work in London, you can cut down on your travel time as your journey begins from London Liverpool Street or Stratford, so there’s no need to take Friday off work. From the city, the journey winds through pretty English countryside to get to Harwich in less than an hour and a half.

Don’t forget that you can travel to Harwich from any Greater Anglia station, so those in Cambridge, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich can also benefit from rail & sail.

This smooth journey continues across the North Sea on one of Stena Line’s Superferries. Passengers can enjoy a meal at one of the ship’s restaurants offering delicious fresh meals, explore the shop, or catch the latest blockbuster at the on board cinema.

Upon arrival Holland-side, you can travel onward to any Dutch station within the NS rail network. The train station is conveniently located outside the Hook of Holland port, with Rotterdam and The Hague accessible in under an hour on the NS rail systems and Amsterdam less than 90 minutes away. For those looking to discover cities off the beaten track, you can reach Utrecht and Haarlem in less than a two hour journey from the port.

Travel in comfort

Travelling via ferry is undeniably more comfortable than by plane – no one’s going to be kicking the back of your seat or hogging your armrest! With 11 decks to explore, there are plenty of opportunities for you to stretch your legs when you’re on board. There are no concerns about a comfortable night’s sleep either, with a range of comfortable private cabins that can be booked for both day and night sailings. Taking an overnight sailing and sleeping in a cabin allows you to arrive feeling refreshed and ready to explore, it also saves you on the cost of an extra night in an expensive city hotel.

Travelling so comfortably means your holiday kicks off sooner – the journey becomes an extension of the trip itself – and you are also starting your break stress-free.

Which brings us to… Avoid airport stress

The airport experience can be an extremely stressful on. Plane travel can seem like a speedy option but getting to the airport, long queues at security and passport control can mean taking a flight over to the Netherlands actually takes much longer than you’d expect.

Flying also brings with it the never ending stress of luggage restrictions. When travelling by ferry, you can bring as much as you please, as there are no baggage restrictions, which seriously reduces packing pressure.

Sail with Stena Line and discover a sustainable journey

A perk of travelling to the Netherlands via ferry and train is, holiday goers can avoid travelling via congested terminals and departure routes.

We at Stena Line are continuously trying to improve our environmental credentials, including training our captains in eco-sailing. Onboard, we’ve reduced our use of plastic bags, switched to 100% rainforest alliance certified coffee cups and are even developing battery powered solutions. Read about our sustainability journey here.