Learned friends,

I'm taking a trip with t'Mrs to the UK in early April. We're off to see family first, then Thursday (5th April), the intent is to go to Amsterdam, Thursday and Friday nights there, then Saturday morning, off to Duesseldorf, flying home from there on Sunday.

What's the best way to travel between the cities? I'm thinking we do it all on the train, but there may be a decent flight deal on. My folks live near Grantham in Lincolnshire, so maybe Stansted or East Midlands? Then from AMS to DUS, I think that's definitely a train job. I just don't know the lay of the land on what airlines fly from where to where, and the internet isn't too much help, they all want you to fly with them, so they make it seem like it's possible, when in fact you end up flying from London Bournemouth International or something.

Any recommendations on hotels? We're planning on doing the red light district thing in AMS, and the Altstadt in DUS. We're both early 40s, so we're past the days of room sharing hostel type things. Don't want the Waldorf Astoria either, but something in between.

We'll probably rent a car in DUS, so I can go reminisce in Krefeld & Willich, get some piccies of my old stomping grounds for an hour or two.

Any and all advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

BA at Heathrow Terminal Five fly to both Amsterdam and Duesseldorf daily. I appreciate that getting from Grantham to Heathrow is a bit of a schlep, but its not impossible and sticking to one airline will make booking the outbound and return flights easy. Finally, you are quite correct - Amsterdam to Duesseldorf is a train job; again, very easy from Schipol. P.S. why not hire a car with a major hire company (Alamo/National, etc.) in Grantham and drop it off at Heathrow - won't be especially expensive and avoids paying BAA's ridiculous prices for airport parking.

You can grab a DFDS 'dirty thirty' ferry from North Shields (Newcastle) to the dam, About 30 Hours total of fun and frolic on the bumpy north sea, good crack.

The rest is on the wrong side of the road so I can't help you there.

Have fun.

Trains: on Saturdays, there are direct services from Amsterdam Centraal to Dusseldorf Hbf every two hours (at 08:04, 10:34, 12:34, 14:34, 16:34 and 18:34). The journey takes about 2 to 2.25 hours and goes through Utrecht, Arnhem and Duisburg. Tickets will set you back between 19 EUR and 55 EUR each, depending on whether you can get a saver fare. You can book in advance (in English) via bahn.com - your online travel booking tool for rail journeys, holidays, city trips and car rental if you feel the need.

If you miss a service on the day and are too much of an impatient fucker to wait 2 hours, there are various indirect services to Dusseldorf, usually changing at Eindhoven and Venlo. There are no direct services from Schipol Airport but you'll be nearer Centraal anyway.

As for flights, try Flight Search by Just the Flight to find what is called an 'open-jaw flight' (i.e one that flys out to one airport and returns from another). Tick the box that says 'Return from a different airport', enter the relevant details and Bob's your uncle. JustTheFlight is usually good for finding cheap fares.

The hotels I stay in in Amsterdam wouldn't even let your missus in (her being a woman an' all), so can't help you there.

PM me if you need any train / flight assistance on the web. I'm a bit of a European travel geek. Can't help with any driving questions though, I was Leconfield's worst ever student...

Cheers Guys. I don't see us going to Newcastle, it's a tad far.

Plane is second choice after Eurostar. If I can get Eurostar cheaply enough, then it's on. BA is bizarrely cheaper, but the ancillary costs of getting to Heathrow at a suitable time make it more expensive.

Any more tips on accn?

A ferry from Hull?

Originally Posted by roadster280

Cheers Guys. I don't see us going to Newcastle, it's a tad far.

Plane is second choice after Eurostar. If I can get Eurostar cheaply enough, then it's on. BA is bizarrely cheaper, but the ancillary costs of getting to Heathrow at a suitable time make it more expensive.

Any more tips on accn?

If you want to get to Amsterdam from Southern / Eastern England by train rather than plane you have a couple of options:

The 'Dutch Flyer' runs twice a day between London Liverpool Street and Amsterdam Centraal, sailing from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. One ticket covers the whole trip and you can find full details and book online from Stena Line DutchFlyer - Book Online with Stena Line. Fare is about 39 quid per person but if you take the night trip you'll also have to book a cabin, which will set you back between 43 and 123 quid for you and the missus. Day journey takes about 12.5 hours, night journey about 15. If it's easier for you, you don't need to go into London; you can start the journey from an National Express East Anglia train station (i.e Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich etc) and get to Harwich from there.

If you'd rather take the Eurostar, you'll have to change at Brussels as there are no direct services from the UK to Amsterdam (yet...). Full journey takes about 5 to 7 hours and starts from London St Pancras, departing regularly between 06:50 and 17:04 on weekdays. You can find full details and book online from Eurostar : Tickets, Bookings, Timetables, fares and offers or NS Hispeed | Internationale Trein tickets | Fyra Thalys ICE Eurostar TGV - NSHispeed.nl. Ticket will set you back from 45 quid upwards (each).

Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by jarrod248

A ferry from Hull?

That's also an option. P&O sail from there to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge but you'll have to arrange onward trains seperately so Harwich is probably easier.

Try this site The Man in Seat Sixty-One...

Ok, we're now sorted. Flight from East Midlands to AMS, 47 quid each. Much cheaper and quicker than train.

Now the Mrs has looked at Amsterdam, she's noticed the Dutch authorities are clamping down a bit in the Red Light District, and she's not sure if she wants 2 nights there. I am blessed with a wife whose mind is just as dirty as mine

Any comment on the Amsterdam situation? I'm not sure where else makes sense to go, if we don't stay in AMS 2 nights. Eindhoven? Koeln?