Hello UK people! We’re hoping you’ll use our wedding as a springboard to discovering the Netherlands. So we’re collecting together some tips on how to get there, and what to do once you have (besides help us get married, of course). Stay tuned for updates!

Getting from the UK to Rotterdam

By Train

We recommend London to Rotterdam via Brussels, using Eurostar and Thalys. You can book the entire journey at Eurostar.com from six months in advance of your travel date. Prices are as low as £49.50 one way, delivering you from and to the centre of each city: Rotterdam Centraal Station is 1.5 miles from our venue. Both services are modern, high speed trains, with total journey time of around 4 hours. Seating is much comfier than a plane, too!

Tips on travelling by Eurostar

• The French consider Brussels station to be in the middle of the city, the Dutch the South. So Bruxelles-Midi and Brussel-Zuid are the same place! Transfering from the Eurostar to international (Schengen) platforms is straightforward.
• There are security procedures to complete before boarding a Eurostar service, but they’re simpler than at an aiport – no bag drop for luggage, nor any need to decant liquids, unpack electronics etc. Don’t get to St Pancras hours in advance – you won’t be able to get through the ticket barriers! However, you must do so by 30 minutes to departure, so don’t cut it too fine either.
• You can upgrade to standard premier for a bigger seat and quieter carriage, but don’t expect much from the food/drink service if you do. Better to bring a picnic! Business class is the same hard product but a cooked meal and priority boarding / lounge access, but comes at an eyewatering markup.

By Plane

With British Airways, you can fly direct to Rotterdam the Hague (RTM) from London City (LCY) airport. This adorably tiny airport is just a 25 minute bus ride from the centre of Rotterdam. Flying back from there, you can pull the Concorde trick of arriving before you left, thanks to 45 minute flights and the timezone shift.

Cityjet fly this route too; Air France will also sell you it, but put you on the cityjet flight at a massive markup, so avoid falling for that.

Otherwise, you’re likely looking at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) – it’s only 20 minutes on the train to Rotterdam, but you’ll spend at least that taxiing around the airport or escaping from its endlessly long piers… Fortunately it offers many more connections; here’s everywhere in the UK currently scheduling direct services for summer 2017:

• BA from each of Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW) and City (LCY) (so London, London or London).
• KLM from an amazing array of locations: Norwich (NWI), Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), Manchester (MAN), Birmingham (BHX), Belfast (BFS), Edinburgh (EDI), Aberdeen (ABZ), Bristol (BRS), Cardiff (CWL), Durham (MME), Glasgow (GLA), Humberside (HUY), Inverness (INV), Leeds Bradford (LBA), Newcastle (NCL), Southampton (SOU). Generally the more obscure the airport the pricier the fare, but it may well suit you better than travelling to somewhere larger.
• Easyjet also serve Bristol (BRS), Gatwick (LGW), Luton (LTN), Stansted (STN), Manchester (MAN), Belfast (BFS), Glasgow (GLA) and Edinburgh (EDI) plus Southend (SEN) and Liverpool (LPL).
• Vueling from Luton (LTN).

The low cost carriers don’t generally schedule more than 6 months out: Flybe is a likely candidate for flights from the regions; and even Ryanair aren’t terrible these days.

On BA, cheapest prices for a 7 day return ‘plus’ fare range from £100-£200 depending on airport (£110 LHRAMS, £150 LGWAMS, £160 LCYRTM £220 LCYAMS based on a sample in September). Better flight times can be much more expensive. You can save £20-£60 by booking a basic fare, but then you don’t get baggage or seat selection. G has access to G class fares (really, that’s what they’re filed as), which offer a similar discount but with the plus features; these will also be available longer than the cheapest O and Q fares quoted above. So if you’re likely to fly with BA, get in touch for a quote! If you have avios, it’s 4000 (offpeak) / 4500 (peak) +£17.50 each way, regardless of time / airport pair but depending on availability. If you don’t have avios, you could easily grab that many with a typical credit card signup bonus.

By Boat

There is a ferry service between Harwich and the Hook of Holland, operated by Stena Line. These are apparently ‘superferries’, with two bars, two restaurants, shop, bureau de change, Stena Plus lounge, internet room, meeting room, casino, news room & magazine lounge, cinema, Curious George children’s area, gaming area, Barista coffee bar, sundeck bar and free Wifi throughout the ship as well as on-board accommodation.

The crossing takes seven hours, with day and night services in each direction:

• Stena Hollandica departs the UK at 23:00, arriving Holland 08:00, then the return runs 13:45 to 19:45.
• Stena Britannica is an 09:00 departure from the UK, arriving at 17:15; then the return is from 22:00 to 06:00.

Both ships are identical, and you can mix-and-match, so a daytime or overnight-only itinerary is possible – althouh you must book a cabin for any night crossing. On foot, fares start at around £35 per passenger, but then add £10 for breakfast, £25 for dinner, and £42 upwards for a cabin (although two can share one of those). You can also bring vehicles ranging from bicycles to minibusses, although the pricing is then handled differently (a base rate for the vehicle then charges for each extra passenger). Fortunately all this can be priced up and paid for online here.

By Car

Presumably possible, by tunnel / cross channel ferry then a road trip through France and Belgium; or using the Harwich / Hook of Holland route above. We’re so the wrong people to ask.

By Bus

This is also possible, if you really want to… Alaina will handle this section because G doesn’t even want to think about it:

The buses to Holland are cheap. Very cheap. Like 30 pound return cheap. Their advantages stop there. They take 8-12 hours from London Victoria Coach Station to the centre of Rotterdam. The Victoria coach station is quite stressful and very packed. The journey seems to take forever. The ID checks at the Dover-Calais border are thorough and annoying. I would really only recommend this option if you are very low on cash. I’ve done it many times as a student but I hope I’ve done my last trip that way…

Usually Megabus is the cheapest, but Eurolines is also an option.

Where to stay

The venue

To help with choosing accommodation – plus finding us on the day! – here’s the precise location of our venue:

Where to look

To find accommodation we would just recommend using the usual options, which have plenty of coverage of the Netherlands (as do the typical hotel chains): hostelworld for hostels; Airbnb for private rentals; and aggregators such as tripadvisor, hotels.com or booking.com for hotels. We do have friends who have offered a place to stay if anyone is short on cash. They are awesome people who only bite when you ask them nicely. Send Alaina a message if you’d like us to pair you up with someone.

Trip Advisor’s most popular

Here’s a few suggestions based on category and Trip Advisor popularity, prices in early Feb for a two night (C/I Fri 26th, C/O Sun 28th) stay for two adults:

The best in town

• citizenM 3km from venue / 15 minutes by metro. £160. Trip Advisor’s top pick!
• Hilton Rotterdam 3km / 20 minutes by tram. £210. Michelin-starred restaurant!
• Mainport Hotel 2km / 15 min by tram. £190.

The best nearby

• Hotel Port 200m / 2 minute walk. £160. Despite the name, a B&B rather than hotel, but can’t be beat on location!
• Stroom 700m / 10 min walk. £180. Studio rooms.

Best on a budget

• Holiday Inn Express 3km / 20 min by tram. £120. Adjacent to the central station, and free breakfast.

Stay with a local

Some of our local friends may be able to offer crash space, more details once they agree!

Once you’re in the Netherlands

Getting around by public transport

Fares within the Netherlands are fixed rate so there’s no need to pre-book anything, as you won’t get a discount for doing so. You’ll probably want an OV-kaart; they’re like an oyster card except it works for the entire country. There’s a one-off charge of €7.50 when purchasing, and you can add credit at the same time. The ticket machines should have an English setting which you can choose by selecting the union jack flag at the bottom of the screen. If stuck, feel free to ask a random person around you, Dutch people tend to be quite friendly to tourists and like to be able to show off their English skills.

Some practical notes:

• If you switch operating company during a rail journey, you need to swipe out from one and on to the other using the scanners on the platform.
• Unlike Oyster, you have to swipe out from buses, not just in.
• You need a minimum balance of €20 to be able to make a train journey.
• When you’re leaving the Netherlands you can get a refund of all the remaining credit, less a €1 fee. Given the previous point, you probably will have something worth claiming.

You can plan journeys with 9292, also available as an app (with real time info) for Android and iOS. It should default to your system language; if not, hit the settings icon to change from Dutch.

Getting around by car

DRIVE ON THE RIGHT!

If you’re bringing your own car make sure to have some safety-gizmos with you as they may be legally required in France/Belgium/Holland. Check this list from the AA if you are unsure.

If you are renting a car – something neither of us are familiar with – this will probably be very catered to tourists so should be easy to do in English at the counter at the airport or station.

Parking is often paid for with your debit card.

When in Holland, remember that bikes and pedestrians have a lot more presence and right of way than in the UK. Be careful okay?

Rotterdam Recommendations

We’re asking those with local knowledge to share one of their favourites. More coming soon!



Delfshaven, Rotterdam

Alaina: Delfshaven is where I lived when I lived in Rotterdam. Its very near to the wedding venue and definitely worth the little amble. (Metrostation: Delfshaven)

Graeme: for some interesting architecture and photo opportunities go see the Markthal and the cube houses. (Metro or trainstation: Rotterdam Blaak)

Deb: getting a boat tour to the harbour is very impressive. Seeing the scale of the shipping containers and the operations is beyond anything you have imagined. You can book tickets online. (Metrostation: Leuvehaven)