Drive Ireland to Amsterdam

Ultimate Seduction

Plan in driving to Amsterdam before Christmas for the Craic.

Dublin to Liverpool by ferry..

Liverpool to hull 2 hour drive.

Hull to Rotterdam by ferry

Rotterdam to Amsterdam 1hour drive

Can't believe it's only 3 hours of driving..

Questions are, would I have to get any special insurance on the car, or do I just notify my own insurance company?

Is there anything else as In charges or is the ferry, diesel and what ever tolls I pass my only expense?

737max

You have a strange idea of the Craic if you think being stuck on and waiting around for Truck Ferries for over a day will be fun. You'd better bring some good company with you.
you can get a return flight from Dublin to Amsterdam for 45 euro in December.

elperello

The actual journey will be the fun part.
Amsterdam is actually designed to make getting around by car difficult.
Unless you plan on visiting other parts of the country the car will be more of a hindrance than a help.

Ultimate Seduction

737max wrote:

You have a strange idea of the Craic if you think being stuck on and waiting around for Truck Ferries for over a day will be fun. You'd better bring some good company with you.

Would it be that bad? Wait around for an hour or two for each ferry? I'd be staying over there for a week so 4 ferry in 7 days.

Ultimate Seduction

I do, was thinking of maybe a day trip down to Bruges and possibly another one to Dortmund

Anyway, it's more about any fees, or anything i need to know , other than get in my car and drive

Allinall

Good luck getting from Liverpool to Hull in 2 hours, unless it's in the middle of the night.

Alun

Never been on the Liverpool ferry but I get the impression that it's more of a truck ferry that also takes passengers. Also possibly not a particularly big ferry so prone to bad weather.

Talking of bad weather, the M62, also known as the trans-pennine motorway, can be treacherous in the winter, even closed completely if there's lots of snow.

Then there's the North Sea in winter which can also be pretty hairy.

Plus as others have said, having a car in Amsterdam is utterly pointless.

Take a cheap flight and save yourself all the hassle.

737max

Ferries aren't Cruise ships. I've long since given up on driving to or from the Continent unless I want to repatriate a car. Car hire in mid December will be the cheapest it can possibly be in the year and you won't even need to dire a car to get anywhere in Holland.

The_Chap

Allinall wrote: »

Good luck getting from Liverpool to Hull in 2 hours, unless it's in the middle of the night.

Was just thinking that myself, used to commute between Leeds and Manchester and it’s a car park most days!

elperello

Sorry I didn't address your questions.
Inform your insurance co.
You might consider breakdown cover.
You will be on the road all day so budget for meals,coffee etc. I prefer to bring some good wholesome food from home as the offerings on ferries can be patchy.
So if you bring some grub you can save money.
You will also need to budget for parking charges.

On the plus side you will be able to pack a few crates of nice Dutch beer into the car coming home.

Good luck!u

Ultimate Seduction

elperello wrote:

Sorry I didn't address your questions. Inform your insurance co. You might consider breakdown cover. You will be on the road all day so budget for meals,coffee etc. I prefer to bring some good wholesome food from home as the offerings on ferries can be patchy. So if you bring some grub you can save money. You will also need to budget for parking charges.

Thank you. Funds wont be an issue, just wanted to make sure there wasn't any official fees or permits I would need ect.

I know or may seem pointless to ye, just driving around Europe visiting other cities is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Would prefer to use my own car than hire one. I might even stay in Yorkshire for a night on my way, I've a sister living there.

cdeb

You should be covered for foreign driving under a regular insurance policy, but no harm to call your broker and check.

Some European countries have different requirements for what needs to be in your car - e.g. hi-vis jacket, spare bulbs, first aid kit. The AA is a good site to start with.

While land trips are good craic, motorways are quite dull. You'd be better off taking a longer time to get from Liverpool to Hull, but avoiding the motorways. You'd get a better feel of a place by doing that. (Google maps gives 4:15 hours Liverpool to Hull avoiding motorways, compared to 2:35 hours taking them - I think it's worth it)

Be careful of trying to see too much in a week - Amsterdam, Brugge and Dortmund is a lot, on top of driving from Dublin. You could end up just seeing none of the places because you're rushing around too much. If you want a day trip from Amsterdam, maybe somewhere like the West Frisian Islands would be a better bet - closer, scenic and with additional nearby sights like the Ijselmeer bridge. With cities across Europe becoming so similar these days, going rural is a great way of really seeing a country. Bringing your car on holidays is usually better suited to exploring the countryside a bit; places you can't get to on a weekend flight away - driving a country lane alongside fields of tulips for example. (Note there there are some car restrictions on the Frisian Islands, though you could hire a bike)

elperello

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Thank you. Funds wont be an issue, just wanted to make sure there wasn't any official fees or permits I would need ect.

I know or may seem pointless to ye, just driving around Europe visiting other cities is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Would prefer to use my own car than hire one. I might even stay in Yorkshire for a night on my way, I've a sister living there.

Well in that case go for it!
It's a nice way to travel and you will remember the journey long after all those that start at the airport have merged into one.
Post back and let us know how you get on.

pajor

Petrol or diesel car OP?

If petrol, make sure you fill up before crossing in to NL.

Ultimate Seduction

Good advice there, thanks. Yes, would probably be driving national roads on my trips, it's the stopping for food in foreign villages that excites me. If it was all motorway I'd be as well off on a train.
Have a friend living in Dortmund so that's why I'm heading there, I will stay the night.

oakshade

Hi OP,
I totally get why you want to do this. The open road, sense of adventure. I've been to Amsterdam a lot for work and drove in Holland this summer for holidays. It's a great place.

For what it's worth, if it was my holiday, I would fly to Amsterdam, rent a car for a few days and leave Amsterdam, go see my friend and see the country. Then return the car a day or two before you leave and enjoy Amsterdam.

So my reasons, the ferry to Liverpool is long (I think 8 hours) and miserable. All there is to do is drink and sleep. I'd rather spent that time in a bar in Holland. Flights are cheap and quick. Treat yourself to a nice car in Holland and enjoy the driving but leave Amsterdam. Parking in the city centre is expensive and difficult to find. When you return at the end of the trip, drop the car off at the airport and head back into the city on the train for some sightseeing.

PS if you really want to drive then go for it, alternatively you could skip the UK and go Rosslare to Calais and drive up.

coylemj

You don't have to inform your insurance company, every motor policy contains cover for driving in the EU. As someone else has pointed out, there may be NL requirements around carrying safety equipment like first aid kit, hi-vis jacket etc. Though I'd be wary about consulting the AA about this, they see that as an opportunity to sell you stuff so take a lot of it with a grain of salt.

Seaswimmer

If you really wanted to do this and liked driving then I would go Holyhead down to Folkestone and from Calais up to Amsterdam.

Leave Dublin 21:00. Arrive Holyhead 00:30. Arrive Folkestone 09:00 allowing for a couple of hours rest en route

Arrive Calais 10:30 and Amsterdam 15:00.

I did it before in a campervan in those timescales and you may do it slightly faster in car depending on how much sleep you need.

I always did it at weekends as M25 around London on a weekday will slow you considerably.

however I was going for 3 weeks so I think if it was only for a week then I would fly and hire a car.

crosstownk

I've done this quite a few times.

I took the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead and drove from there to Hull where I took the P&O cruise ferry to Rotterdam. It's quicker to the Holyhead ferry and drive rather than take the Liverpool ferry. The ferry from Hull to Rotterdam is a decent ship with plenty to do onboard to pass the time. It arrives in to Rotterdam around 8am so you're on the road early.

As stated above, a car is a hindrance in Amsterdam. I drove to the Centaal Station and parked the car there for the weekend before carrying to elsewhere in Europe. It was a few years ago but I remember the car park being expensive. On more recent trips I just skipped Amsterdam and head for Germany.

bigar

I have driven to Antwerp many times (Belgium near the Netherlands border, 1.5 hours from Amsterdam) and you can easily do this in a day:

8:45 Swift to Hollyhead, arrive 10:45
6 hour drive to Folkestone (let's add an hour for breaks): arrive there at 5
Take the tunnel and you are in Calais, France by 6
1.5 hours to Antwerp: 7:30
Another 1.5 hours to Amsterdam: 9:00

If you wish you could stay over night in Bruges which is an hour drive from Calais.

I like to drive and cannot stay on a Ferry for more than 3 hours so this may be different to what you would prefer. You would take a and 8 hour and then a 10 hour ferry if I am not mistaken. I would lose the will to live halfway the first one.

Marcusm

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Thank you. Funds wont be an issue, just wanted to make sure there wasn't any official fees or permits I would need ect.

I know or may seem pointless to ye, just driving around Europe visiting other cities is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Would prefer to use my own car than hire one. I might even stay in Yorkshire for a night on my way, I've a sister living there.

You absolutely should it but ditch the Liverpool ferry - take a ferry to Holyhead and drive from there. Lovely road, beautiful scenery and a lot more pleasant, shorter and more certain ferry journey. L'pool is 8 hour ferry journey, Holyhead is max 3. You save 90 minutes of driving by going to L'pool.

On s similar note, Hull-Holland is an 11hour ferry journey. Hawrich-Hook of Holland is 7.

crosstownk

Marcusm wrote: »

You absolutely should it but ditch the Liverpool ferry - take a ferry to Holyhead and drive from there. Lovely road, beautiful scenery and a lot more pleasant, shorter and more certain ferry journey. L'pool is 8 hour ferry journey, Holyhead is max 3. You save 90 minutes of driving by going to L'pool.

On s similar note, Hull-Holland is an 11hour ferry journey. Hawrich-Hook of Holland is 7.

I totally agree with you point about the Liverpool vs. Holyhead ferry.

On the other note, I often considered the Hook of Holland ferry but I alway ended up using the Hull-Rotterdam simply because the 11 hours makes for a nice relaxing ferry cruise. A bit of grub, a couple of beers and a decent sleep before waking up for breakfast shortly before docking.

Carawaystick

The signs around Rotterdam/Hook are confusing. You need to know which way you're going, and the A number of the road.

Only requirements are to have the reg cert and insurance cert with you, not photocopies.
I went to Eindhoven this Aug, via harwich-Hook of holland

scudzilla

Wouldn't Rosslare-Cherbourg be better then a quick 8hr drive across Northern France and Belgium

Claude Wilton

Alun wrote: »

Never been on the Liverpool ferry but I get the impression that it's more of a truck ferry that also takes passengers. Also possibly not a particularly big ferry so prone to bad weather.

Talking of bad weather, the M62, also known as the trans-pennine motorway, can be treacherous in the winter, even closed completely if there's lots of snow.

Then there's the North Sea in winter which can also be pretty hairy.

Plus as others have said, having a car in Amsterdam is utterly pointless.

Take a cheap flight and save yourself all the hassle.

Yup. Conform.

Or do what the hell you want. Its your life, not theirs.

donegal.

Allinall wrote: »

Good luck getting from Liverpool to Hull in 2 hours, unless it's in the middle of the night.

its more like a 3 hour drive

Hotblack Desiato

Bikers do road trips like this all the time. The formalities are minimal thanks to the EU. Though if I was going to Amsterdam it'd probably be via the Pyrenees

Conway635

I drove to Hull from Dublin last week as it happens, as I had an exceptionally bulky and awkward object to deliver to The Netherlands, and the recipient and I used a mutual friend in Hull as an exchange point.

M62 not bad but the bit that is M60 around ~Manchester is awful - it was like the M50 at peak hour, and this was both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Ferry to/from Liverpool is good fun and lets you get a night's sleep and start early.

C635

jimmycrackcorm

I did the Hull to Rotterdam ferry before overnight. Had a nice dinner on board, watched a film in the cinema, went to bed and woke up just as we were about to dock. It was a delight.

munchkin_utd

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I did the Hull to Rotterdam ferry before overnight. Had a nice dinner on board, watched a film in the cinema, went to bed and woke up just as we were about to dock. It was a delight.

yea, people often look at the time at sea and think that its a desperate long time to be on a boat, but they forget that when you're asleep you don't notice the time passing !
(especially after a few quiet ones at the bar)

redcup342

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Plan in driving to Amsterdam before Christmas for the Craic.

Dublin to Liverpool by ferry..

Liverpool to hull 2 hour drive.

Hull to Rotterdam by ferry

Rotterdam to Amsterdam 1hour drive

Can't believe it's only 3 hours of driving..

Questions are, would I have to get any special insurance on the car, or do I just notify my own insurance company?

Is there anything else as In charges or is the ferry, diesel and what ever tolls I pass my only expense?

FYI if you are parking in Amsterdam use the P+R, it's only 1 euro / 24 hours.

Sloterdijk is the best spot IMO, just drive in, park.

Go upstairs and buy OV-Chipkaarts from the yellow NS Machines, load them with some credit.

Make sure you check in and check out going to the center and do the reverse on the way back.

Scan your OV-Chipkaart (Openbaar Vervoer Chip Kaart means Public Transport Chip Card) and it will reduce your Parking price to 1 euro / 24 hours (possibly 8 euros for the first 24 hours)

https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/plan-your-trip/getting-around/parking/park-and-ride

Do not buy the GVB Cards from the Park and Ride machine, you can only use those damn things on the Bus/Tram and not the train