I’ve taken the Harwich – Hoek ferry twice now and, spoiler, I am a big fan. With somewhat limited Eurostar connections in the evening, and the other companies holding solo travellers hostage, the Stena Line offering is frequently a winner. It’s (mostly) convenient, reasonably priced and also extremely fun!
SCHEDULE AND PRICES
I’ve booked 3 one-way tickets at various times of year and with different sail-rail/bicycle combos. All have been overnight where a compulsory must be booked in addition to the ticket. I’ve always booked the single inside cabin, and so far been upgraded to a 2 person inside cabin:
| Journey | Base ticket | Cabin ticket | Other costs | Total |
| August (HvH – H) | 72.50 EUR (inc Sail-Rail) | 69 EUR | 7.50 EUR | 149 EUR |
| September (H – HvH) | 47.00 GBP (no sail-rail) | 45 GBP | 6.00 GBP | 99 GBP |
| December (H – HvH) | 60.00 GBP (inc Sail-Rail) | 44 GBP | 7.00 GBP | 111 GBP |
PLANNING
I got a lot of help planning from https://www.seat61.com/ (The Man in Seat 61), and I would thoroughly recommend his website for anyone interested in doing more continental train and ferry travel.
Booking Sail Rail allows you to take any Greater Anglia service at no additional cost. I’m typically transiting through London, so buying this add-on is usually a good idea. So far I’ve found the price cheaper than an Off Peak Fare, and it allows you the flexibility of taking any service (unlike and advance ticket). NB. You cannot take this option with a non-folding bike as you need a regular train booking in order to reserve a space for your bike. Additionally, if (like me) you need to cross London with your bicycle, taking the evening designated service direct from London Liverpool Street to Harwich International is sadly not an easy option as it departs at 6.45pm. See my previous blog post https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/10/03/edinburgh-to-eindhoven-via-oxford-with-a-bike/ for details of the specific trains I ended up taking.
Although you can get any GA train you fancy, I would definitely advise checking the timetable for your voyage before booking! Twice when I have wanted to travel there has been rail replacement buses on my desired route which is either just annoying as a foot passenger or a complete disaster as a cyclist. This is particularly a problem at weekends (which is then very annoying when trying to avoid the evening peaks on the Tube in London…) in my experience.
BOOKING
Your heart is set on the ferry (good), your dates are selected, you have worked out whether Sail-Rail is a the right option option for you. But how do you book the tickets? “Just go to stenaline.co.uk, Jemima” I hear you say. Ahhh that it was so simple.
- I want to travel with just a ferry ticket, starting my journey in the UK: yes, stenaline.co.uk, click to travel to the Netherlands and find your travel dates.
- I want to travel with Sail-Rail, starting my journey in the UK: It takes 4 clicks to get here from the landing page! The easiest way to find this option has been to google “Stena Holland Harwich sail rail” which takes you to https://www.stenaline.co.uk/rail-and-sail/to-holland. The booking procedure looks identical to the one in option 1. but will give you a ticket with rail included.
- Just ferry, starting in the Netherlands. You cannot book this on the UK Stena site! Only on stenaline.nl which is one of the few Dutch transport websites with no English option. If you don’t read Dutch, google chrome offers an extension where it will translate for you. (Just watch out when picking options from drop down menus – Great Britain is Groot Brittanië)
- A fun combo of 2 and 3! The current link is https://booking.stenaline.nl/engeland/ferry-en-trein-londen and can be found by googling “stenaline nl harwich hoek van holland trein”
This also explains the currency discrepancies in the table above: on the UK site you pay in GBP and on the Dutch site you pay in euros.
If you are a cyclist your bike travels for free, but must be booked in. You can also opt for more fancy cabins, or pre-book meals for a slightly discounted rate.
GETTING THERE
Both ends have a dedicated station, Harwich International and Hoek van Holland respectively. As mentioned above there is a nominal Sailrail connection which goes directly from London Liverpool Street to Harwich International. Otherwise you will have to change trains (typically at Maningtree).
Hoek van Holland is on a metro line. To get to Rotterdam the easiest way is to take the metro to Schiedam Centrum (you can pay for this with contactless or buy a ticket at the machine on the platform), then it is a single stop on the mainline train to Rotterdam Centraal. You can pay for any journey on the Dutch rail network via contactless (by tapping in and out much like the Tube) or you can prebook tickets via the NS app – this is available in English. If you pre-book off peak tickets at least 4 days in advance you will get a 10% discount. Note that paper tickets are available at machines (easy to change into English) with a 1 euro fee.
BOARDING – PEDESTRIAN
At Hoek van Holland you cross the road from the metro stop to the main terminal building. Here your passport will be checked and you will be given your room key and a receipt with your membership number for getting Stena points for any on-board purchases. There is a (relatively long) connecting sloped enclosed corridor (think the walkway to get to a plane but steeper) that takes you to the start of the passenger decks. I think there are lifts available for people with limited mobility, but I was very glad not to be dragging a wheely suitcase up!
At Harwich you go upstairs in the station to the check-in area for foot passengers. I imagine the rest is similar, but I’ve only travelled from Harwich as a cyclist, which is quite different!
BOARDING – CYCLIST
Cyclists board with other vehicles. I had read this, but wasn’t sure what this meant and was a little concerned as I was travelling with a very heavily laden bike! From Harwich station, take the lift down to the car park from the connecting bridge. I got quite lost trying to find my way, but thankfully there were lots of staff around to point me in the correct direction. Once you have found your way, you go through a tollbooth to show your passport and collect your room keycard (you do have to queue up with cars here). Then it is time for boarding!
The staff directed me to a special queue for cyclists (I was the only one). Boarding was via a relatively steep ramp up, then curving around (very multistory carpark vibes), then onto the ferry. The woman directing traffic was very kind and told me that she wouldn’t send any cars up the ramp until I had made it, so to take my time and not feel under any pressure. I was happy to have a headlight and helmet – the surfaces were pretty uneven and it was dark by the time I was boarding. There were staff to direct you at any point where it would be possible to get lost.
Once on board there is an area with metal fencing and rope for you to lash your bike to on the main car deck. I also clipped on with bungees. You can take as much or as little luggage with you as you like, access during the crossing is limited to staff so most other cyclists left their bikes pretty laden. The crossing was very smooth and I couldn’t see any sign that my bike had moved overnight.
FACILITIES ONBOARD
Now you are onboard! There are 2 cabin decks and one entertainment/restaurant deck.
Cabins: I have booked a solo inside cabin and been upgraded to a bunk bed inside cabin both times. The cabins all have en-suite shower and toilets with towels and basic shower gel. There are UK and EU plug sockets, although the ones near the bed are EU so it’s worth having your adapter to hand if necessary. The beds are pretty comfortable and for one person there is lots of room to unpack/repack your bag. There is a TV with UK/Dutch channels and the extremely funny (to me) hybrid radio + video channels where you can watch the view from the bridge and listen to Radio 2 party anthems or watch a video of the animals in the kennels while listening to Radio 4. Free wifi is available (although coverage may be lost during the journey) and don’t forget to turn off your data because it gets very expensive at sea! In the morning there is a very early wake up call (Don’t Worry – Be Happy) and announcements about breakfast timings.
Food/entertainment: There is a restaurant, bar and one or two coffee bars on board. Prices are what you would expect (not that cheap but reasonable). There is an evening dinner service and morning full breakfast options, with lighter alternatives. There is a children’s play area, a fancier lounge, some duty free shopping and a cinema. This comes at an additional cost of 8.50 EUR (and for both crossings the late film was the newest Indiana Jones). There is an open deck at the stern (rear) of the ship which had more of a party vibe. Honestly, I usually spend most of the crossing in bed, especially given the early start the next day, but it’s nice to be able to have a hot/alcoholic beverage and a snack if needed.
DISEMBARKATION
Foot passengers: pretty similar to boarding – you exit via an air bridge to the terminal building. Here your passport will be checked again (this time border control rather than Stena agents) and you are free to leave! Annoyingly the disembarkation is timed perfectly to watch the first train to London depart as you run down the stairs.
Cyclists: Again a reverse of boarding. Cyclists go to the car deck shortly after car drivers to sort themselves out and cycle off the ferry when they are ready. Border control is at a drive through booth. There are sometimes special lanes/queues for cyclists, but these also merge randomly with cars so be on the look out! If you want to take the metro technically you are supposed to wait until 9am, but I snuck on before that (shhh).
FINAL THOUGHTS
The ferry is a smooth and easy way to make the crossing, and the Hoek van Holland – Hawrich route doesn’t penalise solo travellers by only having 2 person cabins. The prices are comparable to an evening Eurostar from Rotterdam to London, and also include decent accommodation. I can leave Eindhoven at 6.30pm, comfortably make the evening sailing and arrive in London for a 9.30am work meeting. It also feels fun and glamorous in a way that Eurostar used to feel pre-Brexit, and makes the journey part of the adventure rather than something to be endured. Both as a foot and bike passenger you aren’t treated like an after thought. I would strongly recommend the Stenaline ferry and I predict I will be taking it lots in the future!
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