Europe travel guide

To Amsterdam by sea

Simon Calder, the Independent's travel editor, has taken a look at trips to Amsterdam by sea. He says: "The price of the stress-free alternative to flying is far from excessive. It works out about the same as the lowest budget air fare to Amsterdam, and with the equivalent of two nights in a budget hotel thrown in."

Simon Calder travelled from Harwich International in Essex. The ships serving the route to the Netherlands are the Stena Hollandica and, hardly surprisingly, the Stena Britannica. They are, he says, modern and well-designed, particularly compared with the ships of a generation ago which, as I know from personal experience, were pretty ghastly.

Sleeping in the bar is no longer acceptable because everyone on board has a berth - there are inside and outside cabins, the latter with the bonus of a window. For those increasingly infuriated by the hastle of flying, the sea alternative seems just the ticket. 

This article was written for TravelSavvy Europe by Bob Cartwright. If you know of an interesting European travel related news story, please get in contact.