Expert: Michael - 3/24/2008

Question
QUESTION: Greetings!
  We are flying from Canada to Gatwick arriving 10 am and wish to travel over to friends near Rotterdam.  We could only find flights to amsterdam (not Rotterdam).  Easyjet was suggested to us.
   Alternatevely our friends mentioned a ferry from Dover to Hook of Holland.  I cannot find any reference to this ferry.  Only Harwich to Hook of Holland.  What do you suggest?  We will be returning to England on May 5 to camp for several weeks.
         Thanks kindly!

ANSWER: Hi Kathrine,
Thanks for your email.

I'm afraid you are right in your research - there are no direct flights from Gatwick to Rotterdam. You have a few options in this case.
Firstly, you could transfer to another UK airport - there are direct flights from London Heathrow, London Stansted and London City airports to Rotterdam - you can find more information on websites such as www.cheapflights.co.uk . If you are looking to travel between airports, there are direct coach services (see www.nationalexpress.co.uk ), or you can take connecting train services through Central London (see www.nationalrail.co.uk )

Alternatively, you may prefer to fly to Amsterdam, as you indicated, and seek onward travel from there.

As for ferries, the nearest option to Gatwick is the Harwich service. It would take between 2 and 3 hours to travel from Gatwick to Harwich to meet the ferry service, which itself takes just over 6 hours to reach Hook of Holland. For more information see www.stenaline.co.uk

I hope that this information is helpful - if you need further advice, feel free to contact me again.

Michael

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Michael,

  Very helpful!!   Thank you!!    One more thought... yesterday someone mentioned the "chunnel" to me.  Is there a train from Gatwick through the tunnel and eventually to Rotterdam?  How long would this take? After an overnight flight, would it make sense to travel all the way by train or would you recommend flying instead?

         Thanks kindly,     Kathrine

Answer
Hello Kathrine,

Well, I'll make a confession here - the thought of a through rail journey hadn't even crossed my mind! I still completely forget that we're now connected to the continent; something to do with the psychology of being British, I think, haha!

Sadly, there is nothing direct from Gatwick to mainland Europe. There are however connecting services if you are interested in this route.
From Gatwick you would take a direct train to London St Pancras International station in the heart of London. That journey takes approximately 45 minutes. That is where you can pick up an international rail service to Bruxelles in Belgium. From there, I'm afraid, you would have to take another connecting service onwards to Rotterdam. The total journey time would be between 5½ and six hours.

You can look up timetabled connection times using the European rail travel timetable on the Deutsch Bahn website at
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?newrequest=yes&protocol=http:&

If you want to purchase tickets in advance, you may be best purchasing them in the US before you travel from a group like RailEurope
http://www.raileurope.com/us/index.htm

Alternatively, you can look at fares from London to Rotterdam at www.eurostar.com , noting that your connecting fare from Gatwick into London will add an extra £10 - £15 per person ($20-$30)

I hope that this extra information helps you to make the best decision for your travels. As ever, feel free to ask a further question if need be.

Regards
Michael