How to NL

International ferries

North Sea

Passenger ferries to England, across the North Sea/English Channel (from north to south along the coast of Continental Europe):

• IJmuiden (west of Amsterdam) – Newcastle upon Tyne (England) with DFDS Seaway. Foot passengers and vehicles.
  1. There is a coach/bus service between IJmuiden and Amsterdam, and between North Shields Port and Newcastle.
  2. In IJmuiden, there is also bus 82 connecting the ferry terminal to Amsterdam Sloterdijk (limited service; journey planner, input 'Sluisplein DFDS, IJmuiden' as the origin/destination).
• Hoek van Holland (west of Rotterdam) – Harwich (England) with Stena Line. Foot passengers and vehicles. Hoek van Holland terminal is served by the Hoek van Holland Haven station, and Harwich terminal is served by the Harwich International train station. (Nb: the railway between Rotterdam Centraal and Hoek van Holland is currently being rebuilt into Rotterdam Metro line B. Replacement buses 711 (fast) and 713 (very slow) are running between Hoek van Holland and Schiedam Centrum, which is one station west of Rotterdam Centraal.)
  1. There is also a Rail & Sail package (tickets from England, tickets from the Netherlands; note that the Netherlands webpage in English does not necessarily work properly). See here.
  2. In Hoek van Holland, another option is bus 31 to Den Haag Leyenburg, and then tram 4 or 6 or other buses to other destinations in Den Haag (The Hague). You might find it useful to read about public transport in The Hague region (Haaglanden streek), The Hague and satellites (Haaglanden stad + Den Haag), and Rotterdam. (Or just use this general journey planner).
• Rotterdam Europoort – Hull (England) with P&O Ferries. Foot passengers and vehicles.
  1. There is a coach service between Rotterdam Europoort and Rotterdam, and between Hull Port and Hull. (There is no public transport anywhere near the Europoort P&O terminal.)
• Zeebrugge (Belgium) – Hull (England) with P&O Ferries. Foot passengers and vehicles.
  1. There is a coach service between Zeebrugge terminal and Brugge, and between Hull Port and Hull. (Walking from the Zeebrugge ferry terminal to train/tram/bus stops in Zeebrugge is not recommended; the port area is busy with trucks, and pedestrian facilities are not great.)
• Dunkerque (Dunkirk; France) – Dover (England) with DFDS Seaway. Vehicles (incl. bicycles) and their passengers. (No public transport to Dunkerque port.)
• Calais (France) – Dover (England) with DFDS Seaway (Vehicles (incl. bicycles) and their passengers) or P&O Ferries (foot passengers and vehicles). (No public transport to Calais port; "30-minute walk to Calais town centre or Calais Ville station".)

For drivers and motorcyclists going between Calais/Dunkirk and Benelux, you might want to read the section on road tolls and environmental zones in the driving page for French road tolls.

Other than the passenger services outlined above, which can also take freight, there are also the following freight-only or freight-oriented services for trucks and their drivers between Netherlands/Belgium and Britain/Scandinavia. Some openly advertise that they have limited space for passenger vehicles and their occupants. As for the others, I suppose you can ask them if you are very interested in the possibility of them taking passenger vehicles, and see what they say.

• Rotterdam Vlaardingen – Immingham (England) with DFDS.
• Rotterdam Vlaardingen – Flexistowe (England) with DFDS.
• Hoek van Holland – Killingholme (England) with Stena Line.
• Rotterdam Europoort – Teesport (England) with P&O Ferries.
• Rotterdam Europoort – Killingholme (England) with Stena Line.
• Rotterdam Europoort – Harwich (England) with Stena Line.
• Moerdijk > Oslo > Moss > Moerdijk with Viasea.
• Several Netherlands – Norway routes with DFDS.
• Gent (Belgium) – Gothenburg (Sweden) with DFDS.
• Gent (Belgium) – Brevik (Norway) with DFDS.
• Zeebrugge (Belgium) – Teesport (England) with P&O Ferries.
• Zeebrugge (Belgium) – Tilbury (England) with P&O Ferries.

Germany

Ferries to Germany across the Ems-Dollard Estuary/Wadden Sea (from north to south):

• Eemshaven – Borkum (Germany) with AG Ems. Foot passengers and vehicles. In summer, car traffic is restricted on Borkum. Ferry passengers get a free ride on the Borkumer Kleinbahn. Eemshaven has a train station since 2018.
• Delfzijl – Emden (Germany) – Ditzum (Germany) with Dollard Route. Foot passengers and bicycles. Operates in summer.

Belgium

Ferries to Belgium across the Maas (from north to south):

• Ohé en Laak – Ophoven (Flanders) with Rondje met het Pondje. Foot passengers and bicycles. Timetable. Operates in summer.
• Grevenbicht – Rotem (Flanders) with Rondje met het Pondje. Foot passengers and bicycles. Timetable. Operates in summer.
• Berg aan de Maas – Meeswijk (Flanders) with Ton Paulus Veerbedrijf. Mopeds, motorcycles, cars, trucks. Timetable.
• Geulle – Uikhoven (Flanders) with Rondje met het Pondje. Foot passengers and bicycles. Operates in summer.
• Eijsden – Lanaye (Wallonia) with the Cramignon. Foot passengers and bicycles. Operates in summer.

You can see a list of all public foot passenger/bicycle/motor-vehicle ferries in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg at Vrienden van de Voetveren.

In Europe, there are numerous river cruises to/from Belgium and Germany, some even to/from France, Switzerland, and further (e.g. canal tours to/from the Danube). In the Caribbean, there are numerous cruise ships that visit Bonaire (see schedule there). See also details from the tourism websites of Sint Eustatius and Saba about how to get there.