Harwich to the hook

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Hi all

Leaving the UK again this weekend, sailing from Harwich to the hook of Holland on Sunday. Has anybody done this trip recently with any advice?

Any place recommendations to stay would be great. Either side of the water. Heading towards Amsterdam and hamburg after the boat to see friends then down through Germany towards Austria and ending up in Italy for a couple of months. Then driving home for Christmas.

Cheers
 
We are booked on the 9am sailing on Sunday Harwich to Hook of Holland. Hoping for a smooth crossing following on from a rough crossing on the Bay of Biscay last year. If your on the same boat, we are travelling in our Elddis Autoquest 196 to the Baltic States. Bon voyage!
 
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Not been for I think 4 years. Give yourself plenty of time to get from the A12 at Colchester or Ipswich and Manningtree to Parkeston Quay, as the last few miles can be very slow. Crossing itself is usually very good. Usual services on the ferry and the food has varied from awful to excellent. Take care coming off the other side as it's easy to end up on the wrong side of the road until you pick up the A20 after which it's a doddle.
 
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Sailed from Harwich 3 weeks ago, stayed the night before onHarbour Cresent, near the redoubt fort, lovely peaceful night, no problems. Macy’s in the morning for breakfast then onto ferry. As somebody else said get yourself a Stenna loyalty card.

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We are booked on the 9am sailing on Sunday Harwich to Hook of Holland. Hoping for a smooth crossing following on from a rough crossing on the Bay of Biscay last year. If your on the same boat, we are travelling in our Elddis Autoquest 196 to the Baltic States. Bon voyage!
That's the boat we are on. I'll come say hello if I see you. Here's hoping for a duck pond on the crossing!
 
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If you're going on Stena it might be worth joining their club on line for good offers in their duty free shop.
You can stay on the roadside in Harwich and there . We stayed here at the Hook https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/markerMobile.php?id=38136
Just signed up, thanks for the recommendation
 
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Done the crossing a year ago and paid a wee bit extra for the Captains cabin deal - well worth the money with separate bedroom, lounge and ensuite shower and toilet. Free wine and snacks made the crossing very comfortable.
 
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Harbour crescent is prob quieter than the ferry port itself and about ten minutes to the port. Mistley/Manningtree is about 30 mins away and you can park right alongside the river but there are lots of geese likely to ensure you wake up early lol!
 
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Hi all

Leaving the UK again this weekend, sailing from Harwich to the hook of Holland on Sunday. Has anybody done this trip recently with any advice?

Any place recommendations to stay would be great. Either side of the water. Heading towards Amsterdam and hamburg after the boat to see friends then down through Germany towards Austria and ending up in Italy for a couple of months. Then driving home for Christmas.

Cheers
We crossed on the 24th April day crossing stayed at the port the night before no issues there. When we landed in The Netherlands 17.15 local time in the rain which made navigating Rotterdam interesting.
We stayed at www.campingophoopvanzegen.nl/ approx 45 mins from the port. It’s on search 4 sites

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Hi all

Leaving the UK again this weekend, sailing from Harwich to the hook of Holland on Sunday. Has anybody done this trip recently with any advice?

Any place recommendations to stay would be great. Either side of the water. Heading towards Amsterdam and hamburg after the boat to see friends then down through Germany towards Austria and ending up in Italy for a couple of months. Then driving home for Christmas.

Cheers
Hope you have a visa if you are staying that long as you are only allowed 90 days in Schengen area 🤔😊
 
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We're crossing on the Saturday night and heading for Poland. We usually cross on the Tunnel so this is quite different. Hopefully with a cabin and meals it will feel a bit more like a cruise..... A 12 hour one.
We will look up the loyalty club but we've only travelled on Stena about 3 times in the last 5 years.
 
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You've had all the advice on parking and the ship in general but as you're going to Amsterdam I would continue north and stay on the A7 and cross the Afsluitdijk before heading to Hamburg, very scenic and there's viewpoints and a halfway stop for coffee.

1747319923324.webp
 
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You've had all the advice on parking and the ship in general but as you're going to Amsterdam I would continue north and stay on the A7 and cross the Afsluitdijk before heading to Hamburg, very scenic and there's viewpoints and a halfway stop for coffee.

View attachment 1056630
I like this idea. Do you know if it's mostly toll roads on the main routes in Holland? Or the Netherlands as a whole?
 
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We are regulars on this crossing.
We usually take the night boat, so when you arrive at 8am, once you have cleared customs you can be well into Germany by lunchtime.

We usually stay first night &/or last night at Delfsehout campsite which is within half a mile walk of central Delft and 40mins from the ferry.
(You can also park motorhomes on the street outside the campsite if you are not staying the night.)

We also do do our first/last shopping at Albert Heijn which is 100m from the ferry terminal, car park will take motorhomes.

Getting on the ship, you queue in lanes. There is a reception with loo's, and a vending machine.
You will be told to switch off your gas.

I would also disable your alarm and tracker and immobiliser, as we have found it thinks the vehicle has been moved without the engine being on, and so activates. The problem is there is very little signal inside a ship, so it can take a while to deactivate the immobiliser whilst the people behind you are unable to move ....

Once you get off the ship, you will be directed into a queue, there are 4 lanes, those on the right are for EU passports and move faster.
We have found it best to be in the left hand lane, as you have a view over the port whilst you are waiting, which can take an hour or more.
 
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