If you're heading to Holland or northern Germany then there are far worse things to do than test out your sea legs and hop on the ferry.

The Stena Line route from Harwich to the Hook of Holland.

There's two sailings in each direction each day - both are good, but i'd certainly recommend doing the night sailing as it's cheap accommodation and you don't waste precious daytime travelling in the middle of the North Sea.

The ferry departs out of Harwich International at 11.15pm, with time for a reasonable kip on board and a full english breakfast before cruising into port at 7.45am Dutch time.






The boats themselves are far from the cross European ferries frequented by Larry Lamb and Kate O'Mara on the legendary TV drama Triangle.  Go on, you remember it...

They're big boats - with room for hundreds of cars and lorries plus more than 1,000 passengers.

The passenger deck is spacious and well equipped. It contains two restaurants, a couple of bars plus a cinema, internet room, shop and casino.

Outside there's a open air bar (funnily enough not open in late November) and even a cage for football and basketball.

For night sailings, it's compulsory to buy a cabin and these come in a variety of shapes and sizes, beginning at under £30 a night and they are more than respectable. Think of  a small Travelodge room on a boat and you won't be far out.



The night ferry from Holland departs the Hook at 10.30pm and pitches up at Harwich International at 6.30am.
If a day sailing floats your boat it leaves Harwich at 9am, arriving in the Netherlands at 4.45pm, with the return sailing from 2pm to 8.30pm. You can amuse yourself on deck but cabins are available for a quick kip at a vastly reduced rate.

Currently Stena Line are running a great Rail and Sail deal. It means you can leave London Liverpool Street at 7pm (or any rail station in that area), and also have an onward journey to your final rail destination in the Netherlands  thrown into your overall bill, and it's significantly cheaper than buying them separately.

Harwich International Station is between 75 minutes and an hour and a half from Liverpool Street station, with a handful of trains making the journey direct but most trips require a quick change at Manningtree. The station is handily right next to the Stena terminal - hop off the train and you're straight into the departure lounge.

For evening departures it's common to board from 8.30pm to take advantage of the on board facilities before setting sail.



At the other end of the operation it's similarly convenient for rail passengers. Hoek van Holland train station is 100 yards from the Stena Line terminal, and a shuttle train runs through half a dozen local stops to reach Rotterdam Central Station in a little over half an hour. From there, you can connect easily to Amsterdam, The Hague (that's Den Haag to you and me), Eindhoven and a number of other Dutch destinations.

Good fun. I'd recommend it.