One-day trip from the Netherlands to Newcastle
Do you dream of visiting the UK in a flash while staying in the Netherlands? You’ll say it’s impossible! But nothing is impossible for us 😉 Just rent a car (e.g. at https://www.avis.nl) and go to the ferry to Newcastle. Below is our plan for a one-day escapade from the Netherlands to Newcastle.
Car rental and ferry reservation
If you are in the Netherlands, but without your own car, you can rent a car, for example, in avis.nl, choosing pick-up at a convenient location in Amsterdam or another Dutch city. Be sure to inform the rental company about our planned ferry crossing and travel to the UK to obtain the appropriate documents and cross-border insurance. Choose a comfortable, economical model, because you will have a really intense day.
Book your DFDS Seaways tickets in advance from IJmuiden to Newcastle. To get the most out of your time, it is best to choose a night cruise both in one direction and the other. Then we can relax and we have all day to explore Newcastle. The ferry connection takes about 10 hours.
Travel plan
After leaving the ferry, we head straight to the center of Newcastle, where you must definitely visit the impressive Tyne Bridge and the picturesque Quayside Quay. Also worth seeing is the symbolic Angel of the North (Angel of the North), a monumental sculpture standing on a hill. After lunch in one of the restaurants on Gray Street, considered the most beautiful street in the UK, we head to Newcastle Castle. Newcastle Castle is a 12th-century Normandy stronghold that gave the city its name and is its oldest preserved building, offering tourists the opportunity to visit medieval chambers, dungeons and enjoy panoramic views of the city from its stone walls. Then we can also stroll through the historical center of the city. Another point on our map is Jesmond Dene – a picturesque park on the outskirts of the city. History lovers should visit Hadrian’s Wall in Wallsend. Hadrian’s Wall is the eastern end of the famous Roman fortifications of the 2nd century AD, where the Segedunum – a preserved Roman fort from a museum, where we have the opportunity to see original foundations, reconstructions of Roman buildings and exhibitions of artifacts from this UNESCO monument is located. If there is still time, we can go for the last souvenir shopping in Eldon Square shopping center. And certainly tired, but full of impressions, we can go on the return ferry to the Netherlands.
Practical tips
To make our trip nice and stress-free, it is worth checking whether we have a valid passport and ID card (for EU citizens), an international driving license before leaving. Remember to rent a car about all documents, read the current entry regulations to the UK after Brexit. When renting a car with AVIS.nl, it is worth choosing a package without a kilometer limit, and consider additional insurance for the time of the ferry crossing. Remember that there is left-hand traffic in the UK. Also, do not forget to book a booth on the ferry both ways so you can relax before and after the tour.
Certainly this one-day trip from the Netherlands to Newcastle is a real challenge, but as you can see it can be realized 😉 so we can connect two European countries in one short adventure.