Brit who took £28 bus from UK to Amsterdam says it was 'like a private taxi'
A man has revealed he found a 12-hour bus journey that gets you from the UK to Amsterdam for less than £30 - and it felt "like getting a private taxi".
On the European continent a Flixbus is a common sight. The German company was founded just 12 years ago but now serves more than 3,000 destinations in more than 40 countries, and is increasingly running services from UK hubs including Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and London. Tom Burnett decided to give the service a whirl earlier this month, reporting his experience for Cambridgeshire Live.
Currently the firm is selling tickets from the park and ride just outside Cambridge to Amsterdam for just £27.99 one way, with the option to keep the seat next to you empty for an extra £13.99. In comparison, most return flights from London to the Dutch capital in October and November cost around £120.
The bus departed from Trumpington Park and Ride in Cambridge (Tom Burnett/CambridgeshireLive)Tom said that "booking was easy enough online" and that he could choose his seat in advance at no extra charge - although it was £13.99 to keep the seat next to you empty. "This is a really good feature," he said. "It might help some less confident travellers who are catching the bus alone feel safer knowing they're not going to be sitting next to a stranger for the entire journey. Not me though, I just forked out the extra because I'm a bit anti-social and invariably end up getting stuck next to someone who doesn't understand that 2am is rarely 'start chatting to strangers' time."
Although the bus originally was fairly busy, Tom said it was about a quarter full after a few stops in London, meaning he had plenty of space for the majority of the journey. He added: "I imagine the service might be busier in summer but as we raced down towards Dover it occurred to me this did not seem like many people at all. Nor the crowd I was expecting. I thought the bus might be more full of students looking for a day or two away from university but this was not the case."
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Describing the coach as "not raucous and was exceptionally peaceful", he said it was ideal for those "looking for a quieter way to get to Amsterdam and have the time to spare".
As for the seats? According to Tom they're "as comfortable as you might expect", although not perfect for falling asleep in instantly. Customers also have access to largely reliable wi-fi for no additional cost and a USB charging slow.
At Dover passengers have their passports checked and are given a free meal voucher to use on the ferry, entitling him to a meal and drink. Tom boarded shortly before midnight and headed up to the passenger deck to redeem his free dinner. He warned that queues had quickly formed, even at 11.50pm.
Opting for fish and chips, he said: "It wasn't bad. It's free food on a ferry. It tasted fine. There was a massive queue still by the time I had finished my meal, about the same time the boat pulled away from Dover. So I went down a deck to the other café at the back of the ferry and had a pint and a wander on the outside deck of the ship as it chugged across the English Channel in the early hours."
Twelve hours later the bus made it to Amsterdam (Getty Images/iStockphoto)After a 90-minute ride across the Channel the coach made its way through parts of northern France, Belgium and finally the Netherlands. The lights were dimmed and the noise levels kept low on the vehicle, allowing most passengers to snooze their way to Amsterdam.
"The next thing I knew we were in Antwerp, Belgium where a number of passengers had got off. I nodded off again before we crossed the Dutch border and arrived in Utrecht. Due to the Schengen agreement there are no border controls between any of these countries, so if you're a heavy enough sleeper you can travel from Calais to Amsterdam and enjoy a good rest," Tom added.
The Flixbus eventually made it to the Dutch city, dropping passengers off at Sloterdijk station, which is a short train ride away from the centre. Despite a 7.55am drop-off on a Sunday, he didn't struggle to find public transport that was running, with a train ticket coming in at around €3.50. "Given you've only spent £28 to get to the Netherlands that's not too bad for the final leg. You can also walk, it would take about an hour - and you'd definitely see parts of Amsterdam tourists never see," he said.
When it came to the question of whether he'd recommend it, Tom suggested it is not the right way to travel to Amsterdam if you are after a party. "It definitely isn't a party bus - and a good thing too." If however budget is your primary concern, then it's the way to go.
"If you're looking to get to the Netherlands on the cheap, don't mind feeling a bit knackered at the end of things and aren't expecting to spend a night on the cans then this is the closest you're going to get to getting a taxi from Cambridge to Amsterdam. And, I remind you, this is for less than 30 quid," Tom concluded.
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