 Poster: A snowHead
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The decision to have 3 weeks in Austria in January 2010 has been reached and I will drive out and back with all the gear while the others slum it on Easyjet!
Driving down from near Glasgow and planning to take overnight ferry from Newcastle- Amsterdam or Hull- Zeebrugge as an alternative. Will get the ferry on a Friday night and will drive from about 9am on the Saturday. Planning to get to Zell am See on the Saturday night with a good 2 hour stop in the middle
Any  have any experience of either ferry or any particular comments or suggestions about them or the roads from either port. I have Satnav in the car so no worries about navigation - just looking for tips on any parts to avoid. I know the road well from Munich to Zell so no concerns about that part of the drive.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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robboj, the ferry is no longer a cheapish option from Newcastle apparently. It has supposedly gone upmarket and doesn't offer cheap cabins anymore. I can't comment on this, but it came from my brother-in-law who travels regularly on it from Amsterdam to Newcaslte to visit us.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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robboj,
I've done the Newcastle Amsterdam and the old Rosyth Zeebrugge but driving to France.
The NewcastelAmsterdam is a good ferry. Dont underestimate the time it will take to get from Paisley to Newcastle though. The ferry is the other side of Necastle and you have to drive round it to get there. When I went it took for ever to get through Glasgow and we bloody nearly missed the ferry.
Never been on the Hull ferry but its a long drive. Getting through Zeebrugge is a bit easier than getting out of Ijmuiden and its two hours closer to France notsure of the differences heading for Austria though.
There is a reinstalled Rosyth Zeebrugge ferry but it doesn't run from Rosyth on a Friday though.
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robboj, Probably better driving another 5 hours to the Tunnel from Newcastle and stopping over night in Calais. We've done the Newcastle/Amsterdam ferry on a Friday and it was a bit like a floating nightclub....was about 5 years ago so could have changed now!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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R32, I think that is perhaps why it has gone upmarket? I don't know, but prices seen high now
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Helen Beaumont, Yes that's probably why..........and I was really seasick too  Not looked at the prices lately but it was really cheap when we went.
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robboj, Done the Hull to Zeebruge and/or Rotterdam many times. If i was driving to Austria I would use the Hull to Rotterdam for the later departure (each way) and the slightly shorter drive to Austria. If you use P&0 go through Quidco for a cashback & PM me and I will see if I have a discount code you can 'double dip' with as well (can't remember if it was a poorly policed one I used or if you needed a membership number).
On the 2 trips I used H to R this season the boat had the usual minicruise crowd on but it didn't cause a problem (though the couple travelling with us on one trip asked to be moved to a quieter room, and were).
At all costs avoid a return via Rotterdam on a weekday or allow an extra couple of hours on the drive!
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Thanks folks,
Helen Beaumont, Thanks for the tip re prices, not too worried about costs although can't get a price for my dates for either yet as they are too far ahead. As long as it's not outrageous i'll go for it as the plane will probably be cheaper anyway, however I'm looking forward to just taking what I like in kit and supplies and just loading it up, it's a LR Discovery so plenty of room. Plus it's all a bit of an adventure!
On benefit of me having all the gear is that the flights for the others in the party are all only circa £50 each return as they will have hand luggage only!
T Bar, thanks for the tip, if I use Newcastle I'll probably go via Carlisle and cut south of the city before I get there, will be away from Glasgow in plenty time also. Noticed new ferry from Rosyth but sailing time is 22hrs and arrives in Zeebrugge at 2pm which means a long nightime drive and probably another overnight stop, so ruled that out anyway. Looking at AA routeplanner Zeebrugge is about 25km further and 10 min longer so not a lot in it apart from the added distance to Hull at this side, if it is much cheaper it will be worth it.
R32, cheers, but Calais to Zell is another 120km that side plus all the extra this side, tbh I dont fancy that even if the Chunnel was cheapest!
midgetbiker, Cheers for that, once the dates are released by the ferry companies I'll PM you for details, looks like it could be Hull from a cost point of view but we'll see. Will be back overnight on Saturday 30th Jan so should be OK.
Any further ideas folks please let me know?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Done Glasgow- Hull-Zeebruge ferry & onto Les Arcs in July. Can strongly recommend this route, although it is a long drive through France. Didn't fancy the Rosyth-Zeebruge route because of the late arrival time. As long as you're not time restricted it's a very pleasant & relaxing way to get to the continent. Certainly beats red eye airport departures. However you do have to factor in the drive to & from Hull which effectively wipes out a working day at either end of the holiday. The summer crossing was smooth, but in January be prepared for storms.
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Have done Hull Zeebrugge many times in summer. Nice[ish] civilised[ish] start to the trip - have lots of fun working out how long it takes to get through the lock at Hull. Never have had any probs driving to or from either port particularly - the road round the south of Hull can be a little bit congested in the evening, so give yourself time for a slowish rush hour drive round.
We have never been particularly keen to drive all the way to Dover or the tunnel, mainly because you've gotta get round 'that London' and TBH would rather drive on potholey Belgian 2 lane motorways looking at the double-ar5ed cows after a nice night's sleep than trying to negotiate the M25 car park.
The cabins are ok, and we've been picnicking it, as the all you can eat buffet thing started to be a bit dull, and there is only so much treacle sponge and custard a woman can stuff in her face.
The journey back is also good as the evening departure gives you a day to get there - we've found that quite helpful. Usually travel back on the Saturday evening, so if you had time, some of the coastal resorts are pleasant enough [of course you will have gale blown lockdown in winter, but it is nice in summer]. Brugges is worth a stop if you fancy a bit of culture for an afternoon, and only takes about 30 mins to get to the port.
If you are taking top boxes, watch your vehicle height - they do like to stiff you.
Hope this is of use.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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robboj, Did Glasgow to Kaprun a couple of summers back. On the way down we drove overnight to Dover - Calais then drove down to Wurzburg in Germany for an overnight stay followed by a 4/5 hour drive the following day. On the way back we drove all the way to Rotterdam in the one go (12 hours) and caught the overnight ferry to Hull. Would definitely do the overnight crossing again. We've been driving to Europe for years now - usually France but since discovering the overnight Hull crossing, I reckon that's the best for us - we did Hull to Zeebrugge both ways last year for a summer holiday in France.
I would reckon that you should always budget for 50 miles per hour, eg a 500 mile journey should take 10 hours, allowing for stops and traffic jams, of which there are many in our experience in the Autobahns. Don't know if it would be worth exploring the route via France for part of it as the French roads are a hell of a lot quieter than the German ones. Glasgow to Hull around 4.5 hours taking it relatively easy.
My advice is to cut out as much of the driving south of Lancaster as possible as the roads in the UK get so busy. If this means driving through the night to avoid, then worth considering as long as you and someone else can share driving. You might also need to take account of the sheer numbers of Germans that will be going to Austria - even in summer the roads coming into Austria, and when we left, were jammed. From memory the roads towards Salzburg from Munich were jammed even at around 7 in morning when we passed.
Although it is a long journey from our neck of the woods I would do it again (I did it with 3 kids aged 4 7 and 10 at time).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Zeebrugge for France and Geneva entry to Switzerland
Europoort (Rotterdam) For North and Eastern Switzerland, and Austria.
The Europoort sailing goes at 9pm local time and Zeebrugge 7pm.
If on a budget then take a picnic. The ships are now smoke free which is much nicer.
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The Rosyth -> Zeebrugge ferry restarts mid May.
Would recommend all Scots to support it ! 
Drive on the ferry, have a beer, then wake up in Belgium - winner...
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You know it makes sense.
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Haggis_Trap,
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Would recommend all Scots to support it !
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Trouble is the timetable like the last ferry when they took away daily crossings is designed more for continental holiday makers visiting Scotland than the other way round there are no Friday sailings from Scotland or Saturday/ Sunday ones from Belgium thus ensuring that you have to take extra leave or shorten your stay. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Hi there
we live in Newcastle and went from Ncl to Imjulend or however you spell it in the school half term Feb 09. There were 2 adults and 3 children and we took our car. Because they only do a 4 bedroomed we had to get 2 rooms. In total it cost £550. I think it was an extra £60 each way for the car so if you arent taking your car it wil be less. I looked at just having a room for 2 adults and 2 children and I think it worked out about £400, It was more or less about £100 each. Make sure you take plenty food for the trip because on board it is extortionate! eg of some prices: burger and chips £15, actually they looked quite nice but we had 5 in our party so eating there was not an option, it would have been £75 for just one meal!. we took lots of sarnies and crisps etc for the kids. by the way if you have a travel kettle with you take an extension as for some reason all the sockets are about 5ft off the ground!. The breakfast we had prepaid for was absolutely minging. Everything seemed really sweet! even the sausages! it was just vile. The toast was good! the ferry gets into port at about 9.30am. the crossing was fine, wasnt sea sick, hubby thought it wuld be an adventure for the kids, butnext time we are flying! never again. Not because of the ferry crossing, as really apart from the expense it was fine but the jourey to Austria took us 12 hours! we did it one go there and stopped at Germany on the way back and added an extra day and was really pleased we did this. Also good job you have a satnav as if we hadnt of had Tom Tom with us, we would have been divorced before we reached the Germany border! As a treat on the way home we took the kids to the cinema on the ferry. which was a room with about 25 chairs and a projection. with popcorn and drink it worked out at about £60! we went to Soll by the way.
I dont know how many sites I checked ie, autoroute, google, aa route finder, etc etc before i went to see how long it would take us to get there and they all say roughly 8-10 hours but it took us 12 hours to get there on the way. The way back hubby was doing 90 in the slow lane with cars zooming past us  and it took us 6 hours to get to Frankfurt then another 6 hours to Amsterdam. we were due to come back on the Sunday ferry but I changed it so we could split our journey coming home. it cost about 100 euros for the b&b in germany and we came home on the Monday.
Our philosophy of taking the ferry was that we could cut out about 6 hours travel to calais and we would be refreshed to start our Germany in Amsterdam but the 12 hour drive definitly took it out of us!. We are flying to our next destination lol!
Good luck hope this has helped
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Poster: A snowHead
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polo99, which is why we don't bother crossing from Newcastle, I didn't think it was worth the expense. Food was OK last time we did it though.
We drive to France often by the way, but always via Calais with an overnight stop a couple of hours South of the channel.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Haggis_Trap, Have you seen the prices for the new service?? As far as i can see its no go unless you are 4 in a car, at which point it becomes viable.... Rotterdam-Hull for me next week..
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Haggis_Trap, Have you seen the prices for the new service?? As far as i can see its no go unless you are 4 in a car, at which point it becomes viable.... Rotterdam-Hull for me next week..
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Haggis_Trap wrote: |
The Rosyth -> Zeebrugge ferry restarts mid May.
Would recommend all Scots to support it !
Drive on the ferry, have a beer, then wake up in Belgium - winner... |
As has been mentioned, the price and the timing make it unworkable for many. The Hull/Zeebrugge ferry, for example, hitches up in Belgium at 9am(ish), which means you can get to much of the Alps in a day (we can get to Chamonix by 7pm in a Disco, without going mad) - the Rosyth service doesn't arrive until 2pm, so you either have an overnight drive, or a stopover. The price, for our family of three, is about £300 more on the Rosyth route, and there are fewer sailings.
Next time we drive to the Alps, it will probably be via Hull - although with more than 2 drivers, even Dover isn't so bad . . .
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| offpisteskiing wrote: |
| Haggis_Trap, Have you seen the prices for the new service?? As far as i can see its no go unless you are 4 in a car, at which point it becomes viable.... Rotterdam-Hull for me next week.. |
I used the old Rosyth-Zeebrugge Superfast ferries several times and always enjoyed the crossing (smooth even in winter). However, as you say, the new prices (£280-£350 in winter, £425 in summer) are pretty horrendous for solo drivers. It seems they only have four berth cabins. The new crossing also seems a bit slower than the original one, though that probably isn't a major problem.
Although I prefer having my own car around when I'm skiing, I think I would more likely use the easyJet Edinburgh-Munich flight nowadays (though I haven't worked out what all the extras would cost).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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robboj, I used the Hull-Zeebrugge ferry last year. It fitted in with the time window I had available. It wasnt cheap (even though i used Tesco tokens), it was delayed while they waited to load trucks, I found it surprisingly difficult to sleep so I got little rest.
It was an experience that, if I have a choice, I wont be repeating.
Good luck with your journey.
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BMF_Skier, I've always found the motion of the boat and the slight drumming of the engines very soothing, never had a problem sleeping (could be the Stella mind you).
Bit of a tip for anyone whos at all seasick is eat early, couple of drinks, then hit the sack early before your out to deep sea. Then you don't get queasy as your out cold (plus you've got a long drive tomorrow and will be losing an hour overnight).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| offpisteskiing wrote: |
| Haggis_Trap, Have you seen the prices for the new service?? As far as i can see its no go unless you are 4 in a car, at which point it becomes viable.... Rotterdam-Hull for me next week.. |
Disappointing the prices are so high...
Last winter I managed to get a return from Rosyth to Zeebrugge for £200 (booking in advance with no cabin...)
Which was reasonable and also cheaper / less hassle, than driving to south of England.
Suspect that the new price structure will have to change if the Zeebrugge to Rosyth passenger service is to survive...
The government should be encouraging people to take alternate forms of transport to aviation - such as ferries and trains? A budget £100 flight to europe will produce way more C02 than someone taking the overnight ferry & car 
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Thanks for all the tips folks,
Various thoughts going one just now - including thinking b****r this I'll just fly, but it is too late for that as it causes hassle with all the others then having to take gear and bags and haul them on trains from Munich etc..
Haven't ruled Newcastle out yet but Frosty the Snowman's suggestion of the Hull - Rotterdam route looks favourite with the best times and also being marginally the shortest continental route according to AA routeplanner.
MarjMJ, Thanks I won't have a roof box but as far as I can see the height of the Discovery attracts a higher fare anyway?
polo99, boabski, thanks I also think I will allow for 2-3 hours more than they say just to be on the safe side. Some delays are not a problem on the way out but it's a different matter having to be there on time on the way back with the check in closing at 7.30 for a 9 pm sailing.
As boabski, advises I will be away out of Zell before 7 on the Saturday morning when going home to give me the time to get to Rotterdam and drop the others off at Munich Airport on the way past, the traffic will be horrific in the other direction as I think the German mid term hols may start that weekend to add to the weekend skiing traffic. On the way out I would have thought the road from Munich would be fairly quiet from about 6 - 9pm on the Saturday night as it is not a holiday time and the weekend skiers will have arrived by the Saturday morning.
Haggis_Trap, would love to support the Rosyth ferry but, as others already said, not a single aspect of using it is convenient for my plans
BMF_Skier, Thanks for the warning but I'm never bothered with seasickness and will take the midgetbiker, suggestion of a couple of refreshments then an earlynight before we hit the rough seas 
Yellow Pyranha, definitely will only be me in the car - there and back, so, tempting though the chunnel is I just can't face the extra driving especially around London and down to Folkestone not to mention the extra 250km return on the other side compared to Rotterdam.
On that point if any wants to blag a lift? let me know.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Frosty the Snowman, Sleeper train? Was that the one involved in the mad cross Paris dash? 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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robboj, It wasnt sea sickness, just constant drone and vibration from the ships engines.
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FAQ
