Skip to content

North Sea

Newcastle to IJmuiden, and into North Holland.

It sails at 17:00 and docks around 09:45 Dutch time, which is 15 h 45 actually aboard and later than most overnight boats, so day one starts after lunch. The Felison Terminal is at IJmuiden, about 30 km short of Amsterdam.

BritainHarwichHook of HollandHullRotterdamNewcastleIJmuiden

Timetables checked August 2026, and how they are checked

15 h 45at sea1sailing a day1night aboardYear roundDFDS

The crossing

It sails at five and docks the next morning at a quarter to ten.

Operator
DFDS
Sailings
Daily, overnight only; cabin compulsory
Crossing
About 15 h 45One night aboard on the usual schedule.
Accommodation
Cabin compulsory, included in the fareFares are quoted per person on a shared standard cabin. Private cabins run up to Commodore De Luxe.
Runs both ways
IJmuiden to Newcastle sails at 17:30It docks on the Tyne around 09:15, with the hour handed back on the clock.
Check-in
Opens at 14:00 and vehicle lanes close at 16:15 for the 17:00 sailing, 16:45 at IJmuiden. Royal Quays is on the north bank, so the Tyne Tunnel on the A19 is only on your road in if you're coming from the south. From Edinburgh, Glasgow or the north there's no tunnel to allow for.
Gas bottles
Up to three butane or propane cylinders, 47 kg between them, for lighting, cooking or heating only. Valves shut and the cylinders secured. DFDS wants them stated at check-in. DFDS states this differently on different route pages, so confirm the figure for your own sailing when you book.
Pets
Three ways to do it, and all three are booked and charged the same: £30 per pet each way for a pet-friendly cabin, a dog-friendly kennel, or leaving the pet in the vehicle. The cabins take up to two medium dogs and have vinyl floors. There's a dog deck open most of the crossing, closed briefly early morning for cleaning. You can't sit in the vehicle at sea, but you can ask at Guest Services to visit, which is granted or not depending on how the crossing is running. Over fifteen hours, the cabin is the kinder booking.Paperwork: an EU pet passport or a GB Animal Health Certificate, a microchip, and a rabies vaccination at least 21 days old. A dog also needs a vet-administered tapeworm treatment 24 to 120 hours before it comes back into Great Britain. An Animal Health Certificate has to come from an official vet within ten days of travel, so it's booked well before the crossing is.
Book with
DFDS (opens in a new tab)Fares and availability live with the operator, not here.

Seasons, weather and operators all move these, so confirm with the operator before you book.

Getting there

Leeds is 1 h 40 away, London 4 h 30.

Typical driving hours to Newcastle with light traffic
Starting fromDriving hours
Leeds1 h 40
Edinburgh2 h
Manchester2 h 30
Glasgow2 h 40
Liverpool3 h
Birmingham3 h 50
London4 h 30

Ashore

You land in North Holland with the morning peak already over.

You're on the A22 and then the A9 within about ten minutes, and docking at 09:45 puts you on the road after the Randstad rush hour rather than in it. Haarlem is twenty minutes, the Zandvoort dunes about thirty, Amsterdam thirty-five, and the A9 onto the A1 reaches Utrecht in under an hour. IJmuiden is worth an hour before you go anywhere: the sea locks are the largest in the world and Wijk aan Zee beach is minutes from the gate.

Still asked

You lose the morning, and an older diesel loses Amsterdam.

Most of the morning. A 09:45 landing plus the queue off the ramp puts you on the road towards midday, so plan the first night within about two hours of IJmuiden and save the long leg for day two. The compensation is that you sleep a full night and land after the worst of the traffic.

Amsterdam's environmental zone requires a Euro 5 or better diesel, and older campers are turned away. There's a day-exemption portal at around 25 euros a day. The easier answer for a van is to stay on a campsite outside the zone and take the bus or train in, which is what most people end up doing anyway given city parking.

It's marketed as a mini cruise, and Friday and Saturday sailings can be lively well into the night. Midweek sailings are noticeably quieter, which is worth a look if you're hoping to sleep before a driving day.

Free to share

Send this to whoever is coming

Newcastle to IJmuiden in one page: the times, the sailings, the port and the first hour ashore. Free to read, no account needed.

https://quietroute.io/reference/ferries/newcastle-ijmuiden
ShareFacebook (opens in a new tab)

The crossing is one line of the trip

Quiet Route plans the rest. The overnights, the days between, the budget. One screen, under a minute.

Plan my trip

£28 a year. Full refund within 14 days if you bought on the web.