Rotterdam Hull ferry: Europoort facilities and advice

[roubaixtuesday]

We're on the ferry to Hull tomorrow, planned route from Rotterdam below.

We've got quite a long day (90km) so need to leave plenty of spare time. Check in is advised to close 90 mins before the ferry leaves.

Reading between the lines there's bugger all at Europoort, so arriving early isn't very appealing.

Any experience on facilities there or cafes etc in the nearby towns (which also don't look great on a quick google)

Cheers

Planned route:

 

[mjr]

Maassluis doesn't have much and is the wrong side of a ferry away. Brielle looks to have quite a lot but I've not been there. I'd go for Oostvoorne and be aware the bridge route to the port is a bit zigzaggy but I didn't stop there.

 

[chriswoody]

I was on that ferry a few weeks back now, there is bugger all there at the port itself, however, I drove there directly so I didn't explore the locality. That said they start loading the ferry really early, I don't know exactly when, but I was there just over two hours before and the car deck was almost full, I must have been one of the last there. So you could get there early and just relax on the ferry.

One thing I did notice is that if you haven't pre-booked into any of the restaurants, they actually do quite OK pizzas in the coffee shop, they just don't advertise the fact.

 

[HelenD123]

Just get straight on the ferry.

 

[mjr]

Just get straight on the ferry.

Why? Seems a bit strange to give up the opportunity to explore another Dutch town or two in favour of high-priced ferry services. I guess the aim is to avoid being stood on the quay exposed to the sun/rain/wind/hail/snow waiting for boarding to start, which seems to happen to me every time at Harwich. At least there's a shelter and toilets, but not even anything like Dover's Costa.

 

[IaninSheffield]

Maassluis doesn't have much and is the wrong side of a ferry away. Brielle looks to have quite a lot but I've not been there. I'd go for Oostvoorne and be aware the bridge route to the port is a bit zigzaggy but I didn't stop there.

Brielle is an interesting little town with plenty of refreshment options; stopped there on my way back for the ferry last year. It is, however, 6 or 7 miles shy of the terminal - easy cycling, but keep a close eye on the signage and/or GPS so as not to end up the wrong side of a waterway. Oostvoorne definitely closer and looks to have a few options, but unfortunately didn't call in.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Ended up early boarding as Storm Lilian hit!

 

[Julia9054]

Hope you were OK. Having done the exact same journey with our bikes a week ago, we said several times to each other "I'm glad we're not on the ferry now!"

 

[HelenD123]

Why? Seems a bit strange to give up the opportunity to explore another Dutch town or two in favour of high-priced ferry services. I guess the aim is to avoid being stood on the quay exposed to the sun/rain/wind/hail/snow waiting for boarding to start, which seems to happen to me every time at Harwich. At least there's a shelter and toilets, but not even anything like Dover's Costa.

Because there's bugger all for miles around.