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Poor Pilgrim: The coach from Victoria Coach Station, London is cheapest, ( Eurolines: from £36 Return (Sep 02)), + £2 "Booking Fee" (This, it is stated, is to cover rises in "Insurance & Immigration costs"). It is a long, boring, uncomfortable journey, (12/13 hours), on the same standard type of coach they use for UK journeys, and often with several city stops in Belgium / Holland to let off passengers and one for refreshments just over the Dutch Border on the way to Amsterdam. Overnight coaches tend to arrive at between 6 and 8 am and are currently dropping off at Amstel Railway Station - get an underground ("Sneltram") train to Centraal (Central)Station from here -it`s a long walk otherwise. .(Amstel Station is towards the bottom on right hand side of city maps.) Ferry leg is about 3 hours. No smoking (of anything) on the coach. Coach has a Toilet/"Restroom" - very small -the size of that on an aircraft, and down steps -with smoke alarm for those thinking of using it for having a sly smoke !!
(In my humble opinion, having used this service several times in the past, at £38, I don`t think this is good value for money, when the lack of amenities is taken into consideration -you can fly for less than £25 more from several places in the UK - its only 45 mins from Heathrow and an hour or so from other UK Airports.-see next page.
Manchester based "Dam Express" do direct coach trips from £49 return, (but check that their pick up points are near where you live and add any expenses getting to same when calculating journey costs.) luxury coaches with Video, Sound system, Bar & WC ("Restroom" ) - and smoking. They also do accommodation and travel packages. (Never used this service but it sounds much more fun than Eurolines.) Check it out - it could save you money and the hassle of finding accommodation.
By Train: The quickest route is from Waterloo, London, with a Eurostar Plus ticket via Brussels where you catch the "Thalys" express. Total journey time is 5hrs 30 mins and cost is £112 return. Book via Rail Europe. This is not really a good option unless you hate flying (or love trains) as you can fly from Heathrow to Amsterdam for as little as £50 Return - or less. Presumably, you can still do the Train-Ferry-Train journey from Victoria Rail Station, London - and I bet it is still as expensive as it ever was.
Warning: Amsterdam is expensive. Allow at the very least £25 per person, per day, for very basic accom and enough food, drink,Alcohol/Cannabis, and local travel etc. (I just KNOW someone is going to e-mail to tell me it can be done on a lot less !! - and it probably can, but I am allowing for enjoyment, rather than just "getting by") Beyond this I can not give you any more info on how much spending money you need. Forget about making money busking, the "market" is already heavily over subscribed.
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Not
recommended for wheelchair users, usual hassles concerned
with coaches together with those of getting from the vehicle
section of a drive-on ferry to the passenger lounges -and
back again
0161 273 1234.