Newcastle to Amsterdam ferry with kids and a car

The DFDS ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam leaves every day at 17:00 from North Shields near Newcastle and arrives in the morning in IJmuiden, a port about 25 km from Amsterdam. On this overnight route every passenger has a place in a cabin. For a family with a car it is an easy way to leave Great Britain, because you sleep through a big part of the journey. We took this ferry with four kids and our car on 29 August 2019, at the end of a three-week trip around England, Wales and Scotland.

The day before, we visited Bamburgh Castle (Bamburgh Castle with kids). The plan of the whole trip is in our post UK road trip with kids.

Getting to the port in North Shields

From Beamish Holiday Park near Stanley it was only 30 km to the port. On the way we stopped at Lidl near Tynemouth to buy food for the journey, and we arrived at the DFDS terminal well before departure. Cars wait in lanes on a big area in front of the ferry, and then you drive straight onto the car deck.

Our cabin on the ferry

You leave the car on the car deck and take the stairs or the lift to the passenger decks. On the overnight route from Newcastle to Amsterdam the cabin is included in the ticket. Ours had bunk beds and a window, and the door opened with a key card.

Leaving Newcastle

The best place to watch the departure is the outside deck. The ferry slowly sails down the River Tyne to the sea, past the port and the pier with a red lighthouse at the river mouth.

What to do on the ferry with kids

The evening went quickly, because there is a lot for kids to do on board:

• a room with a dance floor and big screens, with dancing in the evening,
• a play corner for little ones with building blocks and toys on the walls,
• arcade games, including a car racing game,
• the ferry mascot in a blue costume, who walked around and hugged the kids,
• balloon animals and hats, which the kids were still carrying the next morning,
• ship models in glass cases, including a cut-away model that shows the cabins and the cars on the decks.

The ferry also has restaurants, a café, bars, a duty-free shop and a cinema.

Morning and arrival in IJmuiden

In the morning we went out on deck again. We passed a huge cargo ship, and the Dutch coast appeared in front of us, with wind turbines and the red lighthouse of IJmuiden. At the quay we watched with interest how the crew attached the ropes and pulled the ferry to the shore.

Then we went down the stairs to the car deck, got into the car and at 9:15 we drove off the ferry in the Netherlands.

From IJmuiden to home

From the port we drove 500 km to visit friends who live with their family near Wolfsburg in Germany and had been following our trip all summer. After the visit we drove straight home and arrived just after midnight. That was the end of our trip: almost 5,000 km, three countries of Great Britain and three weeks in a tent.

We had come home by ferry before, from our holiday in Denmark (Ferry to Germany and the route to Poland), but that crossing from Rødby to Puttgarden took only 45 minutes. An overnight ferry is a completely different experience.

Practical info

We checked the ferry timetable in November 2026.

Times and ports

• The DFDS ferry from Newcastle leaves every day at 17:00, and check-in is open from 14:00 to 16:15.
• The UK port is the DFDS terminal in North Shields (Royal Quays), at the mouth of the River Tyne. The Dutch port is IJmuiden, on the coast west of Amsterdam.
• The ferry arrives in IJmuiden in the morning, at about 9:45 Dutch time. The Netherlands is one hour ahead of the UK.
• Two ships sail on this route: King Seaways and Princess Seaways.

Cabins and food

• On the overnight route every passenger has a place in a cabin, and the price depends on the cabin type and the date.
• On board there is a buffet, an à la carte restaurant and a café. You can also buy food for the journey at a supermarket before the port.

With kids and a car

• Pack everything you need for the night in one bag before you drive onto the ferry, so you do not have to look for it in the car.
• Foot passengers can travel from IJmuiden to Amsterdam by coach, which you book together with the ferry ticket.
• The night on the ferry replaces a hotel night on the road: from IJmuiden we had 500 km to our friends near Wolfsburg, and from there we drove straight home.