think it would be cheapest to take ferry dover calais, then train calais/amsterdam, anyone know the details
There is a bus running between the ferry port and the station of Calais Ville, (free or for a little money, I paid €1,50, English money was also accepted.)
From Calais you can take the train to Amsterdam, it will take about 5.30 hours.
I find it hard to find the cost.
The German railplanner in English found the times above, using trains without needing reservations, but it can not find the price as no part of the journey is in Germany.
The Dutch system does not sell tickets to Calais, (so do buy your return ticket before coming to the Netherlands, you can also not buy them on the stations here.)
The French site can give times and prices, but they only do it with the Thalys as part of the trip, which means that at Lille you have to walk from one station to an other. (About 10 minutes walk) and you have to book for a particular train, (much harder to do.)
Prices for tickets tomorrow are about €70, you will find them cheaper when you book longer before the travel.
I do not get the impression that this connection will be much faster than the ‘slow’ one, specially not if you have to book later to make sure you do not miss the train for which you have a reservation.
The Belgium rail planner is also able to find the connection without fast trains, and as such without reservations needed, but will not sell the tickets for it, (not even from Calais to Antwerp.)
If you want to travel that way, best just take the ferry and buy a ticket at the station (hoping you can buy it all the way to Amsterdam,) and just ask at the station which train you can use with that ticket.
I have traveled from Amsterdam to Calais, but on an InterRail pass, so I do not know the price.
I also searched for trains from Southampton and Portsmouth to France, but found the results not very useful for travel towards the north.
Alternatively you can travel to London and on to Harwich, and take the ferry from there, but I doubt that will be better for you.
PS, Hook of Holland to Amsterdam takes 1.45 hours, not 0.20 hours as one of the other answerers wrote. Maybe even more, but with less effort, if there still is a boat train.
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16 crazy nurses on the return from a day in Amsterdam dont let a force 9 storm spoil their late night walk on deck!