New ferry route Netherlands to Norway

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Lifetime VIP Member
Messages
159
Location
Netherlands
Vehicle
T6 Ocean 150 4Motion
A new ferry service from the Netherlands to Kristiansand in Norway has just been announced. Departure is from Eemshaven in the north of the Netherlands. Departures are three days a week, with both directions departing at 15:00 and arrival at 9:00 the next morning. Starting April 2022 and bookings are open now.

The service will be run by a new company. They have chartered the Tallink-owned cruise ferry Romantika, which happens to be in Glasgow right now for the climate summit:
 
Will be a nice route from the UK to NO: ferry Harwich - Hook of Holland, short drive through NL, ferry Eemshaven - Kristiansand! No longer the awful drive on the forever-in-maintenance german A1 and past Hamburg!

b2c76c44-5548-30a3-844e-d8cd01003d49.jpg


There has been talk of a ferry service between Eemshaven and Scotland as well, but that seems to have gone off the radar.
 
Last edited:
Kingfisher said:
A new ferry service from the Netherlands to Kristiansand in Norway has just been announced. Departure is from Eemshaven in the north of the Netherlands. Departures are three days a week, with both directions departing at 15:00 and arrival at 9:00 the next morning. Starting April 2022 and bookings are open now.

The service will be run by a new company. They have chartered the Tallink-owned cruise ferry Romantika, which happens to be in Glasgow right now for the climate summit:
Click to expand...
Very grateful for you posting this. I am currently planning our Lofoten trip for next summer. :thumb
 
Lofoten is beatiful, even just planning a trip there can bring so much joy. And @bvddobb, having lived in Hamburg I can only agree with your assessment of the A1 and the Elbe tunnel!

This new ferry really does change things for me. Before today I considered Norway too far away for a week-long trip, too much time and energy lost travelling. Now Norway is suddenly within easy reach: from my home town it is just a few hours plus the ferry (sun deck, sauna, restaurant, all those awful things ;)).
The crossing to Kristiansand for autumn break next year has now been booked. Looking forward to Preikestolen out of season!

Let's hope that the move away from air travel and towards more sustainable alternatives brings back more of these long distance ferry routes. I remember there were ferries from Amsterdam to Bergen and Göteborg once, plus of course the ferries from Scotland to Norway direct.
 
subthree said:
I am currently planning our Lofoten trip for next summer.
Click to expand...
If we wanted to go that far North, than probably we would still consider Hirtshals-Bergen, as far North as you can get by ferry. And a beautiful trip. Kristiansand is the very South of Norway, and Lofoten is an awfully long drive from there…
 
The first day it was open, the booking system for the new ferry crashed already, because of the large number of people who wanted to book...
 
Hello,

We planned our trip to Scandinavia next year. Obviously I have to do a lot of planning, which includes this new ferry crossing.

I just had a short look. It seems that the new crossing would cost us about EUR 770.00 (return). That is a lot of money. I have to calculate how much time and money (diesel etc.) we would save to make it worthwhile to use the ferry or not.

If one calculates the ferry from Ireland (or in other cases from UK) to the continent plus the cost of the new ferry it adds up. For us it would be about EUR 1,500. That is a lot of money.

Happy traveling Grand California,
Eberhard
 
Great news if you ask me. We have family in Kristiansand. It's still 18 hours though and I'm sure it won't be cheap. But the more options, the better.
 
Now that does look very interesting- was planning a long trip through Scandanvia next year so very timely. So thanks to the OP for sharing.
BUT what vehicle to book a California under? One way, if the California is classified as a 'Car' (< 5 m long, < 2.6m high) it works out as Euro324. Whereas if I was to book it as a 'Camper' (<7m long) it comes to Euro459 ...
 
Have picked car <5m in the past on trips to Norway and have never had a problem. I mean, the van doesn't take op any more space then a transporter. They did always ask whether there was something on the back of the van (on the roof and ) and I always choose yes but that too never was a problem. Seems logical that the different price catgories are there for different size vehicles.
 
I've booked a flexi ticket for August next year just in case if there are anymore Covid restrictions .One person with outside cabin and my Beach booked as a car €700 return.
 
The website doesn't seem to mention cabins - or maybe I missed it. Are they available? Don't fancy that length of crossing in a recliner seat!
 
Cabins are mandatory. The different options are described in step 2 of the booking process, so best try a date to get an idea of comfort levels and prices. I‘m sure they will add the cabin info to the main website at some point.

I have booked a flex ticket for October next year, with the Cali as a L<5 m H<2.6 m car and one person in an inside cabin. Including the 10% early bird discount that was € 450 return.
 
For summer 2022 I was originally going to drive to Hirstahls and then get the ferry to Larvik. However this new service looks like good value in comparison.
 
We did have some wind in the Netherlands on the day of their first sailing, hitting Beaufort 10 just before they were planned to leave. As a passenger I would actually prefer that they wait for a bit in that case, even more so given that it was the first sailing.

So the delay caused them to be diverted unto an unplanned/untested quai in Kristiansand, that turned out to be too low. I’m sure that won’t happen again, and even if it does: judging by the picture in the linked rtvnoord article, a Cali would have no problem at all. That stuck camper has a huge overhang behind the back wheels.

I’ll be sailing with them on Thursday. Will report back.
 
I'm now back from Norway. Used the new ferry from Eemshaven to Kristiansand on Thursday, April 21. They had been in service for only two weeks.

Overall it was a great experience on a nice ship. The crew was clearly still finding their way, but they were friendly, helpful and eager to improve. It was only some little things that still went wrong, like the steaks in the grill house restaurant arriving before guests had finished their starters. I would say the enthusiasm of the crew more than compensated for that.

Checking in at Eemshaven was quick and easy, using the QR code in the booking confirmation. I arrived exactly the recommended 90 minutes before departure, and I was on the ship within ten minutes. On a weekday in April the ship was not full, so this might be different in high season. Getting off in Kristiansand and passing through customs was equally efficient, getting me parked up in the city within twenty minutes. What helps here is that there is only one car deck, with space for about 300 cars apparently. This car deck also accommodates trucks and buses, so lanes are wide and high.

While leaving Kristiansand around 13:00 I noticed the vessel crossing to the container harbour to make space for one of the other ferries. So I would imagine that boarding in Kristiansand you do have to wait on the quai for the ferry to return, unless you are there really early. I have no experience of the service in that direction.

For most of the crossings in the summer the car deck seems already sold out. Since the car deck is relatively small, the ferry itself should never get too busy. The ship is built for a maximum of 2500 day passengers, which has been capped to 1500 for this route. With a sold-out car deck, I have heard of passengers being left behind if their car exceeds the booked dimensions. Also I would avoid being the last one to check in in that case, just in case things don't fit.

Coming back I travelled on Color Line Kiel–Oslo. Entertainment, food etcetera is on a different level there, but it was also almost twice as expensive. For the single trip Eemshaven–Kristiansand I paid EUR 205 (low season) including Cali and 1 passenger in an inside cabin.

The ferry and loading ramp at Eemshaven:
IMG_0268.jpeg

The car deck, starboard side:
IMG_0322.jpeg
 
Kingfisher said:
I'm now back from Norway. Used the new ferry from Eemshaven to Kristiansand on Thursday, April 21. They had been in service for only two weeks.

Overall it was a great experience on a nice ship. The crew was clearly still finding their way, but they were friendly, helpful and eager to improve. It was only some little things that still went wrong, like the steaks in the grill house restaurant arriving before guests had finished their starters. I would say the enthusiasm of the crew more than compensated for that.

Checking in at Eemshaven was quick and easy, using the QR code in the booking confirmation. I arrived exactly the recommended 90 minutes before departure, and I was on the ship within ten minutes. On a weekday in April the ship was not full, so this might be different in high season. Getting off in Kristiansand and passing through customs was equally efficient, getting me parked up in the city within twenty minutes. What helps here is that there is only one car deck, with space for about 300 cars apparently. This car deck also accommodates trucks and buses, so lanes are wide and high.

While leaving Kristiansand around 13:00 I noticed the vessel crossing to the container harbour to make space for one of the other ferries. So I would imagine that boarding in Kristiansand you do have to wait on the quai for the ferry to return, unless you are there really early. I have no experience of the service in that direction.

For most of the crossings in the summer the car deck seems already sold out. Since the car deck is relatively small, the ferry itself should never get too busy. The ship is built for a maximum of 2500 day passengers, which has been capped to 1500 for this route. With a sold-out car deck, I have heard of passengers being left behind if their car exceeds the booked dimensions. Also I would avoid being the last one to check in in that case, just in case things don't fit.

Coming back I travelled on Color Line Kiel–Oslo. Entertainment, food etcetera is on a different level there, but it was also almost twice as expensive. For the single trip Eemshaven–Kristiansand I paid EUR 205 (low season) including Cali and 1 passenger in an inside cabin.

The ferry and loading ramp at Eemshaven:
View attachment 92904

The car deck, starboard side:
View attachment 92905
Click to expand...
Thanks for the detailed update. I am traveling in mid-July so very grateful for your positive review.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Jabberwocky
Going to Norway (& back) - 2018. Looking for tips.
2 3 4
Replies
89
Views
14K
Aubisque
Aubisque

Useful links

VW California Club

  • Comfort Insurance
  • VIP Membership
  • Comfort Insurance
  • Hire a Vw California
  • CampervanBits Accessories
  • Conquest

About us

The VW California Club is the worlds largest resource for all owners and enthusiasts of VW California campervans.

Our Partners

Our Websites

Back
Top