As far as I'm concerned the most civilised, cheap and time-efficient way to get to the Netherlands is overnight on the ferry. I left home at 7.15pm and was at Amsterdam Centraal by 10am the following morning. No queuing - I walked straight onto the ferry, enjoyed some food, a bottle of wine and had breakfast the following morning after a good night's sleep in an en-suite cabin.

If you get a rail/sail ticket, you can travel from the Hook of Holland to any Dutch station for just over £100 for two of you, which is excellent value.

Because of this ferry service, the Netherlands have now become my place for a quick getaway. Much easier than travelling there by Eurostar.

www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/rail-and-sail/holland/

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Get on a train and head up north to Groningen to get a real slice of the Netherlands and a great city break without all the tourists.

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After checking in, and whilst waiting to board the train, pop into the duty free shop and choose a nice bottle of champagne. The Eurostar staff seem more than happy for passengers to 'bring their own' and it makes the journey feel especially luxurious!

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Before setting foot on a platform check www.seat61.com for advice on all European train travel.

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Find three friends who fancy a weekend on the continent with you - Paris or Bruges or wherever. With luck you can leave work on the Friday in time to take one of the evening trains. Take a picnic - all you need is a few goodies from M & S, a picnic backpack, and a couple of bottles of wine. A relaxed meal on the train sets you up for a great weekend!

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A Eurostar ticket to or from Amsterdam allows you to travel to or from any other city in Holland on your day of travel at no extra cost.

I travelled back from Groningen (a beautiful student city with a fantastic modern art gallery), two hours north of Amsterdam, and didn't pay a penny extra. It's a great way to stretch the value of your ticket.

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There is also a rear entrance/exit from Central Station.

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Check the Dutch rail website,it tells you the actual platform number of each train, which saves a lot of time when arriving at stations.

www.ns.nl/servlet/Satellite?cid=1075985690180&pagename=www.ns.nl%2FPage%2FSuperHomepageEnglish

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The train service in Holland is exceptional. Finding good accommodation in Amsterdam can be pricey - if you are members of the Youth Hostel Association you are entitled to stay at the Dutch equivalent, Stayokay.

You could stay at places outside Amsterdam (Soest, Utrecht) which have cheap and clean accommodation - all within easy reach of Amsterdam, thanks to the excellent rail service.

www.stayokay.com/index.cfm?lng=2

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If you are flying through Amsterdam and have a long wait for your connecting flight, then you should know that you can hand in your flight ticket for a train ticket to your destination. Sometimes you will arrive well before the flight even takes off!

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Make sure you have a map of the Dutch train network. Surprisingly little information is displayed on the trains or at railway stations in comparison with England. I speak after a terrible journey from Amsterdam to the Hook of Holland, where we had numerous diversions and absolutely no idea where we were going.

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