Earlier this year, Stena Line took a group of 40 agents and operators on an educational to Holland. Sailing from Harwich, the group travelled aboard the Stena HSS Discovery to Hook of Holland and then drove on to The Hague. They stayed at the Golden Tulip Bel Air Hotel for two nights and spent time at the pavilion on Scheveningen beach, visited the Panorama Mesdag – an unusual 3D effect art gallery, the miniature village of Madurodam and the water theme park at Duinrell in Wassenaar. We asked three agents for their impressions before and after the trip.
Before: I had never been to Holland but more worryingly I had never been on a ferry and to be honest I was petrified. I had a bad experience on a smaller boat once before which had put me off travelling anywhere by ferry. On the previous trip I was very seasick and I expected to be the same on this crossing. I imagined I would be hanging over the side of the boat during the entire journey and was really scared about the whole idea. I have found it quite hard to make ferry bookings in the past because I didn’t quite know what I was letting my clients in for. Travel by ferry wasn’t something I could confidently recommend so I wanted to go on this trip to try to overcome my own fears.
After: I have completely overcome my fears of ferries now which is really great. A ferry crossing is actually a lovely experience. It was very calm and I felt really relaxed. The ferry was massive, much bigger and more stable than I had imagined, and I completely forgot I was at sea. The first two bookings I made after returning from the trip were ferry bookings – and I have no hesitation recommending them now. The Hague is a surprising place – a very pretty city, very historical and with a lot of architectural interest. I will definitely go back but there is so much to see and do I think you need longer than two nights. We just couldn’t see it all in the time.
Olwen Sides, Travel Consultant, Terry Jones Travel, Church Stretton, Shropshire, Age: 34
Before: I had been on educationals before and sometimes felt they were rather like an exhausting school trip. I hadn’t been to Holland before and all I really knew about it was what I had heard of Amsterdam and the tulip fields. I didn’t really have much of an idea as to what The Hague would be like but I thought of it as more of a business destination than as a place for tourists. The ferry crossing was 3hrs 40mins, which seemed a lot of time to be travelling for a short break, but I was interested to learn about another side of Holland – something other than tulips.
After: Although it is quite a long journey there is so much to do on the ferry that the time passes quickly. There is a lot to do on board – a disco, cinema, bars and restaurants. The Hague has a lot to offer the leisure traveller. It is very easy to get around by bus or tram and there are lots of sights, nice street cafes and bars to explore. It has a good atmosphere and the people are friendly and polite. I am definitely going back but I recommend four nights rather than a quick weekend – there is too much to do for a really short stay.
Juliet McDonald, Supervisor, Ayscough Travel, London, Age: 23
Before: I had been to Amsterdam a couple of times and found it a pretty wild and exciting place. I imagined The Hague would be the complete opposite – a straight-laced, political town. In my experience, the general public don’t really know much about Holland beyond the images of Amsterdam and I admit Ididn’t know a lot about what the country had to offered as a tourist destination. I was interested in the crossing because we usually send clients to Holland on a Dover-Calais crossing and then drive them to Holland by coach. The route we were taking on our educational was much quicker but more expensive so I wanted to see if it was worthwhile.
After: The trip was a real surprise. I had no idea the Dutch coastline has such a selection of well developed holiday resorts. We spent time in Scheveningen, just outside The Hague, and it has a real Mediterranean feel with boulevards all along the seafront and a really nice holiday atmosphere. Tourists don’t tend to think of Holland as a place for family holidays but this area has everything you could ask for from a tourist destination – good sightseeing, activities for families, and clean beaches. It is a really pleasant surprise. The crossing is an eye-opener too – there is so much to do on the ferry that it can be sold as part of the holiday. It also gets visitors to some really good resorts in no time at all.
Ian Fraser, Coach Operations Manager, Armchair Passenger Transport, Brentford, Middlesex, Age: 32