Eurostar has increased its services to Amsterdam with a third new direct route from London which kicked off today.
The high-speed rail service announced earlier this year that it was adding an extra route due to popular demand, with fares starting from £35 each way.
In fact, the company says that since it first launched service back in April 2018, over 300,000 passengers have travelled on the new route from London St Pancras International which goes to Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
To celebrate the additional service, just in time for the opening of Van Gogh’s sunflower exhibition in Amsterdam next week, Eurostar commissioned a quirky gown by Kate Tabor, made entirely of fresh sunflowers.
It's worth noting that while the outbound journey to Amsterdam is direct, the inbound journey involves disembarking at Brussels to go through passport control.
This is because the UK and Dutch governments have yet to agree on the immigration procedures at Amsterdam Centraal. It can add approximately an hour of extra travel time but then the onwards journey is direct to London.
It takes approximately 3 hours and 52 minutes to reach Amsterdam, while the third service will increase capacity on the route to the equivalent of 12 flights per day.
In fact, Eurostar says that the rail journey emits 80% less carbon per passenger than the equivalent flight making it the "most environmentally friendly choice for European short haul travel".
Mike Cooper, Chief Executive, Eurostar, said: "With environmentally responsible travel rising up the consumer agenda, we’re boosting capacity and offering more flexibility with a third daily service."
Of course Amsterdam can make for a pretty brilliant city break.
There are some great cheap hotels , heaps of things to see and do in the Dutch capital, not to mention the incredible bars that make up the nightlife.
However, if you want to take a tour of the Red Light District you'll need to do so before 2020 when new rules will restrict these .
.jpg?w=600)
