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The fastest route to Holland from England is the service from Harwich in Essex to the Hook of Holland (otherwise know as Hoek van Holland ). You can get there at that speed on Stena Line's HSS, which stands for High-speed Sea Service. So the Hook of Holland is regarded as an ideal gateway into Europe . It is within easy driving distance of many towns such as The Hague (25 kms away), Rotterdam (30 kms away), Amsterdam (80 kms away), Brussels in Belgium (180 kms away) and Cologne(290 kms away).
The Hook of Holland is literally a port and there is not too much to say about it as a place. Its purpose is as an entry into Holland and Europe. But this site covers plenty of places in England , Ireland and France, so its worth talking in a bit more detail about Holland - which is also known as the Netherlands.
The country is in Western Europe, with Germany bordering it to the East and Belgium to the south. To the north and the west is the North sea, so there is a coastline of more than 450km. Apart from the East of the country, the country is dominated by flatlands and river plains, providing excellent conditions for the growth of agriculture. The Nederrijn, and the Maas are the major rivers in the country. Over a third of Holland is below sea level. Land is then reclaimed from the sea using successive sea-walls that were built since the 1930s, creating polders.
The major cities of the country are Amsterdam , The Hague , Rotterdam and Utrecht, which are all concentrated in the south west of the country in an urbanised area known as the Randstad (ring city). The density of the population and intensity of land use along with the flatness of the land means that the Dutch are very aware of environmental issues like pollution and rising sea levels which could be caused by global warming.
When you get to Holland and look for hotels you should know that they are classified as one- to five- star by the Netherlands Board of Tourism in addition to the Royal Dutch Touring Club and Royal Netherlands Automobile Club. When you check into your hotel you will be asked for your passports, and the hotel will automatically register you with the local police.
Holland's public holidays are 30th April which is Queen's day and 5th May which is Liberation Day, although that is only for the civil service. Obviously there is Christmas and Boxing Day as well as New Year's Day.
There are three main ports in Holland, and these are Vlissingen, Rotterdam, and the main destination from the UK, which is the Hook of Holland.
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