DFDS Explore · Holidays by sea
Europe, without the airport.
Discover more of Europe, at your own pace. Choose your DFDS crossing, explore incredible destinations and build a holiday that's entirely your own.
Destinations
Places worth the crossing
Every one of these is a drive from where the boat lands. The times below are honest estimates, motorway included.
Norway
The Norwegian Fjords
Water falling from a thousand metres
4h 50m
5–7 nights
France
Paris
Three hours from the boat, another world
2h 20m
3 nights
France
Normandy
Chalk cliffs, cider farms, long beaches
10m
3–4 nights
Germany
The Black Forest
Pine dark valleys, mist and cake
8h 20m
4–5 nights
Germany
Cologne
The cathedral, then the river
3h 35m
2 nights
Netherlands
Amsterdam
Water, bicycles, golden window light
25m
2–3 nights
Holiday packages
Not sure where? Start with an idea
Holidays we have already mapped out — the crossing, the stops and the nights between them. Take one as it is, or open it in the builder and change everything.
11 nights · 4 destinations
The Grand European Road Trip
Belgium, Germany and France in one loop: a canal city, the forest ridge road, the Alsace vineyards, then the Normandy cliffs before turning for home.
Long-distance touring, a new base every few nights
Dover – Calais
Budget£1,840–£2,480
8 nights · 3 destinations
The Family Adventure
Eight nights with the children: a canal city to start, a cabin on the lake with a theme park up the road, then two days of rides near Cologne before the drive home.
Short stages, cabins and apartments, one big day out per stop
Dover – Calais
Budget£1,960–£2,640
7 nights · 3 destinations
The Netherlands Explorer
Three Dutch cities in a week, close enough that no drive takes more than an hour. Museum mornings, wharf-cellars in the afternoon, then Rotterdam's harbour skyline to finish.
Easy city-hopping, short drives, park once per city
Harwich – Hook of Holland
Budget£1,690–£2,280
Three ways to begin
However you like to plan, start on the water
Some people arrive with a route already in mind. Others want a nudge. All three lead to the same place: a holiday that's yours.
Build your own
Pick a crossing, then add the stops you actually want. We work out the driving between them and keep it all in one place.
Start from a crossingExplore suggested holidays
Routes we've already driven: the coast roads, the forest passes and the city pairs that work over a long weekend.
Browse holidaysLet AI plan it
Tell us who's travelling and what you like. We'll build an itinerary from our crossings and destinations, then keep refining it with you.
Plan with AINo-fly holidays
The holiday starts when the ramp goes up.
DFDS has been carrying people between Britain and the continent since 1866. A crossing isn't the boring bit before the holiday, it's the first evening of it.
No baggage queues
The car is packed once, at home. It stays packed until you pull up outside the first hotel.
The crossing counts
An overnight sailing is a night of the holiday: dinner, a cabin, and the horizon in the morning.
Space to breathe
Deck, restaurant, lounge, quiet corner. Four hours at sea is four hours you didn't spend in a terminal.
Arrive rested
No 4am alarm, no connection to chase. You step off and drive straight into the day.
Popular road trips
Routes that people drive again the next year
Three itineraries we hear about most often, with the driving kept short and the stops kept good.
Family holidays
Long enough to settle in, short enough for everyone
Four hours at sea is a strange kind of gift: nobody can ask to stop, nobody can get lost, and everyone ends up on deck watching the water. Then you drive off and the holiday carries on.
- Cabins that sleep four, with the car below
- Kids eat free on sailings over four hours
- A play area, a cinema and a quiet lounge
Your journey. Your destinations. Your holiday.
Pack the car. We'll take care of the sea.
Choose a crossing and start adding stops. It takes about four minutes to see your holiday take shape.