Travel to The Hague

Flying to The Hague

The Hague's nearest major airports are Rotterdam The Hague and Amsterdam Schiphol, which is around 30-45 minutes away by direct train. British Airways and CityJet operate flights to Rotterdam from the UK. Airlines operating services to Amsterdam include British Airways, Cityjet, easyJet, Flybe, Delta, Etihad, Air France and KLM. If travelling from the USA, there are direct flights to Amsterdam with Delta, KLM, Jet Airways and United.

Flight times

To Rotterdam: From London - 1 hour.

To Amsterdam: From London - 1 hour 15 minutes; New York - 7 hours 10 minutes; Los Angeles - 10 hours 20 minutes; Toronto - 7 hours 15 minutes; Sydney - 23 hours 30 minutes (including stopover).

Travel by road

Driving in The Hague is on the right and the minimum driving age is 18 years. Speed limits are between 100kph (62mph) and 130kph (81mph) on motorways, 80kph (50mph) on major roads and 50kph (30mph) in towns. An International Driving Permit is not required, as long as you hold a valid national driving licence from your home country. 

A Green Card is advisable but not compulsory. Without it, drivers with motor insurance policies in their home country are granted only the minimum legal cover in The Netherlands - the Green Card tops this up to the level of cover provided by the driver's own policy.

The Royal Dutch Touring Club, ANWB (tel: +31 88 269 2222; www.anwb.nl), patrols major roads 24 hours a day, with qualified mechanics equipped to handle routine repairs.

Emergency breakdown services

ANWB Wegenwacht (tel: +31 88 269 2222).

Routes

The A4 connects The Hague with Amsterdam to its northeast, while the A13 links the city with Rotterdam. The A12 runs east to Utrecht.

Coaches

Eurolines (tel: +31 88 076 1700; www.eurolines.nl) operates coach services to cities across Europe, including a direct service from London's Victoria Coach Station to The Hague (journey time - 10 hours).

Time to city

From Amsterdam - 50 minutes; Rotterdam - 30 minutes; Utrecht - 55 minutes.

Travel by Rail

Services

The Hague benefits from good rail links.

Den Hague Centraal Station (CS) is the well-equipped main railway station in The Hague. From here it is a 10-minute walk to the city centre. Regular train services connect the city with Amsterdam and beyond. 

Operators

The Dutch rail network is operated by NS (tel: +31 30 300 1111; www.ns.nl).

Eurostar (tel: +44 1233 617 575, in the UK; www.eurostar.com) runs from London to Brussels in two hours. The high-speed Thalys (tel: +31 30 233 1676;www.thalys.com) service links Brussels with Amsterdam, in about two hours.

Journey times

From Amsterdam - 50 minutes; Amsterdam Schiphol - 30 minutes; Rotterdam - 25 minutes.

Travel by boat

If travelling from the UK, the closest port to The Hague is the Hook of Holland (sailings to Harwich), 22km (13.5 miles) west. Alternatives are the shorter crossings but much longer drives between Dover and Calais (327km/203 miles to The Hague), Dunkirk (288km/179 miles to The Hague) or Zeebrugge (210km/130.5 miles to The Hague). 

Ferry operators

Stenaline (tel: +44 8447 707 070, in the UK; www.stenaline.co.uk) operates day and overnight ferry crossings from Harwich to the Hook of Holland.