 ROTTERDAM FERRY TICKET RESERVATIONS |
Booking your Rotterdam ferry ticket online is safe and secure.
Simply select your outward and return routes below, enter the number of passengers then click 'Get Price' and follow the onscreen help from there.
If you are not certain of the port name in your destination country click here for country specific ferry route information or click anywhere on the ferry route map below to view an interavtive map of all Rotterdam ferry routes.
When booking your ferry ticket online a booking reference will be sent to you by email. On arrival at the port of departure present the booking reference number together with a photo ID and you will be given your ferry tickets.
Rotterdam is the second largest municipality in the Netherlands after the capital, Amsterdam by population size, and the largest city in the province of Zuid-Holland (South Holland). The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe and was the world's busiest port from 1962 to 2004, until it was overtaken by Shanghai. Rotterdam is situated on the banks of the river Nieuwe Maas ('New Meuse'), one of the channels in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse rivers. The name Rotterdam derives from a dam in the Rotte river.
Rotterdam has the largest port in Europe, with the rivers Meuse and Rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream reaching to Basel, Switzerland and into France. In 2003 Singapore took over, and in 2005 Shanghai, as the world's busiest port. In 2006, Rotterdam was the seventh largest port in the world in terms of containers handled.
The port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. The harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk materials and between the European continent and overseas. From Rotterdam goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. In 2007, the Betuweroute, a new fast freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany, has been completed.
In 1872, the Nieuwe Waterweg ('New Waterway') opened, a ship canal constructed to keep the city and port of Rotterdam accessible to seafaring vessels as the natural Meuse-Rhine channels silted up. The canal proper measures approximately 6.5 kilometers (4 mi) from the western tips of its protruding dams to the Maeslantkering ('Maeslant Barrier'). Many maps, however, include the Scheur as part of the Nieuwe Waterweg, leading to a length of approximately 19.5 kilometers (12 mi).
The Port of Rotterdam has excellent road links with the rest of Holland. Its inner city harbours have been transformed into attractive, buzzing areas with an excellent range of shops, cafes and restaurants. Some 60,000 people are directly employed at the port while an additional 250,000 people throughout Holland are involved in one way or another. Rotterdam city is an international centre of commerce and industry.
Rotterdam History. The city of Rotterdam has officially existed since 1328, when "city rights" were granted to the town that had been growing around a dam in the river Rotte (hence the name: Rotte-dam). Initially just a small, quiet fishing harbour in a bend in the Rotte. Rotterdam, between the 13th and 17th centuries, grew to a city with port able to berth over 100 herring ships. The industrial revolution in the 19th century saw wooden ships replaced with steel and steamers replacing sailing ships. As traffic volumes increased, the port started to expand and numerous new port basins were built. The Nieuwe Waterweg ('New Waterway') was completed in 1872, and gave Rotterdam a direct, high-capacity connection to the North Sea.
Although 40% destroyed in WWII, the port was rebuilt and before too long it was again unable to accommodate all the ships requiring berthing. In 1960 / 70s the port expanded outward to the coastal port of Hoek van Holland and, in order to create even more space, land was recovered from the sea to create more docks.
With the largest selection of ferry routes and operators rotterdamferry.com is able to offer you the lowest ferry fares with online reservations on all ferries sailing from over twenty six different countries across Europe including ferries to and from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and the UK.
Book your Rotterdam ferry tickets to and from the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Holland and Spain online in advance to benefit from exclusive online discounts of on all major ferry operators including P&O, Stenaline, Brittany Ferries, Seafrance and Irish Ferries.
