Frech holiday for first time.

miggiwoo

We are planning on going to France next sumeer ie end of May for a week.We are looking at Normandy and have not been to France before other than a week in Paris many Years ago.
We are a family of four and are looking at a Gite.We have found quite a few that would be great for us (up to about £450 for a week) but am unsure about the travelling across to it.
Have checked out the routes and think that maybe Portsmouth-Le Havre would be the easiest for us (although travelling down from Nottingham any crossing from the South Coast would be ok).Was quite surprised about the cost though.When I checked P & O got a figure of about £420 for a car and 4 passengers.
Would it be cheaper booking it sooner or leaving it for a late deal ?
Thanks :money:

spadoosh

Depends where in france your going!?

My parents have a place near limoges, and though it takes much longer they always go tunel/calais - dover as its soooo much cheaper.

Cant remember if the portsmouth-le harve is an overnighter but weve always worked it out cheaper on the tunnel (fuel costs v ferry costs etc) That price seems about right (theyve got a members card or something and get it for about £350ish?!?!)

Also the ferry prices very rarely seem to fluctuate that much (only with childrens holidays) as ther is soo many ex pats/ tourism that way that ferrys are very rarely under occupied.

So yeh, were are you going?!

bazster

Le Havre is a long old haul on the boat, did it once, wouldn't bother again. Personally I like to get onto Froggie soil ASAP, so it's the tunnel for me, although Dover - Calais on the fairies is a bit cheaper. Driving on French roads is a joy, far rather be doing that than sitting around on a smelly ferry.

Oh, and it's generally the sooner you book the cheaper it is for the tunnel.

spadoosh

Appologies, just noticed you said normandy.

In that case i'd go on tunnel. About a 3 to 4 hr drive from calais (you'd spend longer on the ferry!) and as bazster says driving in france is far from the grim prospect of drving in this country!

miggiwoo

spadoosh wrote: »

Depends where in france your going!?

My parents have a place near limoges, and though it takes much longer they always go tunel/calais - dover as its soooo much cheaper.

Cant remember if the portsmouth-le harve is an overnighter but weve always worked it out cheaper on the tunnel (fuel costs v ferry costs etc) That price seems about right (theyve got a members card or something and get it for about £350ish?!?!)

Also the ferry prices very rarely seem to fluctuate that much (only with childrens holidays) as ther is soo many ex pats/ tourism that way that ferrys are very rarely under occupied.

So yeh, were are you going?!

Was looking at a nice gentle start to Northern Normandy with somewhere not too far from the ferry port (Le Havre or cherbourg) as didnt really want to drive too much through France.After reading about the cost of crossing and it being an overnight crossing I'm wondering whether it would be easier and cheaper to go Dover-Calais and drive to Normandy.Not driven before in France but would certainly give it a go.

peachyprice

It would certainly be cheaper to do Dover/Calais, you can get great deals if you book early, and if you have a tesco clubcard you can use the points for Eurotunnel tickets.

One of the major benefits is there are so many crossings a day, you can get across when you like and if you get stuck in traffic you can hop on the next crossing, rather than the long crossings that are only 1 or 2 a day and are usually fully booked.

Also, if you haven't driven before, Calais is very newbie friendly, there are lots of signs to remind you in English and you're straight out onto the road to Normandy. The last thing you want to be doing if you've never driven before is take the scenic route straight off the ferry!

melb

don't want to put a dampener on it but if you're looking to spend time at the beach the weather is a bit iffy that far north even in August and you can get coolish rainy weather any time in summer

Bob_the_Saver

melb wrote: »

don't want to put a dampener on it but if you're looking to spend time at the beach the weather is a bit iffy that far north even in August and you can get coolish rainy weather any time in summer

Yep........................

bazster

If you take the autoroute from Calais to Normandy it couldn't be easier, it's big, smooth and empty! There's a toll or two, but nothing too pricey. Assuming a constant 70mph (yes you really can on this road) you'll cross the border into Normandy about 1.5 hours after leaving the tunnel terminal.

If you do this, though, try to pick a destination in Normandy that gets you off the autoroute before you reach Rouen, which is a traffic nightmare.

andygb

Why has nobody mentioned the Newhaven - Dieppe route? Having gone to France for the last fifteen years, this has to be ideal for Normandy, we used to use the fast ferry, and it was really quick.

miggiwoo

Thanks for all of the replies , certainly given me food for thought.Looked at the Newhaven-Dieppe and it was around £200-300 and also at the Eurotunnel and driving to Normandy.Not set in stone exactly where in Normandy we'll go but not worried about driving a bit further now.Thanks again.