France - Normandy/Brittany - ferry & gite query

chaucer

Hi,
looking for a two week booking to north-west France for two adults in school hols this summer (end July/start August).
We want to stay self-catering.
Dover/Portsmouth/Newhaven all similar (long) distance from home in north east.
Have done some looking but just getting confused.
There are options (with Brittany Ferries for instance) to book a 'package' (ferry & gites included) but there do not seem to be many other operators doing this all inclusive deal.
We could book each separately with a large (overwhelming) choice.
Have never done this before so would welcome comment/advice from experienced folk.
Many thanks.

chaucer

Bump...

Anyone?

Louisa_Jane_2

Most of the holiday companies have ferry crossing included (Dover Calais) which you pay a supplement to upgrade to whichever crossing you want. I booked my accommodation through https://www.cheznous.co.uk - direct with the owner which when you've booked, you can book a ferry through the website quote your ref, no. and they give you a discounted rate.
Other companies to look at including ferries are
https://www.frenchlife.co.uk
https://www.eurocamp.co.uk
https://www.brittanytravel.co.uk
There are many more, I'm sure people will add to my list!

VickyA_2

We have just booked our gite in Brittany for August. I found them by just typing in "gites in brittany or normandy" into Google. You can then book directly with the owners. One of the gite owners had a special 15% code for ferry bookings. (and you didn't have to book with them to get it)

sooty&sweep

Hi

Try Chez Nous, https://www.cheznous.com

They will also send you a huge brochure. Its a directory of properties but you deal direct with the owner. Their website holds info on properties and also the owners web address if they have one.

You can book a ferry through Chez Nous but we've booked ours seperately. We're going across on the Thursday morning and staying in a B&B for a couple of nights. It breaks up the journey and also you may find it difficult to get a decent ferry crossing now. I just searched around the web for B&Bs but also lots of hotels.

Enjoy your holiday !

pboae

I usually book with http://www.cottages4you.co.uk they are part of the same group as Chez Nous, but with Chez Nous you book direct with the owner, and with cottages4you you go through them.

C4Y do inclusive packages as well. I usually find that if you are going at peak times the packages are a good deal, but off peak it's cheaper to book them seperately.

MrSmartprice

We have travelled through Normandy/Brittany and found the Alastair Sawday guide excellent. There are some superb places on there. Try the website:

http://www.sawdays.co.uk/titles/france/index.html

tommie1shunt

Just to throw another idea in to the mix, we bought our accommodation off Ebay, going last week June 1st week July going via Speedferries £50 return, we have used https://www.cheznous.com and https://www.frenchconnections.co.uk in the past with no problems, up to press tho our Ebay buys seem to be the best bargains, not been yet but am quietly confident they will be ok. To give you an idea the other weeks are still on auction, not the area you want but will give you an idea as to whats involved, paid £99 for 1st one £137 for 2nd.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SELF-CATERING-PERIOD-TOWN-HOUSE-IN-S-W-FRANCE-SLPS-2_W0QQitemZ270105915316QQcategoryZ109202QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/May-June-gite-cottage-2-4-pool-jacuzzi-Ardeche-France_W0QQitemZ290100152854QQcategoryZ109202QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

gladys_3

speed ferries is the cheapest, and have you tried https://www.yellohvillage.com it a french company they charge just for accomodation not per person their sites are very good ,lots to do . used them for the past 6 years when we go on a group holiday.telephone number 00.33.46.67.39.73.9 email info@yellowvillage.com. far better than the english companys and it costs a lot less

VickyA_2

I've just done some research of my own and found this decent website:

http://www.brittany-france.com/

And this one:

www.frenchentree.com

We've also found that for us, it's actually cheaper to fly and hire a car using our Tesco (Avis) vouchers than getting the ferry. Ryanair, here we come.

Janette_2

Try https://www.bvdirect.co.uk they do both ferry crossings and gites we have used them for ferry crossings for the last three years as they have always been the cheapest. We have stayed in a couple of gites advertised on their site to - both were fantastic