Tunnel or ferry?

billyboxer

Hi. We're planning a driving holiday to France this year. Going down to the south but stopping off at a couple of different places both on the way down and back up.
Question is what's going to be the best way to get across the channel?
Tunnel is approx twice the cost of the ferry. I've read quite a few reports of chaos on the approaches to Dover ferry terminal (miles long tailbacks etc).
There's only me and my partner and we both drive. Also we live in West Cumbria so it's a 6.5 - 7 hour drive at the start just to get to the south of England. The plan is to set off early morning (07:00ish) to arrive in Kent approx. 16:00-17:00 then cross over and spend the first night in a French hotel about an hour or so south of Calais.
Any ideas would be helpful.
I like the idea of the convenience and speed of the tunnel. On the other hand a 90 minute break on the ferry seems like a good idea as well.
Thanks!!

DUKE

I prefer the ferry as you the fresh air, & it's a much more pleasant journey.

Compared to the tunnel, which I find hot, claustrophobic, & toilets stink like nothing on earth. Although it's quicker.

InsideInsurance

There are certain aspects of the eurotunnel I like such as if you get there early or late then you simply get onto the next train. In theory if its more expensive than the one you were supposed to catch then they charge you extra but in practice I've never seen it happen.

Dont recall the same being offered on ferries but could be wrong.

The last time I caught a ferry was to the IoW and they parked you in rows, in theory they staggered the cars so the front doors were aligned to the gap between the adjacent vehicle as the lines are fairly close together. Unfortuntately our car doesnt conform to the normal proportions and they didnt allow adjustment for it meaning getting in/ out was difficult. With the train its single file so again no issues.

On the downside, I do like getting out on the ferry/ looking at the sea etc which obv not an option on the Eurotunnel

beckstar1975

We are driving down to S France and so are getting ferry as with kids we treat it as a stop and can get more driving done at other end before next break.

P and O have always been great at letting us on earlier ferries if we arrived in time, even with a saver ticket.

We are going as far as Paris and then sending car on auto train, having night in Paris then 2.5 he tgv to Avignon next day. Cheaper than drive and MUCH less stressful with 3 kids and one driver!

Moto2

If we do a similar trip (we're in North Yorks) we get the tunnel for the convenience and then stop here
https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/premiere-classe-bethune-fouquieres-les-bethunes.en-gb.html?

It's about an hour from Calais on the A26, cheap, clean and all sorts of food and drink options close by

benjus

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Dont recall the same being offered on ferries but could be wrong.

With P&O the semi-flexible ticket is valid on any crossing within 4 hours of the booked one. The cheapest ones (Saver) are supposedly only valid for the booked crossing but as beckstar1975 says you may be lucky. Also, they sometimes have promotions where they upgrade all saver tickets to semi-flexible.

Moto2

Just be aware of the timings if you decide on the ferry

17:00 sailing will get in @19:30 another hour or so to a hotel means it'll be getting on for 9 before you get to your hotel.
If you want to eat at the hotel, the tunnel may be a better option.

photome

No ones mentioned the weather.

the tunnel is quicker and doesnt get cancelled due to bad weather

I have been on the ferry in bad weather and been ILL

On a calm day I prefer the ferry but as we all know we cant predict the weather too far in advance

Shelldean

We always take the cheapest route but prefer the tunnel. As I get sea sick even when the sea is like a mill pond.

Don't forget you can or.at least you could use your tesco reward for the tunnel crossing. We've done this a few times. Think it's 3x the value or the reward?

Shelldean

Yep Tesco reward can still be used on Euro tunnel. £10 becomes £30.

http://m.tesco.com/mt/www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/product.aspx?R=3223&%20bci=4294967191%7CTravel*4294958884%7CTransport



Also note they do the same deal with DFDS ferries. Now we always used to find these the cheapest ferry crossing. But they only used to do Dover - dunkirk. They now do Dover Calais, so if they're still cheaper. And using the tesco rewards you might get a bargain????

http://m.tesco.com/mt/www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/product.aspx?R=4078&%20bci=4294967191%7CTravel*4294958884%7CTransport

mgdavid

Ferry every time for us. Have been across several times a year for around 30 years, only used the tunnel 2 or 3 times.
- there are never queues into Dover except when there's an extreme weather issue or industrial action, both of which affect the trucks more than cars. In this case the police and port authority invoke 'Operation Stack' which means queuing the trucks on the M20 to prevent Dover becoming gridlocked. Listen out for BBC traffic reports or check online as you travel down.
- you could have an early dinner on the boat, P&O's Brasserie is pretty good for what and where it is.
- if not eating you can find a quiet corner and get an hour's kip instead.
- fairly often arrive at the port early and am always put onto an earlier crossing if there is one available.
- when young I was a poor sailor and was once quite ill on the hovercraft in rough weather (that tells you how long ago it was). Today's boats all have really good stabilisers and you shouldn't even notice moderate seas.