Best earls on ferry crossing to france.

Bondy1

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Best deals on ferry crossing to France from Dover

Evening hopefully going to try and go over to france next week wondering who everyone uses. My van is 23 ft long and 10.5ft tall. Would rather cross in the daytime if possible as never been over with the family.
 
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Your going to be asked where you live and where in France your going so as to be able to suggest the best crossing
 
Sorry I'm in Warrington, Cheshire and I'm thinking of Dover/ Calais. Would help if damm predictive text had'nt changed deals to earls in the title.
 
You need to try and book a ferry, P&O etc which will give you an indication. Whatever the price you come up with somebody will come up with a better price.
 
Try My Ferry.com for Dover Calais, Or LD lines Newhaven Dieppe, if you are going south it can work out cheaper on this route when you take into account the diesel.
I hope this is useful and have a great time in France.
 
DFDS does a good deal from Dover to Calais or Dunkerque but whichever route you choose, book in advance because turning up at the dock will cost you a lot more!
 
Thanks for the info, will look into it now, not decided which way to go as I'm pushing for a trip round the western isles, where regular visitors to mull but never been to any of the other islands. She who must be obeyed fancies france but we have only got a week off so might be a bit tight with time.
Thanks again for the replies.
 
Just checked MyFerry price for late August (on the same date and time as I have already booked on DFDS for £50) and the cheapest offer was £61.
 
John H said:
Just checked MyFerry price for late August (on the same date and time as I have already booked on DFDS for £50) and the cheapest offer was £61.
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I expect that to make a comparison you'd need to get both prices at the same time as prices go up towards sailing time
 
I have just tried for 10th Sept because we plan on going to France for a few Months on that date, DFDS wanted £75, MyFerryLink was £43 and P&O was £63
 
witzend said:
I expect that to make a comparison you'd need to get both prices at the same time as prices go up towards sailing time
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True. I should have made it clear that I also rechecked my booking, so the comparison is direct :D
 
And therein lies the answer - for the dates I chose, DFDS provided the best deal; for the dates that Tezza33 chose it was MyFerry. The best deal varies according to when you want to travel and how far in advance you want to book it so the only sensible advice is to check all lines for the date you want. :)
 
We sailed out on 10th July at 18:25 and back on 24th July at 12:15 with My Ferry Link. I booked it about 10 days in advance and it was £97.50 return, Autosleeper Rapport (high top) with 2 adults plus 1 infant. P&O were a bit more (£113 I think) and DFDS £150! Surprised, because DFDS have always been cheapest before. It depends a lot on the size of the vehicle, because the breakpoints are different with the different companies.

Nice ship, well run and on time. Best thing was that the food was really good. Not just tasty but loads of it and pretty cheap too. As usual though I turned up nice and early for both crossings only to be one of the last to be loaded and one of the last to be unloaded. It always irritates me that; it's no wonder most people hurtle into the port at the last minute :)
 
You're right, it makes no difference to the driving time, and anyway we're on holiday so who cares. I just object to sitting for ages on a deck full of trucks with their engines running because it's smelly and noisy. Both times we were positioned at the side as well, so then you have to wait for all the other lanes to disembark. Makes it easier to find the van on the deck though :)

Disembarking at Dover this time I was surprised to find no customs palaver at all. A great improvement from previous times - the traffic was all sent round the outside of the customs shed, I suppose with the idea that anyone suspicious would be directed in. Nobody was though, as far as I could see, so it was straight out onto the road for the first time ever. Then just a 10 hour drive home with an upset toddler in searing heat and appalling M25 traffic. Lovely!
 
Trucks with engines running might be due to air leaks. If they loose their air the brakes lock on and can not move, but yes some leave the engine running for no reason.
 
I very much agree with the points about people who start their engines long before it is necessary but I am surprised at the number of comments about food on the short crossings. Who buys food at vastly inflated rates on a ferry that takes, at most, a couple of hours to cross the channel? If you have enough money to spend on that then you don't need to worry about getting the best deal on the ferry!

I know that the quality of the ship is important on long crossings but from Dover to Calais, as far as I am concerned, it is like getting on a bus - who cares how comfortable the restaurant is - or the cabins you won't use - as long as the thing is seaworthy?
 
John H said:
I very much agree with the points about people who start their engines long before it is necessary but I am surprised at the number of comments about food on the short crossings. Who buys food at vastly inflated rates on a ferry that takes, at most, a couple of hours to cross the channel? If you have enough money to spend on that then you don't need to worry about getting the best deal on the ferry!

I know that the quality of the ship is important on long crossings but from Dover to Calais, as far as I am concerned, it is like getting on a bus - who cares how comfortable the restaurant is - or the cabins you won't use - as long as the thing is seaworthy?
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Well that's the thing: It wasn't vastly inflated. It cost just over €20 for two very substantial and tasty meals with two tins of Kronenbourg. I thought that was good value actually, and would have struggled to match it en-route anywhere in the south-east of England. It's because I got a good deal on the crossing that we could justify it!

The reason we do it is that it's a 300 mile drive to the port, so when I get on the ferry (I do all the driving) I really need to sit down and relax, and a meal is a good way to do that. We don't like to stop and cook in the van on the way to the port; I just like to get there and then I can relax. I was pleasantly surprised that the cheapest ferry company didn't feel that it was necessary to rip us off once we were on board because that's kind of what I was expecting.

If DFDS are cheaper next time I'd sail with them though. No brand loyalty here :)

Richard.
 
richardstubbs said:
Well that's the thing: It wasn't vastly inflated. It cost just over €20 for two very substantial and tasty meals with two tins of Kronenbourg. I thought that was good value actually, and would have struggled to match it en-route anywhere in the south-east of England. It's because I got a good deal on the crossing that we could justify it!

The reason we do it is that it's a 300 mile drive to the port, so when I get on the ferry (I do all the driving) I really need to sit down and relax, and a meal is a good way to do that. We don't like to stop and cook in the van on the way to the port; I just like to get there and then I can relax. I was pleasantly surprised that the cheapest ferry company didn't feel that it was necessary to rip us off once we were on board because that's kind of what I was expecting.

If DFDS are cheaper next time I'd sail with them though. No brand loyalty here :)

Richard.
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Each to their own. We prefer to take a leisurely journey to the port, have a meal in the motorhome while waiting in the queue and not spend anything on board (a lot cheaper than 20 euros for two!). I agree that the meals may not appear very expensive if you are coming from south-east England but they are if you are coming from France (its the wine that makes the difference!).
 
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