A ferry across the Channel

WITH the rising cost of jet fuel pushing up the price of flights what options are open for those people who want to cross the Channel by ferry?

There already seems to be a change amongst holidaymakers to travel by sea to France, for example, in April the Port of Dover reported that it handled almost three million tourist car journeys last year, its highest since 1999.

And whilst ferry crossings have recently been stuck outside French ports as local fishermen have set up protests over fuel costs, there is still a sense that the holiday starts on the boat, something that can't really be said for low-cost airlines.

Below is a round-up of the ferry operators and their routes for this summer, I've also included Eurotunnel, and remember the earlier you can book the better, and if you can sail during off peak periods you can also save, more cheap ferry tips here.

Brittany Ferries
Routes: Portsmouth to Caen (5hrs 45mins), St Malo (10hrs 45mins) and Cherbourg (3hrs).
Poole to Cherbourg (4hrs 30mins), Plymouth to Roscoff (6hrs) and Cork to Roscoff (14hrs).

Condor Ferries
Routes: Poole (4hrs 35mins) and Weymouth (8hrs 15mins) to St Malo, via the Channel Islands, and Portsmouth to Cherbourg (5hrs 30mins).

Eurotunnel
Route: Folkestone to Calais (35mins).

LD Lines
Routes: Portsmouth (3hrs 30mins) and Newhaven (5hrs) to Le Havre, as well as Newhaven to Dieppe (4hrs). Also a service from Rosslare to Le Havre (21hrs).

NorfolkLine
Route: Dover to Dunkerque (1hr 45mins).

P&O Ferries
Route: Dover to Calais (1hr 30mins).

SeaFrance
Route: Dover to Calais (1hr 30mins).

SpeedFerries
Route: From Dover to Boulogne (50mins).

Related article: Will holidaying in France become too pricey?

If you have any advice on travelling to France by ferry please feel free to leave a comment below.

Comments

[Rich]

Hi Craig, your link to Eurotunnel is actually taking browsers to Eurostar's website... Rich

[Craig McGinty]

Thanks for that Rich, all tweaked now.
Craig

[Gerry]

Of course, there's always an exception to the rule. An unfortunate Irish friend of mine has a holiday home in the Dordogne. He usually flies in but this time has to take a lot of stuff for the house down in the car. He booked his ferry from Rosslare in Southern Ireland to Le Havre several months ago and travels at the end of June. The return fare was a staggering 980 euros for himself and his wife on Irish Ferries. Coincidentally, Irish Ferries' first direct sailing to France started in 1973, the year of the first oil crisis. According to the the ViaMichelin site his tolls from Le Havre will amount to 200 euros. He intends to drive down over two days so has the further expense of meals and hotels. And that's before he even puts the key in the door of his house in France to kick off his three week holiday. I read somewhere recently that the holiday maker's average daily spend in France is 87 euros, a fact I thought it better not to mention. It has always been very expensive to get off "the Island" but I have the feeling that, for this trip, my mate will need to pack his money in his suitase and his clothes in his pockets. On this occasion, I wonder if he feels a bit fuelish that he didn't fly?

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Gerry, Yikes that is one heck of a travel bill! And the €87 was just in the Dordogne, more here:

http://www.thisfrenchlife.com/thisfrenchlife/2008/05/economic-impact.html

All the best
Craig

[Martin Woodrow]

Not directly related but how do French travellers to UK manage where car hire firms insist on you having a credit card for the deposit? I was under impression very few French people had crdit cards, just debit cards.

[Lynda Stenton]

Hi Craig
Don't forget the the people in the North of England and Scotland! DFDS Seaways offers a daily service from Newcastle to IJmuiden, Amsterdam, which provides a perfect gateway for those wanting to travel to France (175 miles), without having to travel miles (347) and hours down the country to go short sea, only to have more driving the oher end on the continent. It is flexible pricing so the earlier you book the more you save! If we can be of service, visit our web site www.dfds.co.uk. Best regards Lynda Stenton. DFDS Seaways Ltd

[Richard B]

For our recent trip back to the UK we used http://www.eurodrive.co.uk/
Got a return trip on Norfolk Line for £36. Smart ferries and very good service too.

[Richard Charman]

My family (6 of us) have taken to driving down to the Chateau of the Great Sun (www.chateauofthegretsun.co.uk ) near Castelnaudary, Souh West France.

My wife and I take it in turns to share the driving - around 15 hours to cover 750 miles one way - including stops.

We have done so because not only is it cheaper to do so for 6 of us than it is to fly, but more importantly, one faces far fewer hassles than one does at UK airports - where security related issues make the whole experience tedious in the extreme and far less enjoyable.

(Having said that I used T5 at Heathrow twice during the height of the problems faced by British Airways and had absolutely no problems at all - for which many thanks BA!)

We also use the car because we can take more baggage with us - at no additional cost or the need to reclaim it.

We use Eurotunnel and find it is very smooth and efficient. The worst part of the car journey is around the Peripherique around/through Paris - tends to be easy in the morning and attrocious at 6 pm on a Saturday.

A motorway from Calais by-passing Paris would make life a lot easier for travellers.

The beauty of taking a car is that one can take time out and see other parts of France enroute to one's destination and have a break at the same time.

[Craig McGinty]

Thanks so much to everyone who has left comments about ferry services to France, I know I've learnt some new things.
All the best,
Craig

[Emmet]

I was planning to take Irish ferries from Cork with my wife, just as a foot passengers, planning to get the train at the French side. I checked it out, and no matter what combination of ports/times I choose, it still worked out at at least €100 - €200 more than flying direct, because of manditory cabin/seating charges.

Really, there should be a bridge/tunnel from Antrim to Scotland, and a high speed rail link from Cork to Glasgow. Whenever we get the new TGV...

[Paris on a Shoestring]

Thanks for the great article Craig !. Love crossing the channel by ferry, while it is a bit more time consuming than Eurostar etc, love the nice sea views on a clear summer day :)