Ferry verses tunnel?/

When things are normal we really like Poole to Cherbourg. We’re only an hour from Poole and the Cherbourg peninsula is a lovely run into France.

If we’re going to Spain we enjoy the long crossing, for us it’s part of the trip. We like Cap Finistere and Pont Aven. We look forward to trying the new ones.

Newhaven to Dieppe can be OK with the over 60’s discount.

Don’t mind Dover/Folkestone as a last resort if we’re staying over that side of Europe.

If I got seasick or had pets it would be tunnel every time, cost would not be a factor.
 
Used both, but mainly in 3.5t commercial van.

Ferry by preference 3 hr drive to Dover, 1/2 hour wait, 07:30 ferry 1.5 hours off with breakfast.

Then 5 hours drive for overnight Stop.

Tunnel costs more and no break with breakfast etc, so shorter drive after crossing.
 
Like 138go we look at prices (well I do). If less than £10 difference I'd use the tunnel but otherwise the ferry.

As we don't use Tesco no clubcard vouchers for us :(
 
To be fair, on the motorbike, tunnel is the only way. You can stand next to it and stop it falling over, which it is far less likely to do anyway.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I have a block of tunnel tickets left, but I am almost certain that I will never use them again. The extension I got last year will also be expiring and not extended again. I am resigned to the UK from now on, the restrictions will not be removed, anytime soon.
Next lockdown about late September/October, for another period of months??????
 
It’s a personal choice with people holding entrenched views in both camps. Friend of mine would say to me “Why oh why would you take the ferry when the tunnel is so much quicker?”. For him, his holiday only started once he’d reached France.

For me, I have many boyhood memories of ferry crossings and boarding a ferry in Dad’s car was a moment of excitement and anticipation of a great holiday to come. Indeed the ferry crossing became (and still is) part of the holiday itself.

Nowadays, we prefer to travel overnight with a cabin and enjoy a holiday tipple at the bar “acclimatising” ourselves into holiday mode. The following morning 8.00 am sharp we’re good to go and at that time in the morning can do some serious damage into a challenging day of driving if that’s your choice.

On reflection for us I guess the ferry is head & shoulders the more romantic & traditional option whereas the Tunnel has zero appeal and we’d only ever find ourselves crossing that way a) if there was a ferry strike or b) the wife was in a coma (she gets claustrophobic doing the Dartford tunnel!).

The thought of paying the equivalent ferry fare and then have to remain in your car or motorhome and missing out savouring setting sail from Dover or Portsmouth or Plymouth and then arriving at Dunkerque, Caen, St Malo, Cherbourg or even better still Bilbao or Santander leaves me puzzled.

But I started out by saying it was a personal choice and we’re not all seafarers! Makes me wonder what some here would have done pre-tunnel?!
 
Last edited:
We have been driving back and forwards to France for over 30 years with car, car and caravan and now with Motorhome. ALWAYS used the ferry primarily as is was always way, way cheaper than the tunnel - at least half the price originally but always over £50 cheaper - (We do the double crossing at least 6 times a year). We have now changed to the tunnel as the price difference is minimal and no charge for making changes to crossing. Ferry companies have become greedy!
 
The tunnel is too much of a drag for us. I have travelled that journey SO many times over the years, It can take 6 hours, it can take 12. From Manchester, the best I ever did was an early hours of the morning to Dover. There was another motorhome and a car following me. I don't think I touched the brakes from setting off from Stockport, until we got to Dover. Trip was around 5 hours.

Coming back, via the tunnel one day. 12 hours. Workers Supposed to have finished a walkway bridge over M20 at 10am. We got on the motorway after that and it was at a standstill for FOUR LONG HOURS. Bad traffic management by the Police. Long tailbacks all the way back, it was a 12 hour trip.

Now we use Hull for Benelux, Germany, Austria & Switzerland. Always use Sanatander/Bilbao for Spain. Cannot remember the last time we drove through France to get to Spain. I think ! Think, it may have been 2006.
 
If it was just Dover to Calais tunnel every time we live in Cornwall so depends where we are going

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I like the tunnel for speed of crossing but it's an absolute slog driving 250 east to Folkstone and dampens the excitement.
I would much prefer the ferry from Portsmouth/Plymouth but it's far more expensive than the tunnel as well as the difficulties of dog cabins or lack off.
 
Bessy765 said:
Just looked at both for 31/10/2021. Around 10:00 £110 for P&O £112 for tunnel ??
Click to expand...
Whilst deals are reasonable for long trips, a daytrip in August via Shuttle or Ferry is around £177 for two wrinkleys and a PT Cruiser for about 10 hours ashore! I could not believe it, so I telephoned P&O customer services and they confirmed it. The lady also agreed that she wouldn't pay that for a day trip, and could not give a reason why it should be so expensive, as the last one that I did cost £25 with 6 bottles of wine thrown in! Ok, it was in the winter period, but even £50 should be more than enough for a day-trip. I can see into the Tunnel from my loft window and I am only 7 mins from Dover (on a good day with no Op Stack!) Oh. both companies now take Tesco club-card points, but I won't waste them on a day-trip. It looks as though it will be cheaper to pay the charges and go to London for a day out, even though I could be well on the way to Paris or ambling through the French countryside in the time that it takes to get into London with all the en-route traffic hold-ups! Welcome to Brexit, Welcome to Rip Off Britain and Welcome to that strange yellow glow in the sky!
 
I did a post last year where the tunnel was very expensive for us.

See my post below. Hull-Rotterdam August ended up costing just under £400 return. 7.5m with Bikes, outside double bed cabins.

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Eurotunnel too Expensive!

Only used the Tunnel once in last 7 years due to our location and price difference from Hull ferry, we’re booked on the Hull-Rotterdam on the 4/9 and returning 16 days later, 7m mh and 2 berth cabin £398. I don’t think Zeebrugge is freight only as that’s the route we normally do but was over a...
www.motorhomefun.co.uk www.motorhomefun.co.uk
 
For us the Holiday starts when we shut the front door. The drive to Dover is part one, discussing where we might head off after the crossing. Cup of tea at the port and then a meal on the boat, all part of the traditions we have. On the way back we have an Auchan Cake in the que to board and again a cuppa or a mean on the boat heading home. On the train, you get....nothing.
so for us, Ferry every time.

D

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Eggs said:
Do you honestly make the call on a tenner difference to get onto the continent?
Click to expand...
Only been once in the last 20 years so £10 an exaggeration! The difference last time was three times more for the tunnel so the ferry was a no-brainer - especially since Dunkirk was easier for us as we were going to Italy via Belgium, Luxembourg and the Rhine Valley. I don't really mind if we use tunnel or ferry so would usually go for the cheaper option.

If there was a ferry from Newcastle or Rosyth we'd use that as the journey from Scotland to Kent is one to be avoided if possible. We could go from Hull but the cost puts us off a bit. It's a shame the ferry from Newcastle stopped running as taking the MH to Norway, Faroes, Iceland etc was always a trip I wanted to do. Ah well, the best laid plans!

The way things are with care duties means we are very unlikely to travel off the UK mainland (not even to Ireland) anytime soon.
 
Puddleduck said:
Only been once in the last 20 years so £10 an exaggeration! The difference last time was three times more for the tunnel so the ferry was a no-brainer - especially since Dunkirk was easier for us as we were going to Italy via Belgium, Luxembourg and the Rhine Valley.

If there was a ferry from Newcastle or Rosyth we'd use that as the journey from Scotland to Kent is one to be avoided if possible. We could go from Hull but the cost puts us off a bit.

The way things are with care duties means we are very unlikely to travel off the UK mainland (not even to Ireland) anytime soon.
Click to expand...
See my post above re Hull cost
 
Thanks EuroTrotters

It's all academic at the moment anyway as the van will continue to be used as our hotel / bolt hole as I will need to be at my parents at least two or three times a month and for several days at each visit. (see the posts in Broken Link Removed for details if you don't know and are curious).
 
To me, the only downside to the tunnel is there's no sense of occasion. You drive into a box, wait a few minutes and drive back out the other side. It's almost too easy.

But with it being easy, not worrying about weather, etc. And my wife gets seasick. There'd have to be a pretty good reason to ferry.
 
The tunnel for us. It’s just easier with the dog. As we have to travel south we don’t start our holiday until we get off on the other side.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
nicholsong said:
I have to admit that I have not done the Chunnel, but I have seen the videos.

For me it has no aesthetics compared with a ferry: the smell of the sea, motion, 'White Cliffs of Dover/Cap Gris Nez,

Even watching the crew and the harbour shoremen take the lines and more up the vessel is part of the journey and pleasure.

But then I am a sailor

Geoff
Click to expand...
More/Moor and a sailor
 
Last edited:
If going straight to Spain we sometimes use the ferry, if not then we use the Tunnel.
Ferry bookings to Spain with 2 dogs are a pain due to kennels and pet friendly rooms being booked months in advance so it is seldom that we use it. The Tunnel is much more pet friendly, there is just the 2 of us so the dogs come everywhere we go. The dogs have Spanish pet passports so there is no problems getting in and out and no restrictions on length of stay due to them. Herself has Spanish residency so no problems with her either.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
The last time we went from Dover was on a motorhome tour and the ticket was a 60 day flexi ticket and the nice lounge was included . Must admit it was worth it and I’d pay the extra if we used it again. I don’t smoke or drink so I often think that sitting somewhere nice with clean loos is worth every penny. Personal choice of course.
 
Littlewheels said:
they check the Dogs passport and Chip on the outward journey
Click to expand...
You should ask why? or use dfds. no requirement for anything going out.Why a mzzle? It's not as if he is getting ot dover to calais/dunkirk?
Eggs said:
Do you honestly make the call on a tenner difference to get onto the continent?
Click to expand...
If I ever saw it a tenner difference I'd use the tunnel out when on my own.
bexleyjohn said:
Ferry companies have become greedy!
Click to expand...
I think it might be having to run at 50% capacity is also not helping
 
I think it worth mentioning that though most and their dog are looking for the best deal,the best being the cheapest it seems no one appears to appreciate the infrastructure of the Tunnel on both sides. It was all made and designed for purpose and is quite brilliant this to me is a consideration when taking the Tunnel and it has to be paid for.
 
Littlewheels said:
they check the Dogs passport and Chip on the outward journey
Click to expand...
You should ask why? or use dfds. no requirement for anything going out.Why a mzzle?

Its compulsory on all BF sailings that doesn’t allow your Dog to stay in the vehicle for the duration of the journey.
 
Borsuk said:
Ferry bookings to Spain with 2 dogs are a pain due to kennels and pet friendly rooms being booked months in advance
Click to expand...
Perhaps there's an opportunity to lease a boat, turf the deck and restrict it to bookings by people with dogs.
;)

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top