Blighty to The Fifth Republic.
Dover/Folkestone to Calais.

In the past we have always taken the ferry. Cant say Ive ever really thought about the tunnel before.

But for the change of view, and a bit of novelty for the Stoner Jrs am considering it since I’m trying to sort out some bookings.

Price is nothing in it. For the date and time I’m interested in it’s £111/£115.

So what are the pros & cons from those that have done both?

Current P&O pros:
I know the routine and how to do it blindfolded.
I like the view on deck leaving blighty and seeing the French coast on the way in
A few pints to steady one’s driving hands never went amiss.
Cartoons on the TV in the lounge for Jrs.

Cons:
bit of hanging about at either end.
Risk of riffraff in the bistro.

is this sexual innuendo question?

Chunnel seemed way cheaper when we looked at the prices. For 2 adults, 4 kids and no overnight stop anyway. I will watch the thread in the knowledge that Stoner threads usually bring out envious amounts of ability to ‘do stuff well’.

You can pay for the Eurotunnel with Clubcard vouchers at 3:1. We went across recently, £50 of tokens got a £150 crossing, net cost of bog all.

Clubcard

what kind of Oik do you take me for?

is this sexual innuendo question?

It’s wet on top, and dark down below. What do you think?

The tunnel is just easy and convenient. Why not go out on the ferry and come back in the tunnel?

we use the tunnel as it is a lot quicker .

it saves 15/20 minutes on the drive and a lot more on the crossing .

really depends if you are in a hurry or needs a rest after long drive in the UK .

we are only in north kent , so for us wasting time to get ferry is a bit pointless as it is the start of a long drive down to france .

I often used to do the ferry out for cheapness and the tunnel back for flexibility: I used to do the drive back from wherever in one go, so I could just rock up at the tunnel at pretty much any time and get on a train within a few minutes if I was lucky, an hour or two if I wasn’t.

Tunnel’s certainly easier IME.

These days I tend to prefer the overnight crossings on the longer routes 🙂

I agree on overnights on the long ferries, but since we are sashaying our way down the eastern side of France it would be mad to do anything but Dover>Calais.

We normally leave our return “booking” until we turn up and get in the queue. We never put ourselves under any time pressure, so in reality speed/timing (within reason) is pretty immaterial.

On the tunnel, do you sit in your car or in a Thunderbirds-esque lounge?

The best bit for me is being able to not worry about departure times, rock up in a 2 hour window either side of your alloted time and it wont be a worry.

Also going down the Calais bypass full of immigrants is so depressing and sorrowful.

A couple of us are heading to Morzine from Aberdeen. We’ll be getting the ferry so we can break the journey up a bit.
I think if I was starting the journey anywhere south of Manchester’ish it would be the Chunnel.

I got talked into doing the tunnel, I wasn’t keen on the idea but I wouldn’t go back to going on the ferry now, it’s so much quicker and no feeling queasy.

The tunnel is our usual choice as it is so quick, easy and accommodating (don’t think we have ever hit our official slot). Not much to see for the littl’ons though once boarded. Only going for a ferry this summer as it is going to Cherbourg, is a fast ferry and it cuts out about about 4 hours of driving. Always use the tunnel for day trips though.

If you have a long drive before the crossing, ferry. Have break and a meal, get back in the car refreshed and ready for another good stint.
If you are sharing the driving and want to “make progress” Tunnel.
If you want flexibility and no pressure, tunnel with flexi plus. We had a one as part of a package.
Works very well on the way back from the alpes, where you could easily miss a booked slot.
You just roll onto the next train to leave and its valid for weeks or possibly open ended.
You sit in the car on the tunnel, or get out and stretch your legs. The view is not great though.
It confuses small children.

After being stuck outside the port in rough seas waiting to dock, it’s the tunnel every time for us. You sit in your car so no good for scenery or a break, you’re there before you can unwind from the drive. For that ferries are better, but that’s about all.

Tunnel every time.

Less men in fluorescent jackets shouting at me telling me where to park too. 😐

To be honest the Tunnel is a bit boring if you are not under any time pressure, no facilities actually on the shuttle, there are in the terminals at either end, but given this is about getting across the channel then given fair weather, having a meal on the ferry is a pleasant diversion.

Then we have the tenuous situation with the French strikers that are Calais dock workers and as far as i know the dispute isn’t settled, so that would favour the Tunnel.

The way the Tunnel works you drive through like a toll booth, follow the signs get in a queue go through the French border this side, then drive into the actual train which some find a bit claustrophobic, 40 minutes later you drive off the other side straight onto the motorway system further out than from the Ferry docks, so it is considerably quicker.

Most of us locals (the Tunnel is five minutes from where we work/live) use it thes days, due to the reliability in times of bad weather, indeed I met a bunch of mountain bikers back from Morzine, on the ill fated last trip and we swapped stories as we waited in one of the queues.

So give it a go at least once see what you think.

Edit: Oh and lock your car on the way back, the refugees look a bit scary and will frighten the kids.

Chunnel is impressively anticlimactic i always thought. Sit in a Queue for a short while (basically like parking at a motorway services), Drive into a steel tube when told. Sit for half an hour, Drive out again on the wrong side of the road. Not a whole lot to look at, not a whole lot to see, Very efficient (the times i’ve used it at least)

is this sexual innuendo question?

[quote] Risk of riffraff in the bistro. [/quote]You know, I think it may be

I think for the novelty then it sounds like tunnel. We were planning on stopping at the Aire in Calais for the night (going in the campervan), so no real urge to make progress, but it would be handy to see how the tunnel goes.

I’d had years and years of ferry trips to Ireland and grew to hate the bloody things. Once I’d experienced how easy the tunnel was, there was no going back to a boat for us. Plus, travelling with the dog is much easier by tunnel (IME).

Tunnel, tunnel every time if in a single car (not towing) its just so nice and quick and easy. Turn up, book in whilst sitting in your car, roll on/roll off and drive on the right… It so simple beyond belief. If you are looking to fullfill a lifelong dream of watching earth pass by the windows or the occasional drip from the Channel above then you’ll be way disappointed. It gets a bit warm for about 15mins but thats about it.

After all, shirley you want to get there so you can enjoy the great outdoors, no?

£’s difference so close now a days that the real and tangible difference is you will end up paying a little more, but then thats the price of a coffee on the ferry.. so nett difference is **** all.

HTH

I spent years traveling slowly to the dordogne via the ferry in the back of my dads volvo. Its the tunnel every time now. i wouldn’t even check the ferry for prices TBH, apart from being slow I’ve always found the ferry to be full of oiks and covered in sick (mostly my own).

Not used the tunnel but every time I’ve costed it up it’s been a lot more expensive towing the caravan.

Tunnel, even with a van it was still cheap and easy.

Get off the motorway 20mins earlier, do similar or less queue to get on, board early if it’s quiet then drive on park, chill for 30 mins drive off. No need to sit in the cafe on the boat, no bistro and no need. If you want to eat pick somewhere 30 mins out of Calais. From memory you come out straight onto the motorway so your off quicker too.

Another vote for the tunnel, and dont bother with the flexi-tickets. If you are “late” you just get on the next train with space. I just book a crossing at 3am or whatever is cheapest and turn up at 8:30. Most I’ve had to wait is 30 minutes.

Surely it depends upon where you live relative to the tunnel/ferry terminal and where you’re heading to in France. For us it’s the case of a 3hr drive to the ferry, overnight on the ferry and a 3 he drive the other side vs. 5 hr drive to the tunnel and a full 10hr or longer drive the other side. Not a great way to start a holiday. The tunnel is just not even an option.

We were planning on stopping at the Aire in Calais for the night

Last few times I’ve been across, all the Aires near Calais have been closed (for obvious reasons).

And tunnel. So much simpler (and cool for the kids – “I’m driving inside a train!”)

Interesting, Ive never known it closed before, but I can see how it might be prudent. No matter we will bimble on for a an hour or so and stop at an alternative.

Interesting, Ive never known it closed before, but I can see how it might be prudent. No matter we will bimble on for a an hour or so and stop at an alternative.

To qualify this, I’ve only taken the autoroute towards Dunkirk/Belgium (regular trips to Brussels/Netherlands), and the first couple of Aires in that direction were closed. No idea about the other routes.

Tunnel for speed and ease.

Going on the ferry feels like starting an adventure, I always go to Dunkirk as it is usually cheaper and 20 km closer to where I want to go 😆

Last time on the ferry I saw 4 porpoise which was great.

cheshire – ah, do you mean motorway Aires?

They’re not the same as Motorhome Aires:
All the Aires France North and South 3 together

The tunnel is dull. There’s no sense of “going anywhere”, you sit in the car, rock up 40 mins later in France…

There’s some faff with the ferry, but at least there’s something of the “depart” about it.

Edit: On my own? Tunnel every time, with the kids, ferry.

I have always done the Dover-Dunkirk ferry. Always been cheaper than the chunnel and never had problems getting on a ferry even when I missed the one I had booked by 6 hours.

My journey usually consists of 5-6 hours of driving each side of the channel so I prefer to take a break and stretch my legs.

Haven’t ready any of the above but!!. I’ve caught the chunnel a few times, I swore last time was the last…everytime there is some kind of delay and when there is a delay it’s horrendous.

I’ll be trying the Ferry next time.

dammit there goes the consensus. You arses are no use at all.

Tunnel every time unless towing as it gets expensive that way. We take motorbikes on a small trailer and it doubles the cost for us if we use tunnel.

I now time it so I drive down to dover to get on the ferry for around 2 have some lunch then pin it as far as possible when off the other side/drive until it gets dark.

Interesting comments about turning up late for the chunnel not being an issue. I thought we’d booked a specific slot so will go investigate that.

Just don’t go when growinglad is going. He seems to be the problem.

Pfft Lightweight Aberdeen to Verbier via tunnel