We have booked next summers tickets for our 7.5m camper for £243 return. Swapped the tesco vouchers for it so £80s wort of vouchers and £3 top up. Been going across for years using them, sometimes 4 or 5 times, and never used flexiplus.

Get up early and get on it.

nah, leave after work (cheeky, slight early leave friday if poss). Blast to the tunnel, across the border and you’re in france by 8pm their time. Either drive overnight in shifts or drive for 5 hours, kip in a fomula1 (midnight uk time) and drive the rest of the way first thing. Full days riding in the alps awaits. Similar for the way back – we’ve managed 9 days riding with 5 days off work doing it this way

I’ve done Wirral to Leogang 3 or 4 times a year since 2012.
Always go Dover/Dunkirk, ferry is always under £200 return. 4 tanks of fuel in the van (2000 miles return) is around £320 atm.
I used to do it in one hit but now I leave Wirral around 9am to get the 4pm ferry, get to Luxembourg around 11pm, cheap hotel (£60), set off after breakfast and get to Austria in the afternoon.
No toll roads on my route through France/Belgium/Luxembourg/Germany/Austria

@sharkattack if you fancy a week DH/Enduro some time we should hook up.

@ollie_the_brave i dm’d you, thanks

I think Flexi-plus is a total waste of Money – i’ve turned up hours early, and a bit late before and they’ve always put us on the next available crossing – think i got charged £8 once when we we’re about 10 hours early.

This. On a return from Alpe d’Huez, I left loads of extra time due to being worried about missing my slot on a fixed ticket. I turned up two hours early and they put me on the next available train.

Agree with the comments about Flexi, really is no need. You can change you ticket at any time if you call up, you just pay any extra due (but no admin fee). IF you’re late, they just put you on the next train – they arent busy currently.

I came back through the tunnel yesterday at 8.30am. Shortest queue I’ve ever experienced and no issues with Covid checks so long as you complete everything in advance. Now, the M25, that’s anther matter….

Tolls between Calais and Chamonix are about 90 euros. 50 euros if you come off nearer Dijon and head into Switzerland.

Slightly OT – if anyone is driving out or coming back soon, lateral flow tests are currently free in Switzerland – who’d have thought.

Slightly OT – if anyone is driving out or coming back soon, lateral flow tests are currently free in Switzerland – who’d have thought.

Isn’t that tied to their covid passport scheme though?

Question, when do you need a carnet? Thinking about how much kit costs it is far in excess of any permitted import value.

bit of a cheeky bump. so a sort of summary
chunnel, if you live near it and dont drop the cash on the flexi plus – 5 in a van is the way to go
ferry – similar to above and a bit cheaper and possibly takes a while longer but not really an issue
flying – if you live up north it saves a lot of motorway grind, bit you are into transfers, or car hire etc so not really cheaper than driving
train. anyone actually used a train to get to bourg? it does sound like a very civilised way of getting there but of course you can only take what you can carry, and i like to take a lot. usually i take a whole spare bike to rob for spares.
one last way my brother has done a couple of times. Get someone else to take your bike and fly/drive. The flights were very cheap, and if you share the car hire, that bit can be cheap too. I looked at the link above for getting your bike posted out there and its really expensive. Maybe i could fill my bus up with bikes and take donations to help pay the diesel bill..

Maybe i could fill my bus up with bikes and take donations to help pay the diesel bill..

If I had a mate with a bus I’d be first in line. I’d love to let someone else drive for once.

If you’re traveling from the north to Dover the ferry gives you more of a break then the tunnel. The VIP room – or whatever it’s called on board is worth doing as you can fill your face and pockets with more than the cost of pastries/cakes etc and have a short power nap on the comfy recliners.

Budget in for a Sanef Peage tag, quicker, saves on fuel, itemised billing.

I have the sanef thing it lives in the van. Absolutely well worth it can save sometimes 10 or 15 minutes at a busy toll. I have had a fancy RS6 thing overtake me 2 or 3 times at silly speed because he got stuck in the tolls, and i just scooted directly through the express lane without even having to come to a stop. itemised billing is good too when it comes to sharing out the costs. Re diesel i brim it before i leave, and brim it when i get home and then its simply fuel added £/people on bus.
My bus insurance company let me add additional drivers for the trip for £17.50 (total not each its just an admin charge) so i always do this. then its really only 3 hours driving each for 3 people in france, and i like to do the last hour up the switchbacks and so on.

The biggest thing I forgot in my previous post;

Share the journey with people who can sleep in moving vehicles and are used to long intercontinental journeys. MrsRNP and I have done North Manchester to the Spanish border for years in our V70 pre Covid. Taking turns driving, sleep when not driving or pull into an Aire and have a power nap in the back of the car, quick fuel&pee stops, etc.

I drove to Morzine a few years ago with a mate and his teenage son, my mate was anal about his car and would hardly let me drive, no chance was his lad driving. Faffing around in French service stations for ages. They couldn’t grasp beforehand just how big France is to drive across.
It took ages and we hit ‘the wall’, they couldn’t sleep in the car and were absolutely knackered all week with constant arguements between us. It definitely strained the friendship long term.

Well I flew Bristol – Geneva in 2019 & had choice of 4 flights on a Saturday, but now there are no direct flights.

I also priced the train up from St Pancras to Bourg SM & its over 3 times the price of my last flight!

A week in Wales it is then.