New to overseas - Ferry Prices
Hi All,
We are considering a trip over to France next year for the first time with our caravan.
The Normandy area looks appealing and therefore a ferry from Portsmouth or Poole would be easier. We already have a long drive from Manchester and this looks a good option for then cutting down the driving in France.
Looking at prices for this August though they seem very expensive - can you give me any tips or advice regarding booking ferries - is booking early the best way? If so when? Are there offers i need to look out for later in the year? Is Dover the best option price wise?
Or any first time advice at all really 
Thanks a lot
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We go over in May and September so I can't say about August prices but I have just costed out Portsmouth/ Ouistreham for us and by going on a Sunday as opposed to the following day, Monday, we could save £94 so you need to play around with the dates. Likewise the afternoon ferry out is a lot cheaper than the morning one. Out of season if you buy CMC cheques you get a big discount on the ferry price so that pays for the cheques and gives you four 'free' nights camping. I have not noticed much difference in prices booking early.
For a first timer Calais is much easier to get out of as you are straight on the motorway. At Ouistreham the journey to Bella Riva site, if you take the afternoon ferry, is easy but getting round Caen by pass the next morning is very busy. We tried leaving the site once at 7am thinking it wouldn't be so busy at that time and if anything it was worse.
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Hi Jules,
Plan A . Save Tesco vouchers for a year, multiply face value by three and buy a tunnel ticket.
Plan B. Shop at Waitrose for a year, and buy a cheap Dover ferry ticket crossing at 3am.
Plan C. Drive to Poole, sleep overnight at the ferry port and go to a cheap beach front municipal site near Cherbourg and save on petrol.
Plan D . To hell with the money and come down to Provence.
Enjoy yourselves.
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Hubby wants the sea and then chateaux in the Loire for this holiday but if the weather is bad when we get there we will be joining you. Loved Provence in the spring so would like to see it in the Autumn. Ah well! There is always next year.
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Dover Calais is always cheapest option and maybe for a 1st time easier. You can save the extra cost of the ferry from one of the western ports many times over and drive to Normandy is less than a day.
As you are a caravanner I would suggest driving down from Manchester and stay overnight at Black Horse Farm then 20/30 minute drive to port to get an early ferry, you can be in Normandy late afternoon.
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Having done it once I would argue against getting a ferry in the middle of the night!!!! As said Dover-Calais will always be cheaper but you do have to add in the extra miles from Calais to your final destination. Is the site/sites you want to stay at bookable via the Club? If so you might get a discount on one of the longer ferry crossings. If crossing via Poole consider staying overnight at South Lytchett Caravan and Camping Park which is only a few miles from the Poole Ferry Terminal.
David
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It’s a long, long, time ago that we did our first trip overseas and I can understand that you may not want to go too far, hence, Brittany Ferries and Normandy but we went to Switzerland first trip. I would also suggest you stick to Calais and travel at a reasonable time of day. Once you get used to driving on the wrong side you will find it so much easier than UK - less crowded and no need to book sites even in August unless you want a large site in a popular area. Just make sure that you stop mid afternoon and not late evening.
Although you may want to save on tolls you will find it far less stressful first time to use the Autoroutes. Plenty of great places to stop and easy driving.
Suggest you consider Southern Brittany, the Loire, or better still the Dordogne. Best to stay flexible because if the weather is bad in Northern Europe you can stay on the A26 Autoroute to Reims, Lyon then when you get to Valence the sun will come out and you will be in Provence.
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We live just north of Manchester and been travelling to France in the peak summer time for about 6 years now - once I was assured that we didn't have to actually reverse our caravan off the ferry! We love planning our trips and are being more adventurous this year - using the tunnel and travelling to Switzerland and south of France.
The first trip we made we used the Dover/Calais ferry crossing which was very cheap despite it being peak school holidays last week in July. Leaving our home in the morning, we stayed overnight at Blackhorse site in Dover area and then had an early getup for 8am ferry. It was easypeasy but we were heading to Bordeaux region and then onto Dordogne. We did feel that we went from West to East (in England) and then back again (in France). Don't forget to factor in the French tolls. It is possible to travel using toll-free roads but for your first time in France, it might be better if you just stick with the easy option of toll roads.
For the last five years, we have been using the Portsmouth/Caen route on the overnight ferrys as we always seem to be holidaying in west side of France. We leave our home late morning and have a very easy amble down to Portsmouth. Park up at the terminal and chill out, then board. Cheeky couple of glasses of wine on board before bed in a comfy cabin. Wake up in France, drive away from port for about an hour before stopping for brekkie in our van. Yes, this route is not cheap! Loaded up twin-axle and 3 people in a cabin (both ways) has cost anything from £600 to £900. The higher side is because I sometimes treat us to a premier cabin if I have had a particularly busy time at work and think "what the hell" when I am making the booking, We save a night in a campsite and quite a lot on the toll fees but I do think this is a more expensive way of travel. We just enjoy it as part of our holiday!
Driving on French roads is almost pleasurable and you don't realise how crammed UK roads are until you are travelling back home. It also took me several years before I bought a Sanef Toll tag to get us through the toll stations without fuss and needing to hunt down change or use a card.
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"Plan D . To hell with the money and come down to Provence.
Enjoy yourselves. " whilst agreeing with this one and also Plan A, there are some nice sites in northern Brittany and on the Cotentin peninsula which we found on our way back to Poole recently. Do loads of research it's a great way to spend winter days.
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There is a lot of good advice above however to answer your query regarding pricing, ferry and tunnel train tickets get more expensive the closer to the trip date. Looking at August 2018 prices in June same year is no indication of price paid when booking in December 2018 for an august '19 trip. And, as others have referred to there are also deals/vouchers available to further reduce the cost.
For our first caravan trip abroad in 2012 we travelled from Huddersfield to Austria using the Tunnel and Black horse farm for the previous nights stop over. This year will be our 6th trip and will take in northern germany (Baltic coast) and Denmark so using the Hull/Rotterdam ferry route which we booked in january (in part to ensure we had an on board kennel for the dog). Only last year went as close to home as France, albeit the French Pyranees. This year apart we now normally use the Dover - calais ferry on a mid afternoon sailing having left Yorkshire around 7am. The sailing is for me more relaxing than the tunnel and a chance to get some sea air and food. We stop over at Le Bien Assis just outside calais (other sites are available) so the following day we have an early start on the other side. We like the site for its restaurant and great for the dog too. The problem we quickly found with an early morning crossing is due to the time difference you immediately 'loose' an hour. Leaving Dover on a 8am 90minute sailing means you are landing at 10.30 and a valuable couple of hours driving time lost. We prefer to get as much mileage out the way as possible as quickly as possible. Roads are much quieter in France albeit tolls where applied are flipping expensive and not offset by cheaper fuel, unlike much of Europe which has cheaper fuel and no tolls. Some motorways in Northern france are however toll free. We tried to get a night crossing from Portsmouth/Plymouth last year but couldn't get one for the return leg and in the end the combination of ferry costs was such Dover-calais was overall much cheaper and only added a day to our trip. Whatever you plan enjoy it and pass back any tips you learn along the way.
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Quote - can you give me any tips or advice regarding booking ferries - is booking early the best way? If so when? Are there offers i need to look out for later in the year? Is Dover the best option price wise?
My experience is that fares on the Dover?Calais-Dunkirk route or Tunnel, increases as the travel day approaches. However Brittany Ferries routes tend to remain similar throughout with the cheaper cabins selling out first. Since they vary in price from around £60 pnpp up to £120 per night, choice of cabin can influence the final fare considerably.
As to how soon to book - as early as possible. It only needs a deposit with the booking. My next sailing is to Bilbao next November and I booked it last February. My first choice wasn't available as all the cheaper cabins had been sold.
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We once did the route to Brittany via Calais. Having driven all day from Calais towing the caravan, we arrived in Normandy about 30 minutes drive from Ouistreham Ferry having consumed the best part of a tank of fuel and wasted a day. We did not repeat the exercise. We have used Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth for the last few years usually booking the ferries in October for the following year. Daytime crossings to Caen can be quite reasonable when you factor in fuel costs and tolls plus the time saved. Also Dover is 300 miles from Manchester and requires use of the M25 and Dartford crossing. Portsmouth is 250 miles and requires neither of these. Rookesbury Park is a very convenient overnight stop for Portsmouth ferries.
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if you go from Poole (nice quiet port and dead easy driving out from Cherbourg) overnight on the port and save yourself the CC fee .....
youll be right there, ready for the off at 8:30...
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Plan E - If you live in Lancashire I would say use your caravan in the UK. To go "over there" get a cheap Easyjet/Jet 2/Flybe etc flight from Manchester or Liverpool and hire a car ( booked before you leave UK). Use the internet to find cheap hotel deals. This will save you long boring days dragging a caravan thousands of miles, save you a fortune on fuel, tolls, ferry crossings Red Pennant etc. If you are still of working age your time is far too precious for that. By flying you can have breakfast at home, by lunch time you will be anywhere in Europe and by tea time you will be sat in a fantastic restaurant looking over the Med or some little Piazza.
All IMHO of course, but that's what we do now after trying Plans A to D...........
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Just checked it out for us. £22 more and 13 miles more to drive from the port to Lannion in Brittany plus, according to BF website, it is £10 to park overnight with a caravan. Still might be a consideration as we have never done the Cherbourg peninsula. Do you know if you can park on the dock coming back into Poole?
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for those 'august fortnighters' I would have to agree....
having said that, we have used the Haliotis site at Pontorson and this would,make a great base for cycling to Mont St Michel, St Malo etc....B we were there out of season, which makes a difference...
sites wont be in the ACSI period in August and will be pretty expensive.
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LTC, yes I believe you can, though we've never done it....don't need to, it's pretty close to home.
as it happens, typing this on Cherbourg dock, will be at Poole a little later tonight...
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Coming from Scotland we like the Hull to Zeebrugge crossing as we can leave home in the morning, be on the ferry at teatime, have a good nights sleep and be at Le Mans or going the other way Chalons en Champagne by late afternoon on day 2.
We have done Portsmouth, Plymouth and Dover crossings but Hull suits us best for most trips. The cost this year didn't increase by much for a late booking, I normally book it in January for end of April but due to OH having a shoulder Op couldn't book until just before going.
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Haver you considered Newhaven/Dieppe. Not so far from Normandy as Calais. Coming from Lancashire, I would imagine all the ferry ports this side are a similar distance with the possible exception of Plymouth. Living, as I do, ten minutes from the Portsmouth ferry, it's a bit of a no-brainer for me.
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We like CY living near Portsmouth use the crossing to Caen.
To save money, if you have the flexibility, explore with CC staff [not online] the deals using the afternoon ferry out, and morning ferry back on various days of the week. Just ask for the "best deals" and see if they are workable, as there are real money savings to be made on using quiet sailings and those involving even a few site nights bookings. I have booked months ahead and two days ahead, the latter giving the better prices. Remember it is all a supply and demand issue, seek out the deals where they need you, not the other way round.
Re the fear expressed earlier about clearing Caen. With the late sailing you are arriving late so need to camp locally on arrival [ we use Ranville], so you can pick your time to skirt Caen. Remember France uses sensible time so 09:00 is still 08:00 to your body clock. From after 09:00 the ring road quietens a lot and is far from the frightening challenge painted earlier unless you are so laid back you hit the few hectic minutes after 12:00.
The only other advice I can think of is caravanning in France can be very addictive, we tried it 30 years ago and have not missed a year since sometimes going twice.
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We are also near Manchester we went to Normandy two years ago we used the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry the prices were quite good and it cuts quite a few miles off your drive to Normandy compared to Calais. We set off to Newhaven in the afternoon arrived late evening at Newhaven and spent the night at the port ready for the morning sailing. You arrive at Dieppe about two in the afternoon leaving you plenty of time to drive to Normandy. Newhaven is very close to the clubs Brighton site we had a couple of nights there on the way back. We are going from Newhaven again this year but sailing at eleven at night we have a cabin booked.
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From Cheshire we use the Hull - Zeebrugge route.
We drove down to Paris in 4hours or so at 26 Euros toll. If you have two drivers the Loire is achieveable in a day's run too.
The ferry isn't the cheapest but P & O have put in some work to improve the value. Children, if any, have to be considered too.
Just arrived back this week and as has been said don't confuse Autoroues with GB motorways!!!! The A16 up the West coast was a breeze, as opposed to the M62. Thankfully we were home for noon despite the traffic.
What ruins your holiday is to arrive at the South coast with that M-way trip all over again.
Just one cautionary note however, the Belgians are massively changing their Ferry Port access with scant signing and many confused travellers. Good old TomTom got us in however.
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We have finally took the plunge and booked our first trip abroad to France . We go early in September from Portsmouth to Cane . when we arrive we have our first night at the Riva Bella by the port then travel down to Camping La Guyonniere in Pays de la Loire for 12 nights then back to Riva Bella for 1 night then the ferry back home . Just the wife and myself we are really looking forward to our first adventure abroad. Any tips would be really appreciated look forward to reading some of your advice cheers
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Quite good to book for your first trip but in September there is no need so next time you can be more flexible and move around a bit. You can also take advantage of the ACSI card which is an off season discount card.
You will find France much better than the UK for caravanning - less crowded, easier driving, better weather = less stress all round. Enjoy!
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