# First time to France



## mistycat (Jan 28, 2014)

Probably in the wrong place,
Hey guys 
we are going to go to France the last two weeks of sept, i have read some of the advice on where to go,
what about the ferry thing, which ones best time to travel i havn't used a ferry since my army days a looonnngggg time ago it was always better to go late at night,
we dont fancy the tunnel, 
so what do you reckon on the ferrys, 
thanks Misty





site helper note - moved to ferry / tunnel


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## Pat-H (Oct 30, 2009)

If you book well in advance you can get good prices and you'll see that the cost goes up around the popular times of day. We used to pick a cheap slot but nowadays we prefer to pick a time that suits the traveling we need to do. No point getting a late ferry and not being able to make it to your first stop in a sensible time.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Misty it's cheaper in the night

Tunnel is great but you need to book it a bit in advance for cheaper prices

If you subscribe to cc a and maybe the other site

It may be cheaper

However you need to cross that water one way or another :lol: :lol: 

Aldra


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## Poulbot (Nov 8, 2013)

Use the quickest route, imo, as it will be cheaper and less hassle when boarding. Dover - Calais or Dover - Dunkirk. I agree with you that the cheapest times are usually the least popular, so early hours of the morning would be the best, but that depends on your travel plans.


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## suedew (May 10, 2005)

We have crossed at all sorts of times, overnighted at Dunkirk after getting there late and also at Callais. Try to sort an aire out within an hours drive of the port if we get there at a decent time. then gently meander, usually have more time to spare though.
Enjoy it whatever you do.
Be warned P&O measure your van and charge excess if you are even an inch over booking length.
All vehicles measured coming back from Santander, not P&O a couple of weeks ago.
If you do book through a club double check they have the correct dimensions, despite telling CC our length with bikes and rack they booked us for manufacturers length, presume the have it in a database. Only realised when we were measured and had to pay extra, pays to check your ticket.

sue


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## mistycat (Jan 28, 2014)

Guys
we are just at the planning stage we are thinking of doing the two week plan that Barryd suggested on the france thread,
we will be travelling down from sunny north wales on the sat, we use to do sally lines from dunkirk in the old days,
we are in the camping and caravan club so will check there discounts,
so all advice will be appriciated,
to help plan our trip,
i have a old army mate living in vasles will that be on track??
Misty


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## Poulbot (Nov 8, 2013)

Flippin' heck! Sally Line.  
You must remember Townsend Thorensen then from Felixstowe to Zeebrugge? Popular route for Forces to & from Germany.


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## mistycat (Jan 28, 2014)

Poulbot said:


> Flippin' heck! Sally Line.
> You must remember Townsend Thorensen then from Felixstowe to Zeebrugge? Popular route for Forces to & from Germany.


oh no showing my age :lol: :lol: 
yep, i lost a good mate in the one that capsized, a few years ago that
Misty


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## readyforoff (Dec 28, 2013)

Tunnel - one time related price for any size van - drive in - go - stay in your van half hour - off - on your way. If cost is an issue shop at Tesco for 12 months and it's a freebie next year........and just to reply in advance to the posts that follow any mention of the Tesco scheme - yes I do know beans are tuppence cheaper at Aldi


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## Landyman (Apr 3, 2010)

I usually book P&O Dover to Calais to cross at around 11:00 and back at 16:00ish mid. week for our 7.9 mtr van. Usual cost is £50 each way and it seems to make no difference when I book as long as it's as least 48 hrs before crossing. We also add the Club Lounge for a very civilised trip.
If you are a member of the CC or C&CC you might save a few pounds by booking through them.
The costs do vary depending on the day and time but if you go to the P&O website you can easily get a quote for different days and times. As far as I can tell booking months early makes no difference.

Richard.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Just do a few checks on P&O and DFDS sites to see what works out best. none of them are mega expensive. We only book one way as we never know when we are coming back.

We used to go down to Dover (320 miles for us) and stay over on the front and get the 8am the next morning but the last two times we crossed over about 4pm and then just headed for somewhere within an hours drive on the other side. Only problem with going the same day when you have a long drive is predicting the the traffic. One time we turned up late at 3:59 for the 4pm ferry with DFDS but they still let us on.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Get on the email newsletter lists of the ferry companies. They'll always be sending you email offers, not always relevant, and they are not really disposed towards reducing motorhome fares. But I suppose it depends whether advance booking for September meets expectations, or whether it's lagging - supply and demand rules the day (prices). 

Remember if you book through CC or C&CC you have to make any changes with them, and they are not always open when you might need them.


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## rotorywing (Jul 19, 2010)

Remember if you book through CC or C&CC you have to make any changes with them said:


> This happened to us last year when we were rained out in the Moselle, decided to head home on Friday night.......but it was a bank holiday week-end, no CC to contact till the following Tuesday. So thought sod it and drove to Calais and bought another ticket £50.
> 
> I do believe they now work Saturday morning's !!
> 
> Martin


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## wp1234 (Sep 29, 2009)

mistycat said:


> Probably in the wrong place,
> Hey guys
> we are going to go to France the last two weeks of sept, i have read some of the advice on where to go,
> site helper note - moved to ferry / tunnel[/quote
> ...


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

Does everyone else but me have a Tesco nearby? :? 


Chris


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## bigtwin (May 24, 2008)

We don't, but we still just about cover the full cost of the tunnel from our annual spend on the Tesco credit card.


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## dally1 (Jul 1, 2010)

I always think that part of the fun with going on holiday is the actual planning so take your time and have a look at all the ferry providers. The last two years DFDS has been our cheapest option. Once with the CC and once direct but have had great deals from CC&C and also Camping Cheques in the past. 

One thing I would mention from our first trip for your consideration. 
I had planned or first trip to death. I booked the ferries by price so I planned what time to leave home, where to stay on route so we would be at Dover, fresh for 4am sailing. I figured out route and how far to travel realistically for the first day, where to stop and so on. Worked a treat.

Same coming back, worked it out how to get back to Calais for midnight sailing. All was well till we arrived in Dover 12.30am and I realised I hadn't given a minutes thought as to going home from there.
We had a caravan back then so didn't fancy a layby so drove 360 miles back to Cumbria. Poor planning. My point is the holiday isn't over till you are home. Hope you plan better than I did.


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## Jennifer (Mar 24, 2009)

I too am in the mid stages of arranging my first ever trip to France in July, and am planning on going over on the 22.00 ferry from Plymouth, arriving at Roscoff at 8 am. This is with Brittany Ferries. As it is overnight, we are having a cabin, so will be heading down to the Atlantic Coast during our first day. Please do not shout, but I am going to be using sites as opposed to aires or wild camping. Total cost for sites and ferry for 12 days approx. £670.00


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

mistycat said:


> Poulbot said:
> 
> 
> > Flippin' heck! Sally Line.
> ...


Yes, tragic as 193 lost their lives then. We did a booze run two days before and felt so lucky.

Ray.


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## Geriatricbackpacker (Aug 21, 2012)

We often book with DFDS or P&O via Ferries Direct which tends to be a little cheaper. We have found that P&O can be slightly more expensive but they will put you on an earlier ferry if you are there about an hour early (they will turn you away though if you are too early). The last few times we went P&O they gave me a money off coupon for the duty free shop (I think it was about £10-15) which allowed me to get some aftershave at a vastly discounted price.
With regards to service I don't think there is much to choose between the two. We normally book for the 2.45 pm as its cheaper and nearly always travel at 1.45 pm (if with P&O). Coming back we get the 10am ferry (we don't tend to get there early) and stay the night at Cite Europe.

Terry


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

As we are on the Western side of France and we have children in both the Southampton and the Exeter area we tend to travel using Brittany Ferries too, either Plymouth - Roscoff or more commonly Portsmouth - St Malo as we prefer that route and the drive from St Malo to our home is about 2 hours shorter than from Roscoff.

We are members of the Brittany Ferries "Club Voyage" which gives anyone using our number ( F85632) a 10% discount on booking....

anyone (and everyone) is welcome to use that number and get the discount for themselves - BF is NOT the cheapest ferry company as the routes are much longer than Dover-Calais.......

We often use an overnight ferry as we have a good nights sleep in a cabin and then arrive in france at around 0730, having already breakfasted and then ready to drive.......

In the end it is a matter of personal choice, in our case we cannot use Tesco Clubcard points as Tesco have cancelled all of my points as they have expired due to time and they would not allow us to use them for tunnel tickets either........ (However we tried it, as soon as we entered our French registration number it cancelled the lot.....).

So BF works for us (and for our gite guests as they all get the number and the reduction (which brings a smile to their face too :lol: ).

If that option is attractive of going to the Western side of France (Normandy + Day beaches _ excellent cider! or Britanny - peaceful and lovely scenery but very reminiscent of Cornwall with sun and attitude), then feel free to use our number - their cabins are very comfortable - we tend to have a 4 berth for just us two, and their restaurants can be superb if you are on the right sailing.......

Dave


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