# How to get low fares?



## Patchworkqueen (Dec 7, 2007)

Hi Everyone
Where do you get the low fares I have been reading about on here? 
The lowest I have been able to get is £97.20 return, Dover/Calais. This is for sailing out about 9am early May and returning early in June, 6 mtr MH.
What are/were the Tesco vouchers?


----------



## clianthus (Jul 8, 2006)

Hi Patchworkqueen

A belated welcome to Motorhomefacts from the rally team, hope to meet you at a rally sometime in the future. Sorry, now to answer your question.

If you click on subscriber discounts in the left-hand menu and put ferries into the search it will tell you how to get 10% subscriber discount with Sea-France.

As for the Tesco discounts, Tesco have a system of points which you collect everytime you shop at Tesco, or if you have a Tesco credit card, everytime you use it. You collect these points and every quarter are sent vouchers with a value on them. You can use these to spend in Tesco or get 4 times their value if used to pay for a Euro tunnel crossing. I think it was P & O who also used to do this but that has now been discontinued. Russell (Rapide561) is the expert on these, no doubt he will be along shortly to give more details.


----------



## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hi;

The price you quote seems quite reasonable to me, I suppose it's the usual adage - shop around for the best price.

Having said that, as a subscriber you qualify for a 10% discount off seafrance crossings, see >here< for more details. You might be pleasantly surprised at the savings :wink:

Tesco vouchers are now only available for eurotunnel, a search in the forums will bring up loads of info about this.

Happy New Year;

pete


----------



## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Patchworkqueen said:


> Hi Everyone
> Where do you get the low fares I have been reading about on here?
> The lowest I have been able to get is £97.20 return, Dover/Calais. This is for sailing out about 9am early May and returning early in June, 6 mtr MH.
> What are/were the Tesco vouchers?


Do you have any Air Miles ? They give you quite a reasonable discount on cross-channel ferries. You have to ring them and they do all the paperwork. We have a Portsmouth to Caen Brittany Ferries crossing, end of March out and return early May, total £222.

G


----------



## 108717 (Dec 12, 2007)

Hi chaps/chappesses,
I'm still fairly new around here and appreciate that this section is called Ferry Tickets not Tunnel Tickets so please be gentle. However, I'm wondering why there is no comparisons with the tunnel being listed?

The reason I ask is that I paid £108.00 one way importing my Hymer. It was convenient and flexible so thought I might be paying over the odds. Bear in mind this was the last Friday before christmas so nothing was cheap anywhere. Ferries from ALL destinations were either full or a fortune. However, since then I've been looking at the ferries for summer crossings to plan a break but i can't see anything that's competing if you go at comparable times. Grizzly is looking at £222.00 return I've banged in some figures for a motorhome of more than 1.85mtrs height and I'm struggling to find times that would be more than those prices even at the peak times?

Am I missing something here? Is the ferry a good way to take a break? Is Portsmouth that much more convenient that Folkstone for some? I'm not being pedantic just wondering.

I've done a lot of ferry and tunnnel crossings for business in the last 15years. I always thought the tunnel was the convenient but costly option but I now think it's on par if not cheaper, you worry less with 4 kids on a train than a ferry, and if all goes well you could gain a few precious hours of holiday. If you just roll up that's when they sting you but for a pre-book I can't see how you beat it.

I also spent hours and hours trying to get prices form stupidly complicated ferry booking systems. What is the EXACT length of your vehicle? What is the registration?...(I don't know yet! Just give me a 'kin price!), what's your dog called? AAAGGHHHH. Then there's the tunnel: one page, how high is your motorhome? over 1.85mtrs? Some other simple questions, here you are sir, pick your prefered departure time or price from the following options. Want to change the date? Click the previous or next day options. I think getting s price from a transporter should take less time than this post not an hour with the contents of the filing cabinet strewn across the floor. 

I'm putting my flame suit on now and hiding behind the printer in case I'm being naive.


----------



## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

jimbo_hippo said:


> I'm putting my flame suit on now and hiding behind the printer in case I'm being naive.


No need, kind sir. Like you, I always assume that the tunnel is more expensive.

After making a bit of a muck-up earlier tonight  I need to look again. For my high season (late July - late August) crossings, I'm currently being offered a return trip at £134 (with a bit of judicous jiggery-pokery with the travel times).

Hmmm, thanks for the reminder 

Gerald


----------



## androidGB (May 26, 2005)

jimbo_hippo said:


> I'm putting my flame suit on now and hiding behind the printer in case I'm being naive.


I don't think you're being naive at all.

I totally agree the tunnel is a very easy and if you are flexible with your timing often a very reasonable way to get across the channel.

Where it really comes into it's own is when you have larger van, or indeed an RV.

In the past I have used the Caravan Club to make my bookings as they were slightly cheaper than going direct, I tried to do the same today(they now have an online ferry booking service) but they quoted a higher price than Eurotunnel direct. Also their software is not very "intelligent", I put in 08:00 as an approx time and it returned a price for the 08:20 crossing when the 07:50 crossing was £20 cheaper.

Andrew


----------



## 108717 (Dec 12, 2007)

OK, I've dropped down to a metal tea-tray for protection.  

That has to be the fastest reply in the history of the web. Good to know I'm not the only sad-surfer at this time! Can't you tell the other half is away! As soon as her back is turned I'm surfing for pictures of motorhomes and stories of French Aires.....shhhhhh.


----------



## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

We treat ourselves to a western channel crossing quite often for two reasons. Coming from the west coast of Scotland, the trip through England is a bit of a trial without having to endure the M25 and M2(although we do stop and do the tourist thing in places like Oxford etc.). The other reason is if we are going to the South West of France, it does not save a significant amount of money going via Dover etc. and we get to the good bits earlier.

For the same reasons we do frequently go Hull/Zeebrugge if keeping to the east side of France.

Sue


----------



## chapter (May 1, 2005)

i live in bristol and use the westner crossings if i am heading for s/w/france /spain i still work so its a time/ mileage thing if you are limited to 2 or 3 weeks away 
this is mileage from bristol to dax via the following 
tunnel to dax 805 miles
weymouth // // 467 //
pool // // 570 //
portmouth // // 609 // 
newhaven // // 657 //
dover // // 773 //
chapter


----------



## androidGB (May 26, 2005)

Hi Chapter,

I also live in Bristol and have never considered the Weymouth option, what do you reckon the average travel time Bristol to Dax via Weymouth would be ?


Andrew


----------



## chapter (May 1, 2005)

i have a return crossing 15th- 25th aug weymouth-st malo for £320 van up to 6.5m 
drive time 400 miles @50mph 8 hours i take about 12 with stops or 2 days with over night stop 
chapter


----------



## Auchmill (Oct 1, 2007)

Condor ferries don't take MH's greater than 6.5m?


----------



## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

jimbo_hippo said:


> . Grizzly is looking at £222.00 return I've banged in some figures for a motorhome of more than 1.85mtrs height and I'm struggling to find times that would be more than those prices even at the peak times?
> Am I missing something here? Is the ferry a good way to take a break? Is Portsmouth that much more convenient that Folkstone for some? I'm not being pedantic just wondering.


For us- coming from Oxford- we want to avoid the ghastly, boring, dreadful M25/M23/M20 route to Dover or Folkestone. To get to Portsmouth it's straight down the A34 ( OK..I know, that's horrible too). Once in Caen we intend to go west and along the coast so it will save us a bit of mileage on our normal Dover route. We thought the price was pretty reasonable and did not shop around as we normally do on the Dover crossing.

I'm not wild about the tunnel. If anything does block it up or stop services through it then you're stranded. That does happen with the ferries but it is very rare.

G


----------



## silverwing (Sep 5, 2006)

Have you had a look at the Norfolk Line, Dover to Dunkerque? 

silverwing


----------



## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

silverwing said:


> Have you had a look at the Norfolk Line, Dover to Dunkerque?
> 
> silverwing


Hi Silverwing,

We just have.

For a Sea France return crossing in March and September last year we paid £59.98p for each crossing. This year they want £226.00 8O 8O 8O 
Norfolk Line are charging £68.00p for each return crossing. These prices are through the Caravan Club.

Jock.


----------



## carol (May 9, 2005)

Grizzly said:


> Patchworkqueen said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Everyone
> ...


I'm being dumb tonight (not unusual I hear!)...quiet now....but air miles - yes I have loads to use....but you say it cost £222 - that's money, not miles, how many aire miles.....please

Carol


----------



## RustyM (Dec 5, 2006)

For Dover / Calais have a look at Seafrance special offers. I have just booked for a 7.5m Hymer 3 return trips for £64 each . There would be a supplement if I used the tickets on a Bank Holiday or other peak times.

I think this is the best deal around if you are flexible with your time.

Regards RustyM


----------



## 109192 (Jan 13, 2008)

*ferry prices*

norfolk line seems to be the cheapest. i do loads of shopping around. £29 each way from dover, and the ferries are very new. I haven't yet found a cheap Western France crossing but would like ideas.


----------



## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

carol said:


> I'm being dumb tonight (not unusual I hear!)...quiet now....but air miles - yes I have loads to use....but you say it cost £222 - that's money, not miles, how many aire miles.....please
> 
> Carol


Sorry...it was with 2000miles. Ring them, ask them for the best deal and it seems pretty flexible. We only had 2000 left. Perhpas if we had more the price would have been lower.

G


----------



## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Cheaper ferries*

Hi

So many ways to reduce your shipping costs....

1) Tesco and the Tunnel/Stena Line etc

2) Compare all operators on the same crossings

3) Look at alternatives - eg Ramsgate to Ostend with www.transeuropaferries.com instead of Dover - Calais. Mileages from Ostend can be less to your destination than the French ports - depending on where you are going of course. You can also sleep in your motorhome within the confines of the ferry terminal at Ramsgate.

4) Haggle. Get a price from Seafrance and then P&O. Often, P&O will match and/or beat the other operator.

5) Vans of certain dimensions are permitted at www.speedferries.com

6) Try booking through clubs such as the AA, Caravan Club etc.

Russell


----------



## Pugwash (Jun 12, 2005)

*Sea France*

I just booked on Sea France today. Dover - Calais 32.50 each way, going over at lunchtime June 4th returning about 10.00am July 1st. Saw it and didn't have time to find the discount code here so I booked it anyway. I thought it was a pretty good deal. 7.0m motorhome by the way.

Pugwash.


----------



## Patchworkqueen (Dec 7, 2007)

*Cheap ferry tickets- Thanks for info*

Hi Everyone Just like to say thanks for all the info that has been posted. I will certainly try some of the suggestions when I book my next crossing.


----------



## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Re: Sea France*



Pugwash said:


> I just booked on Sea France today. Dover - Calais 32.50 each way, going over at lunchtime June 4th returning about 10.00am July 1st. Saw it and didn't have time to find the discount code here so I booked it anyway. I thought it was a pretty good deal. 7.0m motorhome by the way.
> 
> Pugwash.


That is exactly the right attitude. See it, like it, buy it. It is done and dusted then.

Russell


----------

