Channel Crossing Prices (1 Viewer)

[Lenny HB]

Newhaven Dieppe our choice, don't like the tunnel & Newhaven is only 20 miles from home. Around £105 return for 7m van if you book in advance.

 

[Mr Ed]

Tried DFDS one trip last year,they put us on first so cab was exposed to the elements and dog not looking happy neither was the wife.When we asked if we could bring dog above decks we were told no.Later we saw several dogs about with French owners thy told us they just ignored the rules.We then had a meal and stroll and decided to have a lay down only for loud anouncments to toataly destroy any chance of rest.Needless to say back to Eurotunnel for us with Tesco vouchers helping.BTW you can get extra points once a month by filling satisfaction form online after you've shopped.

 

[Box Boy]

I got some prices today to cross the channel on 3rd June at around 6.45pm returning 19th June at around 5pm:-

These are all flexible prices.

Tunnel £188

P&O £176.80

DFDS £177 (no Friday evening sailings left - 5.50am Saturday chosen instead)

So not a big difference in the prices. For the sake of speed & convenience the tunnel wins again.

For Newhaven Dieppe crossing on same dates £223. If you went out on the 3rd June or come back on the 20th June - cheapest fare is £152 return
Brian

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[scousebird]

@scousebird I can't really 'like' that but I know what you mean We booked the early one coz we are driving down on Weds then stop overnight, early ferry then a few hours driving in France before the sun sets

It's deffo time for a few weeks away

When we lived in Liverpool we always used the ferries cos we were ready for the break & a meal. Now we live so close it seems a bit daft to drive for 15 minutes then have a 2 hour break

 

[scousebird]

Can't sort our holiday until after Joe has seen his consultant later this month.

Hope all is well with Joe, fingers crossed

 

[scousebird]

Newhaven Dieppe our choice, don't like the tunnel & Newhaven is only 20 miles from home. Around £105 return for 7m van if you book in advance.

For Newhaven Dieppe crossing on same dates £223. If you went out on the 3rd June or come back on the 20th June - cheapest fare is £152 return
Brian

Doesn't make sense for us to drive past Dover port & the tunnel to go to Newhaven

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[denisejoe]

Doesn't make sense for us to drive past Dover port & the tunnel to go to Newhaven

Your right Helen who wants to drive around the M25 when they don't have to ,and waste all that dear diesel when you can go empty and fill up with cheap stuf in Calais?

Joe

 

[PhilandMena]

I've always found ferries to be considerably cheaper than the tunnel but since last year they have stopped the big discounts they used to give out. My return crossing for this trip, end of Dec - end of April still considerably cheaper than the tunnel but the gap continues to narrow. I cant see the Ferry companies raising their prices to the point there is no difference in price as they would loose to much custom. I must admit if there were only a few pounds in it I would be tempted to take the tunnel. Even better if they had some longish term parking before embarking.

 

[denisejoe]

You can already arrive 2 hours earlier than you're booked for and if you arrive even earlier you are usually offered even earlier ones but at a cost.

Joe

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[Lenny HB]

For Newhaven Dieppe crossing on same dates £223. If you went out on the 3rd June or come back on the 20th June - cheapest fare is £152 return
Brian

We did similar dates last year out on 1st return 25th on only paid £105 return, are you eligible for the 20% discount that makes quite a difference. Also depending on where we are going saves us up to 400 miles on a round trip.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

You can already arrive 2 hours earlier than you're booked for and if you arrive even earlier you are usually offered even earlier ones but at a cost.

Joe

Not strictly true.

You can only go through the barriers 2 hours before your departure time. If you get there earlier than that you will be offered alternative earlier crossings but if you are charged any extra it is only the difference between the cost of the earlier train and the one you've paid for. If you don't accept the earlier crossing you won't be able to go through the barriers and will have to go away and come back.

We've been really early more times that we've been on time so more often than not are on an earlier train to the one we booked. We've only been charged extra a couple of times and it's been an insignificant amount.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

I haven't done it for a while but I sometimes do comparisons with the ferries when I book the tunnel just out of interest.

It may just be when we travel but there's never been a huge difference in cost. I suppose most of the time the ferry might be £30 ish cheaper but it's never been more than that. Occasionally the tunnel has been the cheapest option.

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[Deleted member 29692]

Even better if they had some longish term parking before embarking.

Canterbury park and ride 20 minutes away is the solution if you want somewhere to overnight before you travel.

 

[Chockswahay]

I haven't done it for a while but I sometimes do comparisons with the ferries when I book the tunnel just out of interest.

It may just be when we travel but there's never been a huge difference in cost. I suppose most of the time the ferry might be £30 ish cheaper but it's never been more than that. Occasionally the tunnel has been the cheapest option.

I did use the tunnel in 2014 (Tesco's) and I like it but I believe it is much more expensive

My journey on Thursday would cost another £61.20! (I paid £46.80) for a similar time. The cheapest tunnel time would be £101 and that would be at a silly time or early evening ........... but still £54.20 more

I can travel at least 440 miles in France for that

 

[gus-lopez]

Those frequent traveller tickets are well worth considering ..
http://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/mobile/tickets/

That's the problem with doing the journey in reverse in that if there are ever any'deals' they never apply when coming from France to the UK. Never ever seen one.

Never done the tunnel do they charge for cat and dogs

Yes £18 each way , dearer than ferries

Only ever used Ferries ,cat and dogs £30 return each.

Yes. It's just gone up actually. £19 each way per animal.

Was still 18 a few minutes ago.

I run the dates through dfds last night & using times I'd want , so late & not peak or flexi & total was £129 return. That includes £30 for the dog. Couldn't even get one way on the tunnel for that.

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[Deleted member 29692]

I did use the tunnel in 2014 (Tesco's) and I like it but I believe it is much more expensive

My journey on Thursday would cost another £61.20! (I paid £46.80) for a similar time. The cheapest tunnel time would be £101 and that would be at a silly time or early evening ........... but still £54.20 more

I can travel at least 440 miles in France for that

I'm going by my experiences when I've booked journeys. The cost of the tunnel has never been very different to the cost of ferries for the specific dates and times that I've travelled. I've posted examples before, with links to the booking sites to prove it, showing the tunnel to be cheaper the the ferry for nearest equivalent journeys.

Also your example is a bad one. You're comparing a prebooked ferry price with a short notice tunnel price. You also don't say if you used any kind of voucher or discount code when booking the ferry. I assume you didn't look at the tunnel prices when booking your ferry so you have no idea how much it would have been if you had booked it then?

As you can see in the link below if you were to book the ferry now using a standard fare which if you are looking at the tunnel prices now is the only fair comparison you will see that the cheapest ferry is £81 and several are over £100 which compares very favourable with £101 for the tunnel.

https://ssl.directferries.com/ferry...d=0&rfid=98&psgr=2&curr=1&retn=false&rfidr=97

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Was still 18 a few minutes ago.

My apologies, you're correct. I misremembered the conversation I had when booking. It's gone from £16 to £17 to £18 quite quickly. I was thinking 17 to 18 to 19

 

[Emmit]

Would this be a good time to remind all Funsters, those without access to a Friends and Family discount that is, that it is cheaper to book via the Brittany ferries french website than it is to book through the British site.

brittanyferries.fr

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[Chockswahay]

Also your example is a bad one. You're comparing a prebooked ferry price with a short notice tunnel price. You also don't say if you used any kind of voucher or discount code when booking the ferry. I assume you didn't look at the tunnel prices when booking your ferry so you have no idea how much it would have been if you had booked it then?

@NickNic I don't wish to get into a willy waving thing here however you are incorrect. I booked the ticket just last night and the rates I mentioned were correct at the time. Also I have not used any vouchers.

So actually I do have an idea

 

[Deleted member 29692]

So actually I do have an idea

So how much would the tunnel have been if you had booked it at the same time?

Remember the prices change often, sometimes several times a day, so it almost certainly wouldn't have been the same as it is now.

I'm not getting into a row either.

For us even if the tunnel really was hugely more expensive than the ferry we would still use it every time. No ferry anywhere can compete with the speed and having to leave dogs in the vehicle on their own for the crossing is, IMO, ridiculous and not something I would ever contemplate.

 

[Chockswahay]

Err, that's One - Nil to me

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[Chockswahay]

So how much would the tunnel have been if you had booked it at the same time?

The prices I have already quoted!

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Whatever. Like I said I wouldn't use ferries if they were free.

 

[denisejoe]

When we went out in December we arrived about 4 hours early and they let us through the barrier. They offered us 2 hours before our booked time free but we could have got on the next train but at a cost of £200+. So we waited 2 hours in the car park.

Joe

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[Larby]

Booked on Sunday with P & O, got the 12:05 lunchtime sailing for £52.80, for 8m x 3m plus £15 for dog departing on Monday 4th July. That's £6 cheaper than last year! DFDS are way off the mark but used to be cheapest.
Return when I'm ready to come back, I love being retired

 

[gus-lopez]

Whatever. Like I said I wouldn't use ferries if they were free.

I don't like them either but I reason that if there is a problem I can A ) get the dog out & B) swim. In the tunnel I'm not a mole.

The prices I quoted in an earlier post , here;

"I run the dates through dfds last night & using times I'd want , so late & not peak or flexi & total was £129 return. That includes £30 for the dog. Couldn't even get one way on the tunnel for that."

came out at £229 on tunnel for same dates/time then the 36 quid for the dog. So that'd be 265!!!! That's why I rarely bother with the tunnel.

 

[denisejoe]

Sometimes the prices change when you check it, close down the site and then go back into it. It certainly happens with both the tunnel and the ferries.

Delete the cookies before going back on to the site or you'll end up with a higher price than when you checked previously.

Denise

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[sdc77]

So we're agreed then. . The tunnel ticks all the boxes

 

[gus-lopez]

I've just had a look on the dfds site & it is giving me prices in euros & totaling in pounds !!!!!
If I go on UK site it gives me price in pounds ( which equates to euro price ) but when totaled is 40 pound cheaper . Think there must be a glitch in the system . I've emailed them.

At least they've replied, apologised & are trying to rectify it.

Thank you for your email,


We do apologise for this, this is a raised issue on out dfds.com website that we are currently trying to rectify. In the meantime if you wish to make a booking you can visit our dfds.co.uk website and pay in GBP or you can visit our www.dfds.nl and pay through our Netherlands office in Euros.


I do apologise for this.



Kind Regards



UK Channel/Laura Mc

Customer Sales and Service

 

[denisejoe]

I did use the tunnel in 2014 (Tesco's) and I like it but I believe it is much more expensive

My journey on Thursday would cost another £61.20! (I paid £46.80) for a similar time. The cheapest tunnel time would be £101 and that would be at a silly time or early evening ........... but still £54.20 more

I can travel at least 440 miles in France for that

It really depends on how long before you're travelling you book your tunnel - the longer before travel the better price you get.

Joe

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