tunnel or ferry? (1 Viewer)

[june123]

Quite fancy trying out the channel tunnel to Calais this summer. Would appreciate hearing pros and cons of tunnel v ferry,. Price seems to be double by train and less than an hour quicker. Only want one way as not sure when coming back. Must admit we've never had any problem with the ferry - but if tunnel comes highly recommended would give it a try one way.

Just know I'll get some opinions from you all.

 

[sdc77]

Tunnel every time for me.. cheapest one way us about £50 I think.. takes about 35 mins. If you're early you can often get an earlier one.. same if you're late I think (never been late).
You can get tickets with tescos clubcard points. You will find posts on here explaining that.
I like the speed and convenience.. but if you're not in a rush.. ...

 

[peter125]

tunnel

Hello we use the tunnel, as my wife suffers with virtigo and sea travel,if you get an late night or early am crossing you tend to get a better deal, also try booking thro the caravan club or others, as they get better discounts, the tunnel is realy good about 35 mins,but they do have delays, and are very busy around those peak dates so pick a quieter time if poss, on the times we have used the ferries they have been good, but its the tunnel for us first choice. have a great time which ever you choose, regards peter:thumb::thumb:

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[hilldweller]

Ferry. It gets the brain into Holiday Mode.

Used ferry once, whooooosh and you are there without the joy of seeing France approaching.

 

[WillH]

Ferry. Cheapest. Got a return crossing in June for £49.

Rgds
Bill

 

[scousebird]

When we lived in Liverpool we always used the ferries as it was a break to stretch our legs and get a meal. But now we live near Dover so certainly don't want a 1.5 hour break 15 mins after setting off!!

We always use Tesco vouchers to pay for the tunnel which makes it next to nothing cost wise.

All down to personal choice though - I prefer the tunnel but you get better booze bargains on P & O (use them for shopping trips)

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[mikebeaches]

Ferry. It gets the brain into Holiday Mode.

Used ferry once, whooooosh and you are there without the joy of seeing France approaching.

Or rather Tunnel perhaps??

----------------------------------------------------
We're fans of the tunnel. Trains run as frequently as every 15 minutes at peak times, and at off-peak every 20 or 30 minutes - so never wait too long to load.

Have a snack in the van during 35 min journey - use flask of hot water for drinks (can't use gas).

As others have said, can arrive at departure up to 2 hours early and usually catch next train.

And perhaps more importantly, you can arrive up to 24 hours LATE, and still board the train without a problem - I believe.

Very easy to change bookings on the phone - extremely flexible - no admin charges - only pay more if crossing is more expensive.

Free if have sufficient Tesco vouchers.

All in all, very convenient. :thumb:

Mike

 

[The Dudess]

Tunnel every time. We travel with our dogs and do not want to have to leave them below deck for the ferry journey. Tunnel only 35 mins and they are in the car/motorhome with us.
Also I suffer from seasickness so it's a no brainer for me.

 

[june123]

ferry or tunnel

4 - 2 to the tunnel so far. Looks as if we'll have to give it a try. Thanks everyone

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[tonka]

Please note every vote for the tunnel will involve either;

1 A Tesco shopper, hence points
2 They have a dog / animal
3 Dislike of boats / seasick
4 They live very close to the port


o

It is an experience if you have never done it but as you say time saving is not that great compared to maybe double the price on a ferry.
We also use the Ferry crossing as a good break from the travelling down from the Midlands..

If prices were the same then Tunnel would win..

 

[Dubiousp]

I must admit I keep thinking tunnel but can never find the 50 quid each way everybody talks about,, two weeks ago travelled DFDS from Dover and my first experience was good I know people make comments about them.

 

[Southampton]

Tunnel every time for us. Five hours from leaving home we can be nearly 100 miles (well 75 or so) into France. The holiday begins for us once we are over the channel.

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[WillH]

Spot on Tonka

1 A Tesco shopper, hence points------We only have a little Tesco so few points
2 They have a dog / animal-------------Leave the dog at home
3 Dislike of boats / seasick--------------I was in the Merchant Navy for over 20 years
4 They live very close to the port-------It's a 500 mile drive for us

Soooo, we use the ferry cos it's cheaper!

 

[mitzimad]

weve never tried the tunnel as we dont shop at tescos so its always more expensive ive never got a quote of less than 70 quid one way
we do a late ferry and wild camp the night in calais ready for an early start next day

 

[Minxy]

We're fans of the tunnel. Trains run as frequently as every 15 minutes at peak times, and at off-peak every 20 or 30 minutes - so never wait too long to load.

Have a snack in the van during 35 min journey - use flask of hot water for drinks (can't use gas).

As others have said, can arrive at departure up to 2 hours early and usually catch next train.

And perhaps more importantly, you can arrive up to 24 hours LATE, and still board the train without a problem - I believe.

Very easy to change bookings on the phone - extremely flexible - no admin charges - only pay more if crossing is more expensive.

Free if have sufficient Tesco vouchers.

All in all, very convenient. :thumb:

Mike

Not sure about the 24hour 'travel' option there Mike, whilst you can amend your ticket up to 24 hours AFTER you were DUE to travel, I'm not aware that you can still actually TRAVEL on the original ticket more than 2 hours later than your original slot without the possibility of an extra charge.

We use the tunnel (Tesco R Us! ). We used to go on the ferry, even with us having dogs, but unfortunately one of them was extremely badly frightened a few years ago so now is petrified of them, so for us it has to be the tunnel ... not that I'm complaining you understand!

We can usually get a crossing for around £66 each way, so £132 return, and using our Tesco vouchers exchanged to travel deals, we use £45 worth = £135 and lose the £3, or use £40 = £120 and pay the extra £12 ourselves, unfortunately, though, as with the ferries we have to pay for the dogs' crossings separately as we can't use travel vouchers for them - they alone cost us £90 return! :shout:
One thing to consider too, is it isn't just the crossing time for the ferry or tunnel but the loading/unloading too - on ferries it can take ages but on the tunnel it is really quick and you don't end up playing 'dodgems' when you drive off as you do with a ferry, especially if 2 dock at the same time!!!!

You won't beat some of the deals on the ferries though, so if you have no real reason to use the tunnel, then the ferry makes more sense.

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[bobandjanie]

Hi, this trip we came out early December so cold sometimes rough seas and short days and using Tesco points so a good move, come back May.

When we go in August we go on the ferry, long days warm and a cheap crossing.

We have a Dog and she is not bothered how she travels, but I prefer it on the train with her. Bob.

 

[ShiftZZ]

I don’t really mind, as has been previously written pros and cons.
In our case, Tesco a big issue (cheap) and Mrs ShiftZZ get sea sick.
Tunnel, easy, drive down there, stay in the van, get on get off, enjoy a cup of coffee in the tunnel, other side, drive off, job done.
Second benefit of tunnel, its closer to Cite de Europe and the Marina Aire.

 

[weekenders]

Tunnel is really easy, drive on and within 35 mins you are in France, This year we are using the ferry as good deal £48 return dover to Dunkirk, let's hope our dog is going to be ok in the motorhome whilst we are on deck, i'm sure he'll be fine

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[june123]

Tunnel v ferry verdict

Thanks everyone

Well it ended up surprisingly even. Reading your replies as they came in I was thinking definitely tunnel but now I'm not so sure as it ended up 50:50. A rest on the boat after a longish drive down from Staffs can be useful but then we could rest on the other side! It will come down to price I think which may mean tunnel as £35 of Tesco vouchers will give us a one way ticket. Not likely to find a ferry ticket any cheaper although I shall look.

Will come back ferry as we park overnight on the dock and catch an early boat the next morning. An overpriced breakfast uses up a lot of the time and then we're heading home.

 

[JJ]

If the tunnel was £150 and the ferry was £10 I would still go by tunnel.

If you don't understand, I can't explain... it is a Seasick Thing.

JJ:Cool:

 

[june123]

tunnel v ferry

I can understand the seasick thing. I've only been seasick once (when I was pregnant) and I thought I was dying! Normally a good traveller and haven't experienced a really bad crossing yet anyway.

By the way - noticed you're a frog catcher. Our pond is full of frogspawn. Come along in a few weeks and there will be plenty of frogs to catch.

Nosy question - what do you do with the frogs when you catch them? Oh no! Not eat them? Keep away from our pond.

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[Roryboys Dad]

Some years ago we left home to get on a pre-booked Ferry, 230 miles to Dover, on a perfect Spring day – birds singing, blue sky and sunny.

Four hours later as we approached Dover the clouds rolled in, the rain came down and the wind had built up.

There was a force ten gale blowing in the Channel and nothing was leaving Port in the near, or even far, future.

We were only going for a weekend break and the thought of a day or two stuck in Dover watching the inclement weather wasn't very pleasant.

We phoned Eurotunnel and they gave us a ticket on the first train possible if we drove the ten miles to the Tunnel Terminal.

They saved our short break holiday and we've used them ever since.

Our journey from home takes between four and eight hours to get to Folkestone and the flexibility Eurotunnel give allows us to not worry if we are delayed for any reason.

Ferries for those with limited budget and/or time to spare and the Tunnel for the rest!

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

I can understand the seasick thing. I've only been seasick once (when I was pregnant) and[HI] I thought I was dying! [/HI] Normally a good traveller and haven't experienced a really bad crossing yet anyway.

By the way - noticed you're a frog catcher. Our pond is full of frogspawn. Come along in a few weeks and there will be plenty of frogs to catch.

Nosy question - what do you do with the frogs when you catch them? Oh no! Not eat them? Keep away from our pond.

There are 2 stages of seasickness....The first is when you think you are dying ! The second is when you hope you are !!

The only cure for it is to sit under an oak tree !!

Re. the Frog catcher......she is called Frankie and resides in Toulouse !!:Blush:

 

[Minxy]

Thanks everyone

It will come down to price I think which may mean tunnel as £35 of Tesco vouchers will give us a one way ticket. Not likely to find a ferry ticket any cheaper although I shall look.

Why does it cost you £35 for a one-way ticket on Eurotunnel? Each crossing for us normally costs between £62-£66 so that's approx £20 of Tesco vouchers ... unless of course you're travelling at peak times.

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[Philiphall]

Ferry for me tomorrow morning - sat on the front at Dover only 6 vans here tonight - went for a walk round Dover tonight - its definitely gone down hill since I last visited.

 

[mikebeaches]

Not sure about the 24hour 'travel' option there Mike, whilst you can amend your ticket up to 24 hours AFTER you were DUE to travel, I'm not aware that you can still actually TRAVEL on the original ticket more than 2 hours later than your original slot without the possibility of an extra charge.

Thanks Mel - you may well be correct about the 'possibility' of an extra charge.

http://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/ticket-terms/

We haven't had to use the facility of amending AFTER scheduled departure. But with one ticket last year we had to change our departure date no less than 3 times. And on each occasion I was really impressed by how helpful the Eurotunnel reservation staff were and how easy it was.

According to the T&Cs on the website it says there may be an extra charge for any changes - but in our case there were none. One of the changed dates was made months in advance and the final date change was only 24 hours before the scheduled crossing.

However, what I did do was to check the current prices / times available each time, immediately prior to speaking to the company. I mostly managed to find fares that were the same or less than originally booked. I think with the last-minute date change, the only crossing that suited us cost an extra fiver, and I happily paid that. But there were no admin supplements or anything, just that in the event the available fare was slightly dearer.

At the end of the day I guess it's in their hands, but can only describe what we experienced.

Mike :thumb:

 

[june123]

ferry v tunnel

Why does it cost you £35 for a one-way ticket on Eurotunnel? Each crossing for us normally costs between £62-£66 so that's approx £20 of Tesco vouchers ... unless of course you're travelling at peak times.

I haven't studied the tunnel fares - just thought it looked as if was around £94. May have looked at it wrongly. Travelling mid May into June probably around 2pm. Would be delighted with £60. Must look again.
Thank you

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[joner8888]

I have never used the tunnel before ,
If when over in France I decide --I`m liking this too much` :thumb:
Can I just turn up for the return trip ,days after my booked slot and get a ride?

 

[johnp10]

Got to be ferry.
My reasoning....

Tunnel:
Consider the time waiting / queuing, then 35 minutes in a tunnel, the only scenery is the dashboard.
Refreshments....Cuppa from your flask.
Quicker than ferry.

Ferry:
1.5 hours on a ship.
Scenery is seascape, room to move around.
Refreshments...Full English on board.
Slower than tunnel but more leisurely mode of crossing.

All a matter of choice.

 

[scousebird]

Most tickets are transferable but I would advise ringing to make any changes. We have in the past and it was completely painless

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