Chunnel time

[Innkeeper]

Hi. I know it may be a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. But never been on the train. So from pulling off the motorway in UK how long is it Ball Park till your on the road in France. Always took ferry before.

 

[Four of us]

Its a 35 minute journey So it depends on how close you arrive to your departure. We’ve done it in less than an hour before… Quite often don’t have long enough to make a pot of tea for the journey before we’re moving and the gas has to be off.

 

[The Wino]

Hi. I know it may be a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. But never been on the train. So from pulling off the motorway in UK how long is it Ball Park till your on the road in France. Always took ferry before.

I think you're going to like the speed and ease of it.

 

[Innkeeper]

Thanks. So the hour was with all the passport and other checks

 

[raysalaugh]

Depends if there are any leaves on the lines.

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[Innkeeper]

Depends if there are any leaves on the lines.

Sea weed!

 

[The Wino]

The way it works is you do the passeport etc then wait until your crossing is called. I would say more like an hour and a half. We usually have a fair way to travel so generally allow plenty of time and often get offered an earlier crossing. It took longer as we had a dog

 

[David and Sally]

Very quick. Unless operation Stack is affecting traffic.

I hate the journey to the terminal but it is way easier than a ferry especially as I have a tow bar and always end up grinding that on the ramps.

Check in is usually very slick.

 

[dosser]

All border checks done at Folkestone on the way out so straight off at the other side and away.Coming back everything done at Calais straight off and onto the motorway.
Enjoy. Hopefully heading in the New Year..

 

[raysalaugh]

The last time we used the Chunnel it took about 25mins from moving to stopping, unfortunately the van in front of us had forgot to put the handbrake on or leave in gear which resulted in his van rolling back into the front of our motorhome.
Luckily he had a tow bar on the back which hit our number plate so no damage.

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[ontheroadagain]

We have used the tunnel twice.
We arrived about 1.5 hours before our departure time and both times we were offered an earlier train.
It is a great way to travel and Eurotunnel have treated their customers very well for those who cancelled due to Covid restrictions.
Looking forward to using them again next year.
To answer you question, I would say for us the time from motorway to France was about 1.5 hours.

 

[Innkeeper]

Sounds like it's worth looking into.
One more question at the French side is it straight on to a motorway. I hate driving though big towns and cities. Wife says I always over think things

 

[angiep]

Sounds like it's worth looking into.
One more question at the French side is it straight on to a motorway. I hate driving though big towns and cities. Wife says I always over think things

Dead easy on the other side. Straight onto motorway, no city involved.

 

[Innkeeper]

Thanks for all the help. Am sure me and wife will have more questions.
Only just got back from Spain . Not really that fussy on the Galicia so will look a chunnel

 

[David and Sally]

Sounds like it's worth looking into.
One more question at the French side is it straight on to a motorway. I hate driving though big towns and cities. Wife says I always over think things

Yes. A very short drive to the M'way.

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[Coastal Cruiser.]

When you drive through the train hold back a bit from the vehicle in front as last time we went some van was right up my arse and as I stopped he was across where the doors close, the attendant then had to try and back up the cars behind him so they could shut the carriage doors.

 

[EuroTrotters]

And yes, the tunnel does leak !

 

[SpeedyDux]

And yes, the tunnel does leak !

At least there hasn't been a fire for a while. Just in case, I have a pair of smoke hoods in the van when I go abroad.

 

[TDub49]

A few weeks ago it took my nephew 10 hours to get across. Only one train running for some reason. No advance warning. When it goes wrong, it goes wrong but then I guess you can say the same for the longer ferry routes.

 

[Steve101uk]

Time also depends on how busy they are, delays are usually at border controls. on a good day its possible to be driving off in France in an hour but hour and a half is more usual. However if its busy you can be waiting in the border queue for a while. If this makes you late and you miss your train don't panic, they just put you on the next one. I estimate about 2 hours in total when I plan our trips. I also allow lots of time once in France to get to our first stop, so we find it very stress free. We now avoid weekends Including Fridays and try to travel on a Tuesday /Wednesday as it's usually quieter.

You can also monitor their twitter feed for updates of any issues on the day.

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[Innkeeper]

The plan would be to get across. Then drive to Spain with out hanging round in France.
Nothing against France we just like Spain

 

[B-well]

Day crossings great for seeing the fish swim pass if your carriage has window view. On French soil from train to Motorway almost directt access.

 

[Stealaway]

Sounds like it's worth looking into.
One more question at the French side is it straight on to a motorway. I hate driving though big towns and cities. Wife says I always over think things

You will drive straight into the terminal from the motorways.
You drive straight out of the terminal onto the motorways.
If its you first time I would recommend arriving in daylight.
Set your satnav before you leave the train there will be no opportunity before you hit the A16 motorway North or South.
South is signed - Boulogne and Paris ---- Spain
North is signed - Reims and Brussels (and Paris???)

 

[MisterB]

Day crossings great for seeing the fish swim pass if your carriage has window view. On French soil from train to Motorway almost directt access.

Makes me remember the time we were in the same carriage as a bus load of school children. They were a bit boisterous but nothing that was of concern. We were stood by the windows and every now and again you see flashes of light, I pointed out to the kids that they were electric eels swimming past and colliding with the tunnel, giving off electric shocks which light up the water, because as you know water conducts electricity.

They were fascinated and kept shouting out every time they saw one !! After they had boarded the coach, one of the teachers came over to me and thanked me for keeping them occupied. He said he struggled to keep a straight face when he heard what I had told them and it will be a story he would tell over and over again in years to come.

 

[POH]

And yes, the tunnel does leak !

That's it then not going under the chanel if it leaks!!!! Will have to go with the ferry.

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[namwaldog]

Search YouTube for ' Motorhomes on Eurotunnel ' (or similar words) some will have dashcam displays showing time lapsed.