Ferry or Tunnel (1 Viewer)

[Speve]

Tunnel so easy for us we have two dogs and tow a car trailer never had a problem with width,if coaches can get through so can an a class

 

[scousebird]

Ferry for us but that's because I get claustrophobic
Is it like that? I imagine being closed in, but also we have a Bailey and someone else said when going thru the bit between carriages its tight ?
Would love to find courage for tunnel

We take our Bailey on the tunnel, no problem. The coaches get on and they're bigger than us.
As for the claustrophobic thing the train is much bigger than your MH & the tunnel is bigger than the train so if you're comfortable in your MH surely you'll be ok on the train?

 

[cookie]

If money no issue then tunnel. If on a budget if has to be ferry

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[Deleted member 29692]

If money no issue then tunnel. If on a budget if has to be ferry

I don't agree with that.

I've done comparison checks many times and it's not at all unusual for the prices to be more or less the same, or even for the tunnel to be cheaper, on comparable crossings.

 

[ymfb]

The tunnel maybe cheaper if you use it enough to buy frequent traveller, I can't see us making ten journeys a year on either mode.

 

[Bailey 15]

We take our Bailey on the tunnel, no problem. The coaches get on and they're bigger than us.
As for the claustrophobic thing the train is much bigger than your MH & the tunnel is bigger than the train so if you're comfortable in your MH surely you'll be ok on the train?

Anyone who suffers from claustrophobia will understand it's not solely lack of space, my MH has windows and I can see out, the tunnel is enclosed, nothing to do with size of MH or Train.
I don't like lifts but if they are glass all around I'm fine, size doesn't matter

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[ymfb]

If I was in Kettering, I'd be favouring the tunnel as the journey times are probably not dissimilar to Folkestone and Portsmouth.

Before the tunnel was opened and even in its infancy we used Dover to Calais ferries when driving to Belgium to work. It formed part of a natural break and we always had a proper meal. When we first used the tunnel we then had to stop for a rest break and meal unless we had brought a packed meal, hardly the same as waitress service on P & O

 

[Minxy]

The tunnel maybe cheaper if you use it enough to buy frequent traveller, I can't see us making ten journeys a year on either mode.

You can share the ET frequent traveller account with someone else so just split the crossings with them, we've done that this year, we're using 4 (2 returns) and someone else is using the rest.

If you can use Tesco deal vouchers you get 3 x face value of the Tesco vouchers so that can make it quite cheap (you still have to pay for pets yourself though as you can't use vouchers for them).

We use the tunnel ... we have 3 dogs and one was scared silly on a ferry, hence the tunnel now for us and them.

As for a ferry, you may be able to get cheaper deals if you book far enough in advance but often this entails silly times ... the time on the ferry is 'fun' at first but it's a pain having to sit around for up to 2 hours, plus loading / unloading not to mention the wacky races when you disembark at the ports especially if several ferries arriving at once so we usually end up waiting for the idiots to depart which further delays things.

Tunnel for us every time.

 

[davidbaldam]

Tunnel every time, don't even compare prices, not interested, and our crossings are mainly free anyway with Tesco points

We're exactly the same and no flapping around unloading on the other side.

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[EX51SSS]

 

[BMM]

View attachment 169432

ooowww

 

[Mickey1]

Ferry for us but that's because I get claustrophobic
Is it like that? I imagine being closed in, but also we have a Bailey and someone else said when going thru the bit between carriages its tight ?
Would love to find courage for tunnel

I think you should try anything once.

Mickey.

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[Jo662]

Tunnel for us every time. And using Tesco vouchers it makes it not to bad a price. Plus you stay with your vehicle,and only just over half an
Hour and your off.

 

[EX51SSS]

I think you should try anything once.

Mickey.

 

[Reallyretired]

Tunnel with the dogs, ferry if booze cruise without them. I like the ferries but tunnel is so convenient.

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[Khizzie]

on Brittany Ferries there are dog friendly cabins, certainly Portsmouth to Caen and Santander

Correct!

 

[Khizzie]

ferry for me every time . (1) port on!y an hour and a 1/4 away from home .(2) it's part of the holiday as far as i am concerned. (3) as I nearly always drive south the extra cost of ferry is out weighed by saving on fuel to the tunnel then all the way back south ...takes me approx 4 hours to do that horrendous journey to tunnel via M4 M3 M25 et al. Just hate it...

 

[cookie]

I don't agree with that.

I've done comparison checks many times and it's not at all unusual for the prices to be more or less the same, or even for the tunnel to be cheaper, on comparable crossings.

and I disagree with this. on a normal booking at any time I have found the tunnel to be more expensive, on some short notice crossings tunnel can be a ridiculous price.

given the choice, I would use the tunnel purely for the convenience and speed plus I use the Tesco vouchers, but it still pays to look carefully for a decent price, the 1-day difference could be a lot of money less.

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[Deleted member 29692]

and I disagree with this. on a normal booking at any time I have found the tunnel to be more expensive, on some short notice crossings tunnel can be a ridiculous price.

given the choice, I would use the tunnel purely for the convenience and speed plus I use the Tesco vouchers, but it still pays to look carefully for a decent price, the 1-day difference could be a lot of money less.

All I can base my opinion on is what I've found when I've checked.

It's only ever been out of interest as using the ferry is not an option for us but on the times when I have bothered to check the ferry has never ever been significantly cheaper. From memory about £30 is the biggest difference I've ever found and I'd happily pay a much bigger premium than that just for the convenience of the tunnel.

 

[bigtwin]

and I disagree with this. on a normal booking at any time I have found the tunnel to be more expensive, on some short notice crossings tunnel can be a ridiculous price.

given the choice, I would use the tunnel purely for the convenience and speed plus I use the Tesco vouchers, but it still pays to look carefully for a decent price, the 1-day difference could be a lot of money less.

Ferries charge by the length of the vehicle whereas the tunnel doesn't.

This would account for your different experience if you have a short vehicle.

Ian

 

[Deleted member 29692]

A lot of people go wrong when trying to get prices for, or book, the tunnel as well. They read the t&cs and end up convinced that they have to book as freight.

You don't. You aren't allowed to travel as freight no matter what the size or weight of your MH is.

You just need to go to the eurotunnel.com home page and use the Fare Finder there, selecting campervan as vehicle type. Do not click to any of the other tabs or pages. It doesn't matter if you have a little Romahome or the biggest American gin palace imaginable, you still book as a campervan.

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[cookie]

All I can base my opinion on is what I've found when I've checked.

It's only ever been of interest as using the ferry is not an option for us but on the times when I have bothered to check the ferry has never ever been significantly cheaper. From memory about £30 is the biggest difference I've ever found and I'd happily pay a much bigger premium than that just for the convenience of the tunnel.

as you see we both agree for convenience and speed we would both use the tunnel, but the £30 difference (each way ? ) might be a lot of money to some people, especially as you said you had found crossings of near comparable price.

plus when the difference is greater on a normal crossing it can be up in the ridiculous amount range.

 

[nicholsong]

Ferry, Ferry, Ferry for us. I like the view, the wind, the salt air and guessing whether the crew will go ahead or astern of the crossing traffic. As said, it is part of the holiday, actually more 'trip' when the crossing is mainly to go to UK for MOT, but the return southbound is the holiday, to tour France, knowing that there are no more bookings, either ferry nor flights till we arrive home in Poland.

We use Dunkirk which has some advantages over Calais - only one ferry every 2 hours so no traffic congestion, threrefore no slow/stationery traffic to attract illegal 'commuters', there is quiet parking at the terminal if one has an early start and the fares are same as Calais - both routes and fares are on same page on DFDS website.

And you can see the White Cliffs of Dover - but after many crossings over several decades I have yet to see a Bluebird - but I will keep looking, just for Dame Vera

P.S. Thanks to the majority that prefer the Tunnel - keeps the fares down on the ferries

Geoff

 

[Deleted member 29692]

£30 difference (each way ? )

No. Return trip.

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[Mickey1]

I just had a check with p&o and can get a return for £93 , going first week Nov and returning third week Dec. I think that's pretty good value.

Mickey.

 

[Odd job]

Tunnel every time for us. We won't even consider any ferries until they sort out something sensible for the dogs. Sensible means not leaving them in the vehicle and not putting them in kennels neither of which will ever be an option as far as I'm concerned.

I also like the speed, convenience and flexibility of the tunnel. No ferry can come close on any of those things.

Same for us

 

[Odd job]

I just had a check with p&o and can get a return for £93 , going first week Nov and returning third week Dec. I think that's pretty good value.

Mickey.

We only go once a year. I prefer better service for our dogs to cost saving. If we went over more often we may reconcider

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[Mickey1]

Agree, dog= tunnel.

Mickey.

 

[mexican pete]

We went out on April 27th and back on June 12th in the tunnel for £204 at peak times. Ferry was a lot more expensive as we are 8 metres with bike rack. No problems at all.

 

[McGeemobile]

When we had booked on the tunnel 2 years ago I had to alter the crossings twice because of unexpected problems. Each time there was no cost and it was done instantly online. That gets my vote.

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