Just booked the ferry

[Jaws]

Best quote I had anywhere for the rig was £86 ( one way and in the middle of the night ) as total length is about 42ft.

Remembered to try Camping and Caravan club ( been a member a few years and always forgot to try them !! )

£65.50 .... Well pleased !!

 

[Pat and Trish]

Hi John, can you tell us
Where from?
Where To?
What operator?

 

[mariner]

Strange, but I booked a ferry recently.

I tried C&CC first, then CC, followed by Aferry and finally Britany Ferries, and guess what?

They were exactly all the same price.

£349.00 for car and caravan. Portsmouth to Santander.

 

[funflair]

The CC and C&CC don't do discounts on all routes as mariner has found out.

 

[Jaws]

Yup... tried every which way to get a decent ferry price for Santander.. Never happened.. But to be fair we actually prefer to drive down any way.

We will be sailing from Dover and landing at Calais .. Carrier is P & O ( the only option available with a CCC, but it being such a big saving I aint worried WHO we sail with ! LOL !! )

Norfolk Line used to be th ebest.. Then in the early days of DFDS the prices were still ok'ish.. Now ? They actually quoted the highest price of all only by about 80p mind.. The next highest was MyFerry, and both were £20 dearer than I ended up paying.

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[GWAYGWAY]

Wave as you go through Dover.
Park up only at the western end of the Esplanade if you are stopping , there is a fuss about motorhomes outside the Gateway Flats, the council are trying to stop them.

 

[chaser]

Pando have been cheapest most of the times iv tried this year , strange as they were always the dearest

 

[Jaws]

Wave as you go through Dover.
Park up only at the western end of the Esplanade if you are stopping , there is a fuss about motorhomes outside the Gateway Flats, the council are trying to stop them.

never stop in Dover... It is three hours from here so we usually leave a four hour window to get there and get through the gates..

Sailing at 00.50 am this time.. Suspect I might be waving at an empty bedroom window LOL !!!

 

[cruiser]

have a great trip. but please remember the poor cold sods you have left behind. have fun.

 

[Chris]

Strange, but I booked a ferry recently.

I tried C&CC first, then CC, followed by Aferry and finally Britany Ferries, and guess what?

They were exactly all the same price.

£349.00 for car and caravan. Portsmouth to Santander.

That has got to be cheaper ( and easier) than driving down

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[Jaws]

Well its like this..
To start with it def aint cheaper
I have done the math VERY carefully every year for the past 5 years.. The BEST figures I ever get is £102 dearer to go down to Santandar

Second thing .. To us, part of the experience is the trip.. It is not the destination but the trip so to speak

Third, if I had wanted to travel to Spain on a boat I would have taken one of the two that are available to us ( free loaners, both in the family and crewed by family ) but I bought a motorhome not a boat.. there is a clue in that ! LOL !!!

 

[Chris]

Well its like this..
To start with it def aint cheaper
I have done the math VERY carefully every year for the past 5 years.. The BEST figures I ever get is £102 dearer to go down to Santandar

Second thing .. To us, part of the experience is the trip.. It is not the destination but the trip so to speak

Third, if I had wanted to travel to Spain on a boat I would have taken one of the two that are available to us ( free loaners, both in the family and crewed by family ) but I bought a motorhome not a boat.. there is a clue in that ! LOL !!!

Are you sure on the maths Jaws?

I reckon it saves about 800 miles. 800 divided by say 22.9 x £6.30 a gallon is £220.

Take away any tolls, and the crossing costs to Calais ,deduct wear and tear and any site stops on the way down and it's getting close

I don't generally have the time to dawdle down so I usually take the ferry.

 

[Jaws]

Fuel is currently averaging £4.46 at todays exchange rate and fuel cost from the AA site

Ok.. you asked for it


Will just do one way. Average MPG is 24.
Dover to Calais first

Thetford to Dover 140 miles
Calias to Zahora 1355 miles

Cost of fuel in the UK average £1.29 per litre
Total cost in fuel in UK is £34.18
Cost of ferry £65
Total mileage 1495 miles
Fuel cost In Europe average €1.24 per litre = £1.01 ( Figures from AA site today )
Total of fuel in Europe £259.80

Total one way cost £358.98


And now the Santander route:

Thetford to Portmouth 165 miles
Total cost of fuel in UK £40.28
Cost of ferry £459****
Santander to Zahora 648 miles

Total mileage 813 miles
Total cost of fuel in Europe £157.08

Total cost £656.36



****
9 mtr van with trailer up to 4 mtrs .. Details below copied and pasted

Local times shown
Earlier
Jan 2015
Later
RouteDepartArriveTypeMon 12Tues 13Wed 14Thurs 15Fri 16
Portsmouth to Santander
1145
1245
Cruise
£459

 

[Billy23]

Your figures seem to be right John, I guess you wild camp and don't go on toll roads then as that would be an extra "Road" cost, if that's the case then road is the way to go.

 

[Forestboy]

Well its like this..
To start with it def aint cheaper

I have done the math VERY carefully every year for the past 5 years.. The BEST figures I ever get is £102 dearer to go down to Santandar

Second thing .. To us, part of the experience is the trip.. It is not the destination but the trip so to speak

Third, if I had wanted to travel to Spain on a boat I would have taken one of the two that are available to us ( free loaners, both in the family and crewed by family ) but I bought a motorhome not a boat.. there is a clue in that ! LOL !!!

Have to agree I do the maths every time and can never make it cheaper than Dover / Calais. We're off to the Valencia Motogp in the van early November and it'll be Dover / Calais again we don't mind the drive either, usually end up finding a new place we've not seen before. Even last year going to Aragon motogp on the bike Santander was way too expensive in fact there's a thread I did somewhere with comparative costs.

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[dabhand]

Sorry, I seem to have wandered into the anal retentives thread by mistake!

Anyway, I think Chris and Jaws are both right, done both (Calais and Santander) it's defo about the journey, some times like to meander my way through France with several stops, so go via Calais, other times go via Santander have a nice meal and often a show and a few beers on the boat, good start any trip. Either way just remember you don't necessarily have to arrive to enjoy the journey, have fun.

Simon

 

[Badknee]

Shush you lot, I've got work in the morning, no galavanting around France, up at 5am

 

[Jaws]

Your figures seem to be right John, I guess you wild camp and don't go on toll roads then as that would be an extra "Road" cost, if that's the case then road is the way to go.

Never ever use camp sites when travelling... Never have done ever since we started motorhoming
And never do tolls.. except for one in Spain that is about 2 € as it cuts a chunk off