 Poster: A snowHead
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Taking a bit of a road trip to Austria late July and have done before and to France a few times. Have always taken the ferry but wondering if the tunnel is a better option. Planning to drive overnight from Scotland and get early doors ferry/tunnel. Is the tunnel flexible enough to change if we are early/late as the ferries we've had in the past have been.
Ta
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@boabski, I do the tunnel from Edinburgh but it is a long drive without an overnight stop, we just spread out the journey over 2 8 hour days and make a night of the stop. As girls you question, never been late but usually get offered an earlier train free of charge
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@boabski, I always use the tunnel over the ferry, nearly always able to rock up early and change for no extra cost, most I have had to pay was £15 extra (was around 4pm so I assume peak time), but you have the option of up to 3 crossings per hour compared to the ferry , where i would have thought one every 2 hours at best.
Though I have never arrived late so I would not want to say how that would work out.
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I always use the ferries because I like to get out of my car and stretch my dididy legs after a long day or night's driving. I used to use P&O primarily along with Stena Ferries but now I and my family visitors use DFDS, mainlyDunkirk -Dover but I would also use the North Sea routes if heading to or from the north of the U.K. I've used the Tunnel a few times but I do not like it, nor do l believe the marketing about convenience. I find it neither convenient nor comfortable. I'm hoping to be able to tour parts of the North east and Scotland with German friends some time in the not too distant future. We will almost certainly use one of the North Sea ferry routes in both directions
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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compared to the ferry , where i would have thought one every 2 hours at best.
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at seriously early o'clock, maybe.
more like one every 55 minutes during the day
I take the ferry. gives an hour or so to stretch legs.
For scotland i take the newcastle-amsterdam ferry. If I'm going to have to kip overnight somewhere, I may as well do that whilst getting several hours closer to the destination.
poferries is cheaper. unless you have tesco vouchers to cash in, in which case tunnel will be.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ferry.
Tried the tunnel 4 times this year, and been a nightmare each time.
Yes, it "sounds" very convenient indeed, but seems there is always a 1-2 hour queue to get through the controls, sometimes then you miss "your" train and have to wait for another and then of course, there are all the "line problems" they seem to have.
The last 2 trips I made this year I used Dover-Calais, put on an earlier ferry both times, 30 mins max wait to load and very nice Club Lounge for not much money. Ferry ended up being as quick.
PS, my travel dates were all off peak time.
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And I've had the opposite experience with the Tunnel on 5 trips. Recent return on Easter Monday had a queue at border controls due to security checks by both French and UK. Still left on the booked train though at the booked time . Last real delay on tunnel was 2 years ago when there had been a train broken down inside.
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I like the tunnel. You can turn up early (I turned up last night, a very busy night, 10 days early, and got on the next train for £9 - I had looked online the night before and the charge then was £15). But if you are going to be more than 24 hours late you need to ring and re-arrange. You can re-arrange within 12 months.
It's very fast. You can be driving off the train in France within an hour of arriving at Calais, though generally it will take a bit longer. And in rough weather, no chance of feeling seasick.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I would rather stop off for lunch in France than eat it on a ferry. I can stretch my legs on French soil instead of tripping over a bunch of school kids. I can stay with my dogs on the Tunnel instead of leaving them in the car in the hold of the ship.
I don't find it uncomfortable, I am sitting in my own car.
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Haven't been on the ferry for nearly 15 years, hated the unpredictability of the weather (especially Nov-March) and rough crossings, maybe we were unlucky. Tunnel does have its issues but having used it up to 6 times a year pretty well since it opened, on average I would say it is very reliable and convenient. You can nearly always grab an earlier train if it's not fully booked, or later within a 2 hour window of your booked time free of charge. The 35 minute crossing is hard to beat if you're on a schedule. It's about 15 minutes closer to London than Dover and the ferry takes an hour and a half, so unless there are major delays you will nearly always save time. Our Easter weekend crossing we got straight on - arrived at tunnel 7am, in France 9:15 local. Can't do that from Dover and it's the equivalent of 100 miles or more on the road in France.
We only live an hour away though and resting/stretching is never really an issue for us in either direction - I can see that the ship might be appealing for a longer journey where you effectively make it a long service station stop / overnighter to Newcastle etc. The tunnel is not great for that but you can get out and walk around on there as well.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Bodeswell, I travel from Durham, and rarely use the ferry. Last time I did was about 5 years ago. It was a last minute weekend trip to Northern France, so time wasn't a huge issue, but the meal on board was inedible. We skipped the return ferry trip, booked a Eurotunnel and had lunch in Calais instead.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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From Edinburgh we prefer the Newcastle-Amsterdam ferry (DFDS) for a variety of reasons:
- good food (and good choice of restaurants)
- chance to relax while saving a fair few hours driving
- good night's rest and it's more fun than a hotel
- outward bound to Austria (or E Switzerland), starting from Amsterdam puts you onto good motorways with plenty of choice of routes (at least you until get into Bavaria but that would be the same from Calais).
- in return, the customs/ border experience is less 'fortress-like' than the tunnel
In short, we reckon it's a far better to start for a holiday than driving S to Dover/ Folkstone
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Thanks everyone. Lots of good info. We are not doing the North Sea crossings due to costs but have done them before and loved it. Stopping off at Reims on the way down so should be there by lunch or thereabout. Spend some time around there then head of to the Tyrol the next day. Think my preference will be to do the ferry to get well earned stretch of the legs - certainly on way down
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You know it makes sense.
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think it also depends where you're driving from and too, and how many drivers.
in my case, it's just me, and it's Frankfurt-Aviemore.
from here to Calais, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam or Amsterdam is 6 hours (ish) for any of them.
but Aviemore to Dover, Hull or Newcastle is a big difference, anything from about 5 hours up to 12 hours (I don't believe Google maps expected travel time for Dover whatsoever).
If I went via Dover, that 2 very whole days driving both ways, and staying over at my parents, in Kent. If I want to be in Aviemore it makes more sense to wake up and have breakast whilst arriving in Newcastle, than Kent.
(PS by Dover, I refer to either Dover or Folkestone - time to get to either from "home" is as near as damn it, identical - about 50mins, or about 1 hour if using the M2 long cut to the tunnel to skip M20 operation stack)
For me that's part of the holiday. 20 hours driving isn't. Although their recent increase in summer fares makes driving look more appealing.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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I think a lot depends on where you're driving from and to - it's not just the channel crossing which affects the journey as a whole.
For me, the added speed of the tunnel means I can do the journey in one. Clambering up and down the stairs on the ferry and finding somewhere to sit and possibly having a stomach-churning crossing, doesn't appeal, especially if the boat is fairly busy and I certainly don't find it restful. Last time I went on P & O the food was awful and the coffee cups dirty, and I felt sorry for some French school kids trying to puzzle out the complicated pricing on the menu with no French available at all, and blank staff who couldn't help. I was trying to translate, explaining that "if you pay another 50p for the XYZ menu you'll get a can of pop and a packet of crisps too" in French.
On the train I usually drink my coffee (if I've had time to get into the terminal for a cup, often there's no time, driving straight on the next train) then recline my seat and shut my eyes - even snooze for ten minutes, sometimes.
I could "stretch my legs" if I wanted, I suppose, though the view's not up to much....
On the way through France I stop every 2 hours for a quick walk, pee and coffee anyway. Driver safety drops off rapidly after 2 hours, or so the research suggests.
And I do reduce the price of my crossings a lot by using Tesco points!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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and possibly having a stomach-churning crossing
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last one of those I had was when the ferry used to go from Folkestone to Boulogne. Must have been Sealink (edit: just googled, and yes it was, and must have been 1983 - and it was same ship that washed up on Dover beach in the big storm of '87). I'll leave that for someone else to work out roughly what year that was. (and I do dover-calais every winter)
Stabilisers are pretty good these days, but I'm sure some people do get seasick just at the sight of a boat.
for food I tend to grab a sarnie. I'd never do cafeteria. But then I tend to steer clear of the cafeteria bit in all the UK services too (only Tebay is the exception).
on Newcastle-Amsterdam, I get something from Greggs to take on board. Fish+Chips and a drink won't get any change from a €20 note.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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So conclusion seems to be - people who like the tunnel will use the tunnel and people who like the ferry will use that 
I prefer the tunnel, as I get seasick, but will admit that when it goes wrong, or there are delays, it seems to go wrong worse than delayed ferries. You can't really get stuck behind a broken down ferry!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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You can't really get stuck behind a broken down ferry!
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But you can be stuck on one that's run aground (happened to my brother in law and they were there for quite a while).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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We prefer the ferry, P&O, into the Club Lounge unless it's breakfast time in which case into the Brasserie or whatever the latest name is. We came over here last time on the tunnel and were quite delayed and we just seem to have bad luck with the tunnel and always have delays.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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just looked at the Newcastle ferry, it is £645!!!!! no thanks,
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Just luck of the draw, I reckon. In 14 years the only time I've had any significant delay on the tunnel was the day after the London bombings, when there were understandable security delays. We had to wait in the terminal for about 4 hours, but it was fairly comfortable and browsing around for something to read I discovered Sudoku! My OH got quite cross because he was bored and I was absorbed in the puzzles.
We used to do the western channel crossing from Portsmouth to Le Havre with P & O (also free with Tesco). That did involve getting past Paris one way or another, which took a bit of planning depending on the time, but saved using the dismal M25 and is shorter than driving from Calais. We only live 10-15 minutes from the Portsmouth ferry terminal. But when P & O pulled out of the western channel the Brittany Ferries alternative was just too expensive. The only times I've crossed the channel on top of the sea in recent years has been by yacht - will be going over that way again at the end of May. That takes forever AND I have to help produce the food. AND take anti seasick tablets if it's rough weather. AND wear layers of clothes and get wet if it's raining.
AND that's supposed to be fun! 
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You save overnight accommodation and you don't have to fight our way south to Dover or the tunnel. You set off from the ferry in the morning, refreshed and already on toll-free motorways and can be in resot easily by the evening
This talk sea sickness is a hangover from the past. I've stopped using P&O and Co because they more and more resemble all the worst aspects of floating motorway service areas and are cheap and nasty offering little real value for the money any more. I pick my days carriers and times to suit me. On paper tthe numberslook big but you have saved the best part of 800 miles or more as well as overnight accommodation à la Premier Inn or worse. And the crossing becomes a min cruise at the start and end of your holiday.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The really long crossings can no doubt make a lot of sense for people travelling to and from more distant parts. For those of us who live in the south and drive to the French Alps it's a fairly straightforward choice between the tunnel and one of the short ferry crossings. Because the much shorter time on the Tunnel means I don't use an overnight stop, it's also the cheapest way for me.
The additional time for a ferry crossing would make it very difficult for me to do my drive in one hit - my present journey is about at the limit of my effective concentration, driving on my own, even though I live on the south coast.
We did try Newhaven - Dieppe return once. Never again. It was cheap, but getting to Newhaven from here, though it's not far, is a pain. Folkestone is only 45 minutes more and the crossing took forever.
Next time I go to the Alps - in June - it'll be a train to Gatwick, short cheap flight and a rented car. But that's only for a week.
The fact is, there's really no easy way of getting there, and no "one size fits all" answer.
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You can't really get stuck behind a broken down ferry!
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and you can get queued up to dock if the wind is up.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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This talk sea sickness is a hangover from the past.
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I don't get seasick, but my dog might, as she's been travel sick before, and has only just stopped being sick on the mountain roads. I really don't want to risk going back to a car full of dog vomit.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I noticed on Sunday that campers were being searched at the tunnel - I was in the "high" lane and there were quite a few of them. Understandable, I guess!
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Which reminds me, there were a number of posts recently about huge security delays at the ferry - hours and hours. Hopefully that problem has been solved now.
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You know it makes sense.
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They were also checking larger cars when we came back on Easter Monday, but they didn't ask us to open up because of the dogs in there.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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The additional time for a ferry crossing would make it very difficult for me to do my drive in one hit - my present journey is about at the limit of my effective concentration, driving on my own, even though I live on the south coast.
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Not surprised - coach and truck drivers wouldn't be allowed to do it solo in one hit (9 hours driving in 24 hours). Obviously they have the potential to kill more people 
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Poster: A snowHead
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@jedster, truck drivers would - limit is 10-hours driving in 24 hour period I believe and a quick check of DVLA confirms
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Generally prefer the tunnel. When the kids were younger the ferry had some attraction in regard of breaking up the journey. And our recent ski trip we went ferry for cost reasons - though we did question if it was justified afterwards.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Oh - I did once slide my Cortina (not the perfect vehicle for the conditions) off the edge of a wet murram road in the outback of Kenya, and with the nearside wheels down in the ditch, no chance of getting out till a tractor with four hefty farm workers came along and they just lifted the car out.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If I'm in a hurry, or it is winter, then I take the tunnel (and I go flexi-pass every time now).
If it is summer and I'm not in a hurry, then the ferry is a more relaxed way to go, and I can get a decent amount of sleep
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just luck of the draw, I reckon. In 14 years the only time I've had any significant delay on the tunnel was the day after the London bombings, when there were understandable security delays. We had to wait in the terminal for about 4 hours
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@pam w, is very lucky. This Easter it was a 5 hour delay going out so instead of a 20:20 crossing it was 01:10. I could work out what the problem was but did notice that the queue was full of cars with letters after ours that had not been called. Coming back it was only an hour caused by having a single passport check open and someone having a problem. Never had a delay on a ferry apart from an over night crossing to Cherbourg when the local fishermen had strung cables across the harbour as a protest (it was all rather exiting)
But I suspect I must have been lucky with ferry crossings in that out of hundreds of crossings including many across the Irish sea I have only had one rough one, Stavanger - Newcastle in October. All the Dover - Calais ones have been smooth.
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FAQ
Both quite expensive and very stupid errors, but - touch wood - no moving traffic accidents. Yet. 