 Poster: A snowHead
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quigs, if we cross around lunchtime, we've found a nice pub for lunch just off the M20, Ashford services exit.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We went through on Easter Saturday. Arrived at 4.20pm (for a 7.50pm train) and was offered a choice of two train times, 5.20pm and 5.40pm. Opted for the earlier time and proceeded to French and then UK immigration. Was through French procedures in a couple of minutes; some cars were being pulled over for searches but fortunately not us. Short queue for the UK side of things, but no more than five minutes. Visited the Terminal building for 15 minutes with enough time for a coffee and to check emails, then called for our train which left 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Can't say that the re-arranged order of business made any difference at all to our experience on this occasion. All in all it was a very smooth drive from Les Arcs back home, with the only delay being a 15 minute traffic jam within five miles of home as we passed through Esher at the same time as Sandown Park was kicking out lots of cars from that day's race meeting. Travel time from door to door was 12 hours 15 minutes and we were home in time to watch Doctor Who  A quick journey, but if I had a Tardis...
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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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We generally only go into the Terminal if, having checked in, we can't drive straight onto a train (which we often can - not that I've ever paid Flexi Plus as we don't travel at peak times and there's generally no point). On the way out we are always equipped with food, and on the way back we stop on the French side somewhere for a meal before crossing. If we go into the Terminal for the loos we buy one of their stupidly large and expensive coffees between us, as it sits nicely in the drinks container in the car. There's no way I can drink one of those buckets of coffee myself, especially if we're on our way home and been drinking French style coffee for weeks.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
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rob@rar, you obviously weren't caught in the Autoroute closure just outside Geneva then 
Every year we say - Lyon or Annecy? Whatever we do we get it wrong!! This year I decided Annecy 'cos it was a drab miserable day on Saturday and I thought it would be quiet around Annecy lake. I was right but once again the Autoroute between Geneva and Nantua was closed! Always at the same point - always just after you go through the tolls. Fortunately we had just stopped at the services for a pee!! The really annoying thing is that we were parked on the autoroute next to a service road that led onto the adjacent RN road - which was empty...still, all part of the fun and games, at least the kids are old enough now not to puke, cry, fight or ask "are we there yet?".
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| quigs wrote: |
rob@rar, you obviously weren't caught in the Autoroute closure just outside Geneva then
Every year we say - Lyon or Annecy? Whatever we do we get it wrong!! |
Phew! We decided on the Lyon option for the way home, having done Annecy on the way out. Lucky break for us!
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| Lou wrote: |
| Mrs W wrote: |
| 6 booths open for British passport control |
Four is our personal best at anytime, summer, winter, public hols etc and even then, that was unusual. |
6 UK passport booths were built by Eurotunnel in 1994, only 2 have been used for that purpose, the other 4 are redundant.
Each booth has an operating side, so 2 booths with 4 sides means a maximum of 4 sides or in other words 4 lanes. In the dead of night, there will be 1 lane open, at max there are 4 lanes, most of time I believe 2 lanes are open.
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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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| wildnoon wrote: |
| Lou wrote: |
| Mrs W wrote: |
| 6 booths open for British passport control |
Four is our personal best at anytime, summer, winter, public hols etc and even then, that was unusual. |
6 UK passport booths were built by Eurotunnel in 1994, only 2 have been used for that purpose, the other 4 are redundant.
Each booth has an operating side, so 2 booths with 4 sides means a maximum of 4 sides or in other words 4 lanes. In the dead of night, there will be 1 lane open, at max there are 4 lanes, most of time I believe 2 lanes are open. |
You need to speak to Eurotunnel and tell them they have some illegals working their booths as there were definatly 6 lanes open. 5 lanes for cars/vans and one lane reserved for coaches.
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through in 5 minutes at about 17:00 today
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I have never had a problem.
I arrive at the french side, usually about 30 minutes before my scheduled departure time, sail through ticket check/passport/immigration, have the car searched and am loaded and on my way with the minimum of fuss.
I can get a perfectly nice meal - at a reasonable price - before stretching out and having a nice nap.
Oh, by the way....this is Dunkirk to Dover on Norfolkline.
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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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We were through very quickly for the 9.20 crossing on Sunday morning. Quick loo stop in the terminal, read a few pages of my book, and onto the booked train. youspurs1, it is just far too long a crossing time to use regularly.
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far too long a crossing time to use regularly.
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yes, we found that. It was very civilized (we had the "VIP" ticket which only cost an extra £12 each and gave us unlimited coffee and snacks, a quiet lounge, newspapers) but it did seem to take forever.
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You know it makes sense.
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far too long a crossing time to use regularly.
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yes, we found that.
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I honestly don't understand this point of view.
I live 215 miles from Dover, so have about a 4 hour drive to the port. I time my crossing to get me to France at the right time for me to be able to drive to my next planned stop at a reasonable speed. I use the two hour crossing time to get some proper rest, and have always arrived at my next stop within an hour either side of plan.
I have to admit that I have never used the tunnel. I have tried booking in the past but have always found it to be too expensive even if using clubcard vouchers - and I can always use those on something else. I also take note of the numerous complaints, here and elswhere, about the standards of service on Eurotunnel and am happy to keep to the ferries, where I have never had a problem - just the opposite.
I suppose that this is a bit like the TO/DIY debate, you either do or you don't. Cash is king for me (closely followed by service) and it's measureably cheaper for me to sail. I just have to leave home a couple of hours earlier to get to my destination at the same time.
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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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youspurs1, I live in Leeds and have driven to the Alps twice for winter and once in summer. For me 2 hours 'stuck' on a ferry is wasted driving time, even more so when you add in the time getting on and off the ferry terminal and the ferry itself. I use the 30mins tunnel crossing to stand up, have lunch & a coffee, wander about a bit, then ready to start driving.
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Poster: A snowHead
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youspurs1, with one exception at Christmas 2009, we have had no problems with service on Eurotunnel. I have not paid for any of them, all were covered by Clubcard deals. We have used ferries, including Norfolkline, if I was to choose ferry, I'd choose the shorter Dover-Calais option. We used Norfolkline last April for EOSB, and it was almost lunchtime before we hit the autoroute in France, depsite an 8am crossing time.
Problem is if you arrive slightly early for a ferry, you usually have to wait, but with Eurotunnel, on most occasions, you will be able to board an earlier train.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We came through yesterday morning around 8am, its all a bit strange the new layout but it was very, very quiet so no delays. However we were booked on the 9.50am and turned up at about 8am hoping for an earlier slot. Imagine our surprise when we got to the self service booth and it said the next available slot was on the 9.50am, we were one of 5 cars there at the time? We drove to the terminal building and I went over to the info booth. I asked the lady there as the place was empty how come all trains were fully booked till 9.50am? She shrugged her shoulders (oh how the French can shrug) and said they were. Bear in mind it is 8.10am on a Friday morning off peak and there are about 6 other people in the terminal building and 5 cars parked outside.....
We had a coffee and saw the 8.50 called, no one went for it, there was no one in the terminal building. At 8.50 I decided to hell with this and we drove of out to loading, we were in the oversize lane. We got to the cabin where you have to stop for the over size lanes and I said to the lady there that the person in the terminal said to go on out (cough) as there might be room on the 9.20am. She said she wasn't sure as they were expecting lots of coaches. There are 3 coaches there, its 9am and the train leaves in 20mins... She said to go to a lane and if we get called then that was fine. We got on the 9.20am easy. Lesson learnt (and sorry to become stereo typical but this has happened to us before on the French side), if they say the trains are full it it is still worth driving out. Worst case you sit in your car for a bit but you can normally get a feel from the terminal building as to how busy the place is.
As for the new layout, it did seem weird and for those expecting, especially with kids in the car, immediate toilet relief it could come as a bit of a shocker.
As an aside, anyone wanting a short break in France nowhere near a ski resort, highly recommend Honfleur in Normandy.
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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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I honestly don't understand this point of view
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I normally drive from the Alps to home in one hit - doing pretty much all the driving myself. We are only just over 2 hours from Dover, if the traffic is OK. But it's a long journey and I would prefer to avoid making it longer. On the tunnel I drive on, recline my seat, have a short snooze then wake and drive off. And get either to the Alps, or home, several hours sooner - even a short ferry crossing takes a fair bit longer from start to finish. All our trips (4 a year) are paid for by Tesco vouchers. We had a bad delay once, the day after the London bombing, and security was extra tight but we avoid peak times and generally find the service fine. If you arrive early (as we usually do) you get on an earlier train, if you arrive late, you get on a later train. Takes a lot of the stress out of the journey. For me it's just far less hassle and in bad weather you have no risk of feeling seasick.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We come from very much the same neck of the woods as pam w, but we prefer the ferries! If the fares are not too high then we will go Portsmouth/Le Havre overnight, or Le Havre/Portsmouth on the 5.30 p.m. crossing back. Did this I think in April, and we left enough time to leave Les Gets, drive to Honfleur and have lunch and then potter home slowly on the ferry. Otherwise we just stick to Dover/Calais, usually going very early in the morning and having breakfast on board P&O and returning early evening and again eating on board. We share the drive, more or less half and half, and but OH does the UK part of it.
May try the tunnel again in June to go over to France, that seems to work for us as it gets us on the road, but we always prefer the ferry back. Horses for courses. We have plenty of time nowadays so are not concerned over the length of the trip.
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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 used to do Portsmouth/Le Havre when it was free with Tesco vouchers, though I did find it a pain working out optimum way of doing the Paris bit and although it's fewer miles, the door to door time is far longer. I have plenty of time too (lucky retirees....) but I tend not to sleep well either on a long ferry crossing or in a hotel overnight and would much prefer one long boring day to two long boring days which cost quite a bit more! The journey to Dover is a pain (roll on the Hindhead tunnel next month) and we are 10 minutes from the Portsmouth ferry port, so if I could use Portsmouth with Tesco vouchers it would be a strong contender! Though P & O were really dismal. I remember one unfortunate group of French school kids trying to decipher the "Meal Deal" in the café - there wasn't a word of French and needless to say the servers couldn't help. I felt like an international linguist in comparison, being able to explain that the cashier was telling them that it wouldn't cost them any more to grab a can of drink. Imagine the fuss the average Britonaferry would make if the situation were reversed on Brittany Ferries!
There is nothing remotely fun or entertaining about the tunnel - not much of a view - but it's certainly efficient (usually).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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It is odd going abroad by car and not seeing the sea.
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FAQ
Left the tunnel at 5.30 and got home by 9 pm, I think thats a personal best 
