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Dec 11, 2014 12:29:58 GMT |
Getting over that pesky water at the South of the country seems to be something achievable in a number of ways. They each have benefits and problems it seems (time/money being about the sum of it) Eurostar : Can get you to Paris, without a car  Eurotunnel : Effectively Dover -> Calais. Very frequent, very quick, a little more expensive than ferries... better for low cars. Ferries : Dover -> Calais - Popular route, serviced well, short crossing. Newhaven -> Dieppe - Relatively inexpensive route, gets you nearer the destination, about an hour less driving. More time on the Ferry. Portsmouth -> Le Harve - Costly route, about two hours quicker in the car in France. Longest Ferry time Porstmouth -> Caen - Most expensive Ferry, but less than two hours driving in France to get to the Château Anyone got any other thoughts for travelling? On the French side of things, from Calais to the Château it is possible to avoid tolls, it adds about an hour to the total journey time, but only about an extra 10 miles. |
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Dec 11, 2014 13:27:00 GMT |
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Poole to Cherbourg is another route
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muttley racing ftmfwmf
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Costs would be great and meet up times for continental cruising?  ? |
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Was going to suggest a group booking for possible ferry discounts, but whenever that has happened in the past the french police seem to get wind of a load of old car turning up and are waiting for us.
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1993 Fiat Panda Selecta
2003 Vauxhall Combo 1.7DI van
2006 Mercedes Kompressor Evolution-S AMG SportCoupé
"You think you hate it now, wait til you drive it"
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quackshot
Posted a lot
...friggin' cars...
Posts: 1,349
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I always take the ferry and at one point was doing it once a month over the course of a year. Its a tried and tested route and you can time with your watch every aspect of it. Also I see nothing wrong with the toll roads unless you want unnecessary scenery. I often drove straight from Calais to Grenoble. I once decided on taking a detour to find fuel and it was a stupid idea. Toll toad abroad + foot flat to the floor = Often see some REAL nice motors on there, had some fun driving along some sections with all sorts, carrera GT, fezza dino spider, v8 mg bgt, skyline gtrs. |
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I used to make the crossing 5-6 times a year. Always favoured Norfolkline (now DFDS Seaways) with Dover to Dunkirk crossing.
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ChasR
RR Helper
Long Time Rambler
Posts: 10,016
Club RR Member Number: 170
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For peeps on LPG the ferry will be your only option (I got used to this a long time ago and upon checking the ruling not too long ago it has yet to change). It also pays to play around with different operators (this time around it was cheaper for me to use P&O over DFDS (aka NorfolkLine). The Dunkirk crossing takes a little longer than Calais but it does tend to be cheaper. As for the Eurotunnel the lowness aspect is a good point raised by Hotwire. For most cars it will be fine. It will be for the uber low cars that issues arise with the ferry. The Eurotunnel is very quick though (around 20 mins) but it can seem long than the ferry if I am honest! As for the tolls it makes sense to use them in some places for the aforementioned reasons in addition to the fact that the roads on the outskirts can be horrific in all honesty. In some places it does not makes things much worse though (the Route National near Le Mans is a case in point . The 'hour' extra can become longer if you have a few lorries en route (which you tend to in all honesty!). |
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Last Edit: Jan 4, 2015 9:14:06 GMT by ChasR
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Word of warning about roof racks. I took my A35 Portsmouth to Caen without a problem. However on the return journey the French spotted my roof rack and wanted to charge me an extra £10 (this was many years ago as well). I pointed out the people carriers around me were higher than my little car plus it's roof rack but no joy. In the end removed it and stuffed everything on back seat until back in Blighty and then refitted.
Only used the tunnel once. Was taken ill after around 3 weeks various journeys around France collecting and delivering cars, parts etc and ended up bedridden in mates Brussels apartment for nearly 2 weeks so just wanted to get home asap and couldn't stand thought of a rough ferry crossing as still fragile. Tunnel was impressive set up - easy and speed of boarding in France to unloading back home.
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oog
Part of things
Posts: 40
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If I go I'll be using the Plymouth to Roscoff service as I live in Plymouth. However it may be useful for others over this side of the country. It's not cheap and is a long crossing (normally over night) but at least it's only a 3 1/2 hour drive on the other side.
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Jan 20, 2015 14:56:17 GMT |
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I won't be attending but p and o have just had an advert on saying they have a crossing sale on at the minute!
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Jan 20, 2015 16:35:45 GMT |
Ahh that is a good push for me to pick a time to meet at Calais ... Just going to do some counting on my fingers and I'll get a meeting time up  |
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Jan 20, 2015 18:30:54 GMT |
Mystery Machine may well have some input on channel hopping...rumour has it he's been looking into it lately 
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Jan 29, 2015 13:20:32 GMT |
Just paid for my tickets! Now just need to book the ferry I will never get the eurotunnel ever again with stretch tyres, the chequerplate curbs that run along the inside curbed my alloys so bad because they were higher than my tyres! never again! Ferry for me! |
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Try using 'aferry ' to book tickets - I got a return for two people for £40 on the ferry, ive booked a few hours before departure as well. Very flexible and cheaper than Eurotunnel (and not as cramped!)
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