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Hi All,

 Last year we took a latish ferry to calais and camped in the port. Although we have a motorhome, people were there with caravans and even a tent! It is free and worth bearing in mind.  As you get off the ferry follow the signs to get back on and "ticket office" and you'll come across a big car park full of caravans/campers. 

We go down to the south each year (2 boys 7 & 9!!!) and have driven through the night on occasions, but generally prefer to meander down. As has been said, we would not put our family at risk and whoever made the 'menace' remarks was a bit rude.  Incidentally, we have a big etchasketch thing which my boys still enjoy playing with and it keeps them occupied for a while. They also get to sit in the front for a while and "navigate" which a) keeps them occupied and b) splits them up before the squabbles start; we might end up in Brussels but hey, we're on holiday!!!

Have fun,

Hi all

i have done the trip several times from west yorkshire to the vendee - i find it best to set off about 7pm when the traffic has cleared, get to dover about midnight and park up in tesco car park. They are quite happy for you to park there, it is well lit, and if you have forgotten anything the shop is 24 hours. We get a ferry about 6am and i find that a 7 hour drive the other side is no problem as the roads are so quiet & there are plenty of picnic areas etc to stop at. My daughter is just 2, and we first went when she was one - just me and her ! She sleeps all the way to Dover, has a little wake up at tesco - sleeps again until the ferry & then is ready for breakfast on the boat. Hope this helps

chrissie 7

You need a holiday! Lighten up

I always spend the first day/night driving. Travelling from Belfast, we leave about 3.00 in the afternoon. Depart Cairnryan (Scotland) at about 5.30, having been fed and watered on the boat. Wifey goes for a sleep and the kids watch DVD's, look out the window, count animals, whatever until about 9ish. Stop for a bite to eat, kids go to sleep, wife takes over, I go for a sleep. Swap again about midnigh and usually arrive at Dover around 2.00am. Across on the ferry and spend another 90 minutes each driving to get to Paris. Lasy year we went straight to Eurodisney next morning, as we found that driving for 2 hours and napping followed by 3 hours of proper sleep is just as good as sleeping for 6-7 hours.

The only time I have attempted the journey in the day time, we spent 4 hours getting past Biringham and 6 hours getting round the M25 in sweltering heat. 20 hours from Cairnryan to Dover instead of 8. Kids were going daft, wife was going daft (I was my usual serene self(not) ) 

Given that you guys don't have 12 hours of travelling to get to Dover, I would take that option every time. 

I should mention that this is in a motorhome, so having a proper sleep or a cup of coffee en route isn't a problem