I've just been looking at Eurotunnel crossing prices for end of the month/early August. It used to double the price to take a trailer over but they now seem to charge even more:
Crossing on 02 August for car with roofbox (no trailer) is £88.00 for a crossing at 14.50, yet tow a trailer and it shoots up to £189! £101 more, each way, to take a camping trailer? Really?!
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Yep lidds0, that's why we always use Dover-Dunkerque, even in peak for Car+Trailer works out at around £116 (£58 each way) we usually sail out at 4pm on a Sunday and return 3 weeks later on a 10am Saturday crossing.
I can understand the prices doubling (although an average-sized camping trailer or trailer tent isn't as long as an average car, so doesn't take up more than twice as much room in a carriage), but why the heck would towing a trailer more than double the cost of a crossing?
Up until this year we have always used Tesco vouchers to pay for a tunnel crossing, so, in effect, the extra cost of taking our caravan hasn't mattered. The past couple of years we have also taken dogs, so it has been a no-brainer. However, this year, due to retirement and a change in shopping habits, we didn't have much more than £80 worth of vouchers, so had to pay the difference. We are seriously considering not taking dogs and using a short crossing instead in future. We reckon the savings will go quite a way to paying for the dogs to go to their "holiday home", which they love.
------------- Freedom is a light caravan and an open road.
I agree JL, the Tesco voucher thing would never work for us, as Mrs Francais works in one of the other big national supermarkets, not that we ever did shop much in Tesco before that.
In fact Tesco often double or quadruple voucher value for in store stuff anyway, so I Could never see were the value was when using them for the Chunnel.
I can still remember the heady days of a £59 return (£29.50 each way) Dover-Dunkerque crossing during July, for our car+trailer sadly that only ran for us from 2010 to 2012.
These days the cost is almost double, but still better than half the price of using the Chunnel, which makes a short ferry crossing a no brainer for us.
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We use the tunnel, especially with the caravan, because I'm very nervous about loading on a ferry especially DFDS ! Heard you have to reverse in some cases and that just wouldn't happen! Delays and cost seem to out way stress values.
We all have our different preferences, Ginandtonic, but the only time I have ever been asked to reverse was on the tunnel train. The person in front had stopped across the carriage doors. Unless you are talking about small ferries of 30/40 years ago there simply is no reason to reverse on or off a ferry.
Access and egress is so much easier on the ferry and far more comfortable .
DaveS1
Quote: Originally posted by bilstonbiker on 23/7/2016
this also applies to motorcycle trailers and mine is only 3feet wide and 5feet long total rip off
Yes, the size of the trailer doesn't seem to influence cost (they don't even ask for size, just if you are towing either caravan or trailer). It does seem a bit excessive.
We're seriously thinking of opening a Frequent Traveller account (£43 each way for a car, off-peak, but you have to buy a minimum of 10 one-way crossings). Then, it's only an additional £43 for a trailer or a caravan, apparently. It basically means if we make just 2 return crossings in the next twelve months, we'll be saving money.
Unless anyone can pick holes in this logic?
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I looked into the frequent traveller scheme and checked with them about only the extra 43 for the caravan. Best of all is that the peak supplement only applies to the car, so the caravan is 43 whenever.
Also you can have two people on the frequent traveller scheme, so if you know someone you can share the cost with then is works out very well (though you do have to trust they will not use up all your share as the account is shared and either can spend the credit).
I was just going to add the same as Alex - for caravanners who have two European holidays a year, and friends they can share with, then the Frequent Traveller option can save a worthwhile amount. My son and I shared the payment - one third to him and two thirds to us, you could share the cost with friends proportionately, depending on your expected use of the deal.
Quote: Originally posted by JoannaLesley on 25/7/2016
This sounds interesting. Are you able to use a second "ticket" for the caravan? I.e. two of your 10 lots of £43 each way?
Unfortunately not (I rang them and did manage to clarify a few points yesterday).