Hi, i'm looking to book next years summers hols and the quotes for the Dover Calais crossing are coming in at 280 - 300 return. when for the same time/date period last year I paid 190. Same van/ car combo etc.....
Or is this just the way of everything in the world??
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I have just compared the P&O crossing for May 2017 with the same crossing we did last May. Last year I paid £117 (MH, 2 adults, dog ), the price for 2017 is coming in at £157 - - that is a big percentage increase. The booking for 2016 I booked in March so I won`t be booking next years yet but will wait, there will be a promotion at some stage.
That's the only thing I could think of as I booked mine late last, for the last 2 years I've paid roughly 170- 200 for my ferry crossing with the van and family. the quotes i'm getting now come back at around 290, which has been tunnel prices but that's up to 380 now :(
If you're a member of either of the 2 clubs, Caravan or Camping & Caravanning, then they give some discount on crossings booked with them. Some crossings have free caravans and MHs for the price of a car, but I think that applies to the longer crossings, not the Dover-Calais one. Although they do offer discount on that route.
------------- Ina
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Don't know if this might be of interest, but as we have 2 French trips most years, and don't do much weekending at home, we found indoor storage (near Angers in our case) and leave the caravan there when not in use. This makes the journey down from NE Scotland much easier and cuts down tunnel/ferry costs a lot.
We bought an old caravan for UK use.
Like Ina has said, try the clubs, we always book crossings with cc and the most we have ever paid was last year £154 but we got 3 camping cheques so were happy. Often best prices are at the times the shows are on. Manchester Jan/Feb or NEC in October. J x
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Rathbone, try the Harwich to the Hook of Holland sailing - there were some good offers a few weeks back. Newhaven/Dieppe was also good value last year so perhaps worth trying.
Personally I always travel with P&O and after a number of attempts trying the tunnels, each one having problems, I've stuck with the ferry. Tunnels prices are always much higher than ferry prices. Whilst I like P&O, I've noticed over the last couple of years they are tightening up on the arrival times. Once I could arrive at almost anytime, say three or four hours either side of the actually booked time, and had no problem getting straight on. Two years ago, I arrived back at Calais after a motorcycle trip around Norway, Sweden and Denmark, at midday when my sailing was 4pm. They expected my to pay a further £40 or so to get the next ferry, or £25 or so to get the one after that. Times have changed.
Quote: Originally posted by oxter on 19/12/2016
Don't know if this might be of interest, but as we have 2 French trips most years, and don't do much weekending at home, we found indoor storage (near Angers in our case) and leave the caravan there when not in use. This makes the journey down from NE Scotland much easier and cuts down tunnel/ferry costs a lot.
We bought an old caravan for UK use.
Quite a lot of UKCS'ers do much the same.
If interested, just ask.
That's exactly what I'm doing from next year, storing my caravan near Calais and by using the Channel Tunnel frequent traveller scheme have got the price down to £88 return, even in peak months, if you're able to be flexible with your departure times
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We do exactly that - storage in France, and Frequent Traveller Eurotunnel. Because you buy the crossings in advance, somehow it doesn't seem to 'cost' anything to get across the Channel and we're even thinking about a January shopping trip and overnight stay, just because we can!
I didn't think I would be. I've been crossing that Channel since I was 17. I remember when the freight ferries took walk on passengers. I remember the Hovercraft (thank goodness that's gone!). And I remember seeing the lights on both sides of the Channel in the snow in maybe December 1976, which was so pretty.
But the tunnel is so worth it. You're there in 35 minutes. No seasickness in the stormiest seas. They've made a real effort with the terminal. I particularly like what they've done with the one on the UK side.
And for tent campers it's so much cheaper than most ferries.