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 Topic: tunnel vs normandy coast ports
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23/10/2023 at 12:00pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Done that 'channel crossing options/costings' thing around 40 times now, and in great detail, I have a spreadsheet with various costs, mileages and timings, that I revisit and update every year. We travel to France (Le Mans) most years, and I've looked at just about every conceivable travel option.
Now for us, we are prepared to sacrifice cheapness a little for convenience, but budget is always a consideration, so not a case of prepared to pay any price! We've made bad choices in the past in the name of cheapness and found the lack of sleep/tiredness from long journey on some options has jaded us for the entire duration of our stay, so we now factor in a half decent night's sleep either hotel on this or other side of Channel or a cabin on the overnight ferry. We're a group of mates who come together from around the country for this trip, typically from Devon, Stoke on Trent, Burbs of W London, and Hertfordshire, so some have a fair UK leg of journey before we even hit the channel crossing!
On cost, when factoring in mileage/fuel costs and a hotel, this year the Tunnel was just as expensive as the most expensive ferry with overnight cabin option, the ferry which is as usual also a much quicker road trip and easier drive became a bit of a no brainer choice for us! Even when very cheap in the past, the Tunnel has never enticed us, as a much longer journey and simply overall costs not cheap enough to offset the inconvenience of the timings (the short crossing time does not always work in OUR favour!) and driving time.
Over the years we have come to the conclusion, that the Portsmouth-Caen or Cherbourge overnight ferry works best for us, it gives us plenty of time to get to the port, time for a half decent meal before embarkation, sufficient sleep, and on French side, arrival at our destination camp site with a stop off for 'supplies' and a bite to eat in good time to pitch tent(s) with ease before darkness. All in, we've perfected it to be a leisurely trip which we enjoy as part of our holiday rather than a chore to be endured for the sake of the end goal. We still go through the exercise of looking at all options, but TBH the ferry choice is heavily biased these days, as we actually enjoy it. The return trip works just as well for us. And of course, even though the ferry is usually packed to capacity with the Le Mans race supporters, there are never the horrendous and unpredictable delays that seem to afflict the Tunnel crossings!
Obviously our situation is slightly different to yours, we are (at final destination) tenting in a large 6 berth and/or extra tents, so an overnight stop en route and pitching tent(s) and repacking car next morning is a PITA, whereas you have the convenience of a camper.
Newhaven-Dieppe always tempts us (on costs), but having done it once, the short overnight crossing time didn't really work well for us (not enough sleep), but in terms of cost, pretty much unbeatable. With your flexibility with the camper and opportunity to have a nap en route, it may work well for you.
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Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
23/10/2023 at 4:51pm
Location: Wessex
Outfit: Dethleffs Trend T675
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Quote: Originally posted by Netherton on 23/10/2023
For Brittany I suggest Portsmouth to St Malo - a leisurely overnight crossing with a meal on board and then the best cabin you can afford. This is not the cheapest route but certainly the most comfortable.. St Malo itself is lovely but if you only drive 25 miles west you are immediately on to a really attractive stretch of coast.
I'm with you on that, it's certainly our first choice if we're heading into Brittany or further south, we also prefer it to the Portsmouth-Caen crossing because it kicks you off of the ship rather too early in the morning for our liking.
We live within 45mins of Portsmouth and we're both still working so time is the major consideration for us, it takes about 3-4 hrs to drive up to the channel ports, then if we're heading to Brittany or the Vendée it's a day's drive (as opposed to half a day), to get there.
It's a 460 mile trip to get to ours, to the Channel Tunnel, to the ferry point at St Malo (which would be our normal starting point), that's £150 in fuel alone, one-way.
Now if we were heading to northern France/Belgium/the Netherlands/Germany etc, the tunnel is a more logical option.
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Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
 via mobile 24/10/2023 at 7:02am
Location: Exeter
Outfit: If it fits in the 2CV - - - .
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It's certainly true that the cheapest crossing is not necessarily the most economical! However in the vast majority of cases, if you are purely considering finances, this becomes a very personal calculation depending on starting point and destination. We have certainly done the trek to Dover in the past in search of the cheapest crossing, and when we have holidayed in Eastern France, Germany and Czech this has been the most economical way to do it.
Nowadays, when we camp it tends to be in Brittany or the Vendée ... And we live in Devon! Having done the calculations several times, the Plymouth Roscoff crossing is a no brainer for us ... and then you discover that saving around 1000 miles of driving gives a couple of extra nights at our destination! The process now consists of a leisurely roll down the A38, couple of drinks in the bar, head down, up to watch what imho is the most beautiful early morning approach to France and we're usually on site before lunch the following day. The total drive to our last campsite in Brittany from home was 43 miles.
Now our circumstances are not the same as everyone else's, and not everybody enjoys ferry travel but for us it's markedly cheaper and much more enjoyable to take the ferry.
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Mart
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25/10/2023 at 12:23am
Location: Devizes Wiltshire
Outfit: MWB VW Crafter PVC
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I prefer the tunnel, being 35min crossing, drive on, drive off, stay in the van with the dog, the AHC check for the dog was straight forward at Folkstone and Calais once I knew how to get there etc...
Done and dusted with some of the sea routes some years ago. The last one was rough and people were throwing up all around me, and I swore I would never use a sea route again, and I have not.
DK 
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* Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest And Play! *
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