Ferry or Tunnel?

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dan1502

Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2012
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416
Location
Cheshire
Car
SL60 AMG (Now sold)
We're thinking of travelling to France then on to Spain, probably late August/early September.

Which is recommended? Tunnel or Ferry?

We'd have a way to travel to get either so would probably opt for a longer drive and shorter crossing like Dover to Calais if using the ferry unless anyone has other suggestions.

One of my main concerns is avoiding damage to the SL. At least I can raise the suspension for going up and down ramps :)
 
Tunnel every time for me. It is so much easier and pleasurable driving on the continent, I would opt for the longer drive. Compared to being cooped up on a boat with wing mirrors overlapping and people squeezing between cars with 'duty free', kids, bags etc. No contest.
 
Ok, thanks for the advice. Do you know of any discount codes, offers etc for the tunnel?
 
The tunnel is faster than the DO/CA ferry, but more expensive. If you have a long drive to the departure point the opportunity to relax & eat on the ferry can be worthwhile as you're making use of otherwise "dead" time.

That said, I've used the tunnel exclusively for every crossing to France since 2007. If you shop at Tesco you can exchange Clubcard vouchers for a tunnel crossing at three times their face value, which means I haven't had to pay cash for a tunnel crossing in years :D

If travelling through France, my preferred method is to get an afternoon crossing and stop somewhere within an hour or so of Coquelles. That way I lose the hour time difference, have a relaxed meal and a good night's sleep and can get a full day on the road the next day. The French seem to be returning to their roots of offering good quality cheap hotel accommodation after years of rising prices and falling standards. You can normally get a room for two with breakfast for under £65 in an ibis Styles place, which is perfect for a one-night stop.

One alternative to consider if you're going to Spain is to take the Portsmouth or Plymouth route to Santander / Bilbao. It looks expensive, but is competitive when you factor in accommodation, fuel, and wear & tear on the car covering the 800 miles or so to Spain. You could do that in one direction and drive through France the other way if that suits.
 
If I was coming from Chester to Spain, I certainly wouldn't trudge to Dover and then drive all through NE France (which is a pretty desolate region).

Pop down to Portsmouth, across on the ferry (where they do quite a decent meal and good wine and have a snooze) and then set out from Caen (Ouistreham) where you're straight on the motorway to Angers/Bordeaux/Bayonne.

Save at least 4 hours' driving. ;)
 
Leave about 5am for a lunchtime tunnel slot, drive to Reims as there are a plethera of hotels just off the auto route. Early start the next morning and you'll be in Spain late afternoon. Whereabouts in Spain are you going?
 
Just done this to disneyland from manchester. Decided on the ferry as it gave me time to relax and the kids could run around. Tbh on both crossings there was plenty of space on the car decks (even in an ml)
For £95 return it was a no brainer. I also got put on the earlier crossings for no extra cost.

If your trip through France is really not necessary id recommend the Plymouth/Santander crossing. Just under 24 hours but as mentioned avoids wear and tear on vehicle and is less stressful for yourself. We have drove to morocco numerous times via France and Spain and we always found the Santander ferry the best option.
 
+1 for Portsmouth. It's a much easier journey than Dover. M6, M6 Toll, M42, M40, A34, M27.

For Dover you have to contend with M25 and the Dartford crossing.

A ferry gives you a decent break in the journey.

Alternatively, a coach driver friend of mine recommends taking a ferry from Hull. Much less UK driving, overnight crossing and not much more continental miles, he says.
 
Plymouth - Santander ferry is the way to go. Pricey but 24hrs of relaxation ready for the fantastic scenery from Santander westwards and then south through Burgos etc.
 
On our last trip to Europe we went Dover-Calais with P&O. I upgraded to the Club Lounge which is far more comfortable and relaxing (and less riff-raff!). Best of all it included Priority Boarding so we were first on and first off with the added bonus of parking right at the front so nobody walked past with bags, push-chairs and kids. It's good to have the opportunity of a rest in the middle of a long drive.
 
It's early days in terms of planning. Some friends have a villa in L'ampolla which is about 100km south of Barcelona. The plan at this stage would be to take a relaxed journey to Spain, exploring and stopping off on the way with no strict timetable but a list of options in terms of places to visit or perhaps stay a while at on the way. Then stay in L'ampolla a while but not necessarily all that long and see from there.

We've never done this before and each time I have owned a nice car we say we must sometime. With us wondering how long we'll keep the SL60 (I keep getting interest) we're thinking now might be the time to do it. We do such low mileage and it's kept in tip top condition so I'm not too concerned about that but take the point about there being no point travelling through desolate areas or just bombing along toll roads. Time to get the map out I think.
 
We've just come back from Monsegur, a little south of Bordeaux. We did tunnel out with an overnight stay at a hotel on the way down. Coming back we did the night ferry from Caen to Portsmouth with a cabin so we all got a good night's sleep and only had a 1 hour run home when we docked. There are pros and cons for both, the tunnel is certainly a lot less faff, but it was a little frustrating having to do 6 hours driving to effectively get to where I would have been had I spent the same amount of time sitting reading a book on the ferry. We'll probably do the same thing when we go back next year.
 
When driving my new (to me, that is!) CL back from the Wirral to South West France a month ago, I checked the cost of the channel crossing for 11.a.m. departure:

P&O ferry £36
Tunnel £124

Guess which I took?

We like the ferry 'cos it gives you chance to have a meal without having to stop en route. We overnight in Chartres, going via Rouen, thereby missing out Paris and stay in the B&B chain which is clean, cheap and right on the road you need to be on. Then A10 south to Spain.

Chartres is exactly 4 hours from landing in Calais.

B&B Hotels in France - Booking hotels online

There are 2 hotels in Chartres, right next to each other. There are several eating places next door and within a couple of minutes walk. Easy to find.

Stuart
 
In that case;

Plymouth - Santander
Santander - Bilbao - Logrono - Zaragosa - N232 to Vinaros - then up to L'Ampolla
Stay on the National roads as not only do you save on Toll but the scenery is much better

Whichever way you decide, enjoy :)
 
It would be good to incorporate a stay in the Basque area (as suggested) as we would love to try the cuisine. We travelled inland a bit last time we went to L'ampolla and think we got as far as Mirambel (on a day trip in a hired Alfa). Quiet, twisty roads with great EU funded surfaces.
 
Plymouth/Portsmouth to Santander/Bilbao seems interesting but pretty booked up and with cabins over £800. I think I'll have a chat with the friends who own the Villa as they've done a lot of car/bike trips armed with your suggestions and go from there but I don't want it to become an organisational nightmare. I love holidays and travel but detest the organising!
 
Plymouth/Portsmouth to Santander/Bilbao seems interesting but pretty booked up and with cabins over £800. I think I'll have a chat with the friends who own the Villa as they've done a lot of car/bike trips armed with your suggestions and go from there but I don't want it to become an organisational nightmare. I love holidays and travel but detest the organising!

Hi. I have just moved back from the south of France between Beziers and Narbonne and have probably in 6 years used all the different crossings and quite honestly they are all the same except the tunnel is quicker. i did have a problem with P n O lately where they parked my "mint" 300CE next to some very large chains which were swinging from the side of the boat. After persisting strongly the guy who had clearly never owned anything nice in his life took them down. if you need any help with accomodation in southern France let me know. and try and incorporate the Millau Bridge on your journey, its fantastic.
 
Thanks. Thoughts at the moment are to travel through France to take in the South of France on the way down then along the coast past Barcelona then drive back via the Bilbao/Santander and up the west coast of France taking in some of the sites and wartime places of interest on the way back. I'm not sure what a realistic time to take this all in is though.
 
I'm not sure what a realistic time to take this all in is though.

That depends on how much you like wine :bannana:
 

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