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Thread: The cost of Ferry travel

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    Default The cost of Ferry travel

    Have just been doing a search for Ferry deals as we are heading down to Bordeaux late February as the grandaughters are on 1/2 term holidays.
    I hate travelling down through what I call car park Britain especially when you get towards Birmingham from there on it is road works delays tail backs etc!!
    So I thought perhaps go the Irish route Hollyhead/Dublin and then Dublin /Cherbourg. Someone is having a laugh Dublin /Cherbourg return £610.00. Hollyhead/Dublin £240.00.
    So looks like car park Britain route as £209 for the channel route.
    My poor old wife is now the only one of us that drives now. So it is a stay at Premier inn going and coming back +two hotels driving through France and back. Flights from Liverpool to Bordeaux seasonal , Manchester again 1 stop over of at least 4 hours in Amsterdam or Paris.
    I thought get the train to Euston then the Gatwick express. Guess what Avanti trains are on strike for my choosen dates.
    If I had not promised the grandaughters we would come I would not go.
    But we all know that grandaughters can always wrap grandpa around their little fingers
    Ah well, there are no pockets in a shroud
    Last edited by James Curry; 8th January 2025 at 04:24 PM.

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    Default Re: The cost of Ferry travel

    James, you could fly, aircraft do go to France from UK.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

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    Default Re: The cost of Ferry travel

    Quote Originally Posted by James Curry View Post
    So I thought perhaps go the Irish route Hollyhead/Dublin and then Dublin /Cherbourg. Someone is having a laugh Dublin /Cherbourg return £610.00. Hollyhead/Dublin £240.00.
    So looks like car park Britain route as £209 for the channel route.
    My poor old wife is now the only one of us that drives now.
    Well James why not give your long suffering wife a treat and a rest, it would be £400 extra well spent, but are you sure it is much as £400, when you consider the extra car fuel, the stops, the food, the hotels and all the aggravation by driving the length of the UK. Think of all the memories that will come flooding back whilst on your sea passage and if you are a good boy they may even let you down the engineroom and touch a few buttons

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    Default Re: The cost of Ferry travel

    Ivan my wife gets sea sick on the Mersey Ferry. Thing is when you live up north flights are not as plentyful as down south.I looked at Liverpool /Dublin , Aer Lingus, Sleezy Jet. Then Dublin /Bordeaux direct. None of the Liverpool/Dublin flight times tied up with the Dub/Bord flights. Liverpool or Manchester flights to Heathrow or Gatwick again. Gatwick two flights a day to Bordeauxonly thing that tied in still included a 4hour delay at Gatwick. Manchester / Bordeaux nothing direct only seasonal. So Manchester / Amsterdam or Paris 4 hour or 6 hour stop over. It really is the wrong time of year to try for flights to anywhere from up north to Europe unless you are heading to a capital city.
    My wife enjoys driving , just the car park Britain is the problem. Once you get off the ferry at Calais driving is a breeze down through France. As we know the route well and know how to bye pass Toll roads. We have found a nice littel Aurberge in the village of Arnage just outside Le Mans. good food and comfy €80 including dinner and what the french call breakfast.
    So in all 4 hotels 2 Premier inns just outside Dover, we do the meal deal so dinner bed and breakfast(proper breakfast) under £200, 2 in France €160.
    Plus we have the use of our own car. Yes only fly in the ointment is CAR PARK BRITAIN.
    Things were better when we still had the stupid motorways instead of these so called smart motorways. Depends on the time of day if you decide to use the M6 toll to miss out Birmingham even then a tail back occurs when you come off the Toll link.
    Still with all the travel cannot wait to give the grandaughters a cuddle.

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    Default Re: The cost of Ferry travel

    Ferry travel cost James ?. Can tell you that in October we came across for a family visit to the promised land - Ijmuiden to Newcastle and back . With the two of us plus car
    we were 1160 euro lighter .

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    Default Re: The cost of Ferry travel

    Quote Originally Posted by John Cassels View Post
    Ferry travel cost James ?. Can tell you that in October we came across for a family visit to the promised land - Ijmuiden to Newcastle and back . With the two of us plus car
    we were 1160 euro lighter .
    John, I used that route regularly to visit one of my daughters in Germany, last trip 2012, two plus a car was around £420/£450, for outside cabin. Outbound we would take some sandwiches etc and a bottle of wine just to avoid the stiff prices for dinner, 25euros each, but would pay 10 euros for a good breakfast before our 5 hour drive to North Germany.

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    Default Re: The cost of Ferry travel

    Tony , this was our first trip back home since 2017 on DFDS with the car and how things have changed . Prices are way up , no cooked breakfast unless you are
    commodore class and then all items are in measly glass cups . Same with the evening buffet , nothing like it was 7 or 8 years ago. Had a few pints of guinness , don't
    remember the price but had a wee dram before bedtime and cost me nearly 9 euros.

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    Default Re: The cost of Ferry travel

    Bit like here with air fares at certain times of the year.

    Melbourne to Sydney for as little as $180 return off peak, $360 for 2.

    But we flew December 21st cost of $650 for 2.
    The gov claims the supermarkets are gouging when it comes to prices and call an enquiry, but when I challenged my MP about airfares all he said was seasonal demand!!!!
    Happy daze John in Oz.

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    Default Re: The cost of Ferry travel

    Quote Originally Posted by John Cassels View Post
    Tony , this was our first trip back home since 2017 on DFDS with the car and how things have changed . Prices are way up , no cooked breakfast unless you are
    commodore class and then all items are in measly glass cups . Same with the evening buffet , nothing like it was 7 or 8 years ago. Had a few pints of guinness , don't
    remember the price but had a wee dram before bedtime and cost me nearly 9 euros.
    Some things stickin my mind John, all you can eat dinner 25euros, breakfast was good selection all you could eat buffet 10euros, pint of Grolsch 5euros, gin and tonic 8euros.
    It would be cheaper to fly and hire a car in future, unless like me as we always had a loaded to gunnels vehicle.

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    Default Re: The cost of Ferry travel

    Quote Originally Posted by James Curry View Post
    Ivan my wife gets sea sick on the Mersey Ferry. Thing is when you live up north flights are not as plentyful as down south.I looked at Liverpool /Dublin , Aer Lingus, Sleezy Jet. Then Dublin /Bordeaux direct. None of the Liverpool/Dublin flight times tied up with the Dub/Bord flights. Liverpool or Manchester flights to Heathrow or Gatwick again. Gatwick two flights a day to Bordeauxonly thing that tied in still included a 4hour delay at Gatwick. Manchester / Bordeaux nothing direct only seasonal. So Manchester / Amsterdam or Paris 4 hour or 6 hour stop over. It really is the wrong time of year to try for flights to anywhere from up north to Europe unless you are heading to a capital city.
    My wife enjoys driving , just the car park Britain is the problem. Once you get off the ferry at Calais driving is a breeze down through France. As we know the route well and know how to bye pass Toll roads. We have found a nice littel Aurberge in the village of Arnage just outside Le Mans. good food and comfy €80 including dinner and what the french call breakfast.
    So in all 4 hotels 2 Premier inns just outside Dover, we do the meal deal so dinner bed and breakfast(proper breakfast) under £200, 2 in France €160.
    Plus we have the use of our own car. Yes only fly in the ointment is CAR PARK BRITAIN.
    Things were better when we still had the stupid motorways instead of these so called smart motorways. Depends on the time of day if you decide to use the M6 toll to miss out Birmingham even then a tail back occurs when you come off the Toll link.
    Still with all the travel cannot wait to give the grandaughters a cuddle.
    what about a flight frpm Manchester to Bilbao then hire a car - 4hr drive to Bordeaux

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