MrCanary Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 My wife and I bought our French house in November 2003 and started regular trips back and forth in early 2004.Until this year, our method of travel varied, but was mostly by Ryanair from Stansted to Tours. However, if our trip was to be more than one week at a time, we would use the ferry. Initially. Brittany Ferries (which we loved) but even with their property-owner discount, it was still quite expensive, so we switched to Speedferries (Sadly, this company lost our custom when they cancelled crossings at short notice because of alleged breakdowns).After enduring the new security measures at airports for a number of trips and, at the same time, having Ryanair change their rules of travel time, after time, after time, we asked ourselves if we could put up with the longer, more tiring form of travel by ferry, and travel this way all the time? The answer was 'yes'.My car was due for renewal, so I gave myself a small list of essentials for its replacement: a big diesel engine, cruise control and air-con. Obviously, comfortable seats were quite important too! I looked at lots and settled for a Citroen C4 Exclusive, 2.0 litre HDI engine, with a 6 speed gear box. It eats up the miles on the autoroute with the cruise control set at France's legal limit of 81mph. At this speed, the engine is running at about 2200 rpm. We will book with whatever ferry company has any special offers, but tend to lean towards Transmanche ferries as our company of choice - no complaints about them whatsoever!I ought to make it clear that I remain a fan of Ryanair. They provide an excellent service and do so for very reasonable prices. However, it is all the other hassle that goes with it and the 'not cheap' cost of car rental that pushes up the overall cost of this form of travel.I guess I am lucky, I love driving and never get bothered by the prospect of the long journeys. I relax as soon as I get behind the wheel. And whilst it takes longer to get to our destination than flying, I do not miss the airport 'cattle herding' one little bit! So, what do other folk think? Ferry or Plane? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpet Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 For me, Ferry. As I live in Brittany the choice of airport is limited. I do not use Brittany Ferries as soooooooo expensive. I either use Speedferries, cheap and cheerful or the Tunnel certain days as long as you do not mind say 2 am - 6 am. It depends also on where you need to be on the other side. Even if I need to go to Cornwall or Dorset (my patches before) I will go the above stated ways as the price of diesel here sways it for me. I too do not mind the drive.........this end. I prefer to go through the night though. And I always drive at 60 mph as I have a Citroen Berlingo.....love it to bits but over 60 she is not so economical.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 Living only an hour from Dover its always the tunnel. Used to use Speedferries but got fed up with the delays.Having said that my wife is going out a week earlier than me in the summer,so I am flying Shoreham-Le Havre and she is going to come and pick me up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 When we make our first trip of the year we always travel by car because we have so much stuff to take with us. This year, travelling down before Speedferries were in operation, it cost us £120 for the one-way journey.On occasion we turn the trip down into a little holiday by taking a detour to somewhere we’d like to see on the way.We are currently back in the UK having paid £152 for our return air fare for two people from Bergerac to East Midlands by Ryanair. We’ll have to add the cost of car parking at Bergerac to that.Whether you fly or take the ferry depends on how much luggage you have, how long you’re going to stay and where you start from and go to, so it isn’t really possible to give a definitive answer which will suit everyone. Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Not used planes yet, as a) we don't have a car in France, b) we can't afford to hire one for that long every time, c) we'd have to drive to Stansted and pay again for parking there, d) we are STILL taking stuff down there for use in the house.My main bugbear, (sorry Bugbear), is the four and a half hours plus, it takes me to do the 240 miles in the UK, and how tired I am at the end of it. Last Friday my youngest and his two mates drove down to Dover and it took them FIVE and THREEQUARTERS of an hour to get to Dover. They missed the ferry they were booked on. Luckily I had booked them into a first night stopover, and P&O put them on the next ferry for no extra cost.I've looked at going Hull-Zeebrugge, but at only one sailing per day, it's NOT good if you are held up, and even with stockholder discount, the cost is prohibitive on a regular basis, especially when you factor in the obligatory cabin.And LAST time we splashed out and went that way, our cabin was down a corridor with about 50 schoolkids, who would NOT got to sleep, and whose teacher's cabin was miles away, probably still in Hull, the way they carried on[:@]You (I) can't win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 I think if comparing prices you have to compare like with like, and it always seems a bit wrong to say ferries are too expensive when one is looking at the cost of travelling with a car. I often need to take a car, but on the increasing number of occasions when I don't I find, for where I want to travel to and from, foot passenger with Brittany Ferries is by far the best option all round. Without a cabin it is surprisingly inexpensive and a good choice of times. The disadvantages are that parking at Portsmouth is not inexpensive (but less than at most airports) and if travelling by train then a short taxi ride or long walk is involved (though there is a bus in summer). Stansted is out of the question for where I want to travel. The only feasible air option is Shoreham to Caen or Le Havre. Newhaven-Le Havre by ferry is also a feasible option (Portsmouth-Le Havre involves travelling overnight on a ship that is not suited to such journeys, at least on a regular basis). The Le Havre ferries are run by LD Lines, the same company that currently operates the Transmanche ferries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 [quote user="Mel "]So, what do other folk think? Ferry or Plane? [/quote]Living in Central London, I don't keep a car there, so for preference I use the train - city centre to city centre - breakfast, quick tube or when St P opens, walk there, a nice relaxing journey with someone else driving, changing once at Lille, arriving in Narbonne just nicely in time for the evening meal! Wheeled suitcases mean I can carry and leave things each time. So do not forget the third option! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 Thanks Judith - that is a good point. I am yet to try the train. Probably when our French home is fully set up and there are fewer bits and pieces to transport, I will try what is probably the most relaxing mode of transport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Now there IS a third option worth looking at. The train.Some friends are flying down to see us this summer, East Midlands, (IIRC) to Limoges. they are only coming for about 4 days in all, so didn't look at trains or driving on this occasion.Last week however, Paul informed me that booking in advance, by train, he could have done it for £44 each, return, as far as Limoges.Now THAT is incredible. The cheapest I can get to LONDON from here in the North Midlands, is £46[:@] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 ....................sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaud Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 We have to get from London to the south of the Charente Maritime. The Via Michelin website thinks that one can drive from Calais to Mirambeau in just over 7 hours - I think that Richard Hammond had his crash whilst test-driving a machine that might just manage this. We like France and have realised that it is no fun barrelling down the motorways. So if we are having a holiday we take the Chunnel then drive with one or two overnight stops. That way we get to enjoy different places and our lurcher has a more varied education. Otherwise… I cannot say that I am fond of RyanAir but I am grateful that their very basic service is cheap. Good for quick visits if hiring a car at the other end. I loathe Stanstead airport. Last time we missed a flight - when the clocks went forward - so took a train to Paris stayed the night then came home via Eurostar. Expensive but easy and fun. All the family likes the Brittany Ferries Portsmouth – St Malo route but the price means that we only drive this route for special occasions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Have you just downloaded a "Smiley for Every Occasion", Mel? The one with the train is Mr C, I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 They're good aren't they?I just think they add a bit of fun to the posts...Massive storm here in Norwich at the moment, so I am just abandoning my PC for a while....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pouyade Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 "The Via Michelin website thinks that one can drive from Calais to Mirambeau in just over 7 hours - I think that Richard Hammond had his crash whilst test-driving a machine that might just manage this." RenaudHave done this route to within 10 miles from you so, so many times since the new motorway opened. Without stops, 7 hours is what we allow for a pleasant, legal drive. My last flights via Luton/Bordeaux and Stansted/ La Rochelle have not been so very much quicker with the travelling each end/security and waiting for car hire. The Tunnel is our preference for all but 3 day visits.Pouyade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalb Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 We bought our house in the Mayenne in December 2001 and have since been crossing 6-7 times a year. Coming from Cheshire we too find the UK leg the worst, whatever time of day or night. We have tried Brittany/Speedferries and Eurotunnel in the years. Brittany is expensive and for us too slow, Speedferries were late on every crossing we made and tend to sail when other companies would consider conditions too bad. The tunnel is the best option for us as northerners - if we miss our booked crossing we know another will come along at some point(not the next morning as with ferries) and compared to our Brittany journey we usually save 5 hours (sounds little but an 11 hour journey is bad enough) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaud Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 PouyadeI am impressed, bet you don't even get lost in Rouen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 [quote user="Renaud"]PouyadeI am impressed, bet you don't even get lost in Rouen.[/quote]After doing it once, does anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpet Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Yes I have gotten lost there (Rouen) on countless occasions. Now though I can fight back. Sat Nav.[8-|] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 I too also seemed to get lost in Rouen - I either ended up in Sotteville or heading for Le Harvre. Oh well, decided to visit it on purpose a few weeks back, though it very nice and would like to go back again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pouyade Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 [quote user="Renaud"]PouyadeI am impressed, bet you don't even get lost in Rouen.[/quote] Ouch! Since I have been going through Rouen for over 10 years, I would be an unsafe driver if I still did, though this was always the worst part of early forays. Still let's see what August brings, eh?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted July 4, 2007 Author Share Posted July 4, 2007 I was always getting lost in Rouen until I discovered it all came down to missing one quite sharp and badly sign-posted right bend/turn that takes you down onto the urban dual carriageway. Now I have cracked it, I have bought a TomTom...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterG Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Yep, thats the one .......... signposted Elbeuf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 [quote user="Mel "]I was always getting lost in Rouen until I discovered it all came down to missing one quite sharp and badly sign-posted right bend/turn that takes you down onto the urban dual carriageway. Now I have cracked it, I have bought a TomTom......[/quote]Absolutely. Once you know to look for that, the rest is plain sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 [quote user="Ford Anglia"][quote user="Renaud"] PouyadeI am impressed, bet you don't even get lost in Rouen.[/quote]After doing it once, does anyone?[/quote][:)]The "getting lost in Rouen" subject is an annual one on Le Mans related fora - it seems to happen to more than half the people who do the trip, year after year, and the threads about this run to 10 pages or more! To avoid missing the little road that dives down onto the dual carriageway through the industrial estate do the following :On going through the tunnel at Darnetal on your approach to Rouen - get in the slow lane and stay there. Do not change lanes, no matter how much you are tempted. You will automatically end up on said road, no probs. Returning to topic : Train for me every time : Eurostar on foot; Le Shuttle in the car - it takes exactly 4 hours (according to my on-board), from my home to Calais now that said motorway is up and running. And plans are underway to by-pass the Rouen nightmare too. Easy, quick, comfortable, I'm my own boss - I can stop when I want to and travel at any time of day, only needing to turn up 35 minutes before departure, unlike flying where you waste so much time just hanging about airports for no apparent reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted July 14, 2007 Author Share Posted July 14, 2007 [quote user="cooperlola"][quote user="Ford Anglia"][quote user="Renaud"] PouyadeI am impressed, bet you don't even get lost in Rouen.[/quote]After doing it once, does anyone?[/quote][:)]. And plans are underway to by-pass the Rouen nightmare too. [/quote]That is good news - any idea when the bypass will be built?Mel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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