mrubio0806

Although I have had the wonderful experience (1982) of taking the ferry from Calais to Dover, my family has not. This time around, we'll be traveling from London to Paris in May 2013 and I really hoped they'd get the opportunity but I'm torn between the two options. Is it cheaper to travel from London to Paris by train all around or train ferry train. Only asking those who've had the experience with

sofarsogood

Times have changed

To quote www.seat61.com

"You can still travel from London to Paris by train and ferry if you want.

It takes 9 hours and is no longer particularly convenient as you have to make your own way by bus, taxi or on foot between Dover Priory station and the Eastern Docks in Dover, and between Calais ferry terminal and Calais Ville station in Calais.

The original train/ferry interchange stations at Dover Western Docks and Calais Maritime closed in the 1990s when Eurostar started.

London to Paris by train & ferry is also likely to cost more than a cheap Eurostar ticket booked in advance. However, train & ferry can be cheaper if you need to travel at short notice when all the cheap Eurostar fares are sold out, and of course you get to see the White Cliffs of Dover on the way… but you'll need to buy separate train and ferry tickets."

Travel by Eurostar - it's called progress.

PalenQ

www.eurostar.com for Chunnel train tickets and yes the early bird doth get the proverbial worm - but for the expereince - like sofarsogood says it typically costs a ton more by train/bus to Dover and feery then train to Paris - though you could score some cheap Calis-Ville few-mile transfer from docks) to Paris at www.voyages-sncf.com and make it competitive price-wise if you can't get a cheap fare on the Chunnel trains.

PalenQ

Dover itself can be an interesting place to stay - you can see the white cliffs on the other side of the Channel and you can climb on the famed White Cliffs of Dover - a path leading up just by the Eastern Docks ferry terminal - and Dover Castle is amazing - one of the finest in England. Stay the nigh - break up the long trip then take the ferry to Calais and train to paris, after scoring a deep discount ticket on that route.

You could hit Canterbury and its famous cathedral en route to Dover, by train easily done.

flanneruk

I think I'm right in saying that ONLY P&O now allow foot passengers, and the process is almost deliberately designed to discourage them.

You have to be bussed from the terminal at Dover to the ferry (after getting the bus from the station). And there's no regular connecting bus at Calais between the ferry and the town centre station: it's usually taxi or walk.

Most outlined at http://www.seat61.com/London-Paris-f...m#.UPrSHCc00oI - but the Man in Seat 61's enthusiasm for trains sometimes overcomes his normal objectivity. His account of the process is, compared to the grubby and squalid reality, somewhat economical with the grisliness of this route.

You can sometimes get an Orient Express service to Paris, which is much the same horrible mixture, but in a posh bit of the ship, vintage trains, a bit less bussing, a lot of champagne and a snip at about ten times the price of the proper train.

StCirq

I have only terrible memories of taking the ferry across the Channel. I think those days are well past us, and for good reason. Take the Eurostar. And no one I know has used the appellation Chunnel for more than a decade.

jamikins

Definitely take the Eurostar! It's only a couple hours city centre to city centre. Book at www.eurostar.com as soon as your dates become available for the cheapest seats.

mrubio0806

Eurostar it is then. Thank you all for your help.

PalenQ

And no one I know has used the appellation Chunnel for more than a decade.>

Well most Americans do use the term Chunnel and you being a habitual user of Fodor's for years now I would think had seen numerous - numerous posts from Americans that have used the word Chunnel - the usual word Americans use for the Channel Tunnel, a word coined by the way in the British press I understand.

PalenQ

St Cirq - you just are not paying attention if you have not heard the word Chunnel used in at least ten years - a quick Google brings this and note that Wiki says:

<The Chunnel is actually the English nickname for The Channel Tunnel.>

RailEurope, which sells Eurostar tickets to Americans, uses the word Chunnel like so:

Chunnel Train Tickets - London to Paris. See Prices.
www.raileurope.com/Chunnel
Rail Europe

Channel Tunnel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_TunnelThe Channel Tunnel (French: Le tunnel sous la Manche; also referred to as the Chunnel) is a 50.5-kilometre (31.4 mi) undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, ...

and there is a firm called Chunnel.com!

Chunnel Train: London to Paris by Train, Ferry & More - Chunnel ...
www.chunnel.com/Book tickets on the Chunnel train to travel from London to Paris. Get information on how to swim across the English Channel, or travel by ferry all with ...

The Chunnel
library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00450/chunnel.htmThe Chunnel is actually the English nickname for The Channel Tunnel. In French, it is called le tunnel sous la Manche. It is a rail tunnel beneath the English ...
Riding the Chunnel from London to Paris HD - YouTube
► 16:59► 16:59
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KifmXyPl_4o

So you have heard the word now from many popular sources - Chunnel is the de facto American name for Eurostar trains going thru the Channel Tunnel.

Hooameye

"American name for Eurostar trains going thru the Channel Tunnel."

Exactly..........It was originally coined by the tabloid "comics" (the Sun/Star etc), a very good reason not to use the word (it only seems to be Americans and you in particular Pal that do).

StCirq

Pal is the ONLY person I've heard use the word in at least a decade.

Havana128

< - a quick Google brings this and note that Wiki says

<The Chunnel is actually the English nickname for The Channel >

Wiki. Conclusive.

janisj

Yep - have seen Chunnel a <i>lot</i> - tons - on here . . . 90% of them by PQ himself.

I personally know no (other) Americans (at least none w/any sense) who use the term.

But since he is apparently a feeble/elderly Fodorgarch we should cut him some slack.

chartley

And, of course, it is not the name in common usage in England (or even Great Britain), but what does that matter.

If an American thinks it is so., it must be so.

Hooameye

"<The Chunnel is actually the English nickname for The Channel"

One of the many times that "Wiki" is incorrect, as said, the comics have used it but I don't know anyone (or even heard anyone) who uses it.

Man_in_seat_61

The term Chunnel may have been coined by tabloids here in the UK in the 1980s, but it has fallen out of use as Eurostar has become the universally-known brand name.

We Brits now always use the term 'Eurostar' for the London to Paris train service, we no longer think of it purely in terms of the tunnel that forms just 20 minutes of the 2.5 hour journey.

In the US, the term Chunnel seems to have lingered on, possibly because awareness of the brand name Eurostar isn't universal there. Companies like Rail Europe then have to react to the de facto use of the term Chunnel and the likelihood that this word will be used as a Google search term.

I gather there's a parallel where UK travellers come to New York asking to see 'ground zero' when locals no longer use that phrase. No doubt there are other examples!

Odin

I've taken the ferry Dover-Calais several times in the past year or so, most recently last September. It was on P&O and it was a brand new ship, it was very nice, had breakfast at Langans Brasserie and looked around the shops. However this was not as a foot passenger, I would not recommend being a foot passenger because of the transfer to Eastern Docks at Dover and the transfer at Calais docks.

The ferry to France is still popular, esp if Eurotunnel happens to be expensive for your particular trip.

annhig

And no one I know has used the appellation Chunnel for more than a decade.>>

well I use it, but normally in referring to the car-train option; in referring to the passenger train service I'd say Eurostar.

as a 56 year old Brit, do i count?

the Eurostar takes bookings 90 days in advance of date of travel and the sooner you book, the cheaper it is.

the only time I would think about the ferry is if there was something I was desperate to see in northern France or Kent, and even then, having thought about it, I'd use the "chunnel".

annhig

the only time I would think about the ferry is if there was something I was desperate to see in northern France or Kent, and even then, having thought about it, I'd use the "chunnel".>>

oh, and to make it clear, that's if I had a car.