Ferry Travel Dover-Calais and Return
 

We will be home exchanging in SE England beginning mid-August and plan to cross to Calais to spend a few days in Normandy...D-day beaches, Monte Ste. Michelle, etc. Is it necessary to book the ferry and rental car in advance? This is our first trip to England or France altho we've had experience in Belgium and Austria...any advice, recommendations? We hope to "wing it"...finding accommodations in France as needed.

I understand you get the best car rental rates when you reserve from the US. I assume you're renting a car for your stay in UK and want to ferry the car to France. You might want to consider the Folkestone-Boulogne route or Portsmouth-Le Havre ferry. I'm current making a booking on the Dover-Calais route. You might want to look at the Hoverspeed site www.hoverspeed.co.uk. You could also rent the car in France for a few days and avoid the cost of ferrying the car across. Another alternative is using the Chunnel.

Frank...saw your inquiry farther down...looks as tho you and I are only people considering this trip. We have an auto included as part of our English exchange but no way would I take someone else's car out of the country so will plan to rent when we arrive in Calais. Thanks for hoverspeed hint...obtained info there. Guess I better reserve both ferry and auto rental soon. My husband and I would like to be flexible about which days we go but guess we'll have to sacrifice a little independence and commit ourselves. We leave mid-August so any additional info you come up with would be appreciated (see e-mail address)...will do same for you. Anybody else out there with information???

I'll be on the hoverspeed 8/26 at about a noon crossing. Real coincidence if we end up on the same boat.

My brother-in-law lives in Kent, near Canterbury. Like many Brits, he routinely takes the ferry to Calais to stock up on duty-free wine, and last June we went with them. The ferries, which now have to compete with Eurostar, run hourly pretty much round the clock (lots of truck traffic goes that way.) If you're a foot passenger, it's like catching a train: you just buy a ticket (for about a pound!) and walk on the next boat. There are a number of shipping lines that offer service. <BR> <BR>You're on the right track renting a car in France -- it's not worth the extra cost to ship over an English car that is set for driving on the left. More of a nuisance than a help in Europe! <BR> <BR>If you're going to Brittany and Normandy, ferries to Cherbourg or Le Havre would get you closer to your destination, but have a longer, less frequent crossing. (They used to leave from Weymouth, may now go from Portsmouth or Southampton). If you can find a website for the British Automobile Association (AA), they should have more information. Or check the travel section of a Sunday London Times -- there should be lots of ads there. <BR> <BR>One caveat: August is Les Grandes Vacances, when everyone in France heads out of the city for the whole month. Lots of them will be with you in Brittany and Normandy! Might make it hard to be spontaneous about where you stay... <BR> <BR>Bon voyage!

I also second renting a car from the US before you go. We did the london train to dover to calais ferry route last year and it was very simple. There are also car rental agencies at the Dover ferry terminal you can return your english rental to. <BR>Weekly rates work out far cheaper then daily rates, so price both ways to decide what is best. There <BR>are several car rental counters at the ferry terminal. Try booking with Kemwel Holiday Autos <BR>from the US [they have a web page somewhere with <BR>very low rates over the web and you can even get an insurance included rate] and you save almost 30% off the counter rates at the ferry terminal. We got a much nicer car for less then a 2 cylinder 75hp mini box rate at the counters, and are using them again for our upcoming trip to Germany.

We have made arrangements to stay in a condo at Knokke-Heist Belgium next June and will be coming from London. What is the best way to get between the two? There are 4 of us and the budget is important. Sounds like renting a car in Calais or Osstend is a good idea. <BR>

You may want to check out the P&O ferries web site they run ferries between Portsmouth and Le Havre and Portsmouth Cherborg, a better bet if you are wanting to visit the D-Day beaches etc.web site is poef.com There is also Britanny ferries that run between Portsmouth and Caen which is even nearer to the beaches, their web address is brittany-ferries.fr As you no doubt know august is the high season holidaywise, both for us Brits and the french, something to keep in mind when thinking about accomodation.