Ferry or Tunnel?

[mason storm]

I am in the process of planning my Euro Road trip but am undecided on how to get accross the channel, the tunnel is faster but the ferry is cheaper. Any advice welcome, also I am a bit worried about kerbing my wheels driving onto the train as i have been a passenger in my mates car which was also low down and i was sure he was going to kerb a wheel due to the narrowness of the train.

[Allyc85]

Depends on how much of a rush you are are in and how far you have to travel to Dover. For me its a nigh on 4 hour drive to Dover so its quite nice to have a fair bit of time to rest on the ferry, but if I was closer id just take the train

Edited by Allyc85 on Sunday 15th May 12:33

[Lost soul]

For me i find it nice to get on the boat and relax for an hour , i find it makes a nice break

[Riley Blue]

I prefer ferry simply because after driving 200 miles to the Channel I like a rest, something to eat, somewhere to pee before continuing my journey - applies more so on the outward trip.

[mason storm]

Cheers guts, I think I'll go for the ferry, nice to have a break and it's cheaper

[diddly69]

Me and some mates are off on our Euro trip in July/August, we are only an hour or so away but still want to get going in France as soon as possible so it's the tunnel for us. Hope you have a great trip

[kazino]

If you take Ferry to Dunkirk then you have some excellent roundabouts to have some fun on after you've had a nice rest on the ferry there , great if your heading towards Belgium or Holland

[Herdwick]

Same reason for me.

After 5 hours to Dover, its nice to have a stretch of the legs, relax and have a coffee on the boat.

[Riley Blue]

kazino said:

If you take Ferry to Dunkirk then you have some excellent roundabouts to have some fun on after you've had a nice rest on the ferry there , great if your heading towards Belgium or Holland

Norfolkline is my preferred route too - quite relaxing after a few hours navigating the M1/M25/M2. And their fish 'n' chips aren't bad either.

[ewenm]

I prefer the tunnel but then the car I usually take on roadtrips doesn't lock, so me staying with it is a big plus. Also, I can make any little adjustments needed while doing the crossing. For example, on the way back from France last summer I changed a headlight bulb while on the Chunnel.

[JasonJH]

I would choose the ferry it's cheaper plus if you have a long journey ahead, it's helps break up the drive.

[marshalla]

Tunnel if driving for business, ferry if driving for pleasure.

[rinso]

Allyc85 said:

Depends on how much of a rush you are are in and how far you have to travel to Dover. For me its a nigh on 4 hour drive to Dover so its quite nice to have a fair bit of time to rest on the ferry, but if I was closer id just take the train

Edited by Allyc85 on Sunday 15th May 12:33

Agreed. I live in yorkshire, so it's a wee bit pointless driving all the way down south to get on a train to go across the water, when I can spend an hour driving to Hull, and then an overnight crossing....

[Chris71]

Maybe if you're travelling in a group, or it's at a very petrolheaded time like Le Mans week, I'd go for the ferry, but personally I'd go for the chunnel usually. It's just so damn quick and convenient. Only 30 minutes or so travel time, you can often roll straight on and there's a half decent terminal if you do have to wait... That said it's usually been someone else playing.

[IainZ]

Chris71 said:

Maybe if you're travelling in a group, or it's at a very petrolheaded time like Le Mans week, I'd go for the ferry, but personally I'd go for the chunnel usually. It's just so damn quick and convenient. Only 30 minutes or so travel time, you can often roll straight on and there's a half decent terminal if you do have to wait... That said it's usually been someone else playing.

I've only used the tunnel 2 or 3 times & it seems to be reasonably quick at this end but loading & customs checks from France always seems to take much longer.

[ewenm]

IainZ said:

Chris71 said:

Maybe if you're travelling in a group, or it's at a very petrolheaded time like Le Mans week, I'd go for the ferry, but personally I'd go for the chunnel usually. It's just so damn quick and convenient. Only 30 minutes or so travel time, you can often roll straight on and there's a half decent terminal if you do have to wait... That said it's usually been someone else playing.

I've only used the tunnel 2 or 3 times & it seems to be reasonably quick at this end but loading & customs checks from France always seems to take much longer.

I too have used it a handful of times and always found it very efficient at both ends :shrug: Each time I've turned up ages before my booked crossing and they just put me on the next train.

[D_G]

You won't have any issues with either if you have a low car / big wheels, I've been on both with my Noble and all the staff were excellent with boarding / disembarking.
Enjoy