Shuttle or ferry to Brittany. Very confused about price of ferry!

[Eastie77Returns]

We are planning to holiday in a Eurocamp in Brittany next summer. I have taken the shuttle to France from Folkestone before but can see that a ferry would be better as we’d only have to drive 2-3 hours versus 6-7 hrs from Calais. Looking online I’m shocked at the prices coming up for for crossings from Portsmouth and Plymouth to various FR ports which are in the region of £650 return. Granted we are going during the peak period but still. The site I looked at was Brittany Ferries. I'm not sure if there other options,

Am I missing something or is this standard for that time of year? We are a family of 4 driving a standard car. No pets, trailers etc.

At this point it seems cheaper to take the shuttle, even taking petrol and tolls into account, plus I do not like travelling by sea. I'm fine to drive a few hours from Calais, stop midway somewhere overnight and then resume driving the next day.

I think the total cost would be cheaper than driving to Portsmouth/Plymouth from London and then paying £600 odd quid to take the ferry. This is the first time we are travelling to Brittany so if anyone has any advice please let me know!

We have priced up both and found that when you take everything into account the costs are about the same

Just pick the one that suits you best.

Tesco vouchers can make the tunnel a bit cheaper

From memory it's about a 6 hour crossing. Did it once when children were small and never again!
Depending on where you're going in Brittany (and it is about 10 years since I've been to that part of France) it seemed to take us forever to get from Concarneau to Dieppe. It took about 7 hours from memory, because there weren't the motorways there are if you're going to the south. However, France seems to be continually improving the road networks so do check.
Anyway it's a lovely part of France so you'll have a great time there.

£650 for a return on Brittany Ferries in peak holiday season does sound about right I’m afraid. (I’ve just checked and this year’s return Portsmouth>Ouistreham was £875 with a cabin both ways 😳). But it’s a very different operating model, it’s a longer crossing and the most frequent route only has 3 sailings. Unfortunately there is no other provider on those routes.

Personally I prefer it, I like the time on the ferry, Portsmouth is much easier for us to get to and as the number of crossings is fewer (and French passport control is in France) you don’t get the hideous delays that you sometimes see at Dover or Calais.

Ferry prices have really rocketed since COVID. Newhaven to Dieppe is not so pricey and cuts a bit off the journey but DH read conflicting reviews as to how quick you get through Customs.

We went to Brittany last year - we took the tunnel and broke the journey at Mont St Michel on the way there and Omaha Beach on the way back. I reckon we still paid less in total than the ferry would have been, we found fairly cheap self catering apartments on Booking, and our holiday felt a lot longer and better value.

yes, it costs that much as it is a much longer crossing than the Dover-Calais route.

Isn't the crossing about 6 -8 hours Plymouth to Roscoff

If we go to Brittany or further down the west coast, we use Brittany Ferries to St Malo and get a cabin. It's much better for us and it starts the holidays off quite nicely with travelling overnight and their restaurant is very good. It's not cheap but we factor it into the holiday budget. It's also much quicker to disembark at St Malo because there are no other ferries at the same time. We got stuck at Cherbourg for over 4 hours trying to get off / exit port as we arrived the same time as a huge Irish Ferries boat and that was before the new passport / customs checks!

Yes we paid 800£ last year return crossing Plymouth to roscoff, including cabins. Lovely way to travel, and you get one night accommodation included. But probably not the cheapest option. Saves a lot of driving though which we prefer.

Sounds about right price wise.

Having done both the tunnel and ferry when visiting Brittany, we’d always opt for the ferry. Either the 6hr Portsmouth to Ouisterham crossing or the faster/express 3hr Portsmouth to Cherbourg (which didn’t run this year but should be coming back next year).

It does work out slightly more expensive. But the ferry breaks up the journey, you can stretch your legs and have a meal meaning you don’t have to stop to do those things while on the road.

The food on board is really reasonably priced and unless it’s a night crossing you don’t really need to bother with a cabin or reserving seats.

Sounds quite cheap actually got that crossing in the holidays. Ours is normally 800-900, but still cheaper than flying which is generally 1200 for us wherever we go!

We are going to Carnac. It seems a ferry to St Malo or Roscoff would be the best options with a drive of about 2.5 hours from both ports to Carnac. My children are 11 & 9 and I think they'd enjoy the adventure of taking a ferry. Unfortunately I do not have sea legs and much prefer travelling on dry land.

Oh I've just gone back and priced it up properly and after adding in the cheapest cabin and just breakfast as a meal it came to £822. The outbound crossing takes 12 hours overnight. This has blown my mind😅I last took a ferry to France when I was 11 years old, clearly times have changed lol.

Yes that's why we went with the tunnel this year. 2 years ago, they had the fast crossing from Poole to Caen at 2.5hrs, which was worth paying for. But now it's the slow ferry (quickest is Poole to Caen at 4.5hrs) and prices upwards of £650, whereas the tunnel was £250, and works out similar time wise (4.5hrs ferry + 2hrs driving Vs 35mins tunnel + 6hrs driving) and even paying for fuel and tolls it was a huge saving.

Error I meant Poole to Cherbourg

Never had a rough crossing yet!
We go out overnight to St Malo with a cabin and just treat it as first day of holiday
Back during the day.. no need to pay for a seat

I think the time issue is what I'm trying to get my head around. For us it will be

London to Portsmouth: 3 hrs
Portsmouth to St Malo: 12 hrs (only option is overnight on the date we travel)
St Malo to Carnac: 3 hrs
18 hrs / £1k once we add on £££ for petrol and other extras

vs
London > Folkestone: 1.5 hrs drive
Folkestone > Calais: 35 mins
Calais > Carnac: 6 hours

8 hrs / reckon we could do this for £600 including petrol and tolls. We have friends we can stay with for a night midway between Calais and Carnac to break up the drive.

I also prefer the reassurance of shuttles departing every hour throughout the day We can get a flexi ticket and leave at any time.

Plymouth to Roscoff takes from 1.30 to 8.30. Although today's ferry still hadn't left at 2pm. ( It probably has to wait for the tide)

The Portsmouth - Caen crossing should be cheaper and shorter (6hrs) and if you have a daytime crossing you won't need a cabin. Then it's about 3.5 hours drive to Carnac.

Brittany Ferries are way more expensive because the ferry journey takes you directly to Western France so is much longer so it uses a lot more fuel and the ferries are bigger so many more facilities and staff. We holiday in Brittany often and always use Brittany Ferries because it's so much more convenient and we don't want to spend hours in the car, but you pay for the convenience.

I have found the Cherbourg usually the cheapest but further to drive the other side. St Malo the least driving but usually the most expensive.

I'm on holiday in Brittany ATM. If you PM me once I get home end of August I'll send you a code for Brittany Ferries. It can only be used 4 times a year and I've used it and given it to 2 friends but you're welcome to the final code this year. We always go with Brittany Ferries from youth to Roscoff as I have a holiday home 40 mins from Roscoff at Morlaix.

Thank you, that’s so kind. But on reflection and after talking with friends in France I think I’ve decided to drive. We can spend a couple of days with our friends who live in Caen, it’s about a 3 drive from Calais, and then drive on to Brittany. I just don’t think I can cope with the ferry!