Cross channel ferry virgin - advice for next summer

[Reenie2]

Now that the Cbeebies song has switched from summer to autumn the time has come to start planning next summer...

Had agreement from DH for 3 weeks in France as last chance of non school hol break.
Planning on going in early July - Portsmouth to Caen/St Malo/Le Havre type crossing

How does it work - do the fares come out like the cheap train tickets - you have to be on the ball for when they release next July fares as the cheapest ones go quickly??
Does it cost more to arrive into one port and leave from the other??

Any advice gratefully received - want it all planned and booked before DH can say - "lets just go to North Yorkshire its easier..."

It does depend which ferry company you are thinking of using? With Brittany Ferries, who operate Portsmouth-Caen/Cherbourg/St Malo the routes and prices will be announced any day now. If you are staying in accommodation who advertise with them, you will get quite a discount, but ime the actual price doesn't change much, the ferry just gets booked up and you can't get the times you want. Hope that helps.

If you want to use a fast-craft crossing you need to book sooner, as they are smaller & carry fewer passengers, but for the ordinary ferries there's no huge rush.

Portsmouth-Le Havre is run by LD Lines who are generally a bit cheaper than BF.

The prices tend to be fixed for the season, but they do special offers sometimes, eg if they're not booking fast enough.

Where do you live & which part of France are you looking to travel to? Only the short sea crossings to Calais are a lot cheaper, & if you have Tesco Clubcard vouchers you can book Eurotunnel for about £30 of vouchers! (Not so good if you live in the SW and/or are planning to go to Brittany, though it's still doable)

\link{http://www.ldlines.co.uk/\LD do Newhaven-Dieppe as well, which can be a good compromise}

and they do a crossing from Brittany to N Spain, which is a new one on me, & what a fantastic price - BF cross to Santander, but it's a 36-hr sailing & costs £00s!

If you are planning an overnight crossing and want cabin you will need to book fairly early as the cabins get snapped up fairly quickly.
If you are doing the day time crossing it's still worth getting a cabin as you can use it to keep the dc under your control, put your bags etc in, have a nap in, etc plus some have an ensuite loo

Thanks for all the info.
We are having my husbands VW transporter van converted to a camper van so accomodation pretty flexible. Thinking a week in the van, week at family friends farmhouse (near Le Mans) then another week in the van maybe up on Normandy coast somewhere.

We are up north so would rather a long drive in UK than arriving in Calais and having a long drive then. Going for daytime sailing I think.

LD to Le Havre or Dieppe sounds like a slightly cheaper option than BF but doesn't really sound like there will be too many bargains to be had. Guess it might help that we can travel any days and doesn't have to be weekend.

Reen

Yes, mid week is cheaper. Travelling with LD lines has never worked for us (we live in France though) and the boat is pretty horrid too! Check on the tolls too, as they can add up - I think mappy gives you a total price for your journey, including tolls, fuel etc

You need to shop around consider where you are traveling from in the UK and where you are travelling too in France. Are you going to travel on Peage or on main non-toll roads. At certain times LD is a lot cheaper than Brittany for example we are flitting over in November Brittany £335 LD £132 for crossings that are virtually identical. LD is a mainly freight line so the ferry tends to be more utility whereas brittany don't sell a crossing they sell a cruise. Personally for the short time I am on the ferry I'll save the £200 to spend in France.