Can anyone help me planning a day trip to France?

[ssd]

and its not to buy booze

want to takes the ds's to France for a day or two, we cant really afford much but they want to say they've been abroad

would drive to dover and probably take the ferry to calais, is that the cheapest way? we live in scotland

and not sure where you are going to stay, but formule 1 is generally the cheapest option (although not at all glamorous).

I presume you're tied to school holidays, but if not, I've managed to get some very cheap deals from Portsmouth - Caen before, going overnight each way in a cabin for less than £100 and you have a whole (long) day in The area - you can 'do' D-Day history for very cheap if you drive along the beaches. Or the bayeux tapestry isn't very far away (though English, rather than Scottish, history!)

If you are going to dunkirk think you can sail straight there, and i believe it is cheaper than dover - calais (mainly because it's further up the coast, so further to get to from the rest of france iyswim). It might be norfolk line who go there.

yes, it is norfolkline, now part of dfds ferries apparently...

thanks again

we're now looking at sailing from Hull, less of a drive for us, although more expensive....

for anyone who has been to both, where do you think teenagers would prefer, Brugge, Ostend or France?

good webiste for the Belgian coast showing what is where. De Haan is always my pick. Bruges is pretty. There is the Boudewijn sea park just outside which should be of interest to teenagers. You can get a tram up and down the coast so it is easy to visit different towns.

The port at Dunkirk is about 15 mins from Calais.

thanks

TBH I think we'll only be going for a few days and I think we'll just stumble upon places, its seems like theres lots to see along the coast and maybe in to see Brugge...maybe plenty frites, waffles and chocolate will keep the kids happy!!

I found recently that my great grandfather died in the First World War. He is buried in Boulogne.

There are lots of cemeteries like ths in north France and Flanders. Wimeraux is lovely on the opal coast too.

We visited his grave this February. Boulogne I thought was lovely. Amazing aquarium in Boulogne. Food lovely.

The shuttle was very quick and cheap. We stayed overnight in a premier inn then an ibis in Boulogne.