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Original poster

Help for a ferry novice required....

13 replies

vivat · 04/05/2004 11:39

I'm looking to book a Dover Calais ferry at the end of August - anyone got any suggestions for where to start ? I looked at a couple of websites and it costs nearly £300 ! Can i get it cheaper. Also, there only seems to be 1am sailings left - are they all booked up already !

thanks in advance

OP posts:
mummytojames · 04/05/2004 11:41

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Crunchie · 04/05/2004 12:11

Vivat this is what I found. One suggestion is to try Norfolk Line ferries, they go to Dunkerque and tend to be a lot cheaper. It depends where you are going to in france once you are there.

janinlondon · 04/05/2004 12:58

Vivat have you tried speed ferries? www.speedferries.co.uk/

Janh · 04/05/2004 13:35

vivat, try Hoverspeed - when I was looking a couple of weeks ago (for August) it quoted £194. Lots of sailings, cheapest are v early or v late but not necessarily 1am.

Cam · 04/05/2004 13:36

Have you looked at the P & O Stena website?

Janh · 04/05/2004 13:41

Oh no, hang on, it was Fast Channel Ferries in association with Hoverspeed .

Much easier to get quote here!

pollingfold · 04/05/2004 13:44

Ferries are horribly expensive, don't know why especially when a day trip is £40, but anything over 5 days is £300.

Have you considered flying - loads of the budget airlines to random places in Europe and then just hire a car.

I worked out that if I flew/hired with family rather than ferry/drivng what with all the road tolls I was going to save £300 for a 2 week trip.

Hope you get what you want

Janh · 04/05/2004 14:39

vivat, if you can avoid the weekend it's cheaper - I asked for Mon 23/8 - Mon 30/8 and the fare was only £174.

Janh · 04/05/2004 14:44

janinlondon, I just looked at speedferries, they are VERY cheap! Hadn't heard of them before - quoted £65 for the 23/8 - 30/8 crossing!!! Get in there, vivat!

Crunchie · 04/05/2004 14:51

Blimey that speed ferries are dirt cheap!! I can't believe it I am tempted to call dh and book for August (I checked a sat - sun and it was £65) and then just drive How I wish I knew of them about 3 weeks ago when I booked our holiday for Whitsun. ATM the ferry would have been £80 - I couldn't find one less than £250.

He wants to do Cornwall in August, but I am tempted to do france again

Original poster
vivat · 05/05/2004 09:07

Wow - £50 return on SpeedFerries..... It's been said before, but isn't Mumsnet fab !!!!!

Thanks everyone esp janinlondon

OP posts:
Janh · 05/05/2004 09:24

You know what'll happen though - all the other companies will drop their prices to match, speedferries won't get as much business and then they'll go bust and the big ones will put their prices back up again

janinlondon · 10/05/2004 11:01

Latest development on the cross channel war:

www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1103101,00.html

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