Dover to Calais - advice welcomed

[Nineandahalf]

I've never done it as an adult!

Live up in Chorley.
Summer hols planning! Travelling to Paris with two little children.
Is it better to leave on an early evening , stay in a hotel part way and get maybe 4/5 hours sleep in a hotel, then go on to Dover for the 7am crossing ...

Or set off from home about 10pm, don't stay anywhere, and aim for the same time crossing ?

Basically, is it worth it to get any sleep.

There’s a small play area on the ferry too!

Having done this journey with kids a lot, I’d go tunnel every single time. The charm of the idea of a ferry wears off very fast, they congregate in the duty free shop for something to do, and you’re at the mercy of the weather and a potential rough crossing. For the tunnel no one even needs to get out of the car barring possibly a loo stop in a decent loo in the terminal building.

The tunnel usually is a bit more expensive than a ferry but unless every penny counts I think it’s worth it, and guaranteed no spend in a shop/cafe to keep the children occupied while you cross the channel too.

I’d agree with this for older kids, but for little ones I think the ferry has a lot of wow factor and when we did the crossing it was a perfect opportunity to get them out of the car to burn off some energy - we did a lunchtime crossing, took a supermarket picnic, and then they slept most of the French side. They’d have been completely insufferable without the time out of the car stretching their legs on the ferry (that may just be my two though!) This was at 4 and 3.

I’m probably scarred from living somewhere where a ferry to France was the only option and my kids were a nightmare every time! Either the tiny play area was too full or full of older/younger kids, or they had to policed in the shop for the full hour, or pestering us to spend money on overpriced and horrible food and drinks. At one point the ferry company turned the play area into a pick and mix shop! Loading into the ferry was inevitably stressful, with our car wedged into a slot which meant everyone having to get out of a single door at double quick time and then kids getting stressed in the queues to get back to the car deck on arrival. And the rough crossings with vomit all over the place…

The tunnel in contrast is a blissful, quick zip across!

We are a bit further North than you and would head for one of the lunchtime ferries - we've done the edge of Paris Eurocamp a couple of times. Stay somewhere on the French side then to the Eurocamp the next morning The tunnel is quicker but it didn't work for us at all, the ferry gives everyone a break and a wander around to burn off some energy, get food etc.

Driving in France is great, the toll roads are stress free so once you're at Dover it gets much easier.

I loved the ferry as a child. Felt so exciting. Still get that buzz now. Maybe do ferry one way and tunnel the other. The tunnel is amazing though (and it's pretty cool driving onto a train).

We usually do the tunnel in the evening travelling from near Manchester (save our clubcard points for it) and stay the night in Calais, loads of budget hotels in the area and start fresh in the morning for the french driving as we head to the Vendée

We live near you, when we go we travel down the day before and stay overnight near the port in a travelodge/holiday inn express/premier inn. We get up, have breakfast and usually get a eurotunnel around 10:30. We travel through Paris and then another 5 hours.

We use the tunnel where it makes sense, but I can see the attraction of the DC experiencing a ferry.
it was our experience that a lot of people stay near the ferry/train terminal then take an early crossing. We travel down during the day, take a late afternoon train then stop in a hotel a little way into in France to have a rest and see a different place (eg St Omer or Arras) and then set off fresh the next morning. You can often get on an earlier train if you get there early or later if you get held up (though you need to check if that is still the case, it’s a couple of years since we last did it).
You could take the train there and ferry back?

If driving from Chorley, suggest you stay the night before close to Dover.

I do a similar trip 3/4 times a year.
Late ferry crossing, stay at the ace hotel in arras beaurain then wake early and do the approx 2 hour drive to my onward destination.
Feels very much like we've made the most of it then.

We’ve done this from Scotland a few time. We travel all day aiming to arrive in Dover early evening, dinner and hotel. Up early for ferry at 7am.

Much nicer to have a relaxed dinner in a nice French restaurant and then bed than in Kent!

I agree that the ferry is usually better for you get kids - mine adored it at that age, but yes you have to factor in more queuing/waiting around.Also, PSA: if you take the ferry DISABLE YOUR ALARM before locking your car. I resolved to say this to anyone that mentions ferries, ever, after an unbelievable number of car alarms on Portsmouth-St Malo recently!

You might also want to look up villages étapes for your route in France - literally "step(ping stone) villages" where the idea is it's a much nicer stop than a service station, just off an autoroute or D road, and has bakeries, cafes, a park, loos etc.

I would travel to Dover the afternoon/ evening before then stay at a hotel in or near Dover and be nearby for the early start, the roads into Dover get very congested with lorry’s etc
I live near Folkestone the roads are very busy near the port, and hold ups are a regular occurrence.

Another vote for the tunnel. We have very recently crossed, took the tunnel there and the ferry back. We won't choose the ferry again, it felt a faff and was a lot longer than getting the tunnel. Big queues on the way back at Calais too (2hrs at immigration), whereas Coquelles and Dunkirk were flowing fine. I know it's a bit pot luck with queues, but it did put me off that crossing in future! I think the terminal building for the eurotunnel is much nicer too.

If you have the full day, I'd drive as far as you are comfortable with the kids and then stop. Possibly incorporate an afternoon out somewhere. Definitely go shorter rather than trying to push yourselves, it's stressful travelling with young kids! If you're leaving later in the day, stop overnight where it feels comfortable driving timewise

The early to mid morning shuttle crossings are the dearest - before 6am (why??) are cheaper, and also after about 5pm.

Coming back, after 6-7 pm much cheaper. Which must be pretty annoying if you live so far from Folkestone that you can’t make either of those slots.

I would make double sure before wrestling with ferry vs tunnel, that driving is worth it. Petrol is expensive in the EU right now - slightly more than here in UK. Diesel is better value. If you’re going through France the tolls are not insignificant and (for now at least) you also need to apply for a Crit Air pass -doesn’t cost much but requires organisation.

If you’re buying hotel stays as well then the cost can quickly escalate.

Sometimes it makes more sense to fly to an unlovely and relatively unpopular airport about 4 hours’ drive from your intended destination and hire a car.

We were on the shuttle on Saturday, got there early and they let us on the earlier shuttle. It is so much quicker than a ferry. I dont think we would use the ferry again.

Sounds like this poster has never driven on the M6 at 7am. No way will it only take 5 hours to Dover and no way will @Nineandahalf miss the worst of the rush hour traffic leaving at 7am. The M6 is notoriously bad for accidents AND traffic (it makes the A2/M2 look like a children’s picnic) and she’ll be hitting the M56 area (so traffic going to Liverpool and Manchester) right at peak time, nicely followed by Birmingham at peak hour too.

@Nineandahalf Either leave Chorley ridiculously early at 5am or leave after 9am to miss the worst of the traffic. I’d suggest staying overnight in Folkestone (which is where the tunnel is rather than Dover). Getting to Calais and stopping overnight there is a great idea in principle but if you have a nightmare journey down from Lancs, you’ll be wishing you’d stopped overnight in Kent.

As background, I’m originally from Chorley (my family are all still there) but live in London now, and used to live in Kent (and still do voluntary work in Kent at weekends). Actually I used to live in Paris too. So I may be your perfect driving guide. 😝

You may get very lucky and have a good run down the M6/M1. But these days that’s pretty rare. Last time I was up in Chorley I had the best drive back on the M6 that I’ve had in well over 25 years!! But it all went tits-up on the M1 southbound. My record for the worst drive from Chorley to London stands at 12 hours (without any stops!!). On an average decent run, it’s usually around 5.5-6 hours to London. And of course you still have the joy of A2 / M2 ahead. I’m actually driving up to Chorley this weekend so have probably already jinxed myself. 😂

Top tips:

• leave very early (5am) or after 9am
• ALWAYS get the M6 toll road (expensive but worth it)
• don’t stop at the services on the toll road as they’re usually rammed (often a queue of stationary traffic waiting to get into the car park there!)
• stop at Rugby (last services on the M6 before you join the M1) if you need a break as it’s quite new and well organised, and the M1 services southbound are pretty grim (on a par with Keele, quite possibly worse).
• decide which direction you plan to take the M25 in. If you go east towards Dartford, be aware that you will be charged a toll for going over the Dartford Bridge (can only be paid online).
• Check if the M2 has their ‘lorry lanes’ filter for the tunnel in action. When they do this (at peak periods), it slows down car traffic massively as they only let cars use one lane of the motorway and the limit is 50mph. (My ex-boss lives just outside Folkestone and this bloody lorry issue has caught me out when I’ve been driving down to visit him).

Basically plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Seems good advice.

Totally different to advice here but I’d drive down north before and get a midday crossing.

Reason being is if there any issues with traffic and travel you aren’t putting pressure on yourself to make an evening crossing and also get a proper nights sleep and to get up and have a proper breakfast before crossing.

Arriving mid afternoon you can drive down tomorrow for the evening, have dinner and start the holiday in the morning!

Having driven from Kent to the Lakes recently I wouldn’t go for a same day crossing. The M6 is hideous, you don’t want to have the pressure of crossing the same day.

Personally would travel down, stay in Folkestone (the rejuvenated Harbour Arm is brilliant to visit, the coastal park further up is great for kids too). Take the tunnel the next morning early on when it’s cheap.

Some great M6 specific advice. I agree, M6 is always a nightmare! Particularly around Chorley area.

Another option is the Hull-Rotterdam crossing. It’s overnight so quite pricey with car and family cabin & meals but that is effectively your hotel for the night and adds to the experience. Slightly longer journey to Paris than Calais but shorter for you on UK side, and more interesting to do the longer journey in France.

For people fretting about traffic and missing the crossing: we travel from not too far from OP and appreciate the chances of hold ups, and that is one of (many) reasons we prefer the tunnel. You can take earlier trains if you arrive early, later trains if you are delayed. It used to be 2 hours either side but would need checking as I know things change. That’s 4 hours contingency: we book a time 2 hours after we think we’ll definitely make it, always arrived early and managed to get on a train at the time we ideally wanted. You build in additional contingency to the journey by setting off much earlier than Google maps suggests you need to.

Eurotunnel's current offer is a semi-flex with four hours' leeway and standard with an hour each way. We book either semi or fully flexible (Flexiplus does send the cost rocketing) as we also have a longish drive down to Kent. It's definitely less good than it was for flexibility.