Mumsnet users share their holiday experiences in France with Brittany Ferries

[EllieMumsnet]

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Travelling by ferry can be a much more hassle free way to go on holiday with the family...as let’s be honest a 20kg per person limit on luggage is almost impossible when you have little ones. Brittany Ferries allows you to both travel by ferry and holiday in France and they would love you to share your top holiday experiences of travelling to France.

Here is what Brittany Ferries have to say “If having young children has put you off taking a holiday abroad, then think again, think family-friendly France. Sailing from Portsmouth, Poole or Plymouth we offer more choice of sailings than anyone else and our on-board service is designed with little ones in mind. What’s more, we can also arrange your holiday accommodation too. Our choice of sail & stay holidays are perfect for young families with a chalet camping holiday offering fun for all with lots to see and do both on and off site. And, as all our holidays include return sailings with your car, booking that all important family holiday is simple too.”

Where did you go in France? What did you enjoy most about your holiday there? How was your family’s experience on the ferry? What are your top tips for packing for a family holiday?

Share your dream destinations and holiday by ferry experiences on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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School trip some years ago, on the way back we just got to the (French) boat in time. The jobsworths wanted to leave some of us, both teachers and pupils, behind. They all had UK passports, the officious officials refused to believe they were from the same school as those of us with Irish passports. Only those with green passports were being allowed on board.
A tiny, young looking, Irish teacher with fluent French then took over. We never knew what she said but the look on her face was the same as when we hadn't done our homework. Everyone was allowed on board!

Overnight crossing to St Malo is a real adventure for toddlers / young children. Tire then out running up and down corridors or in the soft play and snooze your way to France. Agree talking the same car all the way is so much easier - you can load up all the stuff you /they are used to.

As a child I loved the fact that you could buy French food on the ferry that we didn't normally have at home. I always feel happier when I am by the sea and so I really enjoy travelling by boat. It feels like part of the holiday, not just transport to the holiday!
Years ago in the 1980s I had a couple of very rough October crossings and one of the nicest things was finding a really casual, homely restaurant in France that gave us a really warm welcome and simple, delicious food for our slightly queasiness. The food in France has been amazing - I had my first oysters and mussels there aged ten. I also liked the crepes but the best thing were the patisserie! Just amazing!
I would love to go back with my children, especially to St. Malo and the surrounding area. My sibling is about to marry a lovely French person so, who knows?

Overnight cabin works well and makes a start to the holiday sooner. We love going to France for relaxed family holidays. Back again this year with Brittany Ferries

One of my best France trips was getting the overnight Portsmouth-Caen ferry, it just felt magical somehow. Then we disembarked and drove for an hour or so along the coast to get to Honfleur for breakfast.

Can’t wait to return to northern France sometime.

This year will be our fifth holiday with Brittany Ferries, we just love it! We’re only a 10 minute drive from Portsmouth so it’s always such an amazing feeling to be minutes from home once we’ve docked. We always take the overnight to St Malo which gets into France at about 8am. Because we book a Commodore cabin we always get a breakfast in our cabin and a little box of fruit/macaroons which are great for the car journey ahead. We usually travel back from Caen and love the ferry as there’s a little soft play area and a nice restaurant to pass an hour in with that final French meal 😍
So far we’ve been to Brittany, the Vendee, Charentes Maritime and last year our longest drive to the Arcachon basin. Top tip - buy an electric cool box and take a picnic lunch for your car journey each way as there’s loads of places you can stop and park up. Try and learn a bit of the language as well, it’s appreciated!
We just love the space, fab beaches, awesome food, easy driving and the adventure chateaus that seem to be springing up. Even shopping at the supermarket is a joy!
This year we’re going inland to The Loire valley and I’m very confident we’ll have another fab time! The 6 year old experienced his first waterslide at last year’s campsite so we’ve chosen a resort with a great waterpark!

We had a brilliant holiday in an old self catering chateau in the south of France. Lots of wine and cheese and saucisson! Beautiful countryside, quaint towns and loads of amazing food 😊

Three words : creme du menthe!

We used to take the children to Brittany with Brittany Ferries every year when they were younger; my ds was just 13 weeks old the first time he visited France. We were lucky enough to have the use of the in-laws' mobile home for a few years (near Pontchateau & the Briere marshes), & then visited Saint-Lunaire (with its wonderful beach) & enjoyed three holidays in a row in Cancale, just east of St Malo.

As pp have said, the overnight crossing from Portsmouth to St Malo is wonderful; our holidays would start the moment we got on the ferry! We loved having a meal together in the restaurant. We would always book a cabin for the four of us to sleep: an adventure in itself! And just as pp have said, we would always book the smallest & cheapest cabin we could get for the return day crossing; it's a great place for a nap, to have a quiet moment, to leave your belongings safely & to have your own toilet, which is particularly useful with little ones!

As far as packing goes, the joy of going by ferry means you don't have to limit your luggage; we also had a roof box, which didn't add a huge amount to the cost of our crossing but which meant we could even take a double buggy for when we had two little ones who were either prewalkers or would tire easily.

I have to say, though, that travel vacuum storage bags are really useful for towels, bedding & clothes like fleeces that don't crease easily, but are particularly on the return journey for squeezing all the dirty washing into a much smaller space.

We're hoping to go to France this year, haven't taken the kids before but I think they will love it. Hoping to find a lovely gite in Brittany or Normandy, or maybe a campsite.

As a teenager I took my bike across from Portsmouth to Cherbourg, it was slightly hair-raising to cycle in with all the lorries and cars but a great experience - my bike was lashed to a pole or something with rope!

We went Dover to Calais many years ago. had a great time! Ferrys more enjoyable than flying I think, although takes longer!

Our tip is to pack light and buy a lot there!

The only thing that puts me off ferry crossings is sea sickness, even with medication and the special superstrong ginger biscuits and sea bands I still feel sick if the sea is choppy.
Ferries are great for kids but you do need to keep your eye on them the whole time for their safety and if you don’t feel well it’s not that easy.

We found Brittany Ferries to be fantastic, we joined up to Club Voyage where you get discounts off your crossing and other perks. We have cabins even on day crossings as it’s somewhere quiet to go and get your head down for a bit. The Loire Valley is our favourite destination with beautiful scenery.

I have been to France once by ferry on a school trip (quite a few years ago) and flown for a family boating holiday to Brittany. Both great experiences.

My best ever family holiday was to Brittany. We took the ferry but as we came from the far north of Ireland it was a long long drive!

I have a beautiful memory though of travelling to our destination in France on a hot summer day and we accidentally took a wrong turn off the main road and ended up on a country road amongst some wheat fields (at least I think it was wheat). The wheat was blowing in the breeze and as I was looking for somewhere to turn, an elderly local tootled past in his Citroen 2CV. The whole scene was so beautiful I could have cried!

We had a lovely family holiday to France - overnight to St Malo from Portsmouth with a cabin and a travel cot, and then back home during daylight. TBH I preferred the daytime crossing as I love the feel of air on my face and seeing where we were going.

Top tip is if you have a young baby, mention it when you arrive at port. The staff there were really kind and let us be parked at the side of the ship rather than the middle which gave us the extra room we needed to open the car door and get baby and seat out. It also meant we got to board first which was a bonus.

We went on holiday lest year to France for the first time. We booked both the holiday and ferry with Brittany Ferries. Everything went very smoothly and easily. We have booked again this year! Highly recommend.

Where did you go in France?
Bayeux

What did you enjoy most about your holiday there?
Loads of things to go and see. Really interested in the war cemeteries.

How was your family’s experience on the ferry?
It was good and we had a cabin. Essential for sleep.
What are your top tips for packing for a family holiday
For ferry journeys where you bring your car, bring store cupboard ingredients so you don't have to buy again.
Bring books and games
Take out half the clothes you pack! You won't need them.

We can see the plymouth roscoff ferry from our kitchen window so our top family trip is to use Brittany Ferries - makes arriving home very easy! We unfortunately had to cancel our trip last year (was going to be out first family trip abroad in 12 years) as our eldest son was taken ill. But one tip would be to book early and book the holiday as well through Brittany Ferries made it all very easy (and made cancellation straightforward).

Based on a long history (prior to the last 12 years) of trips to France

Where did you go in France? I always go to Finistere because it’s a) beautiful b) have friends there and c) not much driving - not all that keen on driving in France.

What did you enjoy most about your holiday there? Love French food and visiting friends

How was your family’s experience on the ferry? We took the overnight last time we went so it was easy as we had a cabin

What are your top tips for packing for a family holiday? Take plenty of jumpers even if it’s boiling here. We camp so being cold can be miserable. Also always take wetsuits.

I love ferries to France, they are part of the holiday! You can go on deck and watch for other boats or just go for a walk, or there's lots to keep the little ones entertained inside too.

We'd happily travel by ferry if it weren't a very long day's drive to any of the ports. The hassle of that with small kids well outweighs the challenges of packing lighter for flying and hiring a car.

We did this to the Dordogne and had a brilliant time. Best thing was being on a campsite with a good set of pools - the kids loved them!

The idea of going abroad does fill me with dread, so instantly I quite like the idea of a ferry but worried about children going overboard and also we don't live close to any ports. But I really love travelling by car and feeling prepared. I've never flown with the children yet because I hate the idea of minimising what I would like to take (can anyone tell I'm a kitchen sink packer!)

I'd quite like to go to a Euro Centreparcs with a look at somewhere scenic on route for a night perhaps.

We love an overnight crossing too. Eat dinner on board, go to bed and wake up refreshed and ready to go. Have had lots of lovely holidays in France staying in static caravans by the sea. Ready made friends for the kids, good food and usually sunshine too!

Glogirl Do it! you'll never look back.

The worst bit of the overnight crossing is the guitar music piped in to your cabin at progressively louder volumes to wake you up. Dh has it recorded on his phone & uses it when we are struggling to get grumpy teen ds out of bed!

We go to Brittany as it isn't far as the journey to the port is far for us and a horrible drive
The ferry journey is always fun for the children.
We stay in a mobile home as my husband used to work on campsites over there and knows all the best ones.
The French often make men wear those smaller trunks in their pools not the shorts type that we often use in this country so take those