Thanks for all the code offers - i have a code ready when i decide to book. Decided we will go with BF - may be a little more costly but OH does the driving and id like it to be a holiday for him too! First camping trip to France for us and kids and dont want it to be the last! 3.5 hours to Vendee is so much more preferable to 7 hours from Calais after the longer journey to Folkestone or Dover. Sometimes a holiday isnt about the cheapest option. Thanks for everyones help - my next thread will be no doubt about which site to pick!!
It's all about the overall journeyy we think, not just the shortest crossing. So always Portsmouth st Malo and Caen Portsmouth both overnight with a cabin. Definitely not the cheapest, but travelling from the North West it helps with a stress free holiday :)
Happy holiday planning :)
------------- Fab time in France again.... Roll on next year!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
What's more relaxing than a steady drive to Portsmouth to catch brittany ferries crossing to st Malo nice drink in the top deck bar as the ferry leaves then retiring to your cabin,then getting up for a free breakfast then a 3 hour drive to vendee and on your pitch . And the Same for the return using Cherbourg,st Malo or Caen.
Or taking 2 days to get to the vendee struck traffic around m25,tolls ,extra fuel,overnight stops,wear tear,totally exhausted when you get there .Then doing the same on the way back.
Brittany ferries is more expensive but I think it's Worth paying for and provides a good service.
Matt
Quote: Originally posted by matthew burns on 15/8/2014
What's more relaxing than a steady drive to Portsmouth to catch brittany ferries crossing to st Malo nice drink in the top deck bar as the ferry leaves then retiring to your cabin,then getting up for a free breakfast then a 3 hour drive to vendee and on your pitch . And the Same for the return using Cherbourg,st Malo or Caen. Or taking 2 days to get to the vendee struck traffic around m25,tolls ,extra fuel,overnight stops,wear tear,totally exhausted when you get there .Then doing the same on the way back. Brittany ferries is more expensive but I think it's Worth paying for and provides a good service. Matt
Not quite so relaxing when the 'steady' four and a half hour drive to Portsmouth takes you more than eight hours, with a complete stop on the motorway, then when you arrive you are told by 'the nasty check in clerk' in your booth that you are too late for your booked sailing even though you can see it loading. You have two small children in the back, and you and they burst into tears when you are told you will have to wait until Tuesday (it's now Sunday) for the next 'Caravans go Free sailing'. Eventually the nice check-in clerk in the next booth radios through, and you are shuttled quickly on to the sailing you booked to the disgust of the 'nasty check in clerk'.
Far better to face the M25 knowing that regardless of whether you're early or late you'll be put on the next ferry!
In order to guarantee catching your Portsmouth sailing from where we live you have to have an overnight near Portsmouth, so for us you may as well save hundreds of pounds, have the overnight in France instead and be on holiday one day earlier.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
I'm sure we'd think differently if we'd had that experience, with kids.
We may have been lucky, but the last 3 years Leeds (well, near) to Portsmouth has worked perfectly, with enough time in the day to load up, stop for lunch etc, and still wander round Portsmouth before the 20:15 sailing.
And the crossing acts as the o/n, given our eventual destination. With a nice meal, wine, and cabin, it gets the holiday off to a great start. And we're in SW France the day after we left home.
We actually like the town, and the area, too, enabling us to "do" the Historic Dockyard coming back, Highclere (Downton), and Lacock (Cranford). And on the other side there's the WWII sites.
It's been the best fit with what we want and the time we've got now. I do see that the frequent sailings from Dover are reassuring. I hate the M25 though, and for where we've wanted to be, we'd end up being on the wrong side of France 150 miles further away, and needing 2 stops to be comfortable, given we've had to start tent wrestling on arrival.
I long for the day when we've got the time to, well, take the time, to get to wherever it is. Roll on.
------------- Mike
My advice is worth no more than the price paid for it
hi spuddie, just reading your thread about b f whilst away in brittany at camp du letty. if it would be of any help to you using my members code will give you 10% of the fare, it does save a lot of driving toll costs, fuel etc, when using the longer sailing routes into normandie or brittany depending on which route you choose, just drop us your details to paul.bwfc at ntlworld.com and i will e-mail you my members code for brittany ferries, cheers, paul.
We paid £700 this year just Hull to Zeebrugge with a car...but we are dining and we have a CLUB cabin. I dread to think how much it will be next year.
------------- CAT
Favourite site:
Camping Nanzel, Limone, Lake
Garda..perfect for MTB, Kayak, SUP and fell running training.
Favourite areas: Provence, French Alps, Savigny (as a stop over for Southern France: Rhein valley as a stop over for Italy. 78
Quote: Originally posted by BobCat10 on 18/8/2014
We paid £700 this year just Hull to Zeebrugge with a car...but we are dining and we have a CLUB cabin. I dread to think how much it will be next year.
Blimey. Exactly that cost us £500 last year, and with a caravan.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Yikes - Brittany Ferries 2015 fares
