Camping Cheques have a good offer with Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to Caen/St Malo, and Plymouth to Roscoff, where the caravan goes free and you can now check prices and book on line. You have to use selected sailings - and buy three Camping Cheques, which cost £43.00.
This is copied from the Camping Cheques website
Cost Saving Tips We are delighted to be able to offer FREE CARAVANS on many routes - an offer which is NOT AVAILABLE direct from Brittany Ferries. To qualify you need to select specific sailings during low season (a half price caravan offer applies in high season).
Sailings with the lowest prices are generally those that arrive late from the UK or leave early from France. Free caravans are available on the following sailings:
From the UK (1/1/11 - 26/5/11, 29/5/11 - 7/6/11, 11/6/11 - 20/7/11, 21/8/11 - 31/12/11)
Portsmouth - Caen: 14:15/15:15 Plymouth - Roscoff: all departures
From France (1/1/11 - 3/6/11, 6/6/11 - 11/6/11, 14/6/11 - 29/7/11, 30/8/11 - 31/12/11) Caen - Portsmouth: 08:15/08:30 St Malo - Portsmouth: 10:30/10:45 Roscoff - Plymouth: all departures
I've just done a 'dummy' quote using our car/caravan, and planned dates, and the total price with Camping Cheques (including the three cheques) was £312.35 - but the Brittany Ferries price was £450 for exactly the same dates/outfit/sailings. It would be worth anyone looking at the longer crossings to check out the Camping Cheques price - and if they don't want the Camping Cheques offer them on here - there are usually ready-takers!
Post last edited on 01/11/2010 08:09:49
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Many thanks Val - I have already booked this ferry offer Portsmouth/Caen route out and back on the telephone but didn't know the offer was available on the Roscoff sailing. It would be a great help for us to be able to return to Devon at Plymouth (despite the horrendous delays exiting the port). I'll ring C/Cs again to see if they can change my return ferry.
By the way what are you doing up at 5-12 a.m?
------------- Mother Nature always wins in the end.
Have just done a check online and they are still quoting same price as I booked for of £309-35 (including 3 Camping Cheques) Portsmouth/Caen out and back. Same dates on Plymouth/Roscoff is £340-60 i.e. £31-25 extra with a better arrival time in Roscoff. Seriously thinking about ringing Camping Cheques in the morning to try to change routes as this would also save approx 100 miles each way to Plymouth instead of Portsmouth and an over night stop in Ouistreham on the way out.
Allowing £41-85 for the cost of the minumum 3 Camping Cheques the net cost of the Roscoff sailings works out at £298-75 which is about the same price as we paid in 2008 for the similar Caravan Club offer on the now defunct Poole/Chebourg run. Any Car & Caravan return fare for under £300 on the Western Channel routes must be a good deal.
------------- Mother Nature always wins in the end.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
I was up at 5.00 am because my friend is seriously ill, and my sleeping pattern is poor at the moment - so this forum provides respite when I want to do something which takes my mind off things!
I'm glad that I was able to help with the Roscoff thing - I didn't realise how good the offer was until I read the terms and conditions, and on those longer crossings any saving is a good one. This really is a good deal.
Don't forget, too, that there is a market for your Camping Cheques, and you may get very near the cost price if someone just wants three without having to pay the additional admin charge!
Sincere apologies I was only being frivolous your contributions to this forum are very much appreciated.
For many years we used the Poole- Cherbourg crossing on the Barfleur and then return on the Roscoff - Plymouth. This way we could have a couple of days in Normandy, travel down to our main holiday site near Royan and travel back to have a couple of days in Brittany. We have found Plymouth/Roscoff fares have been very expensive in the last few years and with the demise of the Poole trip we were thinking that in future we might have to travel to Dover to get the best deals as we did last year.
Perhaps Brittany Ferries are feeling the effect of the bargain deals out of Dover and have had to do something about it.
We have been avid users of the Camping Cheques for many years now. I only had to purchase three initially to secure the ferry booking but will be going back to C/Cs before I have to pay the balance on the ferry price to purchase some more.
Post last edited on 01/11/2010 23:12:27
Post last edited on 01/11/2010 23:13:02
------------- Mother Nature always wins in the end.
We were quoted £597.00 for the Plymouth - Roscoff (crossing only) for our car and caravan next June by the ferry company. However I telephoned Camping Cheques and got a really nice surprise. We got Gold Card membership, 20 camping cheques and the return crossing for a total of £649.00. That is a real saving for us and the lady on the Camping Cheques desk was very helpful with all my questions. I would certainly urge people to look at the website.
Have just done a check online and they are still quoting same price as I booked for of £309-35 (including 3 Camping Cheques) Portsmouth/Caen out and back. Same dates on Plymouth/Roscoff is £340-60 i.e. £31-25 extra with a better arrival time in Roscoff. Seriously thinking about ringing Camping Cheques in the morning to try to change routes as this would also save approx 100 miles each way to Plymouth instead of Portsmouth and an over night stop in Ouistreham on the way out.
Telephoned Camping Cheques today p.m and have changed route to Plymouth/Roscoff. Much more convenient for us and better arrival time on the outward trip. Total cost including minumum of 3 Camping Cheques now £328-85 making ferry fare £287 - still good and we added a couple extra days also!!
Also no amendment fee necessary to change.
------------- Mother Nature always wins in the end.
Camping Cheques pay for one night on site, for two people, car and caravan (or tent, or motorhome), awning, and electricity. You buy them in advance of your holiday. They cost £13.95 per night, and can be used at any of the site in the Camping Cheque guide, on dates specified by the individual campsites. These are 'low season' dates but low season in France can include school holidays in some instances. Some sites accept them right through the school holidays, though these are few in number. Several sites have special offers such as 14 nights for 11 Camping Cheques, or 21 nights for 14. You can read all about them on the Camping Cheque website.
This ferry offer is provisional upon you buying a minimum of three Camping Cheques, worth £42.00 - but you can save much more than this on the Brittany Ferry website price - and either use the cheques, sell them on here, or even throw them away and still save money!
Just browsing thro' the Camping Cheques site and see that it says the Free Caravan offer with Brittany Ferries is only available for bookings up to 20th December. Also it appears the offer is only available on inward sailings from St Malo not outward.
------------- Mother Nature always wins in the end.
Hi, yes, in the quote in my post at the top it does give the sailings to which the offers apply and St Malo is only mentioned in the 'From France' section. However, someone on another forum has just saved £226 on sailings from Plymouth to Roscoff!
Quote: Booking direct with Brittany came up at £675 while caravan club returned at £625 while Camping Cheques site came back as £449. Will this be as good as it gets from Plymouth to Roscoff?
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.