We are considering taking the Newhaven Dieppe ferry as had read frequently about how cheap it is. The only cheap crossings seem to be the ones that arrive in Dieppe at around 10.45 pm. Is this correct? If so, do you use one of the aires in Dieppe? Is there usually space? I don’t really fancy driving on anywhere much further at that time of night. Beginning to think it’s not such a bargain …
------------- lizzie
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I did consider Newhaven-Dieppe, not done that crossing for many a year, it is even more tempting now as on that route they offer 20% discount for over the 60's.
For me with Car + trailer, it brings the price in at £20 cheaper than going Dover-Dunkirk, oh to do.
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They do seem to be cost effective, especially when considered against other long crossings, such as Portsmouth-Caen. If you are over 60 you can get a 20% discount on all sailings, but you have to make the booking by phone. Incidentally, only one of the party needs to be over 60. I also believe (although we haven't investigated) that caravans go free on Saturday night crossings.
------------- Freedom is a light caravan and an open road.
I did try to get the discount last September when returning to the UK but it didn’t work out. I found a single crossing which from memory was about £150, I phoned about half an hour later to book the crossing with the discount and was quoted £265. When I queried this price I was asked if I had a screen shot, which I hadn’t thought to do. So in the end we did the Dover Calais with P&O for £104. We don’t book a return crossing because previously we always ended up changing it. I think even the end of September is more or less high season and we were booking for a week’s time so this probably contributed to the situation.
We have never tried Newhaven to Dieppe so I have just gone onto Google maps to see where it is exactly. I wondered how far it was from Portsmouth, which is our usual departure point, so asked Google maps and got this response.
------------- Pixie
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Quote: Originally posted by Pixie_Hez on 22/4/2024
We have never tried Newhaven to Dieppe so I have just gone onto Google maps to see where it is exactly. I wondered how far it was from Portsmouth, which is our usual departure point, so asked Google maps and got this response.
Can't stop chuckling to myself on that one!
BUT it's not unique, earlier in year was looking at time/distance/best route from NW London to Rye in E Sussex with the caravan, advised to follow a route via Ireland and along a non existent (ferry?) sea route through Irish sea and along south coast in the Channel (obviously intended a private charter boat!)! .... err, NO THANK YOU!
And you wonder why people drive off cliffs and into duck ponds following a Sat Nav!
To answer your query Pixie, it's about 63 miles between Portsmouth and Newhaven along the coast! Passports and ferries NOT required for that stage of your travels!
Back to OP. Newhaven-Dieppe is inevitable the cheapest western Channel crossing, and rivals some eastern crossings too! It's a relatively quick crossing which has disadvantages for the overnight run as not really enough sleep.
We did it once years ago, on the overnight, and because of our other route commitments it was a disaster for us, too many road miles, too many driving hours, and nowhere near enough sleep! - BUT TBF that was much of our own making! We weren't in a MH/caravan so stopping off for a rest was not an easy option.
We've certainly looked at using it again, but the crossing times never seem to make our journey work as well as other routes, again, a route break would need to be a hotel, as no caravan/MH, so counter productive to cheap ferry fare. For us the overnight Portsmouth-Caen crossing works best as even though expensive in itself, we save on hotels and driving miles, and arrival/departure times fit perfectly with our schedule.
We've done the various channel crossing routes/miles/costs/timings calculations countless times over decades, and sadly never really made the Newhaven crossing 'work' for us and our journey, but if you can make use of a journey break in your MH, then it will likely look a very good option.
We are doing Dieppe to Newhaven at the end of May. It was very cost effective with a crossing at midday. We booked it through the caravan club which offer the cheapest prices. We are travelling just with the car this time but used the same crossing both ways last year with the caravan and again booked through the caravan club.
i have used this route for the past 10yrs
Yes, the cheap crossing gets in at about 11pm
i then drive for 10 minutes to Pourville Sur Mer and park in the seafront car park for the night .
I’m off on the 7am from Newhaven this weekend in the camper. With the old gaffer rate, under £150 return, as opposed to £230 on Tunnel. Plus a chat with a delightful young French lady to make the booking.
It does mean a 5.30 book in, so I’ll be sleeping on the dock the night before.
£150 return is amazingly cheap Morepints! Can I ask how long ago you booked this? We tend to only book a month or so before leaving, or even less but have never seen the price as low as this. I’m looking now for beginning of June and it’s a lot more than this for a single crossing.
Late-night crossings can save you some bucks, but they can mess with your schedule. I've parked up at the aires in Dieppe before, and usually, there's room, but it can get tight during busy times. If you're not keen on driving a lot further late at night, maybe weigh up the convenience versus the cost.
Quote: Originally posted by lizzie on 22/4/2024
£150 return is amazingly cheap Morepints! Can I ask how long ago you booked this? We tend to only book a month or so before leaving, or even less but have never seen the price as low as this. I’m looking now for beginning of June and it’s a lot more than this for a single crossing.
I had to look it up! It was early January, and not a price I could pass up. Never used this crossing, so will be interesting. I’d already made a booking with Huttopia, 20% discount for early booking. They then continued to rerun the offer several times!
It does seem that with dynamic pricing, as used by airlines also, means that prices almost inevitably rise as the day gets closer. On this basis I’ve already made an autumn booking too, this time with le Shuttle.
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Topic: Cheap crossing Newhaven to Dieppe
via mobile 21/4/2024 at 12:50pm
