Club Arnage

When I looked weeks before the race the cost range from £19 e/w (speed ferries) to over £375 rtn (Brit Ferry).

In the end, out with LD Portsmout to Le Harve (even thou I thought Iwas going to Caen) £55 one way - ferry 1/2 full

return Sea France Calais to Dover £ 60, including a £18 extra to get the earlier crossing. Again boat was 1/2 empty.

If they gave the sensible prices in the first place, I would have booked earlier and ahd my money for longer, and they could have a fuller ferry, making more money.

I wonder what was the average cost for everyone (car + 4 people)

I always do the Dover - Calais run with P&O.

Last year I booked in January ( 5 months in advance) and it was £138 return for a car and 4 passengers.

This year, same time ferry same car 4 passengers only it was booked 9 months in advance I was charged £60 return.

It must be a matter of book early before the demand rises and get the bargains. I will be booking early again this year.

Sea France and P&O are always priced within in a couple of quid of each other no matter when you book so I presume there is a sliding scale of charges again depending on how early the booking is made.

The one problem with booking so early, as was the case when booking for this year, is that the ACO may not have published the race date but a gamble on the 24th weekend usually works.

I have got a frequent travellers deal with Eurotunnel.  This costs £350 for 10 single trips.  Even if you just make the race and the Classic, this is beginning to make sense.  Add a couple of booze cruises, a trip to Spa and you're there.  It's limited to off peak travel but only costs £20 or so to alter this.  I realise that it's particularly good for residents like me wanting to go back to blighty occasionally but could make sense for some CAers?

A Carnet on Sea France. £400 for 10 single trips. That way a nice rest on the end of the journey for either breakfast or afternoon meal.

Never ever will i use the chunnel.

Ride on, sit next to your bike and wait..

Rubbish


Ferry for me, regardless/

This year however our costs were :

Car + 2 = £237
Car, Trailer + 2 = £412
Minibus, Trailer +16 people = £804


We saved £1000 by going out, Poole to Cherbourg and returning Caen to Pompey. I thought Brittany Ferries were poor and not much to do on the boats. Food out was good, on return very poor.

IF we could use someone else we would, but its too much driving for some.

Brittany Ferries Poole Cherbourg and back fast boat both ways was £272 for car + 2 booked in January.

I live 8 miles from Poole so the extra cost is worth it to save the drive to Dover.

It's quick, and I get sea-sick.  What can I say?

The tunnel is by far the most efficient way to cross - all formalities done at the exit port and just drive off and on to the motorway on the other side. Having said that we almost always use Speedferries at £19 a crossing and about 30 miles saved each way.

You should subtract the distance between Folkestone and Dover from that, if you're coming from the North... and the boring trundle through the town of Dover itself.  Having said that, there's good and bad with both, just thought the "season ticket" deal might suit some.

I have a 140 mile drive before Dover and 260 after. I find the 1 1/2 hours on the ferry a good break, couldn't sit in the car for 35 minutes and then start driving again so if the tunnel was cheaper I would still use the ferrys.

Driving south after the train arrives is not compulsory. There are decent food facilities in Cité d'Europe right next to the Tunnel exit. They are open 'till late to cater for the cinema crowds.

Oops, looking at Termie's posts makes me realise I only save 40 miles per return journey over the Tunnel with Speed ferries. 60+ miles over the Calais - Dover ferries.
The Tunnel is tops, Speedferries suits us for price.

Speedferries are ok if you are not carrying a roof load, prices for these went up a lot this year, about £113 return. Booked early, September, for crossings with P & O, high load, £60 return.

But will be going back to SeaFrance if poss next year, faster ferries and the food on P&O was awful.

Total thumbs up to Speedferries for forcing down crosschannel prices, shame they are not the cheapest by a long way for us anymore.

we booked with LDLines back last Sept.  got  a great rate of £140 inc cabins return.

Robbo

You might want to look at LD Lines from Portsmoth to Le Havre, problem is only 1 crossing each way a day, out of Portsmouth at 23:00 return from Le Havre at 17:00.  Not used them yet, but doing so nest week on route to Brittany.  The return crossing with Brittany Ferries was over £500 inc Cabins.  With LD Lines it is £250.

Incidentially we went Sea France, would be reluctant to do so again, charged extra for getting the 23:00 crossin instead of the 23:45 and then found there was no hot food on it, or draught beer!

I have friends who have used LD Lines 3 times now.  The boat is an old tub but they seem to sail on time and the trip from Le Harvre to here is quick and easy.

I'm a bit puzzled how all these charges vary too. We only booked in May, and paid £90 return with Seafrance, Dover - Calais

I know what times you travel can make a difference.

Been on my trip with LD Lines now, and was perfectly satisfied.  Boat might be old, and the decor is dated.  However it sailed on time, and is not shabby.  In fact the boat was a lot better than the Sea France one we came back on.

I'd definitely use LD Lines again, and hope they Brittany Ferries a run for their money.

popularity i guess.. as the number of vacant spaces decreases, the costs increases

I arranged the ferry bookings for the cobra club to attend Le Classic this year and we travelled Newhaven - Dieppe for £40 return, car +2 people.
Spoke to all the various ferry companies and eurotunnel and none of them could beat Transmanche Ferries.
Also Dieppe is only 165 miles to Le mans.

Something like that they have x number of tickets they sell in "bands" like airlines the cheapest tickets get sold first then the second cheapest and so on until all that is left is the expensive tickets, or the longer you wait the more expensive the price is...

I think that the computer makes it more complicated.  They estimate demand and  hence the size of the the cheap band varies from zero tickets to most of them, and I think they do last minute booking discounts too.  Add in the day/5 day/period return factors and its anyone's guess.

Humm, am I the only one who found LD Lines to be a bit... well... rank?

Used them for Le Mans this year and service was very French (3 staff behind the bar, 2 of us at the bar = 10 minutes to get served).

Couple of Scottish guys we got chatting to (driving to Le Mans from Scotland in an MG Midget they bought unseen 3 weeks before on eBay - brave) ordered hot-dogs from the bag.  Sasages looked rank, but were apparently better that the mouldy bread rolls... and we are not talking a few small specks of mould here either.

Did the route last year wehen it was P&O and was much better.

Hi Mjit, and welcome to CA.

Regarding LDlines - I went over with them a week after LM this year, and as has been said above, an old boat but adequate. I found the food (in the sit-down cafeteria) adequate but not expensive: the sailings were punctual.  I did not have the same problems in the bar - excellent service in fact.

For a 'no frills' service at a much lower price than P&O and BF, I voted it a hit, and will use them again.  I need a ferry rather than the fastcraft like Speedferries 'cos I drag a caravan around or, as at LM this year, a small trailer which was just too bloody long for SF.

Del

I went to the Classic on Transmanche from Newhaven to Dieppe. It was a brand new boat, the food was top, the service in the bar was instant and the crossing generally a huge sucess. The advantage of Newhaven is that it's only 25 mins from my house and drops you in France 165 miles from Le Mans, all motorway or dual carriageway notwithstanding Rouen which is a big fuss about nothing. Cost £50 return, the bargain of the century if you take fuel costs into consideration, it's cheaper than Speed Ferries.

Came back on LD for reasons I won't bore you with. Not as impressive as TM, but not bad, it was about on time, the food was fine as was the drink. It was about £70 for a last minute single, which is about half what it would have been when the ship was under the command of P&O.

Generally very satisfied with both operators, so I don't think I'll be using Brittany Fisheries again, their £350+ fares are really getting beyond a joke.

Were trying this idea next year for the LM 24hr bike race and gp as the routes and fares for bikes this year were over £100 return for a bike ????

This is our normal crossing, and with the autoroute nearly all the way it's fairly quick down there. The only problem this year was there inability to unload and load a full ferry quickly. We were on the 11pm crossing which started loading at 11pm. It left so late it meant we hit Rouen in the rush hour ::)

 didnt have a problem with the ferry.. the bar was busy, but hey thats to be expected with such an event!  am happy for what we paid and would use them again.

Were trying this idea next year for the LM 24hr bike race and gp as the routes and fares for bikes this year were over £100 return for a bike ????

Robbo if you are contacting Transmanche ask for ORLANE, she is very helpful, and sounds bloody horny, tell her Andy from the cobra club sends his regards. !!!

Well, I live in Plymouth, so Brittany Ferries is the best option for me. Just a ten minute cab ride to the ferry terminal, get on board and I'm in Roscoff in a few hours.

I go on foot as well, so that saves a few quid for beer  and food etc.

I can get a ferry ticket (return) for about  £100 and a  train  from  Morlaix to Le Mans is only a couple of hours.

The handy part is coming home. I get back, hot tired, dirty and hungry and I've only got a ten minute cab ride before I'm in a hot bath with some food in the oven.

Works very nicely for me.

Location is everything, Pilgrim.  Get up, get in car, at campsite 40 minutes later.  Perfect.
Signed, Smug of La Sarthe.
And talking of location, I have never figured out how this thread has ended up in "It happened to me." ???

The downside of living locally of course is that for the other 51 weeks of the year you have to be surrounded by pongy cheese-eating peasants...

Fine by me, AZ.  The alternative is worse.