I need to take a car across the Channel in a couple of weeks. Is there a ferry service that lets me just turn up and drive on? All the ones on the internet talk about bookings being required, or paying a hefty premium for a 'flexible' option. At this time of year, I would have thought that space was freely available. I wanted to go from Harwich to Hook of Holland on the overnight ferry, but it's in drydock the week I'll be travelling. But it should be ok for the return the following week, so I want a single Dover-Calais or similar ferry out, and a single overnight from Hook of Holland back, and they all seem to want Return trips instead of Singles.
Any advice from our travelling members welcome. It's the first time I have crossed the Channel since using a hovercraft from Ramsgate.
I'm afraid it's like train fares and/or air fares nowadays. If you buy your ticket on the day you travel it will likely cost getting on for £100 (maybe only £70 or £80). If you book in advance and/or buy multiple crossings you can get the price down to around £30.
If you can get together with a friend (or some friends) then buying multiple trips from DFDS is quite a good deal. Tickets are fully flexible and can be transferred to anyone you nominate. You still have to book a crossing but can change your mind, arrive late, arrive early or whatever and there's no extra charge.
See:-
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For three returns (i.e. six crossings) they cost £35 each way.
The other ferry operators aren't so flexible as regards giving tickets to other people on their multi-trip offers.
Well most people want to book in advance - even if it is only the day before, and the cheapest tickets tend to be for advance purchases. however AFAIK they will all accept turn up and go bookings. As you say, most sailings at this time of the year are probably not fully booked
The Travel centre at Dover is closed, but there are still desks for the ferry operators where you can book tickets in the passenger buildings. However, I would suggest that it's probably easier to phone or book online - you can do it at the last minute whilst en route and they are much better set up for that. Note that there is normally a window - IIRC with P&O of 3 hours before/after the sailing time where they will put you on the next available sailing for no charge if space
But it is worth booking, even just a day or two ahead. Eg right now -
9.30pm Tuesday I can book the 23.45 sailing tonight for £90 - I can book it tomorrow for £49.
Though we don't normally go on the ferry anymore, we much prefer Eurotunnel - tends to be a bit more expensive, but so quick, easy and efficient, trains every 20-30 mins means normally you get put on an earlier train if you arrive early . We much prefer it over the ferry.
Last time we went, August, Friday evening IIRC, we barely stopped after turning off the M20. Drove up, through the automatic checkin, I don't they even bothered to check passports, drove through the terminal and got waved straight through onto the train before our booked one (last car on I think). Left within about 5-10 minutes, we were at the hotel in Boulogne within an hour after of arriving at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone
Thanks for all the responses. It looks as though the Tunnel, or Le Shuttle, may be the best bet, i.e. make a pretty certainly reachable reservation, and if we arrive early, maybe we can get on early. It's certainly the quickest travel.
I will still welcome further advice, if available.
Le Shuttle has a 2 hour window either side of the reservation time, where they will put you on the next available train for no charge. AIUI if you arrive more than 2 hours early you have to accept a reservation on an earlier train (which maybe charged) as they only let people checkin and into the terminal 2 hours before dept. - or just wait somewhere enroute. But we have never been that early :-)
But I think we have pretty much always been put on an earlier train if we have arrived early. Though we tend not to travel at the most peak times
It's not luxury travel, sitting in your car, or walking around in a metal box, with few windows, going through a concrete tunnel. But it's quick and easy. We take some refreshments, eat/drink on the train and carry on with the journey once off the other side.
Though I was glad were booked on a ferry in 2008 when we were due to cross the day after the fire - though Dover was manic that day and our ferry was delayed cos they changed the schedules a bit
The will never put you FOC on a train any earlier than the one before that which you booked [1] however early you arrive (and however quiet they are). They will offer you a paid for change to an earlier one - if there is space.
They have never had this policy, if you turn up too early and they are busy the will turn you away (though I don't know how it works now that they have automatic booths). If the are quiet they will let you in to wait for your booked train (or selected alternative)
There are some weird peak period. Don't expect an earlier train out on a Saturday morning even in February
Tim
[1] When they are busy they put trains on in flights 5 minutes apart every
30 minutes. If you are booked onto the second of one of these flights they will transfer you to the departure 30 minutes before your booking (assuming there is space, of course)
We'll be travelling on a Thursday afternoon, so it should be pretty clear, I would think. I'll make the reservation for a hopefully foolproof time, and see what happens if we get there early. I have to drive from Bury St. Edmunds via Hertford first, so I have yet to estimate travel time and ETA at the terminal. I still also have to see what happens about non-return fares, both out and back. I see only Returns quoted on the web sites, maybe old-fashioned 'phone calls are now needed.
It is entirely possible that their policies and decisions have entirely changed since last I used the tunnel. But on that occasion, my partner's unwellness forced us to leave a full day earlier than originally booked. We turned up, asked to be on the next train with space, and travelled back. No charge, no difficulty, no need to explain or plead illness.
That hasn't been our experience, once we arrived well over an hour before our checkin time - certainly at least 2/3 trains worth before our train and gone onto the next train departing.
And this concurs with what their website says
"If you arrive within 2 hours either side of your reserved time you will be offered a space, on the next departure with availability without charge. The maximum check-in allowed is 2 hours so you cannot be earlier than that without accepting an earlier departure when available. If you are more than 2 hours late but still within the validity of your ticket you will be allocated a space but there may be a charge if the tariff for that time is higher."
under My Travel.
Of course with lots of things, rules sometimes get applied differently
Well, it's what the site seems to say, but I've not any experience of arriving that early.
That's good information. I will be travelling from Hertford, and amazingly, Googlemaps gives a travel time of Hertford to Folkestone of just shy of 2 hours. Bing says 1 hr 37 minutes, which would mean flying along the M25 and M20 at warp speed. With the 2 hour window each side of the booked time, if I plan on a 4 hour drive time, I can take the mythical 2 hours and catch an early train, or even take 6 hours if the traffic is bad. That should surely be plenty enough.
Thanks for all the discussion folks, it is much appreciated.
95 miles, it says. The traffic is the great unknown. Every time I've used the M25 around the north route it's been terrible. But at least the Dartford Crossing should be quicker now. I'll pre-book that the night before.
Not my experience. I always arrive early and, apart from very busy periods like Christmas, I get a no-charge choice of trains before my booked departure. That is with a fixed departure, non-transferable ticket.
...
You get very long queues, sometimes backing up to the motorway. I don't recall any way they can turn vehicles back once they have reached the booths.
In reality, I doubt they get many people turning up more than 2 hours before anyway - I guess the rules give them options to restrict entry/charge for a change of train if they wanted to, and deters people from arriving to early.
I've never been early enough to find, out we normally aim to arrive 1 -
1 1/2 hours early and that means that unless the Dartford crossing has been entirely dreadful we are still at least there for our scheduled crossing
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