Using the Channel Tunnel or Cross Channel Ferries? Here’s a bit of info you might find useful about Channel Crossings for Motorhomes.
Due to their size motorhomes are often charged quite a substantial premium over cars on ferries and through the Channel Tunnel. All those tempting special offers widely advertised at anything from £20 upwards will say ‘cars only’ somewhere in the small print.
Typical list cross channel ferry prices for high season are £3-400 return for a short crossing and maybe £7-£800 for a return to Spain with a reasonable cabin. Eurotunnel have been very expensive until recently with peak fares in the £5-600+ range. The fierce competition back in early 2004 seems to have brought those fares down to around the £300 mark.
This whole topic is a bit of a thorny one since fares can vary enormously with the booking method and can also be very high compared not only with cars but also against caravans. Even worse the fares have been impossible to fathom in recent years as the ferry companies play strange marketing games with each other sometimes under somewhat concealed identities on the web.
SeaFrance Channel Ferries operate the classic Dover to Calais route which is the shortest crossing there is, which is ideal if you just need to get a ferry to France in the minimum amount of time.
Other than the ferry companies’ own websites some good deals are usually available from the Caravan Club, the Camping and Caravanning Club and the Motorhome Ticket Club. The best deals vary from club to club depending on the routes chosen. Shareholder deals can be attractive too but often pale into insignificance compared with the highly competitive short crossing discounts as above. The longer crossings are not subject to the same fierce competition and are not usually discounted by much, shareholder discounts can be quite significant here.
P&O now pretty much rule as the ’500 pound gorilla’ in the channel crossings for motorhomes business. However if you are looking at their Portsmouth – Blibao route do read this:
Closure of Portsmouth to Bilbao Route. Please be aware that P&O Ferries has given notice that it is proposing to withdraw from the Portsmouth-Bilbao route at the end of September 2010 when the charter for the ship it uses for the service, the Pride of Bilbao, comes to an end.
The service will operate as scheduled up to and including the Bilbao-Portsmouth departure on Monday 27th September 2010 and any bookings up to this date will be unaffected. Any customers with bookings beyond this date will be contacted as soon as possible.
Norfolkline concentrate on commercial traffic and seem to charge less for motorhomes – maybe they’re babies compared with the trucks they mostly carry! They operate the Dover to Dunkerque route rather than Dover to Calais. On-board they are pretty much gimmick free, but who cares? Personally this is my favourite company for Channel Crossings for Motorhomes.
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