Travelling to France from the North of England

[paul]

Hi there

I'm in Cumbria in the north-west of England and looking to go to France at the end of August, returning early September.

Someone recently suggested to me that, rather than driving all the way to Dover or Portsmouth and making the crossing to Calais or wherever, that I instead drive across to Hull and catch a Hull-Zeebrugge overnight ferry, since Zeebrugge is just 40 miles from Calais, and this would save on a lot of driving.

I've looked into this and the price for our vehicle (4.8m long by 1.8m high), with 2 adults and 1 child over 3, and one child under 3, seems to be coming in at around £350 return with P&O Ferries.

This doesn't sound cheap to me, but we would be saving on a night's accommodation in a Hull, quite a few gallons of fuel, and no doubt get to arrive more relaxed and refreshed, so it's quite tempting.

Anyone know how we could cut the cost further? I notice they invite you to add a promotional code if you have one (??) and I wonder if there are other companies that cover the same route more competitively...

Thanks

Paul
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[laz]

When we go to "the continent" we almost always take that route. Hull is only 90 minutes from Newcastle, and it gets the holiday going a day earlier (we can get to the ferry on Friday evening after a day at work). It's really nice to get to Zeebrugge nice and relaxed (assuming it's not too stormy ), and does save quite a few miles and a lot of time in the car.

The price seems a bit high based on what I remember... is that a luxury cabin, or something? Having said that, we have usually gone out Hull-Zeebrugge and back Calais-Dover or Le Havre-Portsmouth, and it's been about £250, I think. (You can get some good deals on two different routes, as long as they are the same operator). Another alternative is Newcastle-Amsterdam, but that ends a long way from France (I have done this as a foot passenger (for £99 return!) but I remember it being much more expensive with a car than the Hull route).
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[mpprh]

Hi

my parents (Lancaster) always take that route.

In fact if you are heading South via Dijon, etc. it is virtually no further than the channel ports.

Peter
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[laz]

[ChaletGirl]

We usually drive to Dover, as we can't be on the Friday night ferry as we don't finish work until 6pm.
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