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Book cheap ferry tickets to Calais and France online. Day-trip, 3 day, 5 day or Standard channel crossing ferry or tunnel fare (day-tripper companies and links) to France, Belgium, Eire, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Scandinavia – Ferries and Eurotunnel

Ferry to France (Dover Calais ferry – cross channel fares)

Shop around to get the cheapest ferry tickets to Calais – fares are good value nowadays as a result of fierce competition between the ferry companies.

What's special about this page? Day-tripper.net believes that the best way of finding the cheapest deal is to do lots of research. We list all the companies we know of, the vast majority of whom we get no commission from. Comparison sites are good place to start, but they can't be relied upon for 100 per cent accuracy or even offering the best fare. This is because they don't necessarily compare all the fares on the market, and many fares may be out of date at the moment you do your search. Furthermore, for many different reasons they do not list all companies, with preference often being given to those from whom they get the best commission. This applies especially to Travel Clubs, whose rates can be very high or who will offer you a three day fare when a one day fare will do.

Five day and standard ferry tickets have never been better value.

Try and avoid busy times such as school holidays. Try avoid travelling at the end of August each summer as this tends to be the busiest time of the year for all ferry companies. Avoid at all costs the first weekend after the schools break up, this is the busiest time of the year, and even with a cheap fare, can be unpleasant. If you can afford it, upgrade to Club lounge and start your holiday in style.

If you shop at the Wine Beer Warehouse (Majestic Wines) you get a £10 discount for every £150 pre-ordered online.

Why take the ferry?

WOW! PO ferries offer special especially low fares to visitors to Day-tripper.net

Book direct with:

DFDS – Brittany Ferry - Eurotunnel – PO Ferries

Book a cheap ferry crossing

Travel and sailing news

Latest ferry news (PO Ferries sailing information) – Latest ferry news

Latest ferry news (DFDS) – www.dfdsseaways.co.uk

– Follow Twitter for the latest information! We find more and more companies are using Twitter to give out the latest news about sailings.

Fastest way to cross the channel: Eurotunnel to Calais (35 minutes).

Lowest cost operator: DFDS (ex Norfolkline).

Best for Belgium: Transeuropa, PO Ferries

Best for Brittany: Brittany Ferries to Roscoff (from Plymouth) or Saint Malo (from Portsmouth).

Best for Spain: Brittany Ferries to Santander.

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FAQ; How do I get the best price?

• A. Avoid travelling at weekends and, if you can't, be prepared to travel either very early or very late.
• B. Travel after midnight and before 6.00am.
• C. Sailings from Dover are generally cheaper in the afternoon, and from Calais in the morning. If you are planning on travelling during a school holiday, try and book well in advance when an offer is available.
• D. Short breaks for a specific period are often good value, particularly on longer crossings.
• E. The "OFFER" link is there for a reason, always check it out before booking a fare. There may well be an offer which suits your needs.

More than 10 of you? Contact the companies direct for better rates.

Good news More and more people are returning to using ferries. The market grew 5.6% in the year to September 2007.

Compare prices on-line. www.aferry.co.uk

Pre-order £150 worth of wine online, and get a £10 discount!

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Why take the ferry?

1. Ferry travel is cheaper than flying. A family of four can travel across the channel cheaply as the fare is per car, not per passenger.
2. No extra costs. Booking a ferry is straightforward, there is no list of "extras" which must be added onto the quoted fare.
3. No luggage restrictions, no excess charges, bring on board as much as you want.
4. Security. Brief and only for randomly selected cars. Take liquids and your nail scissors.
5. Don't be cramped, or have to walk miles to the plane. On a ferry, you have space to walk around, have a reasonably priced meal at a restaurant or cafe, enjoy a coffee or tea of your choice in comfort and/or shop at leisure.
6. Parking. Forget the expense of car parks or train fares involved when flying. Go by ferry and drive on, drive off.
7. Change your ticket for a reasonable fee.
8. Easy to book short breaks. You don't have to book months in advance on the ferries to enjoy a cheap short break.
9. First class doesn't cost a bomb (it simply isn't there on most budget airlines). For a small extra charge you can sit in comfort (PO Ferries Club Lounge, DFDS's First Class lounge, LD Lines Priority service).
10. Good situation. Calais and Dunkirk link in to all the main motorways.
11. Dress up. Forget about washing your underwear or making do with a T-shirt when travelling by plane. With no weight limits or space constraints, you can bring what you want to wear, not what fits in your (little) suitcase.
12. Shop till your drop, and don't worry about the excess charges for additional weight on your return journey.
13. Pets don't have to be left behind with all the additional cost that involves.

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To book online – click on logo

Ferry to Belgium

– Transeuropa sails to Ostende from Ramsgate.

– P and O Ferries sails to Zeebrugge from Hull.

– DFDS sails to Zeebrugge from Rosythe.

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Channel Islands ferry – Guernsey and Jersey

– Condor Ferries sails to the Channel Islands from Portsmouth, Weymouth (From February 2012 – Leaving from Poole until further notice) and Poole.

– Corsaire Ferries sails from Saint Malo to Jersey. Compagnie Corsaire ferries. www.compagniecorsaire.com

– Manche Iles Express Ferries, from Normandy to the Channel Islands. www.manche-iles-express.com

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Ferry to France

– Brittany Ferries sail to Caen from Portsmouth.

– P and O Ferries sail to Calais from Dover.

– DFDS Ferries sail to Calais from Dover.

– My Ferry Link. sail to Calais from Dover.

– Eurostar goes to Calais from Folkstone and St Pancras, London.

– Eurotunnel goes to Calais from Folkestone.

– Brittany Ferries sail to Cherbourg from Poole (route closed end summer 2011) and Portsmouth.

– Condor Ferries sail to Cherbourg from Poole and Portsmouth (Summer only).

– Irish Ferries sail to Cherbourg from Dublin and Rosslare.

– Celtic Link sail to Cherbourg from Dublin and Rosslare.

– Transmanche Ferries sail to Dieppe from Newhaven (LD Lines).

- Brittany Ferries sail from Portsmouth to Le Havre four days a week (new service from May 17th to September 8th 2013)

– DFDS Ferries sail to Dunkirk from Dover.

– LD Lines sail to Le Havre from Portsmouth, and in the summer, Newhaven.

– Brittany Ferries sail to Roscoff from Plymouth, Cork and Rosslare.

– Irish Ferries sail to Roscoff from Plymouth, Cork and Rosslare.

– Brittany Ferries sail to St. Malo from Plymouth and Portsmouth.

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Corsica ferry

– SNCM sails to Marseilles from Ajaccio.

– Corsica Ferries sails to Nice (Bastia).

– SNCM sails to Nice (Bastia).

– Corsica Ferries sails to Toulon (Bastia and Ajaccia).

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Ferry prices – Compare on all routes

By port of destination – Day-trippers click here

Take your car by ferry

Travelling by ferry does have enormous advantages. For example travelling by car ensures you won't be stung by the tight baggage restrictions synonymous with flying. You also pay for the car and not per person. Furthermore, when you return you can bring back an awful lot more if you have a car (and save a lot).

How to book a ferry ticket on-line

– Book direct with PO Ferries and get the benefit of on-line booking discounts!

– Aferry comparison site. www.aferry.co.uk

You can book a fare with these companies; Irish Ferries, P and O Irish Sea, Stena Line, and many more.

Wi-Fi (internet) on board

Slowly but surely the option to use the internet on board is starting to come about.

DFDS have wifi available in the business lounge and over much of their ships now.

PO Ferries have wifi on their new ships in Club Lounge. On the Hull – Zeebrugge route it must be paid for though.

Brittany Ferries also now has wifi on board.

Irish ferries introduced free wifi on all their ships in 2012.

At Calais port, wifi is available for a small charge. The ferry company websites are free to browse, although when we tried loo=king at the timetables we kept being referred back to the "pay for some time to use our wifi" page.

Added value – Priority loading & unloading, Club or VIP lounges

With fares so reasonable these days, it's worth paying the extra for speedier loading and unloading, or even the comfort of the Club (PO Ferries) or VIP (DFDS) lounges.

– DFDS have a www.dfdsseaways.co.uk

At £12 each way the price is very competitive as it includes priority loading. Tea, coffee and juices are self service, with a range of biscuits and fruit available. There is a lounge and a lounger area. The VIP lounge closes relatively early however – at 6.00pm. DFDS VIP Lounge / Priority loading service

– LD Lines. No priority or Club lounge service.

– P and O Ferries (Calais). www.poferries.com

PO Ferries Club Lounge has been popular for a long time. Very comfortable, with staff in close attendance and free coffee, tea, juice and newspapers available, not withstanding the lovely views from the panoramic windows, it is worth the £12 per passenger extra per single journey. Regulars may be a bit dismayed to know the wide range of newspapers has been reduced somewhat recently. Should you not want to leave the comfort of the large seats you can get a member of staff to shop for you. Langan's Brasserie is next door to Club Lounge on PO Ferries ships. Prioriy loading and unloading costs a bit more – the two combined costs £18 per single journey. The Club lounge on PO Ferry is open later – usually until about 8.30pm.

– MyFerryLink. Rapide priority service (£8 each leg). No club lounge. www.myferrylink.com

– Eurotunnel. You need to buy a flexiplus ticket to get anything extra such as priority loading. Prices start at (August 2012) £124 each way.

Travel and sailing news

- Road and traffic news -

BBC Travel News (ferries). www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Travel News (Eurotunnel). www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Travel News (Eurostar). www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Travel News (Kent). www.bbc.co.uk

Kent motorway web cams. www.bbc.co.uk

Southern Counties motorway webcams. www.bbc.co.uk

PO Ferries ferry news. www.poferries.com

Eurostar. Tel: 08705 186 186. www.eurostar.co.uk

Eurotunnel. Customer information line: 08000 969 992. www.eurotunnel.com

DFDS Seaways. For the latest sailings information regarding arrival and departures please call us on 0871 882 1777 (calls cost 8p per minute). www.dfds.co.uk

– Kent Police (Operation Stack). www.kent.police.uk

– Dover Port Authority. Weather / Dover Port news. www.doverport.co.uk

– Portsmouth Port Authority. www.portsmouth-port.co.uk

– Freight Transport Association. www.fta.co.uk

Ferry travel – Cross Channel Companies

if you are delayed for whatever reason ring the company you are travelling with and let them know.

If in France; Eurotunnel. Tel: 0321 00 61 00, P and O Ferries. Tel: 0321 46 04 40.

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Tides – find out when a low or high tide is where you are sailing from or going.

Easytide. easytide.ukho.gov.uk

Shom, a French site. www.shom.fr

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Speedferries users – offers for ticket holders.

2009 – These are now over, but we suggest you ring each cross channel company and ask what offers may be available for Speedferries ticket holders.

November 2008

Speedferries has not been sold, and all sailings are cancelled.

However the other cross channel companies do have some very good offers for Speedferries ticket holders.

Leading the way are LD Lines Ferries with this offer; SPECIAL OFFER on LD Lines and Transmanche Ferries for users of the Dover – Boulogne route. "Given the actual circumstances, a 75% discount on current fares (not valid on accommodation) will be given to customers upon presentation of a valid ticket booked on the Dover-Boulogne route (minimum £15 charge for 1 car + 2 passengers). For travel between now and December 17th, customers can turn up at ports (Portsmouth, Newhaven, Le Havre or Dieppe) without booking, minimum 1 hour before departure. The valid ticket will be requested in exchange of the special fare. For travel after December 17th 2008, please contact our call centre at 0800 917 1201 from United Kingdom or 0800 650 100 from France or please send a mail at: [email protected] to arrange for the bookings (new bookings only). Offer subject to availability, valid for travel until June 30 2009 (to be booked before January 31th 2009)."

P and O Ferries have a similar offer season ticket (from £27 each way) and have the spare capacity as well.

DFDS has announced a special 20% discount for affected SpeedFerries customers who are able to provide proof of an existing reservation. This offer is bookable until the 12th December for all departures in 2008 and 2009 subject to availability. Please note: you will be required to provide your SpeedFerries booking reference number at the time of booking and your SpeedFerries booking confirmation at check-in. This offer is only available via our Contact Centre; to take advantage of the offer please call 0844 499 0825 or 0044 208 1278311 (from outside the United Kingdom).

Useful Outside links

– NorthernFrance. Great site for visitors to the North of France (buy the book). www.northernfrance-within90minutesofcalais.co.uk