UKC

I'm wondering if anyone has done any research into the costs and restrictions of the various cross-channel operators, especially flexibility for changing the date of return travel.

I'll be paying with Tesco Clubcard vouchers, which I believe are accepted by the tunnel, P&O, DFDS and Irish ferries.

I'll be travelling alone in a VW T5 campervan, length 5m, width 2m, height 2m.
I may also have a towbar bike rack which will increase the length by approx 1m.

I would also like to keep my return date open, or possibly book my return crossing while I'm away.

(I realise I can find all this out myself from the companies, but if anyone else has researched this it could save me a lot of time.)

I'm also aware of some entry requirements for France, which I've never heard of being checked, and I'm hoping never are. Is anyone else aware of these? They include the following:

"At French border control, you may need to:
- show proof of your accommodation
- show proof of your travel insurance
- show a return or onward ticket
- prove that you have enough money for your stay
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france/entry-requirements)"

- Eurotunnel used to be free to change dates.  Just recently they introduced £20 fee.

- I used to book There only and leave Return date till over there, when I knew.  When electronic entry/exit systems and ESTAs finally arrive, that won't be possible, and even now I am basically ensuring I book a return before I go over.

- French immigration and passport control are nice.  UK are often nasty on return.  Especially for outdoor type males in vans who have been there for a month or two.  This has got worse in last few years.  They treat you like a criminal, I guess expecting you must be trafficking drugs or weapons to fund your lifestyle.  Aggressive cop interrogation-like tactics, and van searches.  Don't smile or try to be nice as it seems to wind them up more.

- French have never grilled me/us on entrance, but sometimes at a random roadside Douane (customs) forced stop they will ask you for those kinds of details (where are you staying, how much money do you have..., what mountains have you climbed). 

- Take all vehicle paperwork, and have it on hand.  Especially for the UK Border Force grilling on return.

Thanks, that's really helpful to know, if a bit depressing. 

I have used Tesco Club card vouchers in the past and recall that they can only be used when booking in the UK ie you can't use them when in Europe to book your journey back. Best to book a return ticket and amend accordingly when you are away.

Just goes to show how different it can be, we have always had very pleasant interactions with UK customs and have sometimes had surly French customs, especially at the roadside.

Agree, Calais UK passport control have always been very courteous - the French third party security checks just after the leisurely stamping of passports less so.    

(Ferry cheaper than tunnel. You can leave return booking for when you're heading back. Use something like Ferrysavers to check times and prices, but book direct with operator.)     

Brittany Ferries / Condor Ferries stipulate that your passport needs to have been issued less than 10 years ago, and have 3 months left before it expires from your planned return date i.e. it must be less than 9yrs9months from date of issue.  I would expect those rules to be applied by all cross-channel operators. The passport issue thing is important, if you renewed your old passport with, say, a year left on it, that year would have been added to the new one's expiry date so it lasted 11 years.  Post-Brexit, the rules are 10 years from issue, so you can't use your '11 year' passport after 10 (or even 9.75?) years, even though it is within its expiry date.

I've never been asked about those other things entering France, but then again I don't look like a tramp and have always been on a return ticket. Germany have asked me what my purpose for travel was on multiple occasions.

PS> Make sure you book the length of your vehicle correctly, nothing worse than some twerp who doesn't and causes a holdup.

Thanks, I'm aware of the passport issues and that's not a problem.

Thanks for that reminder. I remember it was a bit of a faff using them for a ferry to Ireland in the past.

The 10 years validity requirement is an odd one. According to the gov.uk website it only applies to your arrival in the EU. Once you're there it's only the expiry date that's important.

Just remember that P&O sacked all their staff the other year to employ agency staff on poor pay and conditions.  I and many others have never used them since.  Your choice, but do you like to sleep at night? 

I didn't find it too much of a faff using Tesco Club card points considering you get 2 x their value which can give a very significant saving !

Do the other operators have a different staffing model?  

I have not heard anything as egregious as the P&O action. 

The EU stipulate that, the travel operators enforce it. It’s universal.

Irish Ferries?

We've never had any problems with customs, even when towing a large trailer full of stuff.  We got stopped going Italy with it once, and they even gave us the 'required answer' - 'roba personale' - personal stuff.  Been stopped by French customs on the last motorway toll heading towards Basel - they wanted to know where I'd started and where I was going.

The hardest thing to smuggle if non-compliant dog paperwork - they'll spend ages checking that for the two wagging loons in the back.

I was anti P&O but then they brought in dog lounges and they are great.  The ferries are practical and will squeeze you on when you arrive if they can.  The tunnel seems content to make you wait for hours.  Besides which, I like a leg stretch, some fresh air and a bacon roll.

As far as best open ticket goes - not sure, but deals seem to change frequently.

Thanks for all the suggestions above.

I've been researching the various options, particularly regarding flexibility of date/time and cancellation, and paying with Tesco Clubcard vouchers. So I thought I'd post the results for anyone else who might be interested in these.

DFDS charge an extra £50 each way for Flexi fares but they don't accept Tesco Clubcard vouchers.

Irish Ferries charge an extra £30 each way for Flexi fares. Tesco Clubcard vouchers are accepted, but limited to £85 on cross-Channel routes for each crossing, ie £170 return. (This limit does not apply on Irish routes)

P&O charge an extra £30 each way for Standard Flexi fares. (The explanation of their different fares is not very clear on the website, and I had to call them to find out that Fully Flexi offers few extra benefits for an addtional £45 surcharge.) However, Tesco Clubcard vouchers are only accepted on Standard Fares, not Flexi fares, so that's no use if you want some flexibility.

That's all very helpful, thanks for taking the time to update us all.

One thing to consider is that you don't have to take a flexi fare to be able to make a change, you can take the standard fare and pay a fee to change. Sometimes this fee is less than the difference between Standard and Flexi fare and its more relevant if you have a firm departure date but wish to change your return date.

I've been using the Newcastle to Ijmuiden crossing recently but back when I used the channel option, about 3 years ago, DFDS always seemed like the cheapest option.

I also found them to be really chill. Like if I arrived just too late, they would just automatically put me on the next ferry (I didn't have any kind of flexible ticket) and only charge me a bit more money if there was a price difference between my old ticket and the tickets available for that next crossing.

I was in a VW van too. And I wasn't doing these crossings at peak expensive times, always either in the winter or in the middle of the night.

If you're travelling on a UK passport, you will need to check out the new ETIAS thing.

I can't really comment on all that proof stuff because I don't travel on a UK passport any more (it's just too inconvenient) but with the volume of vehicles going through that ferry terminal, I'd think trying to get all this information for each person would create pretty lengthy delays. But I'll defer to others on a definitive answer.

In general, people seem to like to travel by ferry more than train.  (Even if traveling across from the Dover area.)

Just wondering why that is? -- since it takes so much longer.  Is it significantly cheaper or something?

Yes, I just booked a ferry for tomorrow and the tunnel was more than double the price.

Oh, wow!  Fair enough then.  I've always used the train so never explored that.

The ferry is also a more enjoyable experience, I think.

£103 versus £237. And I prefer the ship anyway.

Yes I've noticed that in the past and taken the standard fare. I'm not sure whether that is still always the case, but didn't look into it as Flexi includes cancellation, though if you pay with clubcard vouchers that may have to be a travel credit. Two year's ago we had a ferry to Ireland booked and had to cancel at short notice, but had no problem using the credit to rebook the following year.

Another change I've noticed, having not booked a channel cruising for several years, is that all three companies' prices seem very similar now, and the prices are very similar throughout the day. I seem to remember that in the past the late night and very early morning crossings were much cheaper, but are only a few quid different now.

Some of this is already covered.

• I think open returns cost a lot more.
• Smaller ports are faster to get through in my experience. Portsmouth to Caen, for example, while more expensive to sail compared to Folkestone to Calais, but we always get a cabin on overnight sailing which means we can drive for a full day on arrival. 
• Have you tried ChatGPT to find out the best economy?