Ferries from UK to France

[Pauline]

My thought right now is that we will rent a car upon our arrival at Heathrow, spend a week or so in Oxford and the Cotswolds, take the car on the ferry across to Caen, spend 3-4days exploring that area, and then ferry back to Portsmouth and return the car to Heathrow before we fly home. I believe the ferry I was looking at left from Portsmouth...Brittany Ferries if I remember correctly. If you have a better idea than this, please tell me. I know there is a special form I have to get in order to take a rental car from the UK to France...not sure where I get that...the rental car company?

Quoting from a thread in the Travel Talk forum.

I did a lot of research into ferries from southern England to France. Last year we took Condor Ferries from Poole to St Malo. We could have taken Brittany Ferries from Poole to Cherburg, and in hindsight that is what we should have done. The Condor ferry is smaller and I felt sea-sick. The ride was longer (changing in the Channel Islands) too. I had hoped to spend longer on the ferry because I was nervous about driving a UK car in France. But the driving was easy.

Brittany Ferries is the main provider from Poole or Portsmouth to Cherbourg. www.brittany-ferries.co.uk From Portsmouth they also go to Caen which is closer to the Normandy Landings sites. Have a look at their website and see what prices are like for your dates. It is expensive. It cost us about £400 return for our trip.

The shorter crossings to Cherbourg go during the day, but leave early in the morning. If it is an 8am departure, you have to be there by 7am (an hour ahead) at the latest. Some crossings are overnight and you can rent cabins.

Another option is to cross from south-eastern England, from Kent, to Normandy (Dover to Dunkirk, Newhaven to Dieppe). These ferries are cheaper and shorter. Or take the Eurotunnel. That runs all day long and is cheaper. There are websites where you can book ferries from various companies. I use them to check out routes but then book directly on the ferry website. For example, https://www.directferries.co.uk/france.htm

In France, the WWI sites are in Picardy, closer to the Eurotunnel. The Normandy Landings sites are closer to Caen. Dieppe is inbetween.

I have info about the WWII sites in Normandy (Dieppe and Normandy Landings) on Slow Europe - Day Trips - Normandy.

If you go by car, you could cross Portsmouth to Caen, and return via the Eurotunnel.

Driving a UK car in France - you have to put stickers on your headlights to make them work for driving on the right (easy to do) and carry breathalizer kits (easy to find). These regulations change all the time, so look them up to see the current status. There should be a thread about this because I asked for help planning our trip last year.

 

[Pauline]

Thread - Driving a UK car in France.

 

[Andrew]

Are there benefits to paying to ferry a rental car instead of doing separate rentals on each side? Better rates for a long-term rental, and saving the hassle of starting new rentals?

 

[Pauline]

Are there benefits to paying to ferry a rental car instead of doing separate rentals on each side? Better rates for a long-term rental, and saving the hassle of starting new rentals?

I was thinking that too. You could drop off the car in the UK, train to Lille (or somewhere) and get a car there. It might be cheaper and you wouldn’t have to drive on the right with a drive on the left car.

 

[Mom83]

Thanks, Pauline and Andrew! I never thought about the issue of driving a UK car on French roads...that could be problematic. You both have given me good suggestions...I will continue my research and get back to you with questions.