I've just booked an easter break to Saint Malo. I wanted to leave on easter Sunday and trawled through the various ferry companies. We only wanted foot passengers from portsmouth or weymouth but we were quoted by Condor Ferries £185 return! I think that's disgusting, considering that's a 5 year old included in the price. I ended up booking with Ryanair with return flights to Dinard for £135. it seems like the ferry companies aren't the cheap options they once were!
I suppose it does depend on if you want to take your car with you but as Alsa says hire one the other end, I bet it's the same price plus a shorter journey.
Laurence

I'm not making excuses, but for a ferry company the infrastructure required to load foot passengers (and hence the cost to the customer) often exceeds that of motorised vehicles, certainly when compared to the potential revenue. This is why you'll find an increasing number of newer operators not carrying foot passengers (vis transeuropa, speedferries, norfolkline). Those that still carry them largely do so as a carry over from the days of Duty Free when on-board sales were a big part of the profit margin

I'm sure your right ramsgate. In the past i don't remember paying that much. I went with condor ferries a few years ago, as premium cabin members and that was only about £130. Prices seem to have really shot up. I suppose the low cost airlines are picking up the foot passengar trade. It suits me better really, as i'm not the best of sailors
Laurence

have a good flight!

for the record, if you look at the foot passenger fares, you'll often find it cheaper to take your car if you are a family

Thank you for bring the Ramsgate/Ostend route to my notice. I travel frequently between France and the UK, and will continue to do so. I would just suggest your company spends a bit more of its budget on publicity, as I hadn't heard of it before. Won't be long before I try it I expect! Do you have a website? Thanks

we spend very little on publicity because we're primarily (98%) freight and it's an unnecessary cost in that market. For passengers, we pick up business almost entirely by word of mouth since we run a very efficient (read low cost) operation

2 websites:
corporate http://www.transeuropaferries.com
uk info only http://www.transeuropaferries.co.uk

hope to see you on board soon!

ps Alsacienne, interesting arguement you've had about day trips - check our pricing policy

for those who try this, and I can understand why you would, check the small print in the contract you take with the ferry operator when you pay - you've agreed that they can charge the full fare to your card (which is why you'll find it harder and harder to pay by anything other than card for these tickets)

I know this is a mess

I am a Caravanner and holiday in France BUT I go late August and use Camping Cheques

So using this I book with them so getting seven nights FREE camping

this year it has cost us

£340 for 17 nights and a Tunnel crossing for the Car +Caravan and 2 adults

the Tunnel price for this would have been £480 alone

The ferries were offering less discount November last year so I'm going under instead of over for the first time

Gray
The Madcaravanner from Chesterfield

My family travel to our holiday home in Normandy regularly. The travel situation has changed radically over the last year...just wondering if anyone understands why?
The summer routes are always packed, even out of season can be sometimes. Also the freight must bring in a fortune. We've been owners abroad with both Brittany ferries & PO. Now PO have pulled out of their route to Caen.......why?.....will Brittany now make a fortune? How will this affect us travellers?

Another site I use has info that Brittany are now restricting pet travel to only 6 cars per crossing....the end of last minute crossings?

(Anyone got any thoughts about the failed ryanair route into Caen? pm me rather than divert this thread, if you like).

Just trying to understand what is going on!

Best wishes
Annie22

Travelled with Transeurope ferries (Ostend-Ramsgate-Ostend) last month.
Very cheap: car + driver + 3 passengers = 62 Euro return !

However, cars are clearly a side issue and it is all a bit extemperair(sp).
The boat to Ramsgate was awful: no heating in main area, stank of diesel, virtually no services, no one spoke a west european language, virtually no passengers(!), no announcement (no "join your cars"), and late leaving/arriving. Decor: like being in Warsaw in 1960, I imagine.
But it was cheap. . .

Coming back was a better experience: much better boat, on time (well, within limits), plenty of room (few passengers - the truckers always disappear to their "private area"), loading/offloading very quick.
However the boats seem to go very slowly: 4 hours (to save fuel?).

So, when conditions are right and you have time, it is a cheap way to do it.

Member Ramsgateostend: why televisions everywhere?
Topaz

PS: The company is registered in Slovania (or somewhere similar) and the first boat was registered in Cyprus - that probably explains a bit.

Try the website aferry.to
or LD Lines who are running a ferry from Portsmouth to Le havre ?

£63 return for 2 adults and a car in may is preety good value !

I usually find http://www.Speedferries.co.uk from Dover to Boulogne the cheapest and quickest (other than the tunnel) I paid £50 for a normal return ticket for car and up to 6passengers for next week. I also saw on their website last week that they were offering returns for £38 during May.

has anyone experience of using 'promotion codes' to get lower prices for ferry trips to france when booking online ?