<\/span><\/h2>\nHere\u2019s our guide to the cheapest ways to get to France with your caravan, and a few of the pitfalls to watch out for.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Do your homework<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nBoring and frustrating it may be, but putting in the research before your trip can save oodles of cash and spare you grinding hours of motorway driving. You can check route times and costs at viamichelin.co.uk, which allows you to plot a route without the dreaded tolls. As a rough guide, it\u2019s about \u00a3250 each way from London to Marseille via Calais with tolls. You can use comparison websites such as Direct Ferries, Compare Ferries and Ferrysavers to find the cheapest fares on your chosen route. And don\u2019t rule out the Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais: it has a reputation for being expensive, but it\u2019s faster than the ferry, and it takes less time to get in and out of the port.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBefore trying to save money, make sure you\u2019re won\u2019t be liable for a fine or for costly medical assistance. Whatever the outcome of trade talks with the EU, there will be new regulations and requirements for Britons travelling to EU countries. You must have at least six months left on your passport when you travel, you\u2019ll need private insurance for healthcare and you might need an International Driving Permit or green card. If you\u2019re taking the dog, the pet passport will no longer be valid, so contact your vet four months before you travel to make sure you\u2019ve followed the rules. For full details of all these issues, visit gov.uk\/visit-europe-1-january-2021.<\/span><\/p>\nDrivers in France are required to carry high-vis jackets and warning triangles, fit headlamp beam detectors and have a GB sign on the back of the car. For a comprehensive guide to driving in France, visit autoexpress.co.uk\/car-news\/driving-abroad\/92245\/driving-in-france-top-tips.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Choose the right port<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nDover<\/b> to Calais or Dunkirk is the most popular option, as it\u2019s the shortest crossing, but that can mean extra time in the car on both sides of the Channel, not to mention potential queues at the port. It\u2019s a 10-hour drive from Calais to Marseille.<\/span><\/p>\nIf you live in the southeast or Midlands and want to travel to the south of France or Normandy, consider <\/span>Newhaven<\/b> to Dieppe, which takes four hours. <\/span>Portsmouth<\/b> is great for Normandy, Brittany and southwest France, with services to Le Havre, Caen, Cherbourg and St Malo.<\/span><\/p>\nAnyone travelling from the southwest or Wales should look at <\/span>Poole<\/b>, for Cherbourg and St Malo, <\/span>Weymouth<\/b>, for St Malo, and <\/span>Plymouth<\/b>, which has services to Roscoff, for Brittany and the southwest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Don\u2019t sail to France<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nSeveral ferry operators offer services to the Netherlands and Spain, which could be cheaper and more convenient for anyone who doesn\u2019t live in the southeast – and offers the chance to combine your French holiday with a city break in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bilbao or foodie San Sebastian. Some of these journeys are overnight crossings, so you\u2019ll be able to get some kip in a cabin ahead of an early drive to your destination.<\/span><\/p>\nIf you\u2019re travelling from the east of England, the Midlands, the north or Scotland, heading to Holland makes more sense than playing sardines at Dover. There are services from <\/span>Harwich<\/b>, in Essex, to the Hook of Holland; from there, it\u2019s a 12-hour drive to Marseille, so not much more than from Calais. And if you\u2019re heading to Alsace or the Vosges mountains, the journey time is pretty much the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSadly, the long-established service from Hull to Zeebrugge has been cancelled, probably for good, but <\/span>Hull<\/b> to Rotterdam and <\/span>Newcastle<\/b> to Amsterdam are great options for anyone travelling from the north or Scotland. Again, it\u2019s a 12-hour drive to Marseille from either port.<\/span><\/p>\nIf you\u2019re heading to southwest France – Bordeaux, Toulouse, Biarritz, the Pyrenees or Languedoc-Roussillon – an overnight crossing to Spain is worth considering. You can sail there from <\/span>Portsmouth<\/b> or <\/span>Plymouth<\/b>, making this a particularly good option for travellers from the southwest. It\u2019s a five-hour drive from Plymouth to Dover on a good day, and driving from Calais to Bordeaux takes 8\u00bd hours, but Bilbao to Bordeaux is a breezy 3\u00bd-hour trip. And you can enjoy cruise-style facilities onboard, unless you book a low-cost \u201ceconomie\u201d sailing from Portsmouth to Bilbao with Brittany Ferries.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Be flexible about timing<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nFerry companies use dynamic pricing, so the cheapest fares go early. Check the ferry companies\u2019 websites and price comparison sites from late summer the year before you plan to travel. If you\u2019re travelling from Dover, weekdays are cheaper than weekends and afternoons are less busy than mornings – but book a morning ferry back from Calais or Dunkirk. Perhaps unsurprisingly, sailings between midnight and 6 am are the least popular, so there are bargains to be had if you\u2019re prepared to drive in the dead of night.<\/span><\/p>\nIf you live near a UK port and want to visit Paris, Lille, Normandy or Brittany, check out the ferry companies\u2019 short-break deals – trips lasting up to five days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Shop your way to a saving<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nIf you\u2019re booking with P&O, Stena Line or Eurotunnel, getting a Tesco Clubcard could be an easy win – not least because you\u2019ll get discounts every time you shop. Download the app onto your phone and you can save \u00a33 off the price of a ferry or Eurotunnel ticket for every \u00a31 voucher you cash, getting a discount of up to \u00a3210 off a Dover-Calais return. Discounts aren\u2019t available on all routes, and there are restrictions on when you can sail: read the small print at secure.tesco.com\/clubcard\/browse\/travel\/4294967286.cat?pageNo=1.<\/span><\/p>\nIf you\u2019re sailing from Dover, Newcastle or Newhaven, DFDS has a partnership with Nectar, so you get two points per \u00a31 you spend with the ferry line online. Find out more at dfds.com\/en-gb\/passenger-ferries\/nectar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Join a club<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nThe Caravan and Motorhome Club and the Camping and Caravanning Club both offer a range of discounts on ferry sailings with P&O, Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Stena Line, as well as Eurotunnel savings – terms vary from route to route, but reckon on 10% off. Membership starts at \u00a354 a year for the Caravan and Motorhome Club and \u00a341 a year for the Camping and Caravanning Club, which allows non-members to access its discounts for a \u00a320 booking fee.<\/span><\/p>\nThe four ferry companies listed above and Eurotunnel offer a variety of discounts for frequent travellers or members of their loyalty schemes, so check their websites for details before you book. You can\u2019t use Avios points to book a ferry, but there are discounts available through other organisations, including the AA and the RAC. If you\u2019ve signed up to any annual membership scheme, have a look at the website to see if there\u2019s a special offer.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Caravanning is a great – and wallet-friendly – way to soak up the sights and atmosphere in one of our favourite holiday destinations, but getting to France in the first place can be an expensive business. Ferry companies use airline-style dynamic pricing, so if you don\u2019t book well ahead, you won\u2019t be getting the bargain <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":6694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Cheapest ways to get to France With Your Caravan - Caravan Helper<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n