Looking to organise some holiday in France or Europe? Unsure between taking the ferry or the Eurotunnel The Shuttle, this blog post might help you decide.
Cherchez vous à organiser des vacances au Royaume-Uni? Vous n’êtes pas sure entre prendre le ferry ou le tunnel sous la Manche The Shuttle, cet article pourra peut être vous aider à choisir.
We have been travelling to France from the North of England several times in the past couple of years. We used to take the plane from Manchester but since having a dog we decided to travel by car. Now that we have a baby and a dog we find it a lot easier and the advantage is that we can have more luggages and bring back some nice bottles of wine and food from France.
Nous avons voyagé plusieurs fois du Nord de l’Angleterre jusqu’en France ces dernières années. Avant nous voyagions en avion mais depuis que nous avons un chien nous avons décidé de voyager en voiture. Maintenant avec un bébé et un chien c’est beaucoup plus facile et nous pouvons prendre plus de bagages et ramener des bouteilles de vin et de la nourriture de France.
If you want to know all the requirements to travel with your dog please read this blog post.
Over the years we have tried both the ferry (Portsmouth to Cherbourg with Brittany Ferries as they have dog-friendly cabins) and the Eurotunnel The shuttle so I thought I will share with you our experience. Just as a note our experience is based on travelling from Cumbria (North of England) to Nantes (Pays de la Loire, France) with our son and dog. Depending on where you are travelling from / to and travelling with (children, pets) you might find that something will work for you better. Additionally, there are other ferry companies and ferry routes that might suit you better.
Pendant ces voyages, nous avons essayé le ferry (Portsmouth à Cherbourg avec Brittany Ferries car ils ont des cabines dog-friendly) et le tunnel sous la Manche Eurotunnel The Shuttle donc j’ai pensé que cela serait bien de partager avec vous notre expérience. Notre expérience est basé sur le trajet entre Cumbria (Nord de l’Angleterre) et Nantes (Pays de la Loire, France) avec notre fils et chien. En fonction de votre voyage (destination de départ / d’arrivé) et vos voyageurs (enfants, chiens) vous trouverez peut être qu’une option marche plus pour vous qu’une autre. Aussi il y a d’autres sociétés de ferries et d’autres lignes qui peuvent être mieux pour vous.
Ferry versus Eurotunnel United Kingdom – France
| Transport | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Ferry (Brittany ferries – Portsmouth to Cherbourg) | Can stay overnight on the ferry. Dog friendly cabins up to four with shower. Can move freely on the ferry that has restaurant, shop, play area for children and a dog area. Shorter driving time once in France and motorway from Cherbourg to Nantes is free. | Only one ferry per day. Need to wait in the car until taking the ferry which can be long especially if you have pets. Can be very expensive in summer months. Longer crossing time (Departure 23h Portsmouth – Arrival 8h Cherbourg and Departure 12h Cherbourg – Arrival 17h Portsmouth). No pets area at the ferry terminal (both sides) so you will need to stop somewhere before going to the terminal. Restaurant can be closed if you are taking the 23h ferry from Portsmouth. |
| Eurotunnel The Shuttle | Shorter crossing time (around 35 min). Crossing every 10 min. Can be cheaper than ferry especially during summer month. Great dog area on both sides on the tunnel. Great restaurants, shops, children area facilities on both sides. | Need to stay in the car during the crossing. No air conditioning in the train so it can be very hot as the cars need to stay off. Need to find a hotel room before/after the crossing to rest. Motorways from Calais to Nantes are expensive (£70 one way). Longer driving time from Calais to Nantes. |
Find all the information about the Eurotunnel The Shuttle on their website. And Brittany Ferries website here.
Ferry versus Eurotunnel – Our conclusion.
Is there a clear winner? For us NO, as both of them have advantages and disadvantages.
Est ce qu’il y a un gagnant? Pour nous NON, car les deux ont des avantages et des inconvénients.
On the English side, the drive to Folkestone or to Portsmouth from Cumbria is the same regarding time; however the A1 (to Folkestone) has a lot less services than M6 (to Portsmouth) so we struggled a little bit to find nice stopping places. The fact that the crossing can be done at anytime is a advantage of the Eurotunnel especially as if you arrive earlier than your booked time you can ask if you can take an earlier train (which we did). For dogs, the Eurotunnel terminal (both sides) is really great and also the short crossing time make it easier. However, the ferry is better to relax as it is possible to sleep and take a shower. If you take the Eurotunnel and have a long journey you will need to book an accommodation. On the French side, for us going to Matt’s parents, the driving is shorter from Cherbourg (ferry) than from Calais (Eurotunnel) and less expensive as the motorways in Brittany are free. Cost wise I think at the end it is very similar. Even though the crossing might be cheaper with the Eurotunnel, adding the price of a hotel room and motorways make it very similar.
Du côté anglais, le trajet jusqu’à Folkestone ou Portsmouth depuis Cumbria est pratiquement pareil en temps; mais l’autoroute A1 (en direction de Folkestone) a beaucoup moins de station services que la M6 (en direction de Portsmouth) donc nous avons eu un peu de mal à trouver des endroits sympas pour nous arrêter. Le fait que vous pouvez traverser à n’importe quelle heure de la journée et nuit avec l’Eurotunnel est définitivement un avantage surtout car si vous arrivez beaucoup plus tôt que votre horaire de passage réservé vous pouvez demander s’il est possible de prendre un autre train (ce que nous avons fait). Pour les chiens, le terminal de l’Eurotunnel (des deux côtés) est très bien et la traversée courte n’est pas stressante. Mais avec le ferry il est plus possible de se relaxer, de dormir et de prendre une douche. Si vous prenez l’Eurotunnel et avez un long voyage il vous faudra prendre une chambre d’hotel. Du côté français, pour aller chez les parents de Matt, le trajet est plus court depuis Cherbourg (ferry) que depuis Calais (Eurotunnel) et moins cher car les autoroutes de Bretagne sont gratuites. Au niveau du coût je pense qu’une fois tout additionné il n’y a pas beaucoup de différence. Car même si la traversée est moins cher avec l’Eurotunnel, il faudra ajouter le prix de l’hotel et de l’autoroute ce qui revient pratiquement au même.
Have you travel by Ferry or Eurotunnel? What is your experience?
Avez vous voyagé en Ferry ou avec l’Eurotunnel? Quelle est votre expérience?
Find all our adventures in France in this page. For our adventures in the United Kingdom it is here.
Our Lake District Escapades 
I like the tunnel for convenience- it was quite handy for us when we lived in Wiltshire- but found the ferry more relaxing. I haven’t tackled a long crossing with the dog yet, so might reconsider!
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I agree I also find the ferry more relaxing. Our dog is ok with both options.
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Thank you very much for compiling all this valuable information. It’s very thorough and thoughtful. I have taken the ferry from Portsmouth before but only the two of us and the car; no children or pets. Our experiences were fine; we didn’t take the tunnel because we wanted to be more leisurely. Cheers.
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Thank you Lynette for your feedback. You are right the ferry feels a bit more leisurely than the tunnel.
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Je n’ai pas pour le moment de projet de voyage mais je garde ton article en tête au cas où 🙂
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Merci j’espère que ça te donnera toutes les informations pour un futur voyage.
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We go from Nantes up to Northumberland via Calais and Dover. It works out cheaper than Britanny Ferries, and we spend a night in Dover before heading Up North! It’s cheaper than the shuttle, and only takes 90 minutes. We had a look at the alternatives, and it would still cost us more.
It’s true that we don’t come over with Molly, our dog, but the children are fine in the back of the car.
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Yes there are other ferry compagnies / lines that might be cheaper. Matt’s parents took the Caen-Newhaven before it is cheaper than the Cherbourg-Portsmouth but again they don’t bring their dog. If we didn’t have Skye with us, we would have more travel options but in a way I like having him with us when we travel as he is part of the family.
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Good info, I have done the eurotunnel to London piece of cake from Brittany France! Now looking at option to go by ferry to Dublin this year. Cheers
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It is very easy indeed to use the eurotunnel.
For Dublin you have a ferry from Roscoff or Cherbourg to Cork or Rosslare or Dublin with either Brittany Ferries, Irish Ferries & Stena Line. I haven’t tested them yet. It is on my travelling list.
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I have the info ready for end of year Thanks
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As we usually travel with two small children I would go for a ferry as I just don’t see that our little ones will be okay sitting in the back seat while the car sits stationary in a darkened train under the Channel. Over the last few years, we made dozens of ferry trips from Ireland to the UK and found them brilliant. Not only can kids burn off any excess energy they might have, but you can also fill up on food and drink. There are also entertainment options for both children and adults. I think it is amazing to have multiple options on how to reach mainland Europe, either by ferry, plane or using LeShuttle. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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I agree Aiva it is nice to have all the options to travel. I think the ferry is what I prefer too as it breaks the car journey.
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🥰🥰🥰
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Travelling by car is definitely the way to go with a baby! It’s crazy how much more stuff you need to bring for them. And yes, this way you have more space to bring back some nice bottles of wine!
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Oh yes, they need so much things 🤣 and I love bringing back food from my travelling (France or other countries) to share with friends and colleagues as well.
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Pour nous, pas vraiment de différence en terme de distance pour aller à Folkestone ou Dover prendre le ferry. Ce qui pèsera dans la balance sera le coût. Mais mon copain va très souvent aux Pays-Bas pour le travail et pour lui, c’est toujours l’Eurotunnel car comme il a beaucoup de route, il préfère faire au plus vite pour la traversée.
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Oui il faut bien regarder les différentes options car en fonction des compagnies et dates les prix changent.
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thanks for sharing this Mélodie, some good/interesting pointers. I’m hoping we might get across the channel one day now we have a van, so it’s interesting to see the advantages and disadvantages. My husband isn’t a fan of sea travel though so I think I might not have much choice on what we use 😅
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Eurotunnel is good for people who are not fan of sea travel and it is quicker. Hopefully you will be able to go to Europe with your van one day.
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Informatics writing
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Thanks 😊
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