France Ferry & Campsite info (use Search function) mod warning post 1

nice_guy80

manshay wrote: »

During Euro 2016 we flew to Geneva, hired a car and spent a very enjoyable 5 days in the Jura mountains at Yelloh Village Camping Fayolan, Clairvaux-les-Lacs. We didn't get a result in the football but really enjoyed the site.

If you fly into Geneva you can choose the Swiss or French side. If going to France it's cheaper to hire the car on the French side. You can get a hire car and never enter Switzerland if you choose the correct route! Don't go on the Swiss motorways without a toll sticker. (Bizarrely the first 250M of road after the French car hire desk seemingly within the airport is actually swiss, I found out to my cost when I got a speeding ticket 47km in a 30km zone. I thought it was a scam at first)

Thank you for the reply.

Seth Brundle

Ninesell wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I do think that site ticks a lot of boxes. The sites own accommodation is very reasonable but I might go for one with a kids club. They like to go sometimes... We will bring our own bikes.
Where did you stay in the Dordogne? We stayed in La Palombiere. The kids liked the pools there and Sarlat was lovely.

We stayed in various places close enough to Sarlat - stayed in La Palombiere two years ago (staycation in 2018) but may head back there in 2019 as it was a good campsite and like you say the kids love those pools.

Ninesell

The Dordogne is lovely. We enjoyed canoeing and visited Lascaux and a few others historical sites. It was very hot there last summer!
It’s too far for us this Summer as we will return to Disney with our Annual pass. I’m not sure where we will stay yet. I was looking at Le Caravaning des 4 Vents and Camping International de Jablines.
We stayed at La Croix du Vieux Pont before. While it’s a lovely site and I would really recommend the larger Lifestyle pitches, I think we can sacrifice facilities to be a bit closer to Paris and Disney.

mickydcork

Hi all
We're going to France this summer (3 x kids - 7, 5 and 1).
We travel in a camper van and always stay in campsites.
The last few years we have loved Ile De Ré but we're looking for a slight change this year (interested in other Islands maybe - Oleron or Belle Ile).
Priorities are that the campsite is within walking distance or a short-cycle to a prettyish town with options for restaurants etc.
Good cycle tracks nearby.
But the main priority is a good family friendly campsite with a good pool for the kids, playground and kids entertainment etc.
Any ideas?
PM me if want to share in private and I'll reciprocate.
TIA
Mick

josip

Just got an email with a 25% discount code from Stena.
I haven't been paying close attention to Stena prices recently.
Does anyone know if it's a genuine 25% or if prices were inflated before Christmas?

54and56

josip wrote: »

Just got an email with a 25% discount code from Stena.
I haven't been paying close attention to Stena prices recently.
Does anyone know if it's a genuine 25% or if prices were inflated before Christmas?

It's worth pricing but I got a similar offer pre Xmas which I compared against the bookings I'd already made in Oct and this was my response.

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Just ran the "30% Merrier Xmas" discount and it turned out to be literally €1 more expensive than the non discounted fare I booked a few weeks ago.

"30% Merrier Xmas" me ar$e :rolleyes:

Music Box

Just booked a crossing to Cherbourg in July on the WBY. Loads of cabins still available. Just wondering if anyone else has booked or travelled on this ship yet.

josip

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

It's worth pricing but I got a similar offer pre Xmas which I compared against the bookings I'd already made in Oct and this was my response.

Thanks, I've just checked and there aren't any cabins left on the outward end of June sailing so we'll probably go landbridge instead.

mrskinner

Did you try Irish Ferries?

billbond4

Any discount codes for Yelloh ?

average_runner

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

It's worth pricing but I got a similar offer pre Xmas which I compared against the bookings I'd already made in Oct and this was my response.

Same with Aer lingus, 50% off summer flights but the ones we booked last Oct were still cheaper by a 100 euro!!!!!!

josip

mrskinner wrote: »

Did you try Irish Ferries?

We're not interested in the current IF prices and only from Dublin.
With the €900 or so price difference compared to Landbridge, we can see something new in the UK/visit friends/queue at Folkestone and overnight in a nice hotel.
With the more frequent sailings, we can usually maximise our holiday time away more than with the less frequent direct to France sailings.

mrskinner

€900 ? Seems a lot! How did you arrive at this figure?

54and56

Music Box wrote: »

Just booked a crossing to Cherbourg in July on the WBY. Loads of cabins still available. Just wondering if anyone else has booked or travelled on this ship yet.

Have you been holidaying on the moon?

The WB Yeats has been fondly re-named the WB Lates due to the repeated delays with delivery which caused a $h1t load of stress and hassle for IF customers who had booked to travel on it LAST summer.

It's now in IF hands and should be an amazing upgrade on the Oscar Wilde but I'm not sure it's transported a paying passenger yet although open to correction on that!

josip

mrskinner wrote: »

€900 ? Seems a lot! How did you arrive at this figure?

In mid December posters on here said they'd booked at prices varying from €1400-€1600.
Landbridge costs €500-€570 depending on day of week.

First Up

josip wrote: »

In mid December posters on here said they'd booked at prices varying from €1400-€1600.
Landbridge costs €500-€570 depending on day of week.

Did you compare prices for the dates you have in mind?

josip

First Up wrote: »

Did you compare prices for the dates you have in mind?

Plugging in dates, I'm getting €1,472 - discount of €147.20 = €1,312 if we book now on WBY, end June to end Aug.
Landbridge - €528

So ok, €785 euro instead of €900.
Still not tempted to take the WBY

First Up

josip wrote:

Plugging in dates, I'm getting €1,472 - discount of €147.20 = €1,312 if we book now on WBY, end June to end Aug. Landbridge - €528

Does Landbridge cost include fuel and lodgings?

josip

First Up wrote: »

Does Landbridge cost include fuel and lodgings?

No, that's why I said in my original post that we had the difference to spend on a nice hotel.

First Up

josip wrote:

No, that's why I said in my original post that we had the difference to spend on a nice hotel.

Fair enough - was just wondering what the difference will end up at.

Peckham

Uncertainty around Brexit and what it could mean in terms of traffic and delays around UK ferry ports would make me reluctant to go that way in 2019. Likely it will be fine, but impossible to predict anything in relation to Brexit!

josip

First Up wrote: »

Fair enough - was just wondering what the difference will end up at.

Over the last 15 years, every year we do one of

• landbridge
• direct to France
• fly and car hire

Of all of these, the one I look forward to most is the ferry direct to France.
I love the feeling of when the ferry leaves port, heading south (not east) and you really feel that the holiday has begun.
Some of that is definitely nostalgia from when I was a kid and being brought to Rosslare after Our Lady's Island, to watch the French boat come in. All those exotic foreign cars and camper vans...

Some years we're ok with paying the price premium to go direct and especially this year with Brexit, we'd probably even pay a bit more.
But more than €500 more is almost certainly too much for us.
Plus, we'll do something fun in the UK on the way through so that it's not seen as a delay/overhead.

Quazzie

josip wrote: »

Over the last 15 years, every year we do one of

• landbridge
• direct to France
• fly and car hire

Of all of these, the one I look forward to most is the ferry direct to France.
I love the feeling of when the ferry leaves port, heading south (not east) and you really feel that the holiday has begun.
Some of that is definitely nostalgia from when I was a kid and being brought to Rosslare after Our Lady's Island, to watch the French boat come in. All those exotic foreign cars and camper vans...

Some years we're ok with paying the price premium to go direct and especially this year with Brexit, we'd probably even pay a bit more.
But more than €500 more is almost certainly too much for us.
Plus, we'll do something fun in the UK on the way through so that it's not seen as a delay/overhead.

The difference would easily pay for your family in a nice hotel for the night, all the fuel, and maybe a day out for the family in LegoLand or somewhere like that, which is a much nicer start to the holiday.

First Up

josip wrote:

Some years we're ok with paying the price premium to go direct and especially this year with Brexit, we'd probably even pay a bit more. But more than €500 more is almost certainly too much for us. Plus, we'll do something fun in the UK on the way through so that it's not seen as a delay/overhead.

Great if you can build in something worthwhile in the UK en route. I think you'd need that - I've done Holyhead to Kent and Plymouth back to Holyhead and found both an awful trek.

The ferry straight to France does me grand!

webpal

Is there any site similar to the likes of skyscanner that shows land bridge details or are you doing individual searches for each leg?

josip

webpal wrote: »

Is there any site similar to the likes of skyscanner that shows land bridge details or are you doing individual searches for each leg?

When I say Landbridge, I'm referring to Stena only.
Irish Ferries may have an equivalent, but we haven't used it.
Stena's Landbridge page is

https://www.stenaline.co.uk/europe-by-car/fares

The month selection is a bit wonky right now because of the year change it seems, but the pricing looks correct based on previous years.

First Up

josip wrote:

The month selection is a bit wonky right now because of the year change it seems, but the pricing looks correct based on previous years.

The post Brexit port situation will need to be clearer too.

josip

First Up wrote: »

The post Brexit port situation will need to be clearer too.

True and it is something we have to factor in.
However we're used to driving into and out of the EU by now and are aware of how bad things can get.
I pity the poor truckers though when I see them tailed back 4-5km on the hard shoulder.

First Up

josip wrote:

True and it is something we have to factor in. However we're used to driving into and out of the EU by now and are aware of how bad things can get. I pity the poor truckers though when I see them tailed back 4-5km on the hard shoulder.

Could be a lot worse than that and no guarantee private cars will be let jump those queues

54and56

First Up wrote: »

Could be a lot worse than that and no guarantee private cars will be let jump those queues

Have to agree with this. I'm not a fan of the land bridge having done it once (by accident ) on the way home but this is most definitely the one year that no amount of potential savings would tempt me to take a chance trying to get from the UK into France. It may all go smoothly but if it doesn't the net saving of €300-€400 after factoring in the extra fuel, hotel and day out etc could seem like a very small amount should there be a long delay or load of hassle.