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

Safrongirl

Hi All,
Just found this thread.

Have been travelling to France this past 6 years on holiday - first year we stayed with Siblu in a mobile home and since then we have brought our own tent and camp . Usually head to Vendee or Loire region

We usually travel with IF but the price this year is through the roof - usually save my Tesco vouchers but have never availed of the discount plus the vouchers ?

My price this year for car , trailer, 2 adults , 4 children , 2 star 4 bed cabin with window is a wopping E1727 - totally crazy
Will hang in till October and wait for discount or if not it may be time to say goodbye to the ferry and look at Ryanair

Quazzie

Safrongirl wrote: »

Hi All,
Just found this thread.

Have been travelling to France this past 6 years on holiday - first year we stayed with Siblu in a mobile home and since then we have brought our own tent and camp . Usually head to Vendee or Loire region

We usually travel with IF but the price this year is through the roof - usually save my Tesco vouchers but have never availed of the discount plus the vouchers ?

My price this year for car , trailer, 2 adults , 4 children , 2 star 4 bed cabin with window is a wopping E1727 - totally crazy
Will hang in till October and wait for discount or if not it may be time to say goodbye to the ferry and look at Ryanair

Why not landbridge it?

Juggler101

Safrongirl wrote: »

Hi All,
Just found this thread.

Have been travelling to France this past 6 years on holiday - first year we stayed with Siblu in a mobile home and since then we have brought our own tent and camp . Usually head to Vendee or Loire region

We usually travel with IF but the price this year is through the roof - usually save my Tesco vouchers but have never availed of the discount plus the vouchers ?

My price this year for car , trailer, 2 adults , 4 children , 2 star 4 bed cabin with window is a wopping E1727 - totally crazy
Will hang in till October and wait for discount or if not it may be time to say goodbye to the ferry and look at Ryanair

Yeah, much more expensive this year, even with discount. Considering doing a different holiday myself :-(

54and56

Safrongirl wrote: »

Hi All,
Just found this thread.

Have been travelling to France this past 6 years on holiday - first year we stayed with Siblu in a mobile home and since then we have brought our own tent and camp . Usually head to Vendee or Loire region

We usually travel with IF but the price this year is through the roof - usually save my Tesco vouchers but have never availed of the discount plus the vouchers ?

My price this year for car , trailer, 2 adults , 4 children , 2 star 4 bed cabin with window is a wopping E1727 - totally crazy
Will hang in till October and wait for discount or if not it may be time to say goodbye to the ferry and look at Ryanair

Safrongirl,

What dates are you travelling and what size/type of car? €1,727 seems very high. Are you flexible in terms of ports i.e. can you depart Rosslare or Cork? Similarly, are you OK arriving and returning from Roscoff or Cherbourg? Are you flexible in terms of ferry operator i.e. will you travel with Stena if it's cheaper?

I'm travelling with a 4X4 in mid July back the bank holiday weekend in August with 2 adults and 2 kids in a 2* 4 berth outside cabin and I'm paying less than €1,100.

Given the variables you listed above I can only guess the trailer is somehow the cause of the high fare but that's pure speculation.

vicwatson

webpal wrote: »

For anyone travelling to Rosslare between now and 23rd September, there are roadworks on the N25 after the Rosslare road roundabout just outside Wexford town which involve a stop go system. Probably a good idea to leave yourself some extra time to get to the ferry. There are no other major routes around and unless you know the area, I would recommend you stick to the N25.

It won't be until the 23rd Sept now, was to be 8 weeks but they magically could all-of-a-sudden do it in 4 weeks !! Should be completed within 4 weeks from August 2nd

average_runner

Yeah the ferry prices are high. Its 200 higher this year for us for the same time as last year.

We are going to fly this year. Apparently aer lingus have a good sale around November where you will get your flights for 2 adults and 2 kids for 600-750 euro!!! And we just rent a car for two weeks, around 600 for that.


Also siblu were quoting us almost 2,000 for a 3 bed mobile home with air con for first two weeks of july. Went thru a private operator and got the a 3 bed mobile home with air con and the same standard for 1400!


There is savings to be made.

tinimc

Hi average-runner,

Did this price include the fun passes also, if it did thats a great saving. Also if you go through the SIBLU site you can get 10% discount on Brittany Ferries if it suited your travel plans. Can i ask who the private operator was, is it a private owner you mean?

SusanC10

If we weren't doing Landbridge and were going straight to France for 2017, IF for our dates - depart 3rd week in June and return mid-July - would be €1,635 for 2 Adults, 2 Kids, Car and 2-Star 4-Berth Cabin with Window. Compared to approx €1,050 for 2016.

average_runner

tinimc wrote: »

Hi average-runner,

Did this price include the fun passes also, if it did thats a great saving. Also if you go through the SIBLU site you can get 10% discount on Brittany Ferries if it suited your travel plans. Can i ask who the private operator was, is it a private owner you mean?

Hi,

It included two adult passes, will buy the kids ones but they come at a discount she said.
Not mad on Brittany ferries times, plus we like to try something new, so going with the flying. Will sail the next time the wine stock needs reloading

Link is www.mobilhomes17.fr

54and56

Safrongirl wrote: »

Hi All,
Just found this thread.

Have been travelling to France this past 6 years on holiday - first year we stayed with Siblu in a mobile home and since then we have brought our own tent and camp . Usually head to Vendee or Loire region

We usually travel with IF but the price this year is through the roof - usually save my Tesco vouchers but have never availed of the discount plus the vouchers ?

My price this year for car , trailer, 2 adults , 4 children , 2 star 4 bed cabin with window is a wopping E1727 - totally crazy
Will hang in till October and wait for discount or if not it may be time to say goodbye to the ferry and look at Ryanair

Just checked IF and Stena for your exact details (2 adults, 4 kids, car, trailer, roofbox and a two star 4 berth cabin each way) for what I would estimate are some of the busiest/highest demand dates for a two week holiday i.e. departing July 22nd 2017 returning Sunday August 6th (crappy schedules for Sat to Sat turnarounds) and I found the following:-

Irish Ferries - Using discount code "FRISA16" and it's coming in at €1,362





Stena - Using discount code "FRANCE10" and it's coming in at €1,085



For some reason Brittany are only showing one sailing at the end of August next year, might be a problem with their system at the moment or my browser!

I'm going out similar dates in July/Aug next year with a similar requirement (in a 4X4 with only 2 kids but no trailer) on IF and back Brittany on the exact dates I want to facilitate a Saturday check-in for €1,137.

Bottom line is if you're prepared to mix and match ferry operators, departure and arrival ports e.g. go out with Stena from Rosslare to Cherbourg and back IF from Roscoff to Rosslare you can get the best itinerary for your requirement and/or the lowest price.

santry

Jumping onto this thread. We have done the Ferry for the last 3 years and have gone to campsites in Royan and The Vendee which we really enjoyed. Next year we want to do something different and are intending to fly. Italy was our first thought and apart from Bella Italia, this one was what I was looking at :

http://www.eurocamp.ie/campsites/tuscanycentralitalyelba/in017-norcenni-girasole-club/ataglance.html

I was also thinking of Southern France and was looking at :

http://www.eurocamp.ie/campsites/roussillon/wm011-la-sirene/ataglance.html

Has anyone been to either and recommend or not recommend. 4 kids (14,13, 10 and 8), no interest in camps, kids just want a really good pool and slides, and boys just want to hang out with kids their own age who play football (teenagers) ?? Also, if anyone could recommend anywhere else, that would be great. There doesn't have to be many Irish there, preferably not actually, ran into someone from the schoolyard at the campsite this year. My head is wrecked looking at places.

Also, anyone have any idea when Ryanair and Aer Lingus release their schedules for next summer ???

Thanks for any advice.

Munsterbhoy

santry wrote: »

Jumping onto this thread. We have done the Ferry for the last 3 years and have gone to campsites in Royan and The Vendee which we really enjoyed. Next year we want to do something different and are intending to fly. Italy was our first thought and apart from Bella Italia, this one was what I was looking at :

http://www.eurocamp.ie/campsites/tuscanycentralitalyelba/in017-norcenni-girasole-club/ataglance.html

I was also thinking of Southern France and was looking at :

http://www.eurocamp.ie/campsites/roussillon/wm011-la-sirene/ataglance.html

Has anyone been to either and recommend or not recommend. 4 kids (14,13, 10 and 8), no interest in camps, kids just want a really good pool and slides, and boys just want to hang out with kids their own age who play football (teenagers) ?? Also, if anyone could recommend anywhere else, that would be great. There doesn't have to be many Irish there, preferably not actually, ran into someone from the schoolyard at the campsite this year. My head is wrecked looking at places.

Also, anyone have any idea when Ryanair and Aer Lingus release their schedules for next summer ???

Thanks for any advice.

Hi, we were in la sirene in June and are going back again next year and in 9 yrs going to France we've never gone to the same place twice. We absoulely loved it there, our kids 12 /9 had a ball. The pool complex is the largest in Europe on a campsite and there is football tournaments in the sister site across the road (hippocamp). You fly into perpignan with aer lingus from dublin and flights for nx summer are available now. Other airports within a couple of hours are Carcassonne ,girona or Barcelona. Lifestyle holidays have nice mobiles and are better value that Eurocamp.

santry

Thank you. For some reason I keep looking at La Sirene, so thanks for the quick reply.

Stone Deaf 4evr

santry wrote: »

Thank you. For some reason I keep looking at La Sirene, so thanks for the quick reply.

I wrote up a review of my visit to la sirene this year

you can find it here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=100391897&postcount=954

gerfmurphy

I think if you use the FRACL1 it may give a discount the FRISA16 does not appear to give me a discount

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Just checked IF and Stena for your exact details (2 adults, 4 kids, car, trailer, roofbox and a two star 4 berth cabin each way) for what I would estimate are some of the busiest/highest demand dates for a two week holiday i.e. departing July 22nd 2017 returning Sunday August 6th (crappy schedules for Sat to Sat turnarounds) and I found the following:-

Irish Ferries - Using discount code "FRISA16" and it's coming in at €1,362





Stena - Using discount code "FRANCE10" and it's coming in at €1,085



For some reason Brittany are only showing one sailing at the end of August next year, might be a problem with their system at the moment or my browser!

I'm going out similar dates in July/Aug next year with a similar requirement (in a 4X4 with only 2 kids but no trailer) on IF and back Brittany on the exact dates I want to facilitate a Saturday check-in for €1,137.

Bottom line is if you're prepared to mix and match ferry operators, departure and arrival ports e.g. go out with Stena from Rosslare to Cherbourg and back IF from Roscoff to Rosslare you can get the best itinerary for your requirement and/or the lowest price.

Safrongirl

Oh I really dont mind what ferry I go on - we used to travel on Celtic Link - I think its the same boat Stena use now ? And as long as we get these I dont mind

I love the ferry and our own tent camping so going to sit tight till some discount codes are released .

54and56

Safrongirl wrote: »

Oh I really dont mind what ferry I go on - we used to travel on Celtic Link - I think its the same boat Stena use now ? And as long as we get these I dont mind

I love the ferry and our own tent camping so going to sit tight till some discount codes are released .

The discount codes are already released for IF and Stena and IIRC Brittany don't usually issue discount codes.

The discount code for Irish Ferries is either "FRACL1" or "FRISA16"

The discount code for Stena is "FRANCE10".

Good hunting!!

SusanC10

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

The discount codes are already released for IF and Stena and IIRC Brittany don't usually issue discount codes.

The discount code for Irish Ferries is either "FRACL1" or "FRISA16"

The discount code for Stena is "FRANCE10".

Good hunting!!

I have yet to book our Ferry and am wondering whether to just book now or wait.

We use the Tesco tokens (will have significant number) and want to return from France only with IF in mid-July.

Last year I booked on the phone and used the Discount and paid €100 with Credit Card and then used Tesco Tokens for the balance up to 6 weeks before Sailing.

This time around I have phoned twice and have been told both times that the Discount and the Tesco Tokens cannot be used together. I have mentioned that a Friend has been able to do this on the phone but to no avail.

What to do ??

Juggler101

SusanC10 wrote: »

I have yet to book our Ferry and am wondering whether to just book now or wait.

We use the Tesco tokens (will have significant number) and want to return from France only with IF in mid-July.

Last year I booked on the phone and used the Discount and paid €100 with Credit Card and then used Tesco Tokens for the balance up to 6 weeks before Sailing.

This time around I have phoned twice and have been told both times that the Discount and the Tesco Tokens cannot be used together. I have mentioned that a Friend has been able to do this on the phone but to no avail.

What to do ??

That's so frustrating, why are they letting some people do it and others not?!

Juggler101

What's the Stena Horizon ferry like compared to Irish Ferries Oscar Wilde? Finally found a good deal with Stena for June (will have to take kids out of school...). The Oscar Wilde was great, with entertainers, play area, lots of restaurants.. How does the Horizon compare?

54and56

SusanC10 wrote: »

This time around I have phoned twice and have been told both times that the Discount and the Tesco Tokens cannot be used together. I have mentioned that a Friend has been able to do this on the phone but to no avail.

What to do ??

If you look at the screen grab I posted yesterday I used the discount code on IF and when I got to the payment phase it quoted me the €1,362 with a number of payment option logo's underneath one of which is Tesco.

IIWY I'd go ahead and book online using the discount code, grab a screenshot showing Tesco as a payment option, pay the €100 deposit and then when the time comes to pay the balance fire in your tokens. If you get any pushback send them a copy of the screenshot and tell them you relied on the the fact the payment options they presented you on checkout would be available and they can't now retrospectively and unilaterally change that

54and56

Juggler101 wrote: »

What's the Stena Horizon ferry like compared to Irish Ferries Oscar Wilde? Finally found a good deal with Stena for June (will have to take kids out of school...). The Oscar Wilde was great, with entertainers, play area, lots of restaurants.. How does the Horizon compare?

It doesn't compare. It's a smaller boat which doesn't have a selection of restaurants or bars and it doesn't have a stage show etc.

Having said that the one bar it has is fine, the one cafeteria it has is fine (reasonable food at reasonable cost) and the beds in the cabins are actually bigger and more comfortable than the Oscar Wilde in my opinion.

Depending on the age of your kids and time of sailing you can entertain them with board/card games, reading and watching movies etc on tablets/laptops.

If your kids are very young (say under 6) then you/they might miss the organised entertainment and play area etc on the Oscar Wilde but older than they I don't think they'll miss out much.

I'm happy to sail on any of the current ferry's and make my choice based on preferred sailing dates/times and price.

Safrongirl

had another look at IF and price drops right down again for last 2 weeks in August - E1042 so thats a much better price so think I might book shortly

SusanC10

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

If you look at the screen grab I posted yesterday I used the discount code on IF and when I got to the payment phase it quoted me the €1,362 with a number of payment option logo's underneath one of which is Tesco.

IIWY I'd go ahead and book online using the discount code, grab a screenshot showing Tesco as a payment option, pay the €100 deposit and then when the time comes to pay the balance fire in your tokens. If you get any pushback send them a copy of the screenshot and tell them you relied on the the fact the payment options they presented you on checkout would be available and they can't now retrospectively and unilaterally change that

Thanks Je suis Jean

You see my dilemma is that if using the Tesco Tokens - if you book online you need to send in all the tokens within 5 days of booking. However, if you are booking on the phone you have until 6 weeks before we sail to send them in which enables you to use all future tokens until that point. This is how I did it last year.

Anyway, I have decided to try once more tomorrow (as I have not given my name etc yet) and if the answer is No then will have to make a decision at the weekend:mad:

Safrongirl

SusanC10 wrote: »

Thanks Je suis Jean

You see my dilemma is that if using the Tesco Tokens - if you book online you need to send in all the tokens within 5 days of booking. However, if you are booking on the phone you have until 6 weeks before we sail to send them in which enables you to use all future tokens until that point. This is how I did it last year.

Anyway, I have decided to try once more tomorrow (as I have not given my name etc yet) and if the answer is No then will have to make a decision at the weekend:mad:

As its more expensive to book using the vouchers I usually book one way with the vouchers and then pay normal on the return journey or which ever way is best to use the vouchers but I have never got the discount and used the vouchers it was either one or the other - if you read their terms and conditions it states this.

SusanC10

Safrongirl wrote: »

As its more expensive to book using the vouchers I usually book one way with the vouchers and then pay normal on the return journey or which ever way is best to use the vouchers but I have never got the discount and used the vouchers it was either one or the other - if you read their terms and conditions it states this.

Yes I know but it worked for me last year and for others here this year (albeit only on the phone) so worth asking I think. Will have to make a call on it next week though as I don't fancy watching and waiting for ages.

Safrongirl

I know Susan - I am going to wait till the last vouchers of this year and then book I think they come out November ???

Foodie2

Hi Susan

I booked IF in early August. I paid 100 euro, got 15 percent discount which was nearly 400 euro off for us and sent in 500 euro in tokens the week after.
They said I have until 6 weeks before departure to send in the rest so that should include three more sets of vouchers.

I recommend e mailing them. Outline that you got the discount with Tesco tokens before ( if you did or even if you didn't !!). Tell them you know numerous people who have booked with Tesco and got then15 percent .

Ask them to explain why you are not allowed avail of same. They reply to mail very quickly.

You might just have better luck putting it in writing.

Foodie2

It's only 20 euro extra each leg to use Tesco Tokens.

jay0109

FYI re Tesco Cubcard....from October you'll only get 1 point per €8 spend outside of Tesco as oppossed to €2 currently.
Points remain the same when shopping in Tesco

That golden goose is sadly coming to an end