How would you get back from Brittany?

[Be.jones]

we can't work out the best way to do this. Either ferry from Cherbourg/Le Havre/St Malo to Portsmouth then drive, or eurotunnel Calais to Folkestone. The ferries leave at such odd times in the way back but it is a long way to Calais from Brittany. We keep going backwards and forwards on this, so interested to see other people's preferences.

Oh, we also have an 18m old and 3.5 yr old so trying to compare day in a car w them vs snatching them back from the railings on Brittany ferries.

Thanks!

[simonethebeaver]

When are you planning to do it? We have driven to Calais fairly painlessly but it's like Cornwall - one road in and out - so any busy time becomes a bit hellish, especially at the tolls.

[henryb]

EuroTunnel is definitely the quickest and cheapest route - you could even take the Dover Calais ferry. Getting to Dover is very easy from around here - Portsmouth is harder. We went via Dover/Calais ferry two years ago with 18 month old and 4 year old. With the money we saved going that route we had a overnight stay in hotel in Rouen which was very nice.

Having said that Brittany Ferries are very pleasant if the weather is nice. It was the cost and the timings that swung it for us.

[Izodia]

We do regular trips to France to see my husband's family. We're big fans of the Eurotunnel. It is a little more expensive but it's much quicker. Firstly the loading and unloading is much quicker...drive on, train goes, drive straight off again. The crossing is about 30 mins which is just enough time for a snack, milk, nappy change, leg stretch etc.

Last summer we decided to try out the ferry with a 1 year old and 2.5 year old, thinking the older child might enjoy it. But the ferry was so large that he kept asking when we were going on the boat! On a busy ferry I found it a bit stressful with two small children darting everywhere.

[verds]

Have you got lots of stuff with you? If not, the flight to Dinard is only 50 minutes and then you could hire a car.

My parents have a house over there and we've worked out it takes the best part of a day no matter how you do it. They usually do the Dover/Calais ferry. You could break up the drive with a stop-off in a Formule 1 hotel - very cheap with family rooms. My favourite way is Eurostar to Paris, then a train out from Montparnasse (with an hour of shopping in Galleries Lafayette). I have never attempted the journey with children though!

[Be.jones]

That's really helpful, thank you! Calais seems so far east on the map we thought we were crazy considering it so it's good to hear it can be ok. Also good for tip in toll roads. Ta!

[kd11]

More info :

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[landsberger]

Consider taking the train as well - there are direct SNCF trains from Lille to Normandy and Brittany, often with a cross platform transfer from Eurostar (a mere one hour journey) at Lille, and kids can rampage up and down the the aisles much more so than in a car.

[DaveR]

Fly to Nantes (or Brest) and hire a car. Driving either way is (as confirmed above) a whole day, and not a short, relaxing or particularly cheap one. You can fly from Gatwick, the flight is less than an hour, you will be off the plane and in your hire car within 45 minutes or so of touching down, and you can get to anywhere in Brittany within a couple of hours max.

[Shaggy]

Been there, done that. Calais to St Malo is a nice, easy drive on good autoroutes and easily do-able in one day with a lunchtime stop at Honfleur. Go any further round than St Malo and you are on N roads which are a tougher drive. To be honest, wouldn't drive further than St Malo - Calais in one day.

We do it this way:

On the way out we get the Dover Calais ferry as cheaply as possible and stay overnight at the Ibis Budget in Coquelles for about 30 euros. Then we head off before eight the next morning and are on the beach in St Malo by early afternoon.

On the way back we are a little jaded, so we leave early and head to the Ibis in Calais stopping off for a few hours at Honfleur. The next morning we get an early, more expensive Eurotunnel and are home in ED for about one in the afternoon.

[Fuschia]

Getting the overnight ferry to brittany makes for a lot less driving, if eventual destination is a brittany (there is an economie ferry)

[Be.jones]

So Shaggy, you would drive Calais to St Malo in one day, but not East Dulwich to St Malo?

[sillywoman]

We go several times year to a place near to Avranches (South Normandy/SW corner of the Cherbourg peninsular). When the children were younger we used to take the ferry: Either Portsmouth/Cherbourg (if we were feeling flush), or Dover/ Calais if we weren't (much cheaper). We reckoned on 2 hours from London to the English coast (especially if we left early in the morning), then once on the ferry the kids could stretch their legs a bit, play in the play area, or whatever. Once in Calais it's 5 hours to Avranches, with a food break factored in (again - good for kids to stretch their legs. My aim was for them not to sit in the car for much longer than 2 hours at a time when they were little - otherwise we risked WW3 breaking out en-route!) Cherbourg is 2 1/2 hours to Avranches. St Malo is another 40 minutes drive from Avranches. Now they're older we take the eurotunnel - I don't like it as much because it's dull, and doesn't break the journey up so well, but it's cheap and at Easter we did London to Avranches in about 8 hours (maybe less - I can't recall exactly). Cost was always a key factor for us, If it hadn't been we'd have done overnight ferries Portsmouth/St Malo, or Portsmouth/Cherbourg - with little ones that would have been much the best route/option to my mind.

Hope this isn't too ramble, and that it makes some sense. Road tolls Cherbourg to Avranches are a bit under 30euro's - if you go that route don't forget to factor those in.

SW x

[Shaggy]

PBe.jones Wrote:

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> So Shaggy, you would drive Calais to St Malo in

> one day, but not East Dulwich to St Malo?

Yes. On the way out I can get a cheap later ferry and start in France early in the morning when I'm feeling fresh. Typically we will leave ED at six PM or so after a day at work.

Also, the autoroutes are great early in the morning. If you leave at 7 you can be half way there before traffic builds up. If you drove from ED you'd have to leave very very early to do that.

On the way back I don't feel comfortable doing a very long drive on the right hand side of the road then a 90 minute drive on the left. I've driven thousands of miles in France but I'm never comfortable at point when I change sides, and don't like doing that when I'm tired. Also, I don't like chasing a crossing. it just adds stress to the end of a nice break. If I'm heading to a stop off by the port, it doesn't matter if we take a detour and do something fun, we will still make the crossing.

But mostly it's because I don't want to go the wrong way round a roundabout in Kent. Whether coming back from Burgundy or Brittany we always have the same debate in the car -- shall we just push on home? But we always decide it's not worth it.

I do all the driving though. If you are sharing it might be different.