Rail/Sail options to avoid airports?

[Howardh]

OK, there's Eurostar, but what other rail/sail options do I have for trips to the near continent? Are there any specific tickets these days? Or with the P&O situation are the ferries just "as bad" as the airports? Cheers!

 

[cav1975]

Newhaven - Dieppe by DFDS seem to accept bookings for foot passengers, but I haven't used it for 40 years so I can't speak from experience.

 

[Howardh]

Newhaven - Dieppe by DFDS seem to accept bookings for foot passengers, but I haven't used it for 40 years so I can't speak from experience.

Thanks, I'll check that out. 6hr+ sail though?

 

[bib]

Stena do a rail-sail from any Greater Anglia station to Hook of Holland via Harwich. There's one day ferry and one overnight one, about 13hrs from London-Amsterdam.

 

[Howardh]

Stena do a rail-sail from any Greater Anglia station to Hook of Holland via Harwich. There's one day ferry and one overnight one, about 13hrs from London-Amsterdam.

I've done that, only on return though when my flight was cancelled! It reminds me I once did Hull - Hook as an overnight. P+O (Dover) are doing advance returns for £50 but there's no rail ticket involved, just a shuttle bus at Calais to the station.

 

[sonic2009]

Flixbus/BlaBlaCar/Regiojet (Coaches) will get you onto the Continent from London, can get some cheap fares well in advance then you could travel by Rail.

 

[Howardh]

Flixbus/BlaBlaCar/Regiojet (Coaches) will get you onto the Continent from London, can get some cheap fares well in advance then you could travel by Rail.

Thanks for that, I've just looked up Flixbus, quite inviting (and cheap!). Good chance of usign it London/Bruges and back, seeing at the train from Calais goes via Lille, a long way round. Alternatively coach to Lille then the train.

 

[30907]

Thanks, I'll check that out. 6hr+ sail though?

4hr. Dieppe Ferry Terminal is 30min (level) walk (or a taxi) from Ville station.

Brittany Ferries terminals are not rail connected (except Santander), but Portsmouth is reasonably accessible.

 

[railwaytrack]

I recommend using the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry. This is the one i always use and it is brilliant. It still takes foot passengers and has always done so. In fact during the corona virus it was the only international ferry route to and from France that took foot passengers throughout the entire period as all the other routes had suspended foot passengers during the corona virus pandemic.

It is a four hour journey. The summer timetable has started now so it is three journeys a day in each direction (in the winter it is two journeys a day in each direction). It is a nice ferry crossing.

It is also very cheap compared to the others as the current prices are:

• £31.00 - Single
• £46.00 - Return (within 0-5 days)
• £56.00 - Return (within 5-10 days)
• £62.00 - Return (within 10+ days)

All of these tickets can be bought on the day at the ferry port. I always just turn up and buy it on the day. There is always space for foot passengers. So pre booking is not needed.

Dieppe is also a much nicer town than Calais to arrive in to. Dieppe is a very pleasant place to walk around. Although at the other end Newhaven is a complete and utter depressing run down dump. It feels like a run down deprived town up north or smaller version of Croydon / Crawley / Slough / Luton etc. But at least Newhaven Town station is right next to the ferry terminal so you can just get straight off the train and in to the ferry terminal.

So my recommendation is the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry route.

 

[Howardh]

What I've actually done now is look at the options from Liverpool airport, and there are direct flights to Amsterdam so, hopefully, avoiding the queues at Manchester, which was the purpose of trying to find a rail/sail ticket. So I will end up on a train..but from Amsterdam to Haarlem! That will be in early July; and if things are still bad then r/e airports then I'll seriously consider Avanti to London, overnight, then either the Newhaven ferry (sounds good) and a couple of days in Dieppe, or Flixbus and a couple of nights in Brugge for my August break. So thanks for the heads-up!!

I never go to (say) the Med in late July or August due to the crowds and hiked-up fares/hotel costs.

With the state of the airports Eurostar and the coach companies should be making real capital out of it, at least getting pax to the near continent.