The English Channel, that finger of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Great Britain from northern France, is less than 19 nautical miles wide between Dover and Calais, what the locals call the fast crossing of the channel. If you are traveling from continental Europe to the UK, think twice before buying a plane ticket. Some tunnel or ferry cross channel options may be faster and cheaper.
Travelers have a good selection of options for crossing La Manche , as it is known in France. Depending on your starting point, taking a high-speed train or ferry can also be a more comfortable, greener and more convenient option than flying to the UK from France, Belgium, northern Spain and, since 2018, the Netherlands. I eat well.
Through the canal tunnel: the fastest crossings
There are two ways to use the canal tunnel, one of the engineering marvels of the 20th century:
Eurostar
Eurostar, the high-speed rail link, travels through the tunnel to London’s St Pancras station or Ashford, Kent, from Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Lille, Disneyland Paris, the French Alps ski resorts (in season) and to the south of Marseille. Departures are frequent, the journey from Paris takes about two hours and 15 minutes, and if you book in advance, there are very good deals on the Eurostar website.
The seats are wide and comfortable and depending on the fare you choose, you can have a meal served at your seat. The best part about Eurostar is that it travels from city center to city center: hop on the train in central Paris and a few hours later you are in central London. That means you don’t have to worry about expensive taxi fares to your city destination or navigate confusing public transportation when you’re tired of traveling and carrying luggage. If you compare the time and cost of traveling between airports and downtown hotels at both ends of the trip, the benefits quickly become apparent.
Eurotunnel Le Shuttle
Eurotunnel Le Shuttle is the car transport service from Coquelles, near Calais, to Folkestone in Kent. Le Shuttle, often called Le Chunnel, also carries bicycles and coaches. There are four departures per hour during peak hours, which can be booked in two-hour windows. You drive your own car to the train in France, spend 35 minutes relaxing while racing under the Canal, and then you drive in England. Save money by booking early because there are great deals.
If you are traveling with a pet, Le Shuttle’s car transport makes more sense because your pet can travel with you in your car and as long as your pet has a passport, the formalities are minimal. It is also a good option if you are traveling with a large family or group of friends because the price is quoted per car with up to nine passengers, rather than per passenger.
Le Shuttle terminals connect you to major highways at both ends of the journey and the junctions are engineered to ensure you end up driving on the correct side of the road for the country you are in.
Cross Channel Ferry Companies
When the Channel Tunnel was completed, everyone thought it would be the end of the ferry crossings. It is true that it shook up the industry and ferry services from the UK to Boulogne in France, once a popular destination came to an end.
But ferries are still the most economical crossing option for cyclists, pedestrians, people with oversized vehicles, people traveling with pets, and those who like a short trip as a sort of score between countries.
There’s nothing like sailing up the romantic white chalk cliffs of the English coast at Dover. The route from Dover to Calais is the shortest sea crossing between France and England and takes about 90 minutes. Next is Dover to Dunkirk, which is a two hour junction. At most of the longer crossings you can usually reserve a cabin and there are night ferries to Normandy, Brittany and Spain. Which route you take will depend on which one is most useful for your starting point:
Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries – This company has the most crossings to France and Spain and has an interesting history of its own. It was launched by a group of farmers in Britain in 1973, simultaneously with Britain’s entry into the (then) Common Market. They wanted to take advantage of the new trade opened with Great Britain to sell their cauliflowers and artichokes. Brittany felt isolated as she was far from the other ports on the canal. When the farmers couldn’t entice a ferry company to transport their produce to the Plymouth markets, they bought their own little freighter to do it themselves.
Now, it is the largest company operating the West Canal crossings and is still owned by British farmers. Ferry crossings are available:
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- from Santander, Spain, and Roscoff, Brittany to Plymouth, Devon
- from Bilbao and Santander, Spain to Portsmouth, Hampshire
- between Cherbourg, Normandy and Poole, Dorset
- from Caen, Cherbourg and Le Havre, Normandy and St. Malo, Brittany to Portsmouth
Ferry Condor
Condor Ferries, from St. Malo to Poole and Cherbourg to Portsmouth, cross with connections in the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey.
DFDS Seaways
DFDS Seaways, the ferry division of Northern Europe’s largest transport and logistics companies, operates ferries from Dunkirk and Calais to Dover (the shortest crossing), Dieppe in Normandy to Newhaven, Kent and from Newcastle to Amsterdam. Their ferries to France are recently overhauled or rebuilt, clean and very comfortable. The crossings we recently tried were well organized, with good food service, comfortable lounges, and large, clean windows to enjoy the views, even in bad weather. DFDS Seaways ferries are our recommended option for the short crossing if you are heading anywhere in Normandy or Pas de Calais or driving to Paris and the South of France.
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries operate frequent ferry services from Calais to Dover, as well as longer North Sea crossings from Zeebrugge in Belgium or Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Hull on the northeast coast of England. Cabins are available for longer crossings from Belgium and the Netherlands. These longer crossings take about 12 hours, but if you reserve a cabin, you can substitute the crossing for overnight hotel accommodations.
