How / where should I cross the Channel to go on my first motorcycle trip abroad?

[Runnerboy]

I have started you a fresh thread under a fresh heading.

Richard

Great thread (https://www.ukgser.com/community/threads/my-two-week-5-country-euro-trip-2024.429097/) has helped us get our arses in gear and now we are planning our first Eurotrip for late March, at least first on the GS rather than a car or plane!
Some advice please from the great and the good here, thinking tunnel to Calais as ferries to Sant/Bilbao/ Le H all seem tricky in terms of dates and price, but main worry is getting stuck at a queue in Dover, or is that not an issue on 2 wheels?

 

[wessie]

Great thread, has helped us get our arses in gear and now we are planning our first Eurotrip for late March, at least first on the GS rather than a car or plane!
Some advice please from the great and the good here, thinking tunnel to Calais as ferries to Sant/Bilbao/ Le H all seem tricky in terms of dates and price, but main worry is getting stuck at a queue in Dover, or is that not an issue on 2 wheels?

the tunnel does not go from Dover to Calais. The key is to avoid peak times such as Easter, May half term and the summer school holiday. We tend to go in June or September as the tunnel and roads are quieter and accommodation cheaper. Also, get a late afternoon train and it will be even quieter, stay in Bruges, Ypres, St Omer or St Quentin as the poster did in the trip detailed here. Wake up in France and on the road early doors to get deep into your trip rather than faffing about in Kent and not hitting France until lunchtime.

We also like the Portsmouth ferries, travelling from the west as we don't need to use the M25 or M20. We usually get the 11pm overnight boat to Caen arriving about 6am so plenty of time for onward travel. Using this route if heading to central or western France or Spain makes sense as the extra cost is offset by fewer miles in France. From Warwickshire, you can also work on a Friday and then travel down to Portsmouth after rush hour to get the ferry late evening.

 

[glenn2926]

Great thread, has helped us get our arses in gear and now we are planning our first Eurotrip for late March, at least first on the GS rather than a car or plane!
Some advice please from the great and the good here, thinking tunnel to Calais as ferries to Sant/Bilbao/ Le H all seem tricky in terms of dates and price, but main worry is getting stuck at a queue in Dover, or is that not an issue on 2 wheels?

The tunnel is a great way to cross but the journey to it in the U.K. is terrible. Anywhere in the south east is a terrible journey.
We’re not doing it again and will use the Hull-Rotterdam ferry. Whilst this is not really an easy journey for you there is the Harwich-Hook of Holland ferry route.

 

[Runnerboy]

The tunnel is a great way to cross but the journey to it in the U.K. is terrible. Anywhere in the south east is a terrible journey.
We’re not doing it again and will use the Hull-Rotterdam ferry. Whilst this is not really an easy journey for you there is the Harwich-Hook of Holland ferry route.

Thanks. Glenn, nice idea, we don’t mind mileage generally on our rides but my last road trip by car around Rotterdam was a busy one with lots of traffic. How did you find it? I guess it is a shortish ballast into France with more roads and less traffic.

 

[glenn2926]

Thanks. Glenn, nice idea, we don’t mind mileage generally on our rides but my last road trip by car around Rotterdam was a busy one with lots of traffic. How did you find it? I guess it is a shortish ballast into France with more roads and less traffic.

Our usual route is going to Chamonix from the tunnel. The distance from Rotterdam to Chamonix is very similar. I haven’t found Rotterdam to bad to drive/ride through or around. Certainly nicer and easier than the south east of England. We do tend to visit Chamonix on a regular basis as our sone and his family live there. I can quite easily drive or ride to Chamonix in a day when using the Hull-Rotterdam ferry. If using the tunnel we have an overnight either near Folkestone or somewhere in northern France. I just find using the North Sea ferry much less stressful and much more of a pleasant journey than going to the tunnel from here in Yorkshire.

 

[Runnerboy]

Overnight options sound good, will take a closer look. Trade off between long ride comfortable crossing or not so great ride, short crossing, lowish cost.

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

Great thread, has helped us get our arses in gear and now we are planning our first Eurotrip for late March, at least first on the GS rather than a car or plane!
Some advice please from the great and the good here, thinking tunnel to Calais as ferries to Sant/Bilbao/ Le H all seem tricky in terms of dates and price, but main worry is getting stuck at a queue in Dover, or is that not an issue on 2 wheels?

Good news and im sure you will love it. Touring is a great way to see the world or a bigger part of it. I haven't experienced traffic problems heading to Folkestone for the Eurotunnel, and once you are there at check in it's very very efficient in my experience. I would say the drive down is a slight pain that is all but I am coming from 250 ish miles away. I take the A1. 35 minutes and youre in France seems worth a bit of a motorway slog to me.

I guess as Wessie says it depends when you are going, there will be peak times. Easter, first week of school hols etc. Late March you should have no bother I reckon.

 

[Runnerboy]

Good news and im sure you will love it. Touring is a great way to see the world or a bigger part of it. I haven't experienced traffic problems heading to Folkestone for the Eurotunnel, and once you are there at check in it's very very efficient in my experience. I would say the drive down is a slight pain that is all but I am coming from 250 ish miles away. I take the A1. 35 minutes and youre in France seems worth a bit of a motorway slog to me.

I guess as Wessie says it depends when you are going, there will be peak times. Easter, first week of school hols etc. Late March you should have no bother I reckon.

the tunnel does not go from Dover to Calais. The key is to avoid peak times such as Easter, May half term and the summer school holiday. We tend to go in June or September as the tunnel and roads are quieter and accommodation cheaper. Also, get a late afternoon train and it will be even quieter, stay in Bruges, Ypres, St Omer or St Quentin as the poster did in the trip detailed here. Wake up in France and on the road early doors to get deep into your trip rather than faffing about in Kent and not hitting France until lunchtime.

We also like the Portsmouth ferries, travelling from the west as we don't need to use the M25 or M20. We usually get the 11pm overnight boat to Caen arriving about 6am so plenty of time for onward travel. Using this route if heading to central or western France or Spain makes sense as the extra cost is offset by fewer miles in France. From Warwickshire, you can also work on a Friday and then travel down to Portsmouth after rush hour to get the ferry late evening.

Thanks Wessie, I was clearly not concentrating when thinking of Dover and the tunnel. I like the idea of a late afternoon arrival in France. Will look at that as an option.

 

[wessie]

Thanks Wessie, I was clearly not concentrating when thinking of Dover and the tunnel. I like the idea of a late afternoon arrival in France. Will look at that as an option.

plenty of recommendations on this site for hotels under an hour from the tunnel exit at Coquelles, whether going south or west in France or turning left into Belgium.

 

[glenn2926]

Overnight options sound good, will take a closer look. Trade off between long ride comfortable crossing or not so great ride, short crossing, lowish cost.

Cost is certainly an issue when comparing the tunnel versus the North Sea ferry. For our May motorhome trip the ferry is just about twice the cost of the tunnel. It’s 270 miles to the tunnel from here though and only 70 miles to Hull. So that’s 200 miles of fuel each way plus an overnight each way. The overnight doesn’t cost very much in the motorhome though as we usually stay at a pub.
For the ferry we don’t need to leave home until mid afternoon for 11/2 hour journey as opposed to the 5-6 hour journey to the tunnel.
This May trip is our first North Sea ferry trip with the motorhome as until November we had a dog and the tunnel is by far the easiest way with dogs. We unfortunately lost her in November so we’re going on the ferry this next time.

 

[Runnerboy]

Sorry about the doggo Glenn.
Just saw Newhaven to Dieppe return for much less. Not as comfy as the Brittany offering, only 4 hours each way. Anyone have any experience of that route?

 

[wessie]

Just saw Newhaven to Dieppe return for much less. Not as comfy as the Brittany offering, only 4 hours each way. Anyone have any experience of that route?

I only used it when my destination was a function in Dieppe. After that couple of days we went to the Black forest and Ardennes, returning home via the tunnel.

The ferry itself is good but the ferry times are not great. You don't get much sleep if you take the overnight one. Newhaven is not the nicest of places to get to either. I would rather head to the tunnel due to the better flexibility if you are running ahead or behind schedule.
Dieppe not ideal for onward travel, especially as you arrive at 4pm, 10pm or 4am!

 

[Wapping]

OP, it seems you live in Warwickshire and want to ride your motorcycle to Spain. Is that correct?

You have looked at crossings to San (Sebastian) / Bilbao / Le H(avre) and rejected them on the grounds of cost or the dates. Is that correct?

If so….

A. Have you looked at the other north west French coast ports, Caen, Cherbourg, Roscoff and St Malo?

B. If you have and you’ve rejected them too, then your choices are basically:

1. Newhaven to Dieppe or Dover to Dunkirk.

2. Chunnel Folkestone to Calais

3. Dover sailing to Calais

4. Harwich to the Hook of Holland. Given that you seem to live in Warwickshire and seem to be heading to Spain, does this really work?

C. If you have already rejected option 1, you are left with options 2 and 3. Your only concern over these crossings is queues. Queues can occur at the Chunnel, for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

1. Volume of passengers, particularly around the popular crossing dates (bank holidays / the start of the school holidays / popular crossing times ie. Friday or Saturday mornings).

2. Technical problems with the train / the tunnel itself.

3. Problems with the M25 / M20 / M2.

Are they enough to put you (or indeed, me) off on a crossing in ‘late March’? They shouldn’t, not least as it’s not Easter this year and it’s not the school holidays.

Are queues a problem on a motorcycle? Less than if you are in a car / lorry but being on a motorcycle does not in anyway speed the Chunnel’s repair of technical issues and / or the operation of the train itself. Will being on a bike speed you along a queue? If you are prepared to filter and / or (possibly rudely) push in, then maybe yes.

Will the Dover to Calais ferry be delayed / have queues? Maybe, who knows? The most common delays / queues are caused by bad weather / the M25 / M20 / M2 / problems with the Chunnel / popular (high demand) crossing times. Will they occur in ‘late March’? Who knows? Should they be enough to put you / me off? They shouldn’t.

In all this, remember that you have got to come back, where the same queues might occur, for pretty much the same reasons. By crossing to / from north eastern France, you have also extended your likely journey time to and from Spain, to some degree or another.

Me? I’d chose the crossing(s) that suited my wallet / destination / starting and return points / time available best. That might well lead to a compromise but, you can’t have everything in life. Queues? I generally can’t control them (unless I use less popular crossing times, which should mitigate many of the causes) so I’d put that concern to one side.

Failing all that?

1. Look at flying to Spain and bike hire.

2. Go to Wales.

3. Enjoy your holiday; you’ll be fine.

 

[boxer]

The tunnel is a great way to cross but the journey to it in the U.K. is terrible. Anywhere in the south east is a terrible journey.

Couldn’t agree more.
Come to think of it, the 2.5hr battle (while the trains stopped for reasons unknown on the return journey), with a thousand other vehicles trying to use 4 ticket/passport booths wasn’t much of a highlight. Complete chaos with no explanation or apology.
Never again.

 

[twizzle]

Drive to Portsmouth, jump on the 20:15 St Malo boat, be off at 0800 and in the Pyrenees in time for Dinner and Rioja ……

Must have done this 20 times, easy, shortest road distance, sleep whilst sailing…. Job done

 

[EVskiy]

Couldn’t agree more.
Come to think of it, the 2.5hr battle (while the trains stopped for reasons unknown on the return journey), with a thousand other vehicles trying to use 4 ticket/passport booths wasn’t much of a highlight. Complete chaos with no explanation or apology.
Never again.

I’ve got a £30 voucher from le shuttle for being delayed last June on our way to Austria. We missed our dinner in Bouillon on a first night of the trip. Yes it isn’t much, but better than nothing at all.
I only followed through with a report that Wapping wrote, he himself filed a successful complaint.

Brits are notorious moaners and complainers to everyone else (this forum is no different), yet feckall useless and to fecking proud to complain to a relevant department.

 

[Snaf]

Portsmouth, Poole or Plymouth for us every time but then we're starting from the west country and always have bikes in van. All the other ports are for heading East imo and when we have used them you have to allow for M25/20 hold ups or stress of worrying about them. The initial routes heading south west in France are not much better.
Caen/Cherbourg, St Malo or Roscoff and you're onto much more relaxed roads from the offset. Overnight ferry with decent cabin and you're off to a good early start and full days ride to take you SW.
I can't recall what the motorway toll situation is (do bikes pay them).

 

[Flintlock]

Through Wales
Ferry to Rosslare
Ferry Rosslare Bilbao
Picos or Pyrenees from there

 

[Wapping]

I can't recall what the motorway toll situation is (do bikes pay them).

Motorbikes pay motorway tolls in France. Get a motorway blipper thing.

 

[MrC99]

Must admit if spending the longest time in Spain is the ultimate aim then I'd do my utmost to avoid travelling thru France unless I was planning a long trip with enough time to take the French back roads and stop off at some interesting places along the way there (& back). If time was limited I'd go for Portsmouth or Plymouth and get a direct ferry (or look at @Flintlock's suggestion of going via Ireland).

Also if going via Portsmouth I'd do anything to avoid the M27 in either direction during say 07:00-09:00 or 16:00-19:00 as it's utter shite during those times.