Tour to the Continent during Aug Bank Hols wknd- thoughts?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 30479
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Last time I did Zeebrugge it was Felixstowe, I hadn't realised they had killed it. Lots of other ferries have gone too...like anything from Boulogne.

If you want a decent night's sleep go Portsmouth-St Malo, then the Tour De Manche route to Cherbourg. The boat spits you out in St Malo around 0700.
http://en.tourdemanche.com/
 
MitzEclipse":3ueyf27m said:
Thanks Chris D - it's only 2 hrs.... so I'll be now getting an airbnb in Calais.
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Your welcome.

I am a regular (about ten times a year) using that night crossing. In the winter you get a seat to sleep on but often in the summer it is a case of finding a bit of floor tucked out of the way.
 
Pretty much finalised my accomodations now via airbnb. Couldn't find a decent priced room in near Calais so the place I'm staying is 20km away. Not really an issue normally but I won't arrive Calais until 23:00. Navigating in a foreign land is one thing but in the dark... eh.
 
Thanks all for the support - I got back yesterday and it was a lovely trip. Weather was great too. And thanks for the tip about the Dunkirk ferry terminal, took the tip from CTC and the Garmin routed me perfectly!

The northern france countryside wasn't that good compared to the English countryside. Roubaix was a dump and the velodrome was like a ghost town - did some v slow laps around the outdoor track on my touring bike ;) Bruges was the highlight for me - and the cycle paths in Belgium were amazing!

Only issue was on DFDS in Dunkirk, I arrived at 1.30p ahead of my 4p ferry - they wouldn't allow me to check in greater than 2 hrs in advance so I had to wait outside in the pouring rain and re-join the queue - really annoying!
 
Re:

Glad you had a good time. Whatever it was like it is very cool you got to ride on the track at Roubaix. A bit jealous now ;-)

As for DFDS. That is unusual. If you ever have the same problem just tell them you arrived earlier than expected and is there space on the '14.00 sailing'. I have been ok when both arriving early and missing my crossing. And even if the other crossing is more expensive they normally don't worry about it.

I hope your crossing was a bit more smooth than mine last night. Spent two hours feeling ill!
 
Thanks Chris D - I was in fact booked on the 18:00 sailing, so was already riding the earlier one at 16:00. DFDS policy is you can take 1 earlier or 1 later sailing free of charge - hence why I was aiming for the 16.00. Didn't think about asking to go on the 14:00 as was worried how much the additional charge would have been on Bank Hols wknd!

I get sea sick very easily but the crossing was fairly smooth.... the Dunkirk to Dover ferry was a much bigger ferry than the Dover to Calais I rode on Friday so that helped.
 
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