New Cross Channel Ferry Services Available

DirectFerries have announced that they are now offering the Transeuropa Ferries cross channel ferry service between the UK and Belgium.

The Transeuropa Ferries service runs 6 times daily between the ports of Ramsgate in the South East of England and Ostend in Belgium.

A spokesman for DirectFerries commented

Our aim is to provide our customers with a complete online ferry service covering every ferry route in Europe. With the addition of the Transeuropa Ferries service to our product, it gives our customers an alternative to the Dover – Calais and Dunkerque crossings and a more direct option for onward travel to Belgium and Holland.

The cross channel sailing takes around 4 hours, and the crossing is the only direct sea route ferry link between England and Belgium. Prices start from as little as £49 each way for a car and up to 9 people

Posted via email from Dover Calais Ferry

Technorati Tags: belgium, cross channel, crossing, england, europe, ferry, Ostend, Ramsgate, Transeuropa, travel

Eurotunnel said a CO2 sensor had triggered an alarm, setting off an emergency procedure in which all passengers have to be evacuated.

Eurostar, which runs high-speed trains through the tunnel between London and Paris and Brussels, said its services had been suspended for a period.

Lines have since started to reopen, but passengers were told to expect delays.

Dover Calais Ferries have plenty of spare capacity at present, after having coped very well with the additional passengers following air line disruptions caused by the volcanic ash cloud.

“The traffic is resuming now, we have received authorisation from Eurotunnel,” a Eurostar spokeswoman told AFP news agency. “But we expect a knock-on effect on the schedule.”

Services in both directions were halted when the alarm was triggered in the tunnel shortly after 0700 BST (0800 GMT).

The nearest train, a shuttle carrying 30 lorries and drivers, was evacuated and taken back to the surface on the UK side.

Emergency services from Kent were called.

Nigel Shamber, duty inspector at Kent Police, said: “They have an awful lot of sensors in the tunnel and one of them went off. These things happen very frequently.

“There has not been a fire or any significant incident. Trains are now running in a reduced capacity.”

A Eurotunnel spokeswoman said: “The freight train was travelling towards England and was more than half-way through the tunnel when it was stopped.

“Emergency services are trying to work out why the detector went off. We need to understand why it happened.”

Nine Eurostar trains were delayed by between 50 minutes and three hours, French state rail operator SNCF said. Services leaving Paris, London and Brussels were all hit.

Technorati Tags: Calais, channel, Dover, dover calais ferries, Eurostar, Eurotunnel, ferries, Kent, London, Paris, shuttle

PandO Ferries Offer Details – Dover – Calais any duration From £30
each way Dover – Calais any duration From £30 each way from PandO
FerriesOffer

P & O operate the Cross Channel ferries route from Dover to Calais,
Norfolk Line operate from Dover to Dunkirk, whilst LD Line operate
from Dover to Boulogne The slightly longer routes from Newhaven to
Dieppe.

The cost of ferries between Dover and Calais and nearby ports remain
relatively good value – return tickets in August can still be had for
well under £100. But if you are thinking of taking one of the longer
ferry crossings expect to pay more.

PO Ferries announces the arrival of 2 of the largest new ferries ever
between Dover & Calais. The Ships are due for delivery.

Technorati Tags: boulogne, Calais, cross channel ferries, delivery, Dieppe, Dover, dover calais ferry, Dunkirk, Newhaven, Norfolk, P&O Ferries, PandO, passenger

Information on how to get back to the UK if you are stranded in Europe due to volcanic ash flight disruption.

You should continue to make your way directly to Calais, other Channel ports and other northern European ports.

In addition to the Eurostar services to the UK from Paris and Lille, travellers arriving at Channel ports in France by road or rail are advised that ferry companies on the Dover Calais route and other cross channel ferries are able to accommodate foot passengers.

For further official advice see Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Technorati Tags: ashtag, Calais, cross channel, cross channel ferries, disruption, Dover, europe, Eurostar, ferry, foot, Lille

£19 Dover to Calais ferry Trip

£19 Dover to Calais Trip Plus 6 Bottles of Wine. Sail from Dover to
Calais for just £19 with P&O Ferries, but don; forget to get your car
insurance up to date before taking a cross channel driving holiday in
France.

The recognition of packet routes similar to Dover to Calais in France,
Harwich to Hook of Holland nearby Rotterdam as well as Holyhead to
Dublin meant that holidays in Europe have been increasingly expected
as the norm with British holidaymakers. Getting from Southern England
to Belgium by ferry without a trip across Paris need some careful
research. I think you can catch a train to Dover, then a ferry to
Calais, and train to Brugge without going to Paris. Of course it would
be better to get a ferry straight to Zeebrugge.

Posted via email from Dover Calais Ferry

Thought we would take day trip to Calais yesterday as supplies of Wine
ran out. £30 day return was good as far as we were concerned. Got to
Dover and realised Warning Triangle was in the other car.
Travelling Onboard Ferries to France
In the UK, Dover and Portsmouth are amongst the most popular points of
boarding, and these ports run ferries to different international
locations. Calais is one of France’s most popular port, and ferries
between Dover and Calais run at very frequent intervals all year
round, even if they are only half full.

dover calais ferry

I used to live in a house up on a hill in East Kent with a great view
of the English channel and the Dover Calais ferry from my living room
window and you could watch the ferries all the way across to the other
side of the English Channel on a clear day.

Posted via email from Dover Calais Ferry

For example, ferry operator LD Lines has introduced a ‘best-value
cross-Channel early-booking’ offer from £18 each way via its exclusive
Dover-Boulogne route. The offer is valid for a car and two people.

LD Lines is a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, a major player in
maritime transport with a fleet of over 60 ships operating worldwide.
LD Lines added the popular Dover-Boulogne crossing to their existing
ferry routes in February 2009. This new service operates year round
and there are four crossings each way during the week.

The Norman Spirit operates the route with a crossing time of just
1h45. The Norman Spirit has capacity for 1850 passengers, 700 cars and
110 freight vehicles.

Bolougne is just thirty kilometres from Calais and it’s a much nicer
town to visit for a day trip or indeed to end a motoring holiday in
France. So the Dover Boulogne route is in close competition with the
more numerous Dover Calais ferry fleet.

Posted via email from Dover Calais Ferry

Technorati Tags: boulogne, Calais, Dover, dover calais ferries, dover calais ferry, duopoly, ferries, ferry operators, holiday in france, ld lines, Norman Spirit, SeaFrance, sealink, townsend thoresen, Transport

Dover Castle with the White Cliffs

Originally uploaded by Sarah Clair

Dover Castle with the White Cliffs viewed from the Dover Calais Ferry.
The sight of the white cliffs of Dover viewed from the Dover Calais Ferry, whether outbound or returning can always invoke an emotional response in travellers from the UK. I don’t know why that is, but surely it cant be anything to do with that overexposed Vera Lyn song about the non existent bluebirds? Anyway, the castle itself is rather wonderful and looks good from all angles, whether from the ferry or down in the town of Dover, or from across the valley up at the Western Heights. One thing not everybody knows is that the white cliffs are riddled with tunnels, large caves and passageways, left over from the Napoleonic period and enhanced during the second world war.

Technorati Tags: bluebirds, Calais, Cliffs, Dover, dover calais ferry, dover castle, napoleonic period, second world war, tunnel, western heights, White, white cliffs of dover

Technorati Tags: channel, channel ferries, disruption, ferries

You can take a ferry from Dover or Folkestone to Calais or Boulogne. Prices vary, but Speed Ferries seem to be the cheapest. With Eurotunnel as well as the ferries, the less time you spend in France, the cheaper the crossing.

“Peages” are toll autoroutes. From Calais to Paris it’s about 10 euros one way. Plus you have to pay for petrol. So travelling to France by car can be quite expensive any way you look at it. You can take non-toll roads (“nationals”) but it will take you longer as you pass through villages/traffic lights, etc. and the speed limits are lower (the limit on peages is 130k/83miles per hour).

Eurostar does specials on occasion which work out to be much cheaper than driving to Paris for one to three passengers. Plus, you are in central Paris and don’t have to worry about parking or having your car vandelised/broken into, which has happened to me a couple of times!

Technorati Tags: autoroutes, boulogne, Calais, car, central paris, crossing, Dover, england, Eurostar, Eurotunnel, ferry, ferry from dover, folkestone, france, Paris, toll roads, tolls, travelling to france