Ferry vs Channel tunnel: What’s the cheapest way to take the car to France?

Strike action, bad weather and lengthy immigration processes have all contributed to gridlock at Dover this year, particularly at Easter, when the port declared a ‘critical incident’. 

It’s a popular crossing between the UK and France because it’s quick - 1hr 30 min - and relatively cheap. But is it always cheaper than Eurotunnel - now known as Le Shuttle, which whizzes you across to France in just 35 minutes? 

And, given that queue times are generally shorter on one of the nine other ferry routes to France, is it ever worth avoiding altogether? We looked at the average prices for peak season crossings, and did our own searches to find out. 

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The cheapest routes to France

All average prices for a standard car with two adults, two children, travelling in August, booked in June. Data provided by comparison site Direct Ferries.

What's cheaper: Ferry or Channel Tunnel (Le Shuttle)?

If price is your only concern, the ferry beats Le Shuttle hands down. On average Le Shuttle is £60 more expensive each way for a car with four passengers, than the ferry service from Dover to Calais.

Even if you hunt for late-night Channel Tunnel bargains, you’re unlikely to beat the ferry price. When we scoured the rest of August for cheap crossings, the best one-way journey we could find was £120 on Le Shuttle. In contrast, the cheapest one-way ferry crossing was just £54.

That said, Le Shuttle is undoubtedly the fastest way to get from the UK to France. You are advised to arrive one hour before departure and, once you’ve boarded, the journey to France takes just 35 minutes on average. 

Many people who travel with pets also favour Le Shuttle as you can keep your dog or cat with you in the car - a familiar environment - for the whole journey.

Dover to Calais crossing - which ferry company is cheapest?

Irish Ferries had the cheapest fare on every single day when we compared crossings for all of the 18 remaining days in August from Monday (14). Its lowest price for a last-minute booking was just £54. 

P&O ferries also had some very low last-minute fares - within a few pounds of Irish Ferries - but these were limited and often only on the very unsociable 03.10am crossing.

When comparing prices, it’s always worth checking the Dover to Dunkirk route to see if prices are better at the time you wish to travel. Dunkirk is only 24 miles east of Calais, and more convenient for those travelling on to Belgium.

What’s the cheapest day and time to travel on cross-channel ferries and Le Shuttle?

As a general rule, Sunday to Thursday departures offer the best rates. As you would expect, Friday and Saturday departures are pricey. Our comparison of August dates found that you could pay up to £201, one way on Le Shuttle on a Friday or Saturday, but the most expensive fare on a Tuesday was £158.

Our research found that the cheapest time to travel Dover to Calais by ferry was always between 10pm and 6.30am. The 10.15pm crossing had the cheapest fares on 14 of the 18 days we checked. The 02.55am and 06.15am crossings also regularly had the cheapest fares.

For the best Le Shuttle fares, avoid crossing in the morning. The 8am-2pm trains had the highest prices when we looked, and the cheapest crossings were always after 8pm. In particular, the 10pm to 11pm crossings were cheapest on 13 out of the 18 days we checked.

Can it work out cheaper to take an overnight ferry?

Ferries from Newhaven, Portsmouth and Plymouth all offer overnight sailings. These typically take longer, so that you can, in theory, get a good night’s sleep and drive off the boat refreshed in the morning. But longer crossings are generally much more expensive.

These sailings are particularly convenient if you live in the southwest of England, or are bound for western France, and could result in much shorter driving distances. 

To take an extreme example, a family driving from Swindon to La Rochelle would drive 250 miles fewer by taking the Portsmouth-Caen route, rather than the Dover-Calais route. However, it would only save them around £50 in petrol and tolls, which doesn’t make up for the additional ferry fare for the longer sailing (£259 more on average).

Overnight sailings do save you money on accommodation - you’ll have one less night in a hotel - but if you really want a good night’s sleep you’ll have to add on the price of a cabin on the ferry. A family cabin on the Portsmouth-Caen route cost £83 when we looked.

Can I get cheap ferry tickets to France with Tesco Clubcard vouchers or nectar points?

You can use Tesco Clubcard points to book Dover to Calais crossings with Irish Ferries and P&O ferries. You can also book Le Shuttle crossings using Clubcard reward vouchers.

Every £5 of vouchers can be turned into £10 to spend on a ferry ticket. Terms and conditions apply to these bookings. 

It’s not possible to spend Nectar points on ferry tickets.