Ferry from Calais to Dover

try https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/information/travel-advice/travelling-as-a-foot-passenger they sail into Portsmouth

or https://www.condorferries.co.uk/ St Malo to Poole

Eurostar goes all the way to London but it's the easiest way. Then all you need is another train out of London.

Thank you so much!

You may be imagining some magic reminiscence of 1930, but ferries are a bit obsolete. Do you get seasick easily? Don't forget to allow check-in time for customs and immigration, at least 60 minutes for the train, I don't know about the ferry.

P&O used to allow it, with many hoops to jump through and not a lot of fun at either end. BUT, and I agree that autumn is a long time from now and things will likely be resolved on way or another, BUT, at the moment no P&O ferries are going anywhere.

They fired 800 ship workers all at one time with a recorded video call a few weeks ago and the government has not allowed any P&O ferry to sail since. They tried to bring in Indian temps to do the jobs for as little as about £1.50 an hour - they are being taken to court.

What will be the resolution Nobody knows.

But I will say that October, November, December are pretty unpleasant months to be on a cross Channel ferry. We tend to get some doozie storms in that time period.

If you take the Eurostar to London you can get a high speed train back to wherever you want to be on the South Coast.

Where will you be before Calais? How will you be getting around?

I've had two of my five planned Channel Ferry crossing canceled on me. Both were closer to mid-summer than your planned October trip. Based on my experience, there is at least some risk that the ferry you are counting on will not sail--at least not on the day for which you are ticketed.

If you find the ferry more convenient and are able to book it, a little bit of Dramamine should help you cross, if needed. That's what we all had to do for many years, and we survived to tell the tale. Our ancestors dealt with a lot worse crossing the Atlantic or Pacific in fourth class. Bon voyage.

all these tips are gratefully accepted! Am looking into Eurostar options now which seems to be the best alternative- Thank you all for responding!

lynnshotwell, the reason I asked upthread where you will be before Calais and how you will be getting around isn't to be nosy but to help you with this crossing. I've crossed the Channel many more times than I have counted and am fairly up to date on both Continental trains and UK ones (decades in the railway industry).

We are starting in Bayeux for the first 4 days of ...tapestry, cathedral, mont st michel, beaches tour. On our way to Calais we would like to see the Rouen cathedral, then continue to Calais. We def will be driving a car and intend to drop it off in Calais. After crossing we had planned to pick up another car in Dover, see the castle, go to Canterbury for one night and then head to Jurrasic Coast for a few days stopping in Hastings, of course, since we will have seen tapestry. Would like to see battlefield.
Lots of castles and abbeys to see along route to Lyme Regis. Then a quick one night in Winchester, Salisbury, Stonehenge
then Heathrow. Now that i have typed this..... it looks like a lot to cover! The reason we have to rent a car in France and a car in England is it is soooo expensive to pick up a rental at CDG and return same car to Heathrow. Even bringing it across on ferry or Eurotunnel was crazy expensive plus we would be mad confused about the" wrong side of road wrong side of car" thing. So its looking like Eurostar is better option than ferry and we just deal with going to or near London first.
Thats not so bad in the big scheme of things. Doesn't look super efficient but is doable . Really, Im not complaining. So fortunate to be making ANY travel plans at all!

If you really want to visit Calais I'd suggest that afterwards you go on a bit further - about an hour and a quarter and drop the car at Eurolille station in Lille. The car park is a multi storey actually in the station, and where the rental return is. Straight into the station where you can catch Eurostar (EDIT - oops typo) to us on this side of the water. (Don't forget the mandatory check in time for the Eurostar - you will go through security and meet both French and UK border officers before the waiting room).

If you could arrange your journey in a different order you could use Brittany Ferries to England, further along the Jurassic Coast of course, and the journeys are longer, but they do take foot passengers. Somebody upthread posted the thread to Brittany Ferries... they go at different times from Le Havre, Caen (Ouistreham, near the Pegasus Bridge), and the shortest crossing just twice a week from Cherbourg...

I wonder if these help at all...

Hi,

I don't have any ferry experience in Oct. When I took it as a foot passenger , it was late August, liked it going from Folkestone to Boulogne. Would I take the ferry again regardless of the convenience of EuroStar, yes, that is, if I can overcome my laziness.

The route I want to do especially is that from Portsmouth to St. Malo.

If you're interested and can spare the time, both Portsmouth and Calais have museums on WW2. Not that far from the Portsmouth train station is the big WW1 memorial.

Yes! They help a great deal, and I appreciate all suggestions. I did discover that Calais Eurostar station is not operating
( due to Covid) and both Ashford and Ebbsfleet are closed to Eurostar too. They say they will run again in late 2022, whenever that means. I have reached out to ask if they have opening dates in mind, however its only April and no one really seems to want to speculate on future travel. The Lille to London option seems to be the one to count on, and i totally forgot about how long security might take before check in time for train so a big THANK YOU for that tip!
As for ferry travel I had considered the Caen to I think it was Portsmouth as an option but the crossing was like 5 hours.
Oooh , if the weather was bad? That could be a nasty 5 hours. I am really liking the easy rental return to Lille station and just having the train take us to London St Pancras station which looks beautiful. There are also many rental car options near the station. Only thing I am wondering about is the degree of difficulty driving OUT of London.

Only thing I am wondering about is the degree of difficulty driving OUT of London.

Just no. No way. Not on your nelly.

I don't know where you're going after St Pancras but there's a direct train to Gatwick airport from where you can hire a car leaving London far behind.

DANGER Will Robinson Danger!

https://lruc.content.tfl.gov.uk/congestion-charge-area-map.pdf is the official map of the current dimensions of the London Congestion Zone (the Mayor of London wants to expand it - just about double it, that hasn't happened just yet) which attracts a £15 (in advance) or £17.50 daily charge if even enter momentarily. Like the ZTLs in Florence and Rome, every entry on every entrance is monitored by banks of automatic cameras. The fee can be paid in advance or electronically by midnight of the third day. You don't want that hassle.

It can be quite straightforward if you know the way and are comfortable with driving here going west along Euston Road (and its many name changes) until the Westway (believe it or not that motorway looking dual carriageway has a camera controlled 40 mph speed limit) and onwards onto the M40 to the M25. You do need your wits about you as the road makes a loop off straight at Great Portland Street - as the road divides the bus lane (buses only or fine) follows the now 2 lanes heading west. Be careful. There's a box junction just after too. Box junctions monitored by automatic cameras.

I don't say all this to scare you but to make you aware and hopefully save you money. I know these laws like the back of my hand because I live here and regularly have to drive into London. It is all second nature, and I've never had a ticket. But it is so easy to go wrong - driving in London is not for the novice. It is easier to drive in Paris than London.

Driving in the UK is fundamentally different than pretty much anywhere else because while there are plenty of signs on the side of the road conveying many laws, much of the information is painted on the road surface. If you are in traffic and don't know what it says you have to hold back a bit to read it after the vehicle in front passes over. Cars and trucks behind don't like that. Again, second nature for the experienced London driver. They don't do that nearly as much out in the country or on motorways except on exit lanes pr at roundabouts.

If you want to drive back towards Dover the drive from St Pancras station isn't trivial. No motorways heading east until the M25 in that direction, and that's a fair distance. Lots of trucks. And then you have to cross the Thames Estuary. That involves the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and its electronic toll which is captured by automatic cameras (very strict low speed limit on the bridge) and must be paid by computer by midnight of the next day. Only £2.50 but a hassle. But then at least you will have made it to Kent.

I'd suggest to take the Javelin train to Canterbury or Ashford or the Thameslink train from St Pancras to Gatwick and hire a car there. There will be so much less stress.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - driving in London is no fun.

Thank you !Thank you ! for the map of the congestion zone and all the details that make it unlikely that i could survive driving in London. I don't know what i was thinking! When on " vacation mode" even with gps aid ,the navigation required
would make me crazy. I can hear the screaming in the car that would occur at very high decibels. So yes to the train to Ashford, or maybe to Canterbury. Either one makes sense a long as we can get to a car rental place by 6:00PM or since we have one night in Canterbury we can grab a car the next morning. I really wish that Eurostar would open the Calais to Ashford or Ebbsfleet, and? They might by the time we travel who knows. As long as I am wishing how about Covid go away for good, and no more war in Ukraine. Again, I so appreciate your suggestions and experience. You have been incredibly helpful.