Taking the boat from France to England

We took an overnight ferry the opposite direction from St. Malo, France to Portsmouth, England. It was great, but part of the charm was being able to spend the night and wake up in France. The trip from St. Malo to England looks like it leaves mid-morning, and takes the better part of a day, which is less ideal. There are also ferries to England that leave from Calais, Caen, Le Havre and Cherbourg.

Where will you be in England just prior to leaving for France?

There's a ferry from Dieppe, too. But you are asking for a simple answer to a question with lots of factors. To start with, where are you going in England? If you have destinations on the south shore, maybe it would be easier if not quicker. But if London, that's more complicated. Moving from ferry terminal and then by rail or wheeled transport to the capital raises the number and cost and stress of connections. The train system is undoubtedly the easiest to use, on both sides of the channel but, as you may understand, the tracks run to Paris and then westward. There might be flight possibilities from Normandy, but not many, as it does not have big cities with major airports. To get an answer, I suggest bearing down on the research. And by the way, 'Chunnel" is out of fashion for references to tunnel traffic.

Where in the UK will you be departing from and where in Normandy do you want to visit? It’s a large region.

I have taken my car across to France on numerous occasions, most recently on the DFDS ferry from Dover to Calais, which was a good service.

The boat is much slower than the tunnel (other than on this forum, no one has called it the Chunnel for 20 years!).

We took the boot from Honfleur to Portsmouth and then the train to London. The crossing was maybe five hours and relaxing. Had a movie theater, lots of duty-free shopping, food service, and big lounge chairs that you would sleep on. It works fine.

Did it many times back in the old days before the tunnel. Others are describing peaceful trips. I remember several crossings with a lot of sick people praying to reach land already. Pack Dramamine just in case it's a windy day.

We took the Normandie Express (technically it's a catamaran) from Cherbourg to Portsmouth. It was an adventure,and as one of those who was green the whole trip, I'm not sure I'd repeat it, but it was the only way to be back in London the next morning. It did not go entirely smoothly, but mostly because we didn't do enough research. First problem, not many taxis at Cherbourg train station on a Sunday evening so we were pushed for time. Second issue involved taxis as well in Portsmouth because the ferry didn't come in close to our hotel at Gunwharf Quay. Finally, I was looking at the wrong timetable for our train to London (Portsmouth has 2 stations) so we ended up with a local train and numerous stops on the way to the city.

Edited for better accuracy.

I’ve done it several times from Calais to Dover and from Cherbourg to Portsmouth.
One trip the weather was terrible and half the ferry was sick. I much prefer the Eurostar.

I have twice planned trips to the Channel Islands via ferry from St. Malo to Jersey then on to England. Of my five planned ferries, two were canceled. Last year the ferry from Jersey was canceled for three days in a row and I had to scramble to arrange a flight to London and a bus back to my intended destination.

I would never plan to take one of those ferries on a tightly-scheduled trio, because it is clear from my experience that there is a good chance your ferry will be canceled.

Second issue involved taxis as well in Portsmouth because the ferry didn't come in close to town.

The ferry terminal is slap bang in the middle of town (or as middle as you can get on a port)!

The issue is the closest train station requires a walk or a taxi but it's not far.

Ferry crossings can be fun or horrendous depending on the weather conditions. I've experienced both, the summer months are generally a safer bet.

Thanks all for the ferry information. There are 10 of us traveling together. We are still in the planning stages and will do some more research but I can tell that the Eurostar will get closer attention.

dimaxwell, note that Eurostar prices tickets like the airlines: The closer to travel, the more expensive. It's quite cheap if bought early enough. Of course, like air tickets, you cannot change the time and date without paying a lot extra. You also have to chose a "class" of ticket. As you have learned the, boats are an obsolete product, one that turns out not to have been that ... romantic.

The ferry is certainly not an obsolete product for those of us on the western side of England who want to travel with our own cars to Normandy or south-western France. The ferries are very comfortable, with excellent restaurants, and plenty of time for a relaxed meal. You can book a luxury cabin on both day and night crossings and take a nap or have some quiet time.

They may not suit everyone's schedule, but they are a well-established and popular choice for many travellers.

Bob, forgive the Colonials for their limited knowledge.

And certainly a life line and necessary mode of transport if you live in Guernsey or Jersey. I certainly prefer ferries to going through Gatwick ugggh!

As you have learned the, boats are an obsolete product, one that turns out not to have been that ... romantic.

Haha, I don't know about romantic, there's nothing much romantic about crossing the English Channel!

It's been a long time since I sailed from Portsmouth to Cherbourg and back, always a Friday night "booze cruise". Leave Portsmouth early evening and spend the night drinking and partying before grabbing a few hours sleep and waking up tired and hungover on the approach to Cherbourg harbour. The morning spent traipsing around the town looking for somewhere for breakfast before stocking up on cheap beer at the supermarket and then rushing back for the return ferry (which we once missed). The return crossing always being a more sombre and sober affair, particularly in the winter when the crossing was rough.

I wouldn't fancy it now but they're certainly not obsolete. I can see the ferries leaving every Friday night so it's clearly still a popular crossing.

True enough for the western wide channel area, but the Eurotunnel has certainly taken a huge chunk out of the eastern channel short crossings.

Well with all the ferry input of a lengthy sailing and/or a queasy stomach churning trip I think we will opt for the train/Eurostar. There will be 10 of us so no matter how we get there it will be a challenge. The plan, as of now for 2019, is we leave Paris for a tour of Normandy then head to London. Now to start doing some digging on connections. Thanks everyone for your comments.

Thank you JC. I restrained myself from asking Bob the most frequently asked question on Trip Advisor about Sorrento: "How much is a Pint [on the ferry] ?" I noticed that on the ferry from Germany to Denmark, one of the meals included unlimited beer and [box!] wine.