Cheapest Channel Crossing?

Any advice out there on the cheapest way to cross the channel (Mainland Europe to UK) on my SW??

Do you need to book ferries in advance for the best deals or can you just turn up at Calais and ride on for a reasonable fee?

I'm planning my first European tour for next summer! It will be the realization of my dream trip to ride home to my homeland

SteVe

Best tip would have been to visit Sangatte and see how the refugees do it for free. But I believe the French have closed it down now.

Other than that - I don't leave the mainland - spent too long on the briny to want to spend any longer on it - sorry!

It all depends where you live in the UK, unless you need to be in the South of England and want to use a French Channel port, you could go Austria, Germany, and into the Netherlands or Belgium and do a North Sea crossing to Felixstowe, Harwich, or Hull.

For ferry discounts there's offers in UK bike mags, through AA membership, and specialist internet sites.

Not a question that can be answered since the various companies do deals at various times.
We generally go Calais-Dover by Eurotunnel, P&O or Sea-France.
The ferries are usually cheaper than the Chunnel but Ed's taking the car over tomorrow on the Shuttle which is (tomorrow) only half the price of the ferries!
One sometimes saves money by booking well in advance although turning up on the day is fine.
The time of day makes a difference, too.
We've also used TransEuropa Ferries from Ostend to Ramsgate. It's a longer crossing but their prices seem to be fixed whatever time and however far in advance one books.
I've done Portsmouth - Caen and Portsmouth-Cherborg. Check travel times because there are fast-cats and all that!
Norfolk Line go Dunkirk - Dover; slightly longer than Calais-Dover. They're okay.

If you really want to push the boat out go Zebrugge - Hull overnight. It's not cheap but just like a mini-cruise and the food's fantastic!
That's P&O.

I'd say that if you're crossing as part of a tour/holiday, take the ferry.
The Shuttle's fine and quick but soul-less and there's nowhere for bikers to sit.

HTH

I agree with Meldrew, too.

Thanks for the tips guys! I especially fancy the idea of landing at Ramsgate as I used to holiday there as a child

So it's Ostend to Ramsgate nowadays, I used the Dunkerque to Ramsgate ferry route many years ago and the only thing I can remember is that was tea-time in Ramsgate, and I had a 400 mile ride back to Cumbria ahead of me.

Mm. The ferry terminal is to the West, not in Ramsgate Harbour so you don't go through the town.
Worth using Google Maps for a look

MikeO wrote:

Mm. The ferry terminal is to the West, not in Ramsgate Harbour so you don't go through the town.
Worth using Google Maps for a look

I've no idea, I just followed the signs out to the nearest motorway. I'd also used Sheerness to Vlissingen for the outward crossing, and the M25 was newly opened back then. After that I started using Hull for crossings, only 200 miles from home.

My preference is shuttle from UK to Europe as you lose less time. Coming back, europe to uk I prefer Calais Dover as more relaxing, have a meal and the hour you save on time difference.

x

Do the inhabitants of the North American continent never venture overseas?
Do they even know there are other continents beyond the sea?

Don't worry - if you sail East you won't fall off the edge but bump into the Cradle of Civilization.

We can all nit-pick, but you don't have to read anything you're not interested in. There's pages of stuff here on the new Honda Integra, who's considering a Gold Wing or a 650 Burgman etc. This has nothing to do with the Silver Wing either, and you could say it shows a lack of loyalty to the scooter we're all supposed to be enthusiasts of.

Anyway it's nearly winter, a lot of members won't be riding, and some are already planning their rides or tours for next year. So it's in the wrong section, wasn't there something on here earlier this year about which assault rifle you could stow under the seat. We 'English' may have thought it a rather strange topic, but we didn't throw our toys out of the pram.

Hilarious response Meldrew! Ditto Mike!

However, on a more sober note; as I was the one that started this "misplaced" thread, I ought to respond to Bigbird's rant by passing on my apologies if I have somehow broken this forum's protocol. I am still fairly new to this site and didn't really understand the different sections here ..........

Does this mean that when I enter something in the search box, I am only searching within the section of the forum that I am currently located and not the whole site?

SteVe

Does this mean that when I enter something in the search box, I am only searching within the section of the forum that I am currently located and not the whole site?
Probably - on the X9 Forum one has to search from the Home Page to get hits from all sections.

Personally I don't think it's wrong to post something in a non-specific section which may be of interest to everyone .
I have learnt much from general chat, much referring specifically to the USA or Canada, that I might not have investigated if it had been posted in country-specific places.

If ALL Non Silverwing content was removed from the non specific areas of the Forum, it would sure make it like all the other forums I tried to get into. I agree with Mike... I have learned a lot about other places here. Never been to England or Belgium or Australia or Canada. Feel like I would fit right in with the folks in any of those places. Might not understand some of the local phrases, but enjoy hearing them used here. I am about to wear out my Google button.

Steve... I think the search option is site wide. Not exactly sure, but will do a little research here. I will get back.

x

Indeed we're lucky in not having to put out bikes in hibernation although we've had a taste of it over the last three years with heavy snow and, for us, low temperatures.
I was interested to see here that the first bits to be cleared are the cycle-paths using little tractors.

I thought Steve was planning to do his European Tour on his Silverwing!

To me that makes it relevant.

Cheers,