France Ferry & Campsite info (use Search function) mod warning post 1

monkeybutter

Are the AA the only option not w that roadside is gone and the adac is gone

tmabr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120399579#Comment_120399579

AA was the only one available last year, didnt need it thankfully

tmabr

Anyone drive cherbourg to paris (disneyland). all booked up, looks like about a 5 hour drive. Are tolls accepting card? any good spots to stop halfway for lunch?

Thanks

BullBauld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120406214#Comment_120406214

Did it last summer. We went from Des Ormes to Paris and then back to Cherbourg.

A grand drive, plenty of service stations on route to stop at. You won't be stuck.

You can just tap the card at the tolls, handy out.

GeneralSherman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120393789#Comment_120393789

Hi Colm82

Experienced camper here with 4 kids, we have stayed at Les Ormes a couple of times but last time was about 7 years ago. I would suggest to think of your budget as if you are holidaying in IRL - whatever that would be for your family. We are all different.

Food is certainly no cheaper than IRL in the supermarkets and eating out is not cheap either for a family of 5 so do a Lidl shop for the basics and avoid the more expensive supermarkets. Buy multipacks of icecreams etc. Our routine around food was crepes/eggs/cereals/croissants for breakfast, lunch was baguette and salads, dinner - pasta with barbecue & salads. There is a takeaway onsite at Les Ormes but long wait time when we were there and there was a fancier restaurant on site also which was good but more expensive. There is a games room and icecream/waffles onsite which will suck your money but the free entertainment is outstanding. Les Ormes is about a 10minute drive to the nearest town. We got takeaway pizza there but didn't eat in a restaurant as such... would recommend going to St. Malo one evening for dinner. If your kids are young and have favorite things to eat such as a brand of butter or cheese I would suggest bringing those with you - everything else you can get there. I used to pack one small box of food/kitchen things and put it in the car - when it was full it was full. The knives are blunt out in the mobiles, used to drive me nuts !

necstandards

Last year when we arrived in Roscoff, it took about 1.5 hours to get disembarked and through customs. We were parked on the top floating deck so that explains why we were slow to get off the ship.. so what is the loading strategy. arrive last second and hope to get on the lower deck?

Colm82

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120409834#Comment_120409834

Thanks very much for the information

the_amazing_raisin

How useful is the speedy exit for getting off the WB Yeats in Cherbourg? My previous experience travelling to and from the UK without speedy exit was that it probably took less than 10 mins to disembark and be out of the port

Obviously that was the Swift and the Yeats is a bit of a bigger boat, so probably takes a bit longer

Would it be something like 20-30 mins to get off the boat and be on the move, or more like 40-60 mins?

Heroditas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120412796#Comment_120412796

We got speedy exit last year. You get off the boat a few minutes quicker but the big difference is you get through passport control much much quicker because you're at the top of the queue. We ended up on the road a good 40-45mins earlier than the previous time we went which can make a big difference if you have a long drive ahead of you.

P2C

Any advice or recommendations 3 kids and a dog. Kids are 10,8 & 4 . Seasoned travellers but normally home swap or apartments. More worried about the dog as never travelled with a pet before. Going from 5th of July to 5th of August so can move about. WB Yeats. Thinking between Nantes and bordeaux . Thanks in advance

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120413222#Comment_120413222

Okay yeah that sounds like a pretty good selling point. We're currently travelling by plane (boo) but given the French are currently having a moderate to large dispute with their government, I feel like having a backup plan is prudent

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120413388#Comment_120413388

The main thing with the dog is to book his return tapeworm treatment early in your trip, it can be very hard to find a vet and get an appointment in August. They'll insist on a 'consultation' so expect to pay €50 or thereabouts. Watch out for the dog and the heat that time of year, 2 gel cool pads could be a good purchase. Can't help with the campsite suggestion unfortunately; we stayed in Labenne near Biarritz which is a bit further south than you're considering.

yiddo59

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120413222#Comment_120413222

I'd agree with you. We,ve used it a couple of times. Definetly worth it if you have a long drive ahead.

Uncle Pierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120406214#Comment_120406214

Did this drive myself last year too. Correct it's about a five-hour drive if you go non-stop. Expect bumper-to-bumper crawling along for a while as you go through Paris, but other than that, it's a fine drive.

Can confirm what other poster said about just tap your card to pay any toll. No issues with that at all.

As for a break along the way, we just pulled into a random motorway services about halfway through the trip. So I can't suggest anywhere in particular, but to me, nothing wrong with that approach anyway.

Enjoy the trip. You'll have an absolute ball in Disneyland. We'd been thinking about it for years before finally doing it last year, and we'll definitely go back again in another year or two.

munchkin_utd

Just on the subject of tolls, for anyone looking for a French toll tag, it seems next to impossible to get one delivered to any small country, Ireland included.

The workaround is that you can get one in person from the motorway agency for the motorways in Northern France (including the motorway from Cherbourg to Paris) at one of these locations

https://www.bipandgo.com/en/branches/

generally only open Monday to Saturday during office hours, but all are along the motorway, some just off the motorway in an admin building, some actually on the motorway in a motorway services.

The payment by card is fine but if you think you'll use motorways more regularily over the next few years then a tag might make sense just to save the hassle. Theres pay as you go options where theres no standing charge, just 1.90 or 2Euro fee for the month you use it. As a bonus, the French tags can be used in Spain, Portugal and italy

josip

Does ATMB not deliver to Ireland any more? They did 5 years ago and the tag still works.

https://www.atmb.com/

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120439012#Comment_120439012

ATMB worked fine for delivery to Ireland this time last year. It's fine for using the TelePeage on the motorways down South and speeding up the transit time, but no other gain from it as it's not discounted.

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120439047#Comment_120439047

Wasn't that what munchkin's query was about, tags delivered to Ireland? Or is there a discounts subplot that's completely whooshed me?

what the heck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120413452#Comment_120413452

We didn't get the speedy exit last year. It took ages to disembark and then even longer to get through passport control. Even though it was a ferry coming from another EU country, we could see that the cars with NI regs were taking a lot longer than the IRL to clear through the passport check... I'd say it was 90 minutes before we cleared passport control from docking... We won't be making that mistake this year and have it booked!

kindalen

Irish Ferries prices dropped for my trip, booked last November. I had used Flexi, so cancelled and rebooked. Saved a few hundred euro. Always a risk someone happens to book your dates/cabins, so at your own risk.

corkgirl17

Went away and bought a roof box for some extra space in the car. Rang Brittany Ferries to make the change to the booking but was told the Sailing is full so they can't accommodate the change. Was told perhaps there might be a cancellation so try again closer to the time. Has this happened to anyone and were they able to get the change?? Fuming now as bought the roof box especially for this! Never thought it would be that big an issue.

webpal

ah nuts, I was going to buy a roof rack and bring bikes

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120495374#Comment_120495374

What are the height limits for your original booking? Just because you have a roofbox, you may still be within them. Our car with the roofbox on is 1.92 and on some bookings is in the <2.0m category

redoctober

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120360619#Comment_120360619

I stayed there in 2008. Lovely area. Depends what you're into. I'm assuming you have a car? You could head up into the mountains which are close and explore the basque country. As mentioned, San Sebastian is a beautiful city which is close. Good beach at Biarritz with plenty of waves (if you like that sort of thing!). There's an acquarium in Biarritz with lots of interesting stuffed birds and things. There was a kind of show on when I was there with guys doing stunts with bulls (bit like a rodeo) at an open-air theatre there. There's a cave close-by (Grotte de Sare) and a little railway you can catch in La Rhune. Lot of cool places and nice beaches, quaint villages in the hills and good weather most importantly.

corkgirl17

I think the original booking was up to 1.7m in height so I asked about changing to the up to 2.6m height range and was told no.. are the roofs on these levels that low? Only ferry I have experience of is the ferry to Wales.

loyatemu

I've arrived for the Irish Ferries boat in the past with a bike on the roof that I hadn't booked and they didn't bat an eyelid. My impression was that they just loaded whoever turned up onto whichever deck they fitted on. But BF might be stricter.

corkgirl17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120496549#Comment_120496549

Wouldn't take the chance seeing as the ferry is full. Your ferry might have had room available and they didn't mind so much. I've rang and emailed and it's a no at the moment.. will just keep checking over the next 2 months I suppose.

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120498672#Comment_120498672

Less of a risk with the bikes though. You could easily take them off and revert to normal height for loading if there was a problem. With the roofbox you're committed.

yiddo59

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120496549#Comment_120496549

Dont think its got much to do with the ferry operator but more to do with how busy the sailing is. @corkgirl17 if I was you I'd keep in touch with BF every couple of weeks by phone so that if a cancellation happens you,ll be top of the list.

corkgirl17

Went onto the website just now and it allowed me to add the roof box and the sailing was no longer full so they must have had cancellations. Delighted now that it's sorted. Plenty space to bring back some wine now!!!