Ferries - You Gotta Be Rich

[EdF]

We've been contemplating going to either the Norwegian LR Club Rally or Sweden Offroad, both in July. Now DFDS no longer do the Newcastle - Gothenberg route, other options are limited. One option to Sweden was the DFDS Harwich to Esbjerg (in Denmark) ferry and drive east into Sweden, follow the rally north (it's a tour of Sweden starting in the far south and ending in the far north) and then returning either on the DFDS ferry from Bergen to Newcastle or the Smyril Line ferry from Bergen to Scrabster in the north of Scotland, as we live near Inverness. One small problem - the ferry costs. Harwich to Esbjerg is £444 and Bergen to Scrabster £588, (each obviously a single journey!) making a total of £1032.. What a rip-off! We can both go on a week-long cruise for that! I believe the longer Channel routes double in the height of the season as well. This makes taking a ferry ludicrously expensive in comparison to flying and hiring a car. Trouble is, you can't take a hire car to a 4x4 or Landy rally. Nuts to the ferry companies, I'm not paying that money.. I'm taking the other option, the near Continent and a Dover - Calais crossing. Please, no-one suggest driving around!

[Godlykepower]

Crazy prices aren't they!!!???

I was planning on going over to Morocco later this year. Before I had dates planned, I got an idea of costs for the Algecerias - Cueta route. Its only 35 minutes, and cost 70 Euros. Awesome I thinks, I'll have some of that!!!

Got my calender out, planned the dates exactly (mid-July) and gues what......the bloody ferry prices went up a bit!!! From 70 to, wait for it, 380 Euros!!

I'll quite happily pay 380 for a really long journey, and feel like I get a bit of value for money.....but not to a place that I can actually SEE from Spain!! Its only half an hour away!!

Hey, why dont you just drive to Scandinavia!!!!!!!!!! Cant be more than 25-30 hours from bonny Scotland!!

[EdF]

Hey, why dont you just drive to Scandinavia!!!!!!!!!! Cant be more than 25-30 hours from bonny Scotland!!

Yess..., so much for my last sentence!! It would probably cost as much as the ferry in diesel.. I could do a Clarkson, sell the house and buy a big Merc and go PHHHWWOARRR every time I put my foot down.. In fact, fuel prices are making me think twice about keeping the 90. I reckon it would cost me £500+ in fuel for a touring holiday of Switzerland (3k miles, 2.5k just there and back) which was the next plan.. Just bought a little runabout - a Fiat Grande Punto with a sewing machine 1.3 diesel lurking in a corner up front, it averages 64mpg! Road tax £35 a year, £125 insurance.. That's the way it's going, we'll all be driving around in 2 cylinder 500cc diesels in a few years time.. Just to cheer readers up, there's no shortage of fuel, the high prices have been caused by speculators, according to an American economist friend..

[Godlykepower]

Yess..., so much for my last sentence!!

I know! Thats why I did the little pokey outy tongue picture!!!

I also wouldn't put too much faith in your mileage calculations when it comes to going across Europe. I went to Central Italy last year & thought I had it all planned, but I wanted to get off the toll roads & ended up on some fantastic driving roads - actually the same roads that Top Gear found on the "Ultimate Driving roads" episode - but my planned mileage went through the roof!!

The beauty of it was that fuel was a lot cheaper than the UK at the time. If fuel on the continent goes up at roughly the same rate as here (and I dont know if it does; got a feeling it doesn't) then it will still be under a quid a litre.

Saw something on the telly the other week....."they" say fuel may hit £1.50 next year.

[Guest diesel_jim]

Crazy prices aren't they!!!???

I was planning on going over to Morocco later this year. Before I had dates planned, I got an idea of costs for the Algecerias - Cueta route. Its only 35 minutes, and cost 70 Euros. Awesome I thinks, I'll have some of that!!!

Got my calender out, planned the dates exactly (mid-July) and gues what......the bloody ferry prices went up a bit!!! From 70 to, wait for it, 380 Euros!!

I'll quite happily pay 380 for a really long journey, and feel like I get a bit of value for money.....but not to a place that I can actually SEE from Spain!! Its only half an hour away!!

Hey, why dont you just drive to Scandinavia!!!!!!!!!! Cant be more than 25-30 hours from bonny Scotland!!

Can i suggest using FRS ferries who sail from Tarifa or Gibraltar. not bad rates either.

[alfredenewman]

i think you will find the short crossings across the chanell are the dearest in the world per mile travelled

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Try Portsmouth to the Isle of White

Absolutely F stupid £££s.................Oh and hopeless snotty arogant service on a good day too

Nige

[willfromsussex]

I drove from Sussex to Norway in 2000, to go to a classic car show, I was in a 1978 Datsun 180B, and I crossed over to Holland to get onto that chunk of land. it was a nice little jaunt through Germany, Denmark, Sweden and then Norway, 2,400 miles there and back. Great fun. Fuel was cheaper then of course, and my car was doing about 30mpg (and about 10mpg on the autobahn probably:) )

[Rizla 1]

We do a lot of off road stuff in Scandinavia and have used all the routes over the last 8 years , The DFDS boat does still run on a new route - Newcastle to Stravanger (Norway ) or you can do a Grimsby to Kristainsand (southern Norway ) on the cargo route , but only 5 passengers allowed on this one.

The other option is from Harwich to Hook of Holland then drive across the bridges into Sweden.

Harwich to Esbjerg (Denmark) is very dear but makes it a very straight run across the bridges to Sweden -

We just paid £600 for the ferry across from the top of Denmark to Norway and thats just a 3 hour trip - In July

Hope this may help you - and if you make the trip try to come to Eurotrial Southern Norway on the last weekend in July.

Or you could drive round like we have a few times - cheap boat across to France and your away

[100inch]

I have to say that this years ferry for going to Billing show will cost me only euro 128.- for a 110. Channel-Tunnel quote was about euro 240.-...In previous years I paid up to £250.- for the crossing, so my budget for parts is still intact. And if we talking about diesel cost going up blah,blah..., the quote for shipping the car to AUS from Europe was the very same as I paid in 2005. Sometimes I don`t get the point, but that is maybe just me. cheers m

[EdF]

We do a lot of off road stuff in Scandinavia and have used all the routes over the last 8 years , The DFDS boat does still run on a new route - Newcastle to Stravanger (Norway ) or you can do a Grimsby to Kristainsand (southern Norway )

Harwich to Esbjerg (Denmark) is very dear but makes it a very straight run across the bridges to Sweden -

The Newcastle - Stavanger route isn't new, it's only new to DFDS, (the ferry calls at Stavanger, then Haugesund and ends in Bergen) Colour Line used to do it and we went on it once, the MS Jupiter, which left a red/black smoke screen right across the North Sea. And only pollution from vehicles ever gets talked about!

Are you certain about the Grimsby - Kristiansand route as I've just done a pretty extensive web search and couldn't find it. However, freight routes are sometimes well hidden.. Do you know which company operate it? A few sites mention a Newcastle - Kristiansand route on the main page, but when I get into the sites for route dates, times and prices, it isn't mentioned again.

[rejo]

Might be a bit of a long drive but i usually use trans europa ferries from ramsgate to oostend. Not the nicest boats but very cheap.

[Rizla 1]

The Newcastle - Stavanger route isn't new, it's only new to DFDS, (the ferry calls at Stavanger, then Haugesund and ends in Bergen) Colour Line used to do it and we went on it once, the MS Jupiter, which left a red/black smoke screen right across the North Sea. And only pollution from vehicles ever gets talked about!

Are you certain about the Grimsby - Kristiansand route as I've just done a pretty extensive web search and couldn't find it. However, freight routes are sometimes well hidden.. Do you know which company operate it? A few sites mention a Newcastle - Kristiansand route on the main page, but when I get into the sites for route dates, times and prices, it isn't mentioned again.

When i said it was new - i should have said replaced with the old route - This was the best way to travel across the north sea - bars , dancing girls , good food , just a very high price - we used this route 3 or 4 times.

As for Grimsby Yes we used this route twice - It's maybe under Immingham - Kristainsand , run by DFDS

If you phone them they will put you through - there cargo office is at the docks in Immingham.

But again its not that cheap as all food and bunks are included and its mostly for lorry drivers and takes 28 hours

Or you could always drive round We are in June and July - well to Denmark then a boat

[Nigel H]

There's a group from the Camel club going to Morocco in August, ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao, I thought I'd go along. Ferry cost circa £900, and that includes 2 days each way as a captive audience.

1 week earlier there's another group of Camels going to the Pyrenees sailing from Dover, £140.

I'll be extending my holiday by a week and join the Morocco gang on the other side.

N.

[GBMUD]

Got back from Bilbao via Portsmouth about 36 hours ago. We booked ahead and paid, IIRC, £580 for a car, driver and one passenger. I was somewhat peeved to discover that the prices have now gone down to the point where a Transit, passengers and car trailer now costs only marginally more, should have waited. Prices for food and drink on board are only marginally higher than one might think reasonable - in fact, go for the buffet dinner at ~£18 for all you can eat 4 courses or ~£10 all you can eat (or smuggle out!) English breakfast and the prices seem more reasonable. You can take food on-board with you if you prefer. Seeing Whale and Dolphin in the bay of Biscay was quite something too. Take a laptop with films and a good book.

On the channel routes I prefer Dover-Dunkirk as the cheapest route by a mile IME. It also gets you straight onto better roads.

Chris

[EdF]

As for Grimsby Yes we used this route twice - It's maybe under Immingham - Kristainsand , run by DFDS

If you phone them they will put you through - there cargo office is at the docks in Immingham.

But again its not that cheap as all food and bunks are included and its mostly for lorry drivers and takes 28 hours

Or you could always drive round We are in June and July - well to Denmark then a boat

Thanks for your reply, Rizla, I did find the site under Immingham - Gothenberg (if still correct as DFDS stopped that route for their passenger ferry). I'll get a quote and post it tomorrow. Driving around involves a 1200 mile round trip to Dover from home before we get abroad. Too much driving, too old! For any driving trip abroad we have to add 4 days just to get to the south coast and back.

[TJ101]

You seam to have found out how the ferries company's price their routes etc,, IE the same as if you were to drive round

If you want expensive ferries, try the Steam Racket to the Isle of Man !!!

[EdF]

Just spoke to 'Freight Ferries' about Immingham to Gothenberg.. Their website is out of date and they don't do any services to Scandinavia and they referred me to DFDS. I got two prices, Newcastle - Bergen was £650 return in early July and £820 in late July.

In the Mail last Saturday was an offer for a 14 day Mediterranean cruise for £999 on the QE2. I think I know which I'd prefer to do, and I don't have to drive 2500 miles either.. Anyone want a nice 90....?

[neilwilson]

We went to the SLRK summer event last year in Okno and after looking at the Harwich->Esjberg prices for a family of four the cost was just prohibitive. We took the tunnel and spent two days driving. I would go this way again, the kids loved going through all the different countries and finding camp sites etc. The worst driving standards in the whole 2000+ mile trip was encountered on the return from the tunnel to our home, I am not sure what it is but I find driving in Europe on the whole so much more enjoyable & less fraught.

Neil

[EdF]

I agree, Neil, except once in France when I flashed my lights to let a car in front out to pass a lorry and the driver went nuts and tried to ram us! I think flashing headlights means something else in France, but it seems less stressful usually.

Further to my last offering, I've now found the correct DFDS site and they DO go from Immingham to Gothenberg, it's a separate shipping line - DFDS Tor line http://www.dfdstorline.com/DfdsTorLine/EN/ and the fare is £700 plus any supplement for the motor being over 1.85m (my 90 is about 1.98m). Also, by getting the Newcastle - Ijmuiden (Amsterdam) ferry and then driving, it's 'only' 510 miles to Malmo in southern Sweden. So, maybe it's on..., one way or another...

[80INCH]

i think you will find the short crossings across the chanell are the dearest in the world per mile travelled

Have a looks at Speed ferries, who use that sea cat that used to be hoverspeed and are quite reasonable. I have a quote for £38 outbound and £34 return from dover to boulogne in july.

[A Twig]

Hah! Was thinking of heading to Canary Islands/Morocco, though I'd get the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander - drive down through Spain to Cadiz then another ferry.

Ferry from Plymouth to Santander was £903 for two people and my 90...

Won't be doing that then...

[TJ101]

Ferry from Plymouth to Santander was £903 for two people and my 90...

Won't be doing that then...

Try Portsmouth to Bibao with P & O , depends on dates etc, but just got back, and cost us £ 498, (110 + 2 ) but did book a good few months ago, cheaper than Plymouth / Santander, by about £150, then easy drive down, 650 miles !!

[mmgemini]

Have a look at the Southampton/Portsmouth crossings.

A friend used those, he got very cheap rates because he travelled at night.

mike

[q-rover]

If you think the ferries are expensive in Scandinavia, just wait untill you see the fuel prices. :lol:

With the current exchange rate, it´ll be an expensive trip.