Hi there I'm off on a family fishing holiday to France in July with the five of us set to travel in my landrover discovery towing a box trailer, I've been quoted 800 quid to have a towbar fitted and a couple of hundred for the trailer hire. It's my first time driving in France and wondered if there were cheaper alternatives to travel with gear and passengers using the tunnel.

In reply to Post #1
Hiring a van must be cheaper?

In reply to Post #1
The crossing will also probably more than double once you add a trailer, or at least it did last time I checked. Couldn't believe it was more than the cost of 2 separate cars travelling together.

Hire van as below is an option, although also adds it's own extra costs and may not seat enough people for your trip unless you get a crew cab.

Else it's 2 cars but that adds fuel, crossing and toll costs.

In reply to Post #1
Maybe a crew van might be a bit cheaper but they weren't particularly cheap when I looked last year .

Kick the family out the car and fly them down 😂

In reply to Post #5
Cheapest and most comfortable option.

In reply to Post #6
That's what we did last year . Think it's easier on the kids

In reply to Post #7
That's exactly what we do. I drive down with all the gear and suitcases and they fly down to Limoges with just some hand luggage. Works out cheaper and much easier for the family and I get a stress free drive

Looks like we are all in favour of kicking them out the motor then 😎😂😂

In reply to Post #1
Consider looking at a different route - eg Newhaven to Dieppe?

In reply to Post #8
That's the same airport we flew the into . Which lake did you fish ?

In reply to Post #11
There are loads around that area but we fished Golden Oaks, and have a few more trips booked for the coming years

Very nice . My wife and family met a couple of anglers on the plane travelling to go fishing. It's lovely place to fish down there

In reply to Post #13
It is mate. Which lake are you fishing around there? Plenty of them down there and quite an accessible region with decent road links and the airport

In reply to Post #14
We fished the secret garden . We have rebooked for 2025 as it was a great family holiday with good quality fishing

Iv also booked chanteboeuf for 2026 which is just around the corner from secret garden .

I'm interested, do you go via Paris or take a longer route round ?

In reply to Post #15
I go Portsmouth to Caen so no need to go anywhere near Paris for me luckily. Nice drive down to Le Mans, Poitier and then through to Limoges. Comfortable 6 hours of decent roads. We've got 2025 and 2027 booked for Golden Oaks, as like you with the Secret Garden, it was an ideal family holiday with quality fishing. Always been tempted by Chanteboeuf

In reply to Post #16
6 hours driving!
I hate driving, I get bored after 30 minutes.
Not so bad if someone else drives and I go to sleep. If I can't get to sleep then that's boring as well

I always travel to France with friends by car, of course, it is long and tiring. This month, there were no travel companions, so I decided to save money and flew for the first time from Liverpool. I was worried about how I would cope with transporting the equipment, so I collected everything I needed in advance to not be overloaded and ordered flagship transfers so I didn't have to worry about parking or travel time, I just arrived and flew. Upon arrival, I rented a car on the spot, it was much easier to get there.

In reply to Post #18
Really pleased with the price of return Dover Calais crossing with AP crossings. Charlotte was very responsive to messages and saved us a fair few quid .

Usually get pretty good deals through Ferrysavers.