Travelling self-drive

Self-drive prices

‘Self-drive’ prices apply when you take your car across the Channel. They include a return crossing between Dover and Calais with P&O Ferries for your party (minimum 2 adults) and one car (no on-board accommodation is included). The crossing takes 90 minutes and during peak periods there are departures every 45-50 minutes.

A supplement of £35 per car per single journey applies for outward travel on 26-28 March & 2-4 April 2021, and for homeward travel on 4-5 & 10-11 April 2021. Similarly, a supplement of £56 per car per single journey applies outward on Fridays & Saturdays 28-29 May & 9 July-14 August 2021 and homeward on Saturdays & Sundays 5-6 June & 17 July-29 August 2021.

Upgrade to P&O Ferries’ Club Plus service on the Dover to Calais route for just £12 per person plus £12 per car each way and you can benefit from: priority boarding and disembarkation, plus access to the exclusive Club Lounge with complimentary tea, coffee, soft drinks, newspapers, waiter service and snack menu.

Self-drive prices for short breaks are based on a 4-night maximum stay.

On hotel-to-hotel walking and cycling holidays, a transfer back to the first hotel to pick up your car is included where necessary.

Other routes and operators

You can travel on alternative routes to the continent, providing you travel out and back with the same company. We are able to offer a number of alternatives at supplements to our self-drive prices (please contact us for full details, timings and prices):

Eurotunnel le shuttle
Eurotunnel le shuttle offers the quickest method of taking your car across the Channel, with a crossing time of only 35 minutes from Folkestone and Calais. Its convenient service operates 365 days a year with a choice of up to 4 departures an hour during peak periods.

Upgrade to Flexiplus and you benefit from a dedicated check-in, exclusive lounge serving complimentary non-alcoholic drinks and snacks, and priority boarding.

Please let us know at the time of booking if your car and equipment are more than 1.85 metres high. Eurotunnel is unable to carry vehicles powered by flammable gases such as LPG or hydrogen.

Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries enjoys an excellent reputation for the quality of its ships and on-board service.

To France: you may choose to travel on the high-speed services between Portsmouth and Cherbourg. Traditional ferries run between Poole and Cherbourg, Portsmouth and Caen or St Malo, and between Plymouth and Roscoff.

To Northern Spain: make the journey a memorable part of your holiday to northern Spain. There are crossings on luxurious cruise ferries travelling from Portsmouth to Santander or Bilbao, and from Plymouth to Santander, with most journeys taking just 24 hours.

P&O Ferries
If you are travelling from northern England, we highly recommend P&O Ferries’ overnight service from Hull to Rotterdam. These large, comfortable cruise ships leave every evening at 2030 (2100 on the return), and they arrive the following morning at breakfast time. From Rotterdam you have easy access to the motorway network and can head south-west to France, or south-east to Germany and beyond!

Important cross-Channel information

Ferry and Eurotunnel reservations are made for fixed time departures; please arrive in plenty of time to check in.

On-board accommodation is obligatory on all night sailings and must be reserved in advance.

Statutory legislation obliges all cross-Channel operators to hold the names, ages and gender of all passengers and whether any special assistance is required on board. Please provide these details at the time of booking to prevent hold-ups at port.

Furthermore, the UK government requires carriers (including airlines and rail and ferry operators) to collect Advanced Passenger Information (API) for passengers on routes to and from the UK, and governments of some other countries require similar information. API is sometimes collected as you check in and is normally restricted to the standard information contained in machine-readable passports, such as full given names, date of birth, nationality, gender, passport number, date of issue and expiry. However, some countries require the information to be submitted in advance of departure, and some governments collect additional information such as your destination address. Where we have made travel arrangements on your behalf and your carrier (eg Eurotunnel) requires the information in advance, we will collect the information from you and submit it to your travel provider. Please be assured that we have measures in place to protect the personal information you provide to us, as explained in our privacy policy.

There is a maximum overall height for cars (including any roof loads) of 3 metres and a maximum length of 6 metres. Charges may apply to cars over 1.8 metres high (including roof loads) or over 5 metres in length, according to each operator’s normal conditions of carriage. Please inform us of the length and height of your car at the time of booking and let us know if bicycles are to be carried on the rear of your car.

Taking your car abroad

Before you take your car abroad, you should check that you have:

• all equipment (eg warning triangles and reflective vests) that you are required to carry in your car according to the laws of the country(ies) you are visiting or driving through

• car insurance that covers you to drive in Europe (you will need to tell your insurer where and when you travelling)

• an insurance green card (ask your insurer for this; they may levy a fee and your request may take up to six weeks to process)

• breakdown cover while you are abroad

Most people with a card-style UK driving licence can use it as normal in Europe. However, if you have a UK paper licence or if your licence was issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or Isle of Man, depending on which countries you are visiting (including any you are transiting through), you may need to apply for at least one type, but possibly both types, of International Driving Permit (see www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit).

Besides your insurance documents and driving licences/permits, you should also take your vehicle registration documents (V5) with you, and display a GB sticker on the rear of your car if it does not have a GB indicator on the number plate (if you are driving your car in Spain, Cyprus or Malta, you will need a sticker regardless of what is on your number plate).