Flight or the Condor? (Condor Ferries)

Member Name: lil'lou

Product:	Condor Ferries
Date:	09/05/02 (269 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast, Comfortable, Convenient

Disadvantages: More expensive than conventional ferries, Only runs from May-September

As I spend a lot of time travelling between Britain and France I’m always looking out for cheaper, quicker or more comfortable methods of transport. As a student in my gap year abroad I chose the civilised option of the Eurostar as bad memories of childhood sea-sickness still haunted me. Now with a boyfriend down in the south of France, I find the 15-hour train journeys a bit too much to handle. I've tried land, air and sea to get back and forth and I will be reviewing other methods shortly. Meanwhile here is my view on Condor ferries:

When I discovered that I could do Poole-Saint Malo in four hours with Condor Ferries I decided to brave the sea once again. I was surprised how comfortable and swish these ferries are. I suppose you could say they are the Ferraris of the cross-channel ferry world. At 40 knots per hour they're pretty nippy, but you feel it when you hit those waves!! There aren’t any cabins, but it is not really worth it considering the journey length. There is a bar and food counter which are quite expensive and nothing to write home about, but if you must fill the gap… !

The staff were friendly and helpful and although mostly French, spoke good english. In peak season it can be a bit chaotic with kids running around and there's not much entertainment so the journey can be a bit boring. There's a small shop selling perfume, confectionary etc. Luckily, the journey is broken up by stops in the Channel Islands (to let passengers on and off)and it was nice to get a change of scenery other than a monotonous, vast expanse of sea.

The only drawbacks are the price and the sailing schedule. It can be very expensive when travelling with a car. I always travel as a foot-passenger which is around £50 return. If your planning a two week camping holiday in the Dordogne with kids and a caravan then it’s probably better taking the night ferry; cheaper in pe
ak-season and less likely to be booked-up. However, for day trips to France and the Channel Islands then this is the perfect option. The journey is so short that you arrive feeling refreshed and there is none of that overnight, sleep-deprived . For me, this is great as I can hop on a train and head off down south and be ‘home’ with my loved one by late evening.

As I mentioned above sailings are not as frequent as with normal ferries. They run from the end of May until the end of September which means early spring breaks aren't possible. This is due to the incapacity of the boats to stand the harsh winter weather...or more likely the incapacity of the passengers' stomachs!!

I would definitely recommend Condor to anyone with a bit a spare cash who fancies taking off for a weekend's wining and dining in St Malo, or if like me finds long ferry journeys too traumatic!

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