A far better way of travelling (Euro Tunnel)

Member Name: buchanan17

Product:	Euro Tunnel
Date:	10/11/00 (2901 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick, easy

Disadvantages: Costs a bit more than ferries

On a recent business trip to France we decided to try the alternatrive of driving and using the tunnel. Normally we would have driven to a London airport, waited, flown, got a hire car, driven etc - around 6 hours to a town 2 hours from paris. And we would have paid per person. Autoroute said that it would take a bit longer using the tunnel, but it would work out cheaper as the tunnel fare is per car.

Other advantages of course would be flexibility of travel, the empty French roads and of course the opportunity to load up at the huge shopping complex just near the tunnel entrance in Calais...

We also decided that as we wanted flexibility we woudl travel "club class" which on a fully flexible ticket only added another twenty or so pounds to give a return fare of £220 for 3 people.

The tunnel however was not particularly busy, even in November with plenty of Christmas shopping trips in progress - any sort of fare should not have resulted in much difference in the service. Indeed fares as low as £15 were advertised inside the train - for a departure after 6pm and return by 2am the next morning!

The use of the tunnel is very easy. the terminal is of course near Dover, though a good 10 miles short on the M20. Drive straight off the motorway to check in - from the car. A large number of booths shouldn't mean much more than a couple of minutes wait, though we used priority check in offered by the club class facility.

There is a large shoppign complex of course near the tunnel - the only place we could find stickers for the headlights (its the considerate thing to do, though mnay people don't). GB stickers are supposed to be fitted and in france you should carry a warning triangle, first aid kit - and the vehicle registration documents!

You can drive stright through passport control which has GB and French controls a hundred yards apart. ;The british don't mind that you are leaving, but t
he French check your passport numbers - of course this means that you don't have to pass through controls in france - just drive straight off.

The train has two parts - one for cars, one for coaches and vans. On the way out we went on the coach part as the height barrier seemed to have slipped, but was probably OK. 1.85m is the limit - Espace type vehicles should be Ok for this.

Cars stack on two decks, coaches obviously on one. They are directed to load different halves of the same very long train. Loading is very much like a ferry though simpler and quicker as it is simply nose to tail.

The carriages are a little spartan in that facilities are simply toilets. You stay with your car throughout the journey though there is plenty of room to stretch your legs. Toilets are every 3 carriages on the car part of the trains, but only at the front and rear of the coach part which can mean a long walk. Toilets were not particulary pleasant, typical train fare.

The journey takes 35 minutes as the train doesn't go particularly fast - the carriages are very tall and wide so I guess this makes sense. And, surprise surprise, there is not really much of a view! The journey into Calais takes a few minutes after you come out of the tunnel though the way we ended up facing on our return leads me to think that the train loops to face the tunnel when it reaches the station.

A real advantage over the ferry here - you are off the train about 2 minutes after it stops, and onto the good road system around Calais. YOu may not want to go any further than the huge shopping centre next door, but most routes into france mean you should take the Boulogne coast road which even on a cloudy and rainy evening offered a lovely view of the white cliffs of Dover.

On the way out we didnt't use the additional club class facilities - in general club class allows you to board any train you want, and get a priority check in lane. Y
ou also board first so you are first off. But also there is a club lounge! This is only a small portakabin type building but they pack up a packed lunch type meal for you on your arrival very quickly so you can get straight on your way. This lounge is after passport control. YOu can sit for a while - the obligatory coffee machines, fruit juice and biscuits are there, as it a very small shop if you have forgotten your cheap booze n fags.

As I have indicated, one attraction is the huge shopping complex right next to the terminal. Tesco are right here with a booze shop, but there is also a huge - think of the biggest supermarket here that you've been to - now quadruple it - hypermarket (Carrefour), plus loads of shops including Disney, H&M and even Hygena (MFI kitchens!) I'll be back for that, though even on a weekday evening it was busy, but not unpleasnatly so. Prices are good, thanks in part to the good exchange rate.

So, Eurotunnel is an excellent alternative to ferries - I suspect that it may always cost a little more, though is much quicker and easier. A good alternative to flights for other places in Northern France. Disneyland Paris probably too as I have flown there and it took 7 or 8 hours door to door.

The other use of the tunnel is Eurostar which I have not experienced but offers London to paris in 3 hours, or AShford (some 15 miles hort of the tunnel) to Paris in 2 hours. Also, trains every other day straight to Dinseyland paris in the same times!


Check it out, check the offers - on www.eurotunel.com

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