Ferry Crossings for Motorhomes – Finding the Bargains

The appeal of packing up your motor home and heading onto the continent, Ireland or the Scottish Isles is obvious but getting there by ferry can be ridiculously expensive unless you know where to find the bargains. Luckily there are a few ways to source these, ensuring your motor home adventure won’t have you wincing as you book your ferry ticket.

Vehicle size and category

The size of your motor home will dictate the price of your ferry ticket. Most companies go on vehicle length, a few use the height and some will use both. Companies vary considerably in their price leaps and increments for different measurements – one company may have just two categories with huge price leaps from one to the other, while another ferry company may go up in smaller increments. The latter may be a better deal if you own a motor home whose length/height only just falls outside the lower categories of other companies.

Vehicle additions such as top boxes and cycle racks which add to height/length are included in the measurements so don’t forget to add these on when calculating and booking. Some ferry companies are extremely strict and you may end up paying extra at the port or even worse being refused boarding if your size doesn’t match your booking.

Price comparison sites

In this day and age, most people are familiar with price comparison sites – those handy little things which take all the leg work out of finding the best price among hundreds or even thousands of similar companies.

There are some websites which are dedicated to ferry price comparison which include:

• www.aferry.co.uk – probably the best of the bunch in my opinion. By entering your proposed dates of travel, the height and length of your motor home and the route you wish to sail, the search engine compares prices from 70 different ferry operators operating over 1,000 routes. It also lists special offers and companies currently giving discounts.
• www.ferrysavers.com – similar to the site listed above with comparable search criteria. Listings from 50 ferry companies.
• www.ferrytravel.com – this is a more limited site but fine if you want to travel to/from Dover and Calais. All routes listed here either arrive or depart at one or the other.

Joining a camping/caravan club

The two main bodies in the UK – the Caravan Club and the less formal Camping and Caravanning Club – both offer specially negotiated discounts on ferry prices for their members. Motor home owners are welcome to join either despite the names.

• Camping and Caravanning Club – this club has many deals going, exclusive to members, with a range of major ferry companies including 10% discounts with DFDS, Irish Ferries and Brittany Ferries. They also have other special prices and offers for bookings with Stena Line, P&O and Sea France as well as a host of others. Membership to the club costs £39 per year for 2 adults and up to 4 children from the same address. As well as cheaper ferry bookings, you can also take advantage of their ‘Certificated Sites’ system which offers camp sites, only available to members, from £5 per night so you could be saving considerably all round and soon recoup the joining fee – www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
• The Caravan Club – this club are ferry agents which means not only do they offer discounted rates to members but they can also advise you on all aspects of your travel by ferry  – routes, timetables, availability etc. Queries and bookings can be completed on-line or alternatively by ‘phone. Club membership is £40 per year with a joining fee of £7.50 which is waived if paid by direct debit.

 Consistently the cheapest…….

DFDS, formerly Norfolkline, seem to be consistently the cheapest option for ferry crossings for motor home owners and often not just by a few pounds but by significant amounts. They are a particularly cheap option if you have a low profile motor home under 2.4m in height because then you go for the same price as a car.

Not only is DFDS consistently cheaper but it also seems to consistently score highly in customer review ratings for their flexibility and service. Most ferry companies have fairly rigid rules with regard to sailing times once booked and refund policies are often carved in stone. DFDS, it would appear, seem to bend over backwards to accommodate their customers wherever possible – there are many reports of turning up early and being allowed on to a different ferry crossing for example.

DFDS has also been described as cheap and cheerful but at the prices they charge and the customer service they offer I personally am happy to accept this.

Typical prices ;

• motor home under 2.4m high – from £10 each way
• motor home over 2.4m high – from £28 each way
• motor home with trailer – from £45 each way

 Other sources

Typing ‘cheap ferry for motor home’ or something similarly worded into a search engine on the Internet will bring up a huge range of options. If you have plenty of time to spare then there are bargains to be found in this way.

Many insurance companies also offer cheap ferry deals for their motor home customers so it may be worth contacting yours to enquire. Sometimes the discounts give only a small percentage off booking directly, while at other times the savings are significant