A bit of background. I'm a Kiwi who lived in the UK for a few years in the nineties and now live with my wife and two boys (12 and 14) in Canada. I've got my UK drivers license (paper) and a Canadian photo one. We will be in the UK for a few weeks next April. We plan on renting a car while in England and intend to go across to France for a few days - wife wants to spend a couple of days in Paris.
1. We are considering taking the Eurotunnel one way and SpeedFerry the other. What kind of vehicle/license documentation check (other than passports) do the French look for, if any?
2. How long does it take to load unload on either Ferry or Tunnel?
3. Speed Ferry vs Eurotunnel - pros - cons?
4. We are considering either staying in a downtown Paris hotel for two nights or would you advise staying outside of Paris (by Disney perhaps) and taking the train in each day - any idea of cost or time this might take.
5. What's an honest drive time from Calais/Boulogne to Paris central?
Hoping you can help us out.
Cheers
John Jennings
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Why not leave the car and go on Eurostar direct to central Paris much less hassle,if you must take the car Dover Calais is the crossing you want takes around 40 minutes to load and 15 minutes to unload and then straight onto the Paris auroroute.
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I would agree with Andy, Eurostar (London - Paris) is a very slick operation. I've been on both Eurotunnel and Speedferries. Eurotunnel is undoubtably easier and quicker, but is very boring I found. Loading is not too bad on Speedferries, usually no longer than about 20 mins. The Eurotunnel also has the advantage of being immune to adverse weather conditions in the Channel.
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Andy is right - a large proportion of people in the uk who go to euro disney go via train.The eurostar from waterloo to paris is very good very comfortable and very quick.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Hotels by Disney are expensive and souless. Get closer to the centre and book yourself to your budget. Something smaller that Americans wouldn't choose!
French 2* and 3* are fine for a couple of nights - choose one close to a Metro, buy a block of 10 tickets and have fun.
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John
1. Very unlikely that car rental companies will permit you to take a car over to France. If they let you, the extra cost may be very high.
2. We live in northern England so cannot use Eurostar from home, but I have used it three times from London and it is a great service, all the way into Gare du Nord in Paris. Very efficient. We go to Paris often.
3. Last year we flew into Charles du Gaulle and got trains everywhere with our three children, then aged 7, 5 and 1. It was a dodlle. We went to Monet's garden at Giverny, using SNCF and Eurodisney using RER and we had no trouble at all.
4. Hotels in the centre of Paris are small and expensive - say £100 per night per room and you will need two rooms. We stay in the 9eme which is near to Opera, Gare du Nord and the big department stores and well as being within a relatively easy walk to the main attractions or Metro lines.
5. Look at the Accor website or tripadvisor to recommendations. I can recommend the Acadia Opera on Rue Geoffroy Marie which is clean tidy and friendly.
6. You can buy 10 metro tickets (un carnet) or a Visite Paris card which is valid for a few days (you choose the number of days) and also gives you discount on various attractions.
Enjoy!
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You'd need the hire companies agreement to take the car. I hired a van a few years back for a Freench trip and they also gave me AA Breakdown cover. I don't think it cost any more to take it abroad but I had to ring around a bit before I found a company that will allow it. I don't recall being given anything like the van registration document, although I try to remember to take copies of that kind of thing when taking my own car.
I heard that one way tickets are *much* more expensive than returns, so you may do better to consider travelling by the same carrier in both directions.
I used the channel tunnel once. I found it quick but boring and expensive (and annoying - I turned up well in time for my deprture but was delayed due to earlier people who had turned up late). I am a reaonably committed user of Speedferries now, because they have some very good deals (I bought 10 single tickets for £18 each, but this offer is ended now). But all of the short-crossing ferry companies offer competitive pricing now, and kids will usually enjoy that part of the journey. Check in time for ferries & Speedferries is 45 mins to an hour (unless recent security problems have altered that). There are facilities at the port (Burger King and others IIRC) so if you turn up early you aren't just stuck sitting in the car.
I've stayed in central Paris in a reasonably cheap hotel - easy walking distance from the Louvre - I would use it again (if I still had the details...). I've also stayed at one of the Disney rsort hotels for 2 nights - pricey, but the kids loved it (it was a few years ago!).
[Update - this was the Paris place, location location location... You might find it more cheaply elsewhere but this link has it at ?137 pn for a 4 bed room (which we had). www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75001montpensier.htm]
I'm not a user of trains but I know people that use the French railways to go from CDG to Le Mans and they say the service is good, reliable and reasonably priced.
Calais or Boulogne to Paris is probably about 3 - 3.5 hours. It's mostly motorway or dual carriageway. Use www.mappy.com for route planning.
If you are staying in Paris, take the river trip - it's a great way to see the city.
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Agree with most of that Smokie, except that return tickets in my experience are 2x the price of single. I often go with different carriers on different legs of the journey.
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I lived in Paris for a year, and would strongly advise the OP not to bring the car for the holiday he has in mind. You really don't need one to get around the city and its surroundings - also, driving and parking in Paris are difficult at the best of times.
It will take about an hour each way to get from Disney to central Paris by RER, so you'd probably be better off stay close to the city and travel out to Disney on the days you spend there.
If choosing a hotel in the centre - or using public transport - avoid the areas around Bois de Boulogne, Pigale and Chatelet les Halles (near the Centre George Pompidou). Neither are pleasant areas to be in after dark. Other than that its a great city with so much to do you won't know where to begin - enjoy!
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PS: If you do need a car for a trip further afield, most of the large hire agencies (certainly Hertz and Avis) operate from the main SNCF rail stations.
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I agree with Gromit. You don't really need a car in Paris and the driving may take a bit of getting used to after Canada. The Metro and railways are clean, cheap by British standards, efficient and punctual.
French hotels are cheaper and better than British ones but may cost a bit more in Paris.
If you need to take the car because bringing a few thousand gallons of beer or wine back, just bung it in a car park, of which there are many in the middle of Paris. Shouldn't cost more than about £20 a day, or did a couple of years ago anyway.
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If you are doing a beer and wine run, visit the ferry's on-board shop on the outbound sailing. The prices may be as good, or better, than in France. Certainly, Brittany Ferries used to operate a policy where everything was priced at the lowest price you would pay in any of the countries they serve (i.e.: Ireland, UK, France and Spain).
Good wines and champagne were cheaper on the ferry than at the hypermarkets near the French ports (I discovered this after loading the car to the roof on the way to the port!). They also let you place an order on board which is delivered to your car on the quayside as you leave the ferry. Other operators may well do this too.
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