Why go by train + ferry?
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Above: Returning
from France the ferry approaches Dover Eastern Docks,
with Dover Castle above the White Cliffs... |
Eurostar now links London and Paris in just 2½
hours, centre to centre, with fares from £59 return. But
you can still travel from London to Paris by train and ferry
if you want, buying separate train and ferry tickets. It
takes far longer than Eurostar, about 9 hours centre to
centre, is much less convenient, and usually costs more, but
it has these advantages:
-
You get to travel
across Kent on a more scenic route at a slower pace;
-
You get to sail
across the Channel from the White Cliffs of Dover;
-
You don't have to
go through the Channel Tunnel if that's an issue for you
(although you'll find the Channel Tunnel is a complete
anti-climax, it's just 20 short minutes out of a 2½
hour Eurostar journey);
-
Because the trains
and ferries are basically a 'walk up, buy a ticket and hop on'
service, with no reservation or advance booking necessary, the
cost can sometimes be less than Eurostar if you can't book in
advance and have to buy your tickets at very short notice or
on the day of travel when all cheap Eurostar fares are sold
out.
-
Some people ask
about train & ferry travel because they can't find an
affordable one-way fare on Eurostar. Please see the
advice on finding affordable Eurostar one-way fares
here.
How to travel by
train & ferry from London to Calais, Boulogne, Amiens &
Paris...
The days of
travelling on a non-stop 'boat train' run exclusively for
international passengers from London Victoria into
Folkestone Harbour or Dover Western docks right alongside
the ferries are long gone. The stations at Dover Western
Docks and Calais Maritime were closed when Eurostar started in
1994. You now need to use ordinary domestic trains on
each side of the English Channel and make your own way by bus
or taxi between town centre stations and the ferry terminals
in both Dover and Calais. But if you still want to travel from London to
Paris by train and ferry, here's how:
-
Step 1:
Take a train from London to Dover.
Regular trains run from London Charing Cross to Dover (Priory
station) every 30 minutes, journey
time 1 hour 50 minutes. There's also a half-hourly
service from London Victoria if that's a more convenient
terminal for you. You can check UK train
times & fares at
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Allow at least 65 minutes in Dover, preferably a bit more,
between your train arrival and planned ferry departure, as
there is a 45-min check-in for the ferry. Just buy your London-Dover train ticket at Charing Cross station on the
day of travel, no advance reservation is necessary or even
possible, you buy a ticket and hop on.
-
On arrival at
Dover Priory station, take a bus (£2, every 20 minutes), taxi (about £4) or a long walk
(around 30-40 minutes) to Dover Eastern Docks where the P&O &
SeaFrance ships leave, or walk (20 minutes) or taxi to the
Speedferries terminal.
-
Step 2:
Sail from Dover to Calais by ship. The traditional
option is to sail from Dover
(Eastern Docks) to Calais on a conventional ship run by either
www.seafrance.co.uk or
www.poferries.com. Ferries sail every hour or two,
crossing time 1 hour 30 minutes. You can book online in
advance or just buy a ticket at the port, there are always
places available.
-
Step 2,
alternative: Sail from Dover to Boulogne by fast
catamaran. A faster, cheaper, though less frequent
alternative is to take a fast catamaran run by Speedferries (www.speedferries.co.uk)
from Dover (Speedferries terminal, not Eastern Docks)
to Boulogne. This costs just £7.50 rather than £12-£18
each way,
and it takes you to Boulogne for direct trains to Paris,
saving you the time and extra cost of the local train between
Calais and Boulogne. A transfer bus departs from the
entrance to the Speedferries terminal in Dover 45 minutes
before each sailing.
-
It is no longer
possible to cross the Channel by hovercraft, as
Hoverspeed stopped all their Dover-Calais SeaCat sailings in
November 2005, and hovercraft were withdrawn several years
before that.
-
The P&O or
SeaFrance ferries arrive
at Calais Maritime ferry terminal. If you have a
backpack or other light luggage you can walk across the
recently-reopened footbridge into town, it's a 10 minute walk
to the market place in the town centre, or a 15 minute walk to
Calais Ville station. If you have heavy luggage or
cannot walk far, take a shuttle
bus from the ferry terminal to Calais Ville station, the bus
fare is 1.50 euros or £1.
Make sure you allow at least 60 minutes in Calais between the
ferry arrival and the departure of the train to Paris.
-
The Speedferries
catamaran arrives at Boulogne ferry terminal, a few minutes
walk from Boulogne town centre and a few more minutes walk to
Boulogne Ville railway station.
-
Step 3:
Take a train from Calais or Boulogne to Paris.
Coming from Calais, you normally take a local train to
Boulogne and change there onto an express from Boulogne to
Paris. There are relatively few trains
between Calais or Boulogne and Paris, so it's the timings of these few
French trains that will determine which of the frequent
British trains and ferries you need to catch between London,
Dover and Calais or Boulogne to connect. You can check French train times
& fares
at
www.raileurope.co.uk or
www.voyages-sncf.com. Booking online might save a
few pounds if you corner a cheap non-refundable,
non-changeable 'prems' fare, but it's not expensive or
difficult to simply buy a ticket at the station when you get
there.
Example
timetable...
Here is a
timetable showing possible London-Paris connections, using the
P&O or SeaFance ships.
Please use them as a very rough guide, and check them carefully
before travelling!
London ► Dover
/ Calais ► Paris (by train+ferry)
|
|
Train: |
Mondays-Fridays |
Saturdays |
Sundays |
|
London Charing Cross |
depart |
07:00 |
10:23 |
11:53 |
06:00 |
10:23 |
08:54 |
11:54 |
|
Dover Priory |
arrive |
08:57 |
12:09 |
13:23 |
07:57 |
12:09 |
10:41 |
13:41 |
|
Ship: (in
Dover, take bus or taxi from station to Dover Eastern
Docks) |
|
Dover Eastern Docks |
depart |
10:05 |
13:00 |
14:25 |
09:25 |
13:00 |
12:15 |
14:25 |
|
Calais port |
arrive |
12:35 |
15:30 |
16:55 |
11:55 |
15:30 |
14455 |
16:55 |
|
Train: (at Calais, take bus from ferry terminal
to station)
|
|
Calais Ville |
depart |
13:49 |
16:44 |
17:50 |
13:06 |
16:52 |
15:52 |
17:51 |
|
Boulogne |
arrive |
14:23 |
17:21 |
18:31 |
13:38 |
17:26 |
16:26 |
18:25 |
|
Train:
(change trains in Boulogne) |
| |
|
|
Boulogne |
depart |
14:38 |
17:42 |
18:31 |
14:38 |
17:42 |
16:30 |
18:32 |
|
Etaples / Le
Touquet |
arrive |
14:53 |
17:57 |
18:49 |
14:53 |
17:57 |
16:51 |
18:50 |
|
Amiens |
arrive |
16:02 |
18:58 |
19:59 |
16:02 |
18:58 |
17:58 |
19:58 |
|
Paris Gare de
Nord |
arrive |
17:20 |
20:20 |
21:20a |
17:20 |
20:20 |
19:20 |
21:20 |
a = change at Amiens, not Boulogne.
t
= By direct high-speed TGV train from Paris to Calais, reservation obligatory, small supplement payable.
How to read
these timetables No UK trains on
25 or 26 December.
Please
double-check times before you travel, especially if
travelling at French or UK bank holiday periods. Unlike the
integrated pre-Eurostar train+ferry services, this is not an
organised
service where ferries are held if trains run late, but
completely separate trains and ferry. If you have
important connections in Paris, bear this in mind and perhaps
take an earlier train from London.
Paris ► Calais
/ Dover ► London (by train+ferry)
|
|
Train: |
Monday-Friday |
Saturdays |
Sundays |
|
Paris Nord |
depart |
07:07 |
09:58 t |
10:07 |
14:19 |
07:07 |
09:58 t |
10:07 |
14:19 |
08:04 |
10:07 |
14:19 |
|
Amiens |
depart |
08:28 |
| |
11:23 |
15:35 |
08:28 |
| |
11:23 |
15:35 |
09:25 |
11:23 |
15:35 |
|
Etaples /
Le Touquet |
depart |
09:28 |
| |
12:31 |
16:40 |
09:28 |
| |
12:31 |
16:40 |
10:24 |
12:31 |
16:40 |
|
Boulogne |
arrive |
09:44 |
| |
12:48 |
16:57 |
09:44 |
| |
12:48 |
16:57 |
10:41 |
12:48 |
16:57 |
|
Train: (change
trains in Boulogne): |
|
Boulogne |
depart |
09:57 |
| |
13:03 |
17:03 |
09:57 |
| |
13:03 |
17:41 |
10:51 |
12:58 |
17:41 |
|
Calais Ville |
arrive |
10:31 |
11:40 t |
13:43 |
17:39 |
10:31 |
11:40
t |
13:43 |
18:16 |
11:22 |
13:33 |
18:16 |
|
Ship: (in
Calais, take bus or taxi from station to port) |
|
Calais port |
depart |
11:50 |
12:35 |
15:25 |
18:20 |
11:50 |
12:35 |
15:25 |
19:45 |
12:35 |
15:25 |
19:45 |
|
Dover Eastern Docks |
arrive |
12:20 |
13:05 |
15:55 |
18:50 |
12:20 |
13:05 |
15:55 |
20:15 |
13:05 |
15:55 |
20:15 |
|
Train: (in Dover, take bus or taxi from Eastern
Docks
to Dover Priory station) |
|
Dover Priory |
depart |
13:33 |
13:49 |
16:37 |
19:48 |
13:33 |
13:49 |
16:41 |
21:07 |
14:18 |
17:18 |
21:07 |
|
London Charing
Cross |
arrive |
15:06 |
15:36 |
18:35 |
21:35 |
15:06 |
15:36 |
18:35 |
23:06 |
16:07 |
19:07 |
23:06 |
You now need to
buy separate tickets for the UK train, the ferry, and the
French train.
Train+ferry
costs:
|
|
Fare: |
One-way: |
Return: |
|
London to Dover by train: |
£26 one-way full fare,
£24 off-peak. |
£52 full fare, Saver £28
if travelling after 09:30. |
|
Dover to Calais by ferry: |
£12 with
SeaFrance,
£18 with
P&O Ferries |
£24 with
SeaFrance,
£36 with
P&O Ferries |
|
Calais to Paris by train: |
34 euros (£24) full fare or from £15 'prems' |
68 euros (£48) full fare or from £30 'prems' |
How to buy tickets:
-
It's easy to buy
the London-Dover train ticket at Charing Cross station on the
day of travel. No advance reservation is necessary or
even possible, you buy a ticket and hop on. You can
check times &
fares at
www.nationalrail.co.uk,
and can buy online here if you want to save time queuing at
the ticket office on the day.
-
Buy the ferry
ticket either at the port on day of travel (there are always
places available) or in advance at either
www.seafrance.co.uk or
www.poferries.com. You can check prices and buy
tickets for both ferry operators at the
Seat61 Ferry Shop. If
travelling with Speedferries, book online at
www.speedferries.co.uk.
-
Buy the
Calais/Boulogne-Paris train ticket either at the station in
Calais or Boulogne on
the day of travel (no advance reservation necessary, but only
the full fare will be available on the day of travel) or in
advance at
www.raileurope.co.uk or
www.voyages-sncf.com (which saves time at the ticket
office, and cheap 'prems' fares may be available if you book
at least 14 days in advance, no refunds, no changes to travel
plans). Tips for booking Calais-Paris tickets online:
(1) Make sure you buy tickets from 'Calais Station' not
'Calais Fréthun'. (2) Click 'via' and enter
'Boulogne', otherwise it routes you via Lille.
-
London-Paris
train+ferry through tickets were finally withdrawn from sale
in May 2007.
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