Ferry from Dover to Calais in France
If your planning on taking the Dover to Calais Ferry then you have three ferry operators to choose from, P&O ferries, DFDS Seaways and the newest operator on the Dover to Calais route, Irish Ferries. All offer you the ability to take your car from Dover to Calais by ferry.
Dover to Calais Ferries
If you are planning on travelling from Dover to Calais as a regular foot passenger (you won’t be taking any vehicle) then you will not be able to use the DFDS Seaways or Irish Ferries service as it does not accept foot passengers. This does not affect you if you are cycling to France, you will be welcome on all three ferries from Dover.
Alternative Ferry Option – Dover to Dunkirk
The Dover to Dunkirk (Dunkerque) ferry is an alternative to the Dover Calais ferry. Dunkirk is approxametly 30 miles east of Calais and if you’re final destination is Belgium or anywhere east of Calais then the Dover Dunkirk ferry will get you closer to your destination.
Although the sailing time is 30 minutes more than the Dover to Calais crossing you may find that the cost of travelling is cheaper and quicker.
Decline in crossings
Since the creation of the channel tunnel the number of ferry operators and the number of crossings between Dover and Calais have declined quite dramatically. Stena line merged their sailings with P&O, HoverSpeed, SNCF and SpeedFerries stop their ferry operations on the route completely.
Alternative Option – Eurotunnel
The Channel Tunnel is operated by two companies EuroTunnel and Eurostar. These two are often confused, Eurostar run the passenger train service between London St Pancras International to Paris, Brussels, Lille etc. Eurotunnel on the other hand run the car and lorry train shuttles between Folkestone and Calais. Just like the Dover Calais ferry, you drive your car on in England and drive off in France – this shuttle service takes just 35 minutes. Folkstone is roughly 10 miles west of Dover.
