Cheapest way to Paris next weekend

[BluePenguin]

I need some advice, please. I have been looking forward to a long weekend in Paris although not sure what to do now

We were due to leave mine on Friday and arrive back on Monday. The plan was for the two of us to leave early on Friday, pop through Eurotunnel, and drive down to Paris arriving early afternoon. However, the car won't be available anymore so need to find another option.

I have found a £140 return flight from Gatwick. Eurostar is looking as expensive as usual although Interrail might be an option. Living only 10 miles from the Channel Tunnel, doubling back via St Pancras, and paying a premium for the privilege of a huge detour is not something I enjoy. That said, I have got a few American Express points I could use if needed.

I can't find any foot passenger options on the ferries for next week. The Flixbus from London Victoria looks reasonably priced although takes a long time

Any advice on how to reduce the price or journey time? My short break is looking to be very brief as it stands! Thanks in advance

 

[Lewlew]

DFDS Newhaven - Dieppe is showing as £23 per person each way as a foot passenger. Two boats a day, 10am and 11pm going out. 0530 and 1800 coming back.

 

[30907]

DFDS Newhaven - Dieppe is showing as £23 per person each way as a foot passenger. Two boats a day, 10am and 11pm going out. 0530 and 1800 coming back.

Depending where in Kent you are, you may not be able to reach Newhaven early enough/leave late enough, but otherwise it is a decent option. Might need a cheap hotel in the UK.
What about car hire, or is it prohibitively expensive?

 

[Alfonso]

1. Most of the ferries accept bicycle passengers... apparently not very pleasant throught the port but doable. Leave your bikes in Calais or Dunkirk and get the train. 2 use your amex points for Eurostar but you'll need 15000 each for returns. 3. Use amex points for avios or virgin points and get a BA or Air France ticket (obvs check availability before transferring). 4. Playing around on Skyscanner shows a cheap flight with air France, out via Nice, which then got me armchair travelling. Unless you have to go to Paris, why not go to nice instead, or somewhere else? Lanzarote was looking cheap. Skyscanners "search everywhere" function comes in handy. 6. Coming back to reality, there appear to be lots of cheap flights out on the Friday, it's coming back on Monday that's more expensive, so you may want to play around with coming back from a different airport or via the Newhaven Dieppe ferry.

 

[busestrains]

As mentioned taking the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry is probably going to be the cheapest way. They always take foot passengers on all journeys. There are two ferry crossings a day in each direction at this time of year. So this is a good option to consider.

On the Newhaven to Dieppe route foot passengers are charged a flat rate regardless of whether you book in advance online or just turn up at the ferry port before your ferry and purchase right there:

£31.00 - Single
£46.00 - Return (within 0-5 days)
£56.00 - Return (within 5-10 days)
£62.00 - Return (within 10+ days)

These tickets can just be purchased on the day at the ferry port so it is very convenient ticketing. There is no need to book in advance as you do not save any money. The fares are quite cheap compared to other routes. So the Newhaven to Dieppe route is certainly a good option to consider.

Other than this you will need to buy your tickets from wherever you are to Newhaven Town and back again (remember to alight at Newhaven Town which is next to the ferry port and NOT at Newhaven Harbour which is nowhere near the ferry port). Your profile states Kent but i am not sure where so the ticket price depends what station you are coming from. Some stations are much more expensive than others so the price really varies depending on your origin. You can buy this ticket at the station on the day.

Also you will need a ticket for the TER train from Dieppe to Paris and back again. You need to change trains at Rouen in both directions. These tickets are not too expensive and are cheaper than the British trains. You can buy this ticket at the station on the day too.

The timetables for the French trains can be downloaded here:

Dieppe to Rouen (until the 10th of December) - https://s3.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com/... valable du 2 juillet au 10 décembre 2022.pdf

Dieppe to Rouen (from the 11th of December) - https://s3.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com/...DIEPPE valable du 11 juillet au 9 juillet.pdf

Rouen to Paris (until the 10th of December) - https://s3.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com/...aires ROUEN-PARIS du 19 sept au 10 déc V2.pdf

Rouen to Paris (from the 11th of December) - https://s3.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com/...s ROUEN-PARIS du 11 déc au 9 juillet 2023.pdf

So you can use these to plan around the ferries that you will take.

I have travelled from the UK to Paris and back via the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry multiple times and certainly recommend it as a nice route. Newhaven is a dump but Dieppe is nice. The train to Newhaven and the train ride from Dieppe are quite pleasant too.

 

[Nicholas43]

As mentioned taking the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry is probably going to be the cheapest way. They always take foot passengers on all journeys. ...

Many thanks for this most informative post. Do you have any advice about whether it's worth having a cabin on the boat?

 

[busestrains]

Many thanks for this most informative post. Do you have any advice about whether it's worth having a cabin on the boat?

I have used this ferry over twenty times and never used a cabin. So i can not advise on what the cabins are like. It is only a four hour crossing so even if you use the night sailing you will only get limited sleep. So personally i would not bother on such a short distance sailing. But if you can fall asleep quickly and want a couple hours of rest than it might be worth it. I am not sure what the prices are for cabins.

 

[SeanG]

If you have not seen the below link it will be very useful. Seat 61 is an invaluable resource for European train travel too, so be careful not to lose too many hours browsing though at your leisure...

How to travel from London to Paris by train & ferry

Train times, fares & how to buy tickets for travel by traditional train and ferry from London via Dover-Calais to Boulogne, Etaples, Amiens & Paris.

www.seat61.com

 

[Alfonso]

I have used this ferry over twenty times and never used a cabin. So i can not advise on what the cabins are like. It is only a four hour crossing so even if you use the night sailing you will only get limited sleep. So personally i would not bother on such a short distance sailing. But if you can fall asleep quickly and want a couple hours of rest than it might be worth it. I am not sure what the prices are for cabins.

I have bought a cabin on a day sailing and I think the answer is "it depends". I'd say generally no as it's such a short crossing, but if you want a shower and a freshen up, you want to do the stuff one does in bed, or you want the novelty if you've never had a cabin on a boat then it's a yes.

 

[sonic2009]

Sorry for the post to open this thread again - how far is the ferry terminal to the train station is Dieppe? Looking at options for a French trip in October

 

[dazzler]

Sorry for the post to open this thread again - how far is the ferry terminal to the train station is Dieppe? Looking at options for a French trip in October

Open Street Map gives a walking distance of approximately 2.5km, Google Maps 2.4km (30 minutes)

 

[Lewlew]

30 minutes is about right. It's a bit of a faff getting out of the terminal. It's all flat and level.

 

[BluePenguin]

I didn’t realise that I never updated this thread with what option we went with

We drove 15 minutes up the road to Dover and took the DFDS ferry across to Dunkirk before driving down to Chantilly near Paris where the hotel was. We took the train into Paris from there each day.

It was a very easy crossing and the ferry was pleasant. Finding the port on the way back though was a challenge

I would like to take the Eurostar next time although probably won’t if they still are not stopping at Ashford

 

[paul1609]

I didn’t realise that I never updated this thread with what option we went with

We drove 15 minutes up the road to Dover and took the DFDS ferry across to Dunkirk before driving down to Chantilly near Paris where the hotel was. We took the train into Paris from there each day.

It was a very easy crossing and the ferry was pleasant. Finding the port on the way back though was a challenge

I would like to take the Eurostar next time although probably won’t if they still are not stopping at Ashford

I would say the easiest reasonably price way to Central Paris if you have a car is to book an early morning shuttle, park up at Frethun and get the TGV in to Paris at 10.10 ish which is normally 40 Euros ish. Theres often loads of Kent cars in the car park.

 

[30907]

I didn’t realise that I never updated this thread with what option we went with

We drove 15 minutes up the road to Dover and took the DFDS ferry across to Dunkirk before driving down to Chantilly near Paris where the hotel was. We took the train into Paris from there each day.

It was a very easy crossing and the ferry was pleasant. Finding the port on the way back though was a challenge

Thanks. So you had a car after all?