Tell me about driving from Cheshire...

[Steve vRS]

Looking to go during the May half term.

I have a co. car so only need to pay for the diesel :D so it will be a fraction of the cost of the train or flying. We've flown the last 4 times but the kids are that bit older so driving may now be an option.

I would like to get an early tunnel crossing and get to the hotel for lunchtime.

Any tips and experiences?

Steve

[tennisfan]

I have always found driving to DLRP straightforward & easier then any other form. I live in Kent so don't have as far to travel.

If your taking your company car I would advise you to check you are insured on it out of the country. Some insurance companies (even for privately owned cars) don't cover driving abroad unless a supplement is paid.

Diesel is a lot cheaper in France then the UK, when we went in November it was 15p per litre cheaper. Probably more now we are being ripped off even more with the fuel rising every week. You will have the tolls each way of about €21 each way as they are likely to rise between now & then

[Steve vRS]

Yup, covered for European travel. They even send me the spare bulbs and GB sticker :D

Steve

[Steve vRS]

Are you guaranteed a parking place at your hotel?

Steve

[Happy Tappy]

I live in cheshire and although I haven't driven it, I have gone on a bus. i certainly wouldn't recommend it! it's a very long journey and you're knackered before you even get there.

I did price up driving but didn't find it'd save much money. flybe do cheap flights from manchester and you can go with easyjet from liverpool.

[IsobelJackmummy]

Hi, we are driving from the Wirral in Feb. We have got a cheap family room in the holiday inn express in folkstone, so we can travel over early the morning that we can check in to Disney(£50 for a family of 4). Also we have used tesco clubcard vouchers to pay for the tunnel, so that was 'free'.

[Steve vRS]

You can't compare a bus to car!

It will cost £80 of diesel, £100 of tunnel and £40 of toll. Even Flybe want £700 and then there would be a transfer from the airport to the park.

Steve

[mummybear]

We usually drive down the day before and stay overnight in Folkestone - Holiday Inn Express is really good, and last week we tried the Premier Inn (got that for £29;)) Also have stayed in Ashford when they have been cheaper. It just makes it easier the next morning to get up and have a 5 minute drive to the tunnel.

We have used the tunnel (also with Tesco deals) and if you don't mind ferries, I can highly recommend Norfolkline. They go to Dunkerque, not Calais, but they usually come up VERY cheap. Last time we used them, we paid £34 return :thumbsup2

The drive over there is really easy. The toll roads are just like our M6 Toll, usually a lot less hectic than the normal motorways. We have flown, but to be honest, we much prefer driving. We take what we like and don't have to worry about which bag to put daughters medicine in, or if we could take snacks. Last week we were away, (and knowing what the weather was like this time last year) we took snow suits and big boots, extra layers and blankets. If we had flown, we would have been pushing it to fit it in the cases.

I suppose, having read back what I've just written, I suppose I am a bit biased :rolleyes1

For us, driving would be our first choice.

[tennisfan]

Are you guaranteed a parking place at your hotel?

Steve

They have plenty of spaces in the Hotels, so parking shouldn't be a problem as not everyone drives:thumbsup2 I think it has also helped that AP holders can no longer use the hotel car parks too (sorry to AP holders:goodvibes)

If driving you will also need a high vis jacket, warning triangle, headlight deflectors too

[bpeacock]

I drove in december for the first time,(before I have travelled by coach and Eurostar).

I drove from Hull and we stayed in the Premier Inn in Dover, got the ferry earlier than planned which was no problem and used a sat nav from calais to Disney.

I will not use any other mode of transport but car in future as it is much more relaxing you can choose when to stop, I found car DVD players a godsend as they occupied the children, the tolls were no problem (the cost was 20.20E) and to be honest as soon as you saw the signs for Disneyland I stopped using the Sat Nav.

When I went I had no problems with parking (Santa Fe) and parked outside the hotel window and never used the car again until the day we left.

Can't wait until the next trip, we will be going by ferry again and booking the same hotel in Dover, but due to the childrens ages will be trying the Davey Crockett Ranch.:)

[Rachie B]

We prefer to drive too

we use clubcard deals for the tunnel,and usually book a cheapy hotel to stay the night before crossing

we pack up the car with food ( we stay offsite and self cater) and plenty of games,or even bikes / scooters etc

[Jeccaboos]

We drive from Lancashire.

Down the M6, round the M25 and down to Dover. 5.5hrs it took us last time (on a Saturday) including stops. 3hrs to Disney from Calais, dead easy.

Only thing I would say would be don't come back on a Friday as the traffic in England was horrendous. Other than that, go for it. :thumbsup2

[Jeccaboos]

You can't compare a bus to car!

It will cost £80 of diesel, £100 of tunnel and £40 of toll. Even Flybe want £700 and then there would be a transfer from the airport to the park.

Steve

It cost us £100 diesel, 40 euro tolls and £50 ferry, so £190 total. The cheapest flights, from Liverpool, would cost us £300 return, plus parking at airport, plus transfers to Disney.

Oh, and we do the travel in a day, we don't stay over en route. We set off around 6am, ferry just after lunch, in Disney early evening.

[Steve vRS]

We would probably set off at silly o' clock to get a tunnel crossing at 9am ish. Hope to be at the hotel for 1pm Mickey time :D

Steve

[Jeccaboos]

We would probably set off at silly o' clock to get a tunnel crossing at 9am ish. Hope to be at the hotel for 1pm Mickey time :D

Steve


I would say go for it. Although it seems to take ages to get there compared to flying, it is a lot less restrictive we found...we could stop when we wanted to grab drinks, toilet stops etc. To be honest, unless there is just me and DD going we will always drive there.

Just try and avoid M25 rush hour times....not good.

[tttessa]

They have plenty of spaces in the Hotels, so parking shouldn't be a problem as not everyone drives:thumbsup2 I think it has also helped that AP holders can no longer use the hotel car parks too (sorry to AP holders:goodvibes)

If driving you will also need a high vis jacket, warning triangle, headlight deflectors too

Hi,

do you need hi-vis for every traveller in the vehicle?? I heard for some countries - don 't know about France.. you need one for everyone and that at least one must be kept within the cabin of the vehicle - not in the boot.

Tessa

[tennisfan]

Hi,

do you need hi-vis for every traveller in the vehicle?? I heard for some countries - don 't know about France.. you need one for everyone and that at least one must be kept within the cabin of the vehicle - not in the boot.

Tessa

I'm not 100% sure as some sites say per person in the car & some only for the driver. We have one for each person to be on the safe side & we keep them in the car not the boot:thumbsup2

[wyre forest red]

As someone else has stated a big saving can be made when driving by planning ahead and taking you rown food and drink. We took 3 or 4 two litre bottles of lemonade which we kept pouring into smaller drinks bottles to take to the parks. Crisps, cereal bars, packs of biscuits, sweets etc... (sadly even bottles of wine that were on special at Tescos, crucially with a screw top cap) meant we spent precisely nothing in the park for the entire stay other than the strict budget the two girls had for souvenirs. By filling up with breakfast, opting for the eat as much as you like buffets covered by half board vouchers and the snacks we had taken with us we were certainly well fed.

No way I would travel all the way down in one day though. Again, the Travelodge in Ashford was a cheap (£15????) stopover and we even used tesco vouchers at Pizza Hut there too because of the offer at the time!!!!!