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Think of it as an airport -- but for vehicles. Literally. Minus the flying. My husband and I moved from Germany to England in September and opted to use the Eurotunnel in Calais to Folkestone instead of taking the ferry as we had our cats with us and a 40 minute trip seemed like a better option than a 4 hour trip. Prior to boarding the train car, we had to make a pit stop at the pet reception to get our pet sticker for the window as well as have our cats vaccinations and health certificates from Germany validated. They give you the microchip scanner to reduce the stress caused to your pets, which was nice but they DO NOT have a separate area for cats and dogs. There are 4 windows, all closely situated next to each other so wrangling two very nervous cats in and out of their carriers while keeping them out of canine view was not the easiest adventure to say the least. They do have a fenced off bathroom area which I utilized to let my cats out (they are leash/harnessed trained), because they'd been stuck in their carriers for a few hours at this point and were getting restless. All in all this took about 15 minutes to do and we were headed to check in for our vehicle. They check your booking number and you're giving a boarding number/time slot. Depending on your ticket type, you can board right away (flexi) or you will have to wait a bit. We waited a bit so we could grab some food, use the restroom and stretch as we'd been driving for 2.5 hours at that point. You can also buy a ticket on the spot but it's slightly more expensive. The food court area on the Calais side is very similar to the kiosk areas once you pass TSA at the airport. They've got duty free shopping, a Burger King and Starbucks. There are large signs in the parking lot that show your queue group and time, so you won't miss your boarding times which is great because they don't do announcements otherwise. Once your time is posted, you head to the French border patrol where they check your ID's, passports, and a vehicle swab. Once through we drove maybe 50 yards and presented the same documentation to the UK border patrol. You'd think it would have been quick but no. This was the tricky bit. Because we were traveling on military orders, we legally have to present those as well as both of my passports (my travel passport and my military one with my VISA stamp in it). Due to the orders, we had a bit of a hold up as it appeared the border control had never seen them before even though the euro tunnel is a popular way of transit for military personnel moving from Germany/Italy/France to the UK. It took us an extra 15-20 minutes to get cleared as they had to find someone who knew what they were looking at to get us through. Bit frustrating but it is what it is. Clearing UK border patrol we were directed to the queue line. There are two queues. One for regular sized vehicles and one for buses, and large/oversized vehicles. We opted for the secondary queue as I've got a lifted Jeep with wider tires and really didn't want them rubbing against the sides. Good choice because there were a few trucks in front of us that a had similar idea. In the queue line there are restrooms and vending machines because you can end up waiting upwards of 15 minutes here. Quick bathroom stop to drain myself of the Starbucks I'd consumed lol and we were on our way down to the train. At this point you're directed on to a train car and asked to pull up as far as you can. To keep their turn around times short, not all of the train cars may be filled to capacity. Because I grew up with Final Destination, I was more than grateful that we were the last vehicle loaded on to our train with the car behind us being empty. Employees come through checking that your windows are rolled down, place tire wedges in front of and behind your car to keep it from rolling and ensure that your parking brake is on. There are also bathrooms located in the first and last car of the train if you really have to go, but I wasn't risking exiting my truck (again, final destination). They've got free wifi which is nice because I put a podcast on and fell asleep for the ride. Once you make it to Folkestone, you simply follow the cars off the train and you're on your way. The biggest thing for me was that it was dark when we made it to the other side and ya know, driving on the opposite side of the road lol All in all the Eurotunnel is the quickest way between Europe and the UK, aside from the border issues, we'd do it again if traveling with our cats. Unfortunately I can't say how the Folkestone side is because we never saw it even after exiting the Chunnel but I hope to at some point. If you want to drive, this is the fastest way and it's a fairly streamlined process if you purchase your ticket ahead of time.
We went to the UK this year and took the Tunnel both ways. We had our dog with, so this was way faster than taking the ferry and we didn't have to be seperated from our doggy. Prices are similar to the ferries. Taking a dog from the mainland EU into the UK is just a matter of good preparation and paperwork. Needs a Chip, passport and some vaccines, that's it. The boarding areas both in Calais is pretty big with plenty of shops and fast food chains. Pet areas as well. The arrving area is quite a bit smaller. The Check-In is pretty fast (even faster if you prepare everything in advance online) and the lines are moving quickly. Once inside it's a fast ride and pretty smooth and quiet. Most people stayed inside their cars....but you can wander around a bit, if you fancy a talk with some travellers. Exiting the trains is a fast affair. In a matter of minutes after arriving you'll find yourself on the motorway. Be sure to drive on the correct side :) We really liked the Tunnel. Of course, a ferry might be more enjoyable when it comes to travel. But if you have a pet, I'd go for the Tunnel. It's all very well organised. Just one thing: Signs are not that clear to find the right way through the big departing area, but you can't really get lost that much anyways, just follow the other cars.
The chunnel, aka EuroTunnel, aka car subway underneath the North Sea is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to travel between France/Europe, and England. Assume you're traveling by car you have two options; the tunnel, or one of several ferry lines. The tunnel beats the boat on speed by about an hour, which could be a big deal depending on the length of your stay. The actual crossing takes about 35 minutes, but it goes by quickly. What really adds some time is the security checkpoint and getting through two sets of customs before you board the train. Conservatively, just to be safe, you should probably arrive no later than an hour prior to departure- as your boarding time starts & ends 30 minutes before. Also, just in case you are curious.. the process is as follows; drive up to the check-in part and enter your reservation info, retrieve a mirror tag to display. Go to the first set of customs, this is France's / the departing country. Go to the second set of customs, security and then wait to board in long lines of cars. Somewhere in-between those steps is the option to get out, stretch your legs and do some (very limited) duty free shopping at the "terminal" building - yes, there is a Starbucks. Once you board the ushers will seperate you by car size, and you either park upstairs or downstairs. To clarify, you drive your car on a train and the train travels through the tunnel, you do not drive yourself like in a regular tunnel. I recommend to buy your ticket ahead of time via the website. It will save some aggrevations on your day of departure, especially if you are in a hurry. Price wise, we spent about $90 for a roundtrip ticket. That is a car with three people.. not bad at all! Ferries cost about the same but take more time, and traveling by passenger train will cost you about that much per person. Flying into London is a hassle if you want to get from one of the smaller airports into city center, and your inexpensive interEurope flight will quickly become pricey needing a taxi or a 45 minute train ride. Yes, I've researched all options and since the tunnel process is so smooth I am a huge fan!
Probably the fastest way to get from the Europe to the UK with a car for sure. It's a good idea to buy your pass ahead of time, I bought it last minute and it was around £200 return departing late Thursday night and back Sunday afternoon but booked ahead of time it could have been much cheaper. The last minute trips are slightly more expensive than the ferries but it's much quicker, the process through security is fast and easy. The process of waiting to board is a bit tedious but you can relax in your own car which makes it a bit more relaxing. The process of loading onto the ferry is fairly quick and once you are loaded the trip takes around 35 minutes which is so much faster than the ferries. So for convenience and speed I would recommend taking your car/motorbike across with the EuroTunnel for sure, just be aware you should probably book more than a few hours ahead of time if you can. The best thing is that you can board within 2 hours of your scheduled travel time for free if you need to return earlier. A word of warning the delays with extra visa and vehicle checks should be considered if you need to get back to the UK by a specific time such as if you have a flight or a rental car deadline. I found the process going from the UK to France was easier and when you exit on the UK side keep an eye out for the white horse of dover on the mountain.
Unlike the British side the French side has poor signage to get to the terminal, if you are not on the highways. It took us 35 mins to find the entrance and after asking multiple eurotunnel staff, still ended up in the wrong place. The lack of English signs were amazing. On the British side the signs were in three languages. The train journey itself was good and after the initial panic we were happy to get there on time. Once we checked in the process was very smooth. The journey itself was quick and excellent.
Fastest ways from Paris to London: 1. Fly (minus the travel to and from the airport, parking, security, etc). 2. Bullet train 3. Le Shuttle (you can drive your car) 4. Ferry (you can drive your car) I considered taking the bullet train but you must plan this well in advance or pull pay a lot per person. The train can get you from Lille, France to Kings Cross, London in 90 minutes!! King's Cross is also home to platform 9 3/4 for you Harry Potter fans. The ferry takes 2.5hrs but you also have to arrive 1hr before departure. This was the cheapest method. Le Shuttle was the next best option for me! I'm glad I took this route crossing the English Channel because it was VERY unique and the cheapest and fastest! PROCESS: Buy your ticket online, select your vehicle type, arrive to the port at your scheduled time. Before you enter the tunnel there's a small area with restaurants and bathrooms. You enter like you're going through a toll booth. Enter your reservation code and the machine prints out a tag to hang on your mirror there's plenty of employees to direct you to the right area. Then there's a small wait to board the train cart. YES, you drive yourself into a Train. Once inside, someone is guiding you where to stop. When you're parked an announcement comes on and gives you all the instructions you need. The train (with you sitting in your car) goes underwater. 35 minutes later you're across the English Channel!! Super fast and easy! NOTE: There is a passport check on both sides for France and the UK before you board the train cart. read more
Flexiplus is DEFINITELY the way to travel through the EuroTunnel - you skip the lines, drive and off the train first, flexible regarding changing dates and dates So convenient and so fast. Definitely the BEST way to travel by car from UK to France or vice versa! read more
I recently moved from Germany to England and since I had quite a bit of luggage AND a canine companion, I decided to do the move with Le Shuttle via the Eurotunnel. Honestly, I was a bit nervous when I approached the train station on the French side of the Channel: How does it work? Is my paperwork for the dog complete? Right away I saw the Pet Center and it was super-smooth to get Málaga, my dog, checked-in. There were so many dogs! The Eurotunnel seems to be the transportation mode of choice when it comes to traveling with pets as they don't need to be in a separate kennel: they can just travel with you in the car. After the pet check-in, we had a bit of time to kill: first, I was a bit early and second: there was a delay due to high demand. We hung out at the food court and while the choice isn't that great, it's predictable: Burger King, Starbucks etc. In the end, everything was super smooth and I would definitely do this trip through the Eurotunnel again. read more
1 year ago
6 years ago
Easy to buy tickets, get checked in and through passport control. Driving onto train was effortless, trip was short and we were across. Well worth it! read more
3 years ago
Think of it as an airport -- but for vehicles. Literally. Minus the flying. My husband and I moved from Germany to England in September and opted to use the Eurotunnel in Calais to Folkestone instead of taking the ferry as we had our cats with us and a 40 minute trip seemed like a better option than a 4 hour trip. Prior to boarding the train car, we had to make a pit stop at the pet reception to get our pet sticker for the window as well as have our cats vaccinations and health certificates from Germany validated. They give you the microchip scanner to reduce the stress caused to your pets, which was nice but they DO NOT have a separate area for cats and dogs. There are 4 windows, all closely situated next to each other so wrangling two very nervous cats in and out of their carriers while keeping them out of canine view was not the easiest adventure to say the least. They do have a fenced off bathroom area which I utilized to let my cats out (they are leash/harnessed trained), because they'd been stuck in their carriers for a few hours at this point and were getting restless. All in all this took about 15 minutes to do and we were headed to check in for our vehicle. They check your booking number and you're giving a boarding number/time slot. Depending on your ticket type, you can board right away (flexi) or you will have to wait a bit. We waited a bit so we could grab some food, use the restroom and stretch as we'd been driving for 2.5 hours at that point. You can also buy a ticket on the spot but it's slightly more expensive. The food court area on the Calais side is very similar to the kiosk areas once you pass TSA at the airport. They've got duty free shopping, a Burger King and Starbucks. There are large signs in the parking lot that show your queue group and time, so you won't miss your boarding times which is great because they don't do announcements otherwise. Once your time is posted, you head to the French border patrol where they check your ID's, passports, and a vehicle swab. Once through we drove maybe 50 yards and presented the same documentation to the UK border patrol. You'd think it would have been quick but no. This was the tricky bit. Because we were traveling on military orders, we legally have to present those as well as both of my passports (my travel passport and my military one with my VISA stamp in it). Due to the orders, we had a bit of a hold up as it appeared the border control had never seen them before even though the euro tunnel is a popular way of transit for military personnel moving from Germany/Italy/France to the UK. It took us an extra 15-20 minutes to get cleared as they had to find someone who knew what they were looking at to get us through. Bit frustrating but it is what it is. Clearing UK border patrol we were directed to the queue line. There are two queues. One for regular sized vehicles and one for buses, and large/oversized vehicles. We opted for the secondary queue as I've got a lifted Jeep with wider tires and really didn't want them rubbing against the sides. Good choice because there were a few trucks in front of us that a had similar idea. In the queue line there are restrooms and vending machines because you can end up waiting upwards of 15 minutes here. Quick bathroom stop to drain myself of the Starbucks I'd consumed lol and we were on our way down to the train. At this point you're directed on to a train car and asked to pull up as far as you can. To keep their turn around times short, not all of the train cars may be filled to capacity. Because I grew up with Final Destination, I was more than grateful that we were the last vehicle loaded on to our train with the car behind us being empty. Employees come through checking that your windows are rolled down, place tire wedges in front of and behind your car to keep it from rolling and ensure that your parking brake is on. There are also bathrooms located in the first and last car of the train if you really have to go, but I wasn't risking exiting my truck (again, final destination). They've got free wifi which is nice because I put a podcast on and fell asleep for the ride. Once you make it to Folkestone, you simply follow the cars off the train and you're on your way. The biggest thing for me was that it was dark when we made it to the other side and ya know, driving on the opposite side of the road lol All in all the Eurotunnel is the quickest way between Europe and the UK, aside from the border issues, we'd do it again if traveling with our cats. Unfortunately I can't say how the Folkestone side is because we never saw it even after exiting the Chunnel but I hope to at some point. If you want to drive, this is the fastest way and it's a fairly streamlined process if you purchase your ticket ahead of time. read more
10 years ago
We went to the UK this year and took the Tunnel both ways. We had our dog with, so this was way faster than taking the ferry and we didn't have to be seperated from our doggy. Prices are similar to the ferries. Taking a dog from the mainland EU into the UK is just a matter of good preparation and paperwork. Needs a Chip, passport and some vaccines, that's it. The boarding areas both in Calais is pretty big with plenty of shops and fast food chains. Pet areas as well. The arrving area is quite a bit smaller. The Check-In is pretty fast (even faster if you prepare everything in advance online) and the lines are moving quickly. Once inside it's a fast ride and pretty smooth and quiet. Most people stayed inside their cars....but you can wander around a bit, if you fancy a talk with some travellers. Exiting the trains is a fast affair. In a matter of minutes after arriving you'll find yourself on the motorway. Be sure to drive on the correct side :) We really liked the Tunnel. Of course, a ferry might be more enjoyable when it comes to travel. But if you have a pet, I'd go for the Tunnel. It's all very well organised. Just one thing: Signs are not that clear to find the right way through the big departing area, but you can't really get lost that much anyways, just follow the other cars. read more
8 years ago
The chunnel, aka EuroTunnel, aka car subway underneath the North Sea is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to travel between France/Europe, and England. Assume you're traveling by car you have two options; the tunnel, or one of several ferry lines. The tunnel beats the boat on speed by about an hour, which could be a big deal depending on the length of your stay. The actual crossing takes about 35 minutes, but it goes by quickly. What really adds some time is the security checkpoint and getting through two sets of customs before you board the train. Conservatively, just to be safe, you should probably arrive no later than an hour prior to departure- as your boarding time starts & ends 30 minutes before. Also, just in case you are curious.. the process is as follows; drive up to the check-in part and enter your reservation info, retrieve a mirror tag to display. Go to the first set of customs, this is France's / the departing country. Go to the second set of customs, security and then wait to board in long lines of cars. Somewhere in-between those steps is the option to get out, stretch your legs and do some (very limited) duty free shopping at the "terminal" building - yes, there is a Starbucks. Once you board the ushers will seperate you by car size, and you either park upstairs or downstairs. To clarify, you drive your car on a train and the train travels through the tunnel, you do not drive yourself like in a regular tunnel. I recommend to buy your ticket ahead of time via the website. It will save some aggrevations on your day of departure, especially if you are in a hurry. Price wise, we spent about $90 for a roundtrip ticket. That is a car with three people.. not bad at all! Ferries cost about the same but take more time, and traveling by passenger train will cost you about that much per person. Flying into London is a hassle if you want to get from one of the smaller airports into city center, and your inexpensive interEurope flight will quickly become pricey needing a taxi or a 45 minute train ride. Yes, I've researched all options and since the tunnel process is so smooth I am a huge fan! read more
Probably the fastest way to get from the Europe to the UK with a car for sure. It's a good idea to buy your pass ahead of time, I bought it last minute and it was around £200 return departing late Thursday night and back Sunday afternoon but booked ahead of time it could have been much cheaper. The last minute trips are slightly more expensive than the ferries but it's much quicker, the process through security is fast and easy. The process of waiting to board is a bit tedious but you can relax in your own car which makes it a bit more relaxing. The process of loading onto the ferry is fairly quick and once you are loaded the trip takes around 35 minutes which is so much faster than the ferries. So for convenience and speed I would recommend taking your car/motorbike across with the EuroTunnel for sure, just be aware you should probably book more than a few hours ahead of time if you can. The best thing is that you can board within 2 hours of your scheduled travel time for free if you need to return earlier. A word of warning the delays with extra visa and vehicle checks should be considered if you need to get back to the UK by a specific time such as if you have a flight or a rental car deadline. I found the process going from the UK to France was easier and when you exit on the UK side keep an eye out for the white horse of dover on the mountain. read more
Unlike the British side the French side has poor signage to get to the terminal, if you are not on the highways. It took us 35 mins to find the entrance and after asking multiple eurotunnel staff, still ended up in the wrong place. The lack of English signs were amazing. On the British side the signs were in three languages. The train journey itself was good and after the initial panic we were happy to get there on time. Once we checked in the process was very smooth. The journey itself was quick and excellent. read more
8 years ago
15 years ago
Nice new facilities. Very smooth process to check in. Much better than before. However dropped a star this time, since the tables at Brioche Duree coffee shop are always filthy and need cleaning. read more
9 years ago
9 years ago
8 years ago
8 years ago
