I’m looking to travel to Calais from London this Thursday returning on Monday. Could someone please advise how I would get the tickets and coupons (using two day returns as cheaper than separate rail and ferry tickets) at a non London office. Would be grateful if anyone could enlighten me on what I should say to the ticket clerk as I suspect they won’t know how to issue the tickets/coupons with railcard discounts. Many thanks in advance.
You need to tell the station staff to look for full instructions on how to issue this as follows in The Manual
The Manual
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Just a reminder there is no longer a bus from Dover Priory to Dover Eastern Docks, a taxi will cost around £5 or it’s a 25 minute walk.
Because of extra security and processing foot passenger check in now closes 1hr before departure both ends.
You won’t be allowed to travel from Dover with anything larger than a small bag. At Dover they now scan your passports with a hand held device as you board the bus for the ship and they do stop Day trip passengers abusing period return fares by refusing bags. Sometimes foot passenger luggage is checked in airline style and reclaimed at the other port and if this happens you definitely won’t get away with anything bigger than a small backpack.
At Calais they do X-ray all luggage but this is done after check in and part of the immigration process and they also have airline style handling of luggage reclaimed from the carousel at Dover prior to going through customs.
Be wary that P&O are very strict on revenue management with people using Day returns as period returns and sometimes stamp the Calais Dover control coupon at Dover so that if you don’t present a stamped coupon at Calais they know you haven’t left Dover that morning. Now that names are taken when they scan your passports ex Dover they also can and do cross reference passenger lists at Calais and will surcharge you the full amount for a standard single ferry crossing.
Is doing it this way really a lot cheaper? If rumbled at Calais you will have a hefty surcharge before return ferry travel is permitted.