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Train+ferry foot passenger deals

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AnkleBoots

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The Harwich ferry has a train+ferry ticket from London to Amsterdam

Are there any other train+ferry tickets available leaving the UK?

I think there used to be a National Express Dover ferry deal but that might have ended.

Thanks
 
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Tetchytyke

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RailSail to the Republic of Ireland, and to the Isle of Man. There's also the Calais day trip ticket.

Beyond that, not much!
 

jamesontheroad

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The Harwich ferry has a train+ferry ticket from London to Amsterdam

Not just London - any Greater Anglia station and any Dutch station. I use this to get to the Netherlands before starting out on a DB Sparpreis Europa fare from the Netherlands. Can be very good value for international train travel.
 

route101

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What about the Dover to Calais ferry?

Can you turn up at Dover and get on the ferry as a foot passenger?
 

Metal_gee_man

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What about the Dover to Calais ferry?

Can you turn up at Dover and get on the ferry as a foot passenger?
Yes you can, only P&O Ferries allow foot passengers, sadly the shuttle bus that ran from Dover Priory to the Eastern Docks is no more so its a 15-20 min walk or 5 mins in a taxi
 

superjohn

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Id be interested in that. Or staying near to Dover and getting ferry across.
Be aware that P&O have currently suspended their foot passenger service, citing COVID precautions. I’m not sure what would happen if you turned up with one of the day trip tickets.

If you do go, check out prices in advance. P&O ferry only foot passenger fares can be eye watering. They sometimes have day trip offers in the hope that you will spend a lot onboard but don’t try using them as bargain singles. They will check if you make both legs of the journey and it is prominently in the conditions that they will charge the difference to the appropriate fare if you don’t.

The rail and sail ticket is useful in this respect as you don’t have to make both legs of the journey.
 

route101

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Be aware that P&O have currently suspended their foot passenger service, citing COVID precautions. I’m not sure what would happen if you turned up with one of the day trip tickets.

If you do go, check out prices in advance. P&O ferry only foot passenger fares can be eye watering. They sometimes have day trip offers in the hope that you will spend a lot onboard but don’t try using them as bargain singles. They will check if you make both legs of the journey and it is prominently in the conditions that they will charge the difference to the appropriate fare if you don’t.

The rail and sail ticket is useful in this respect as you don’t have to make both legs of the journey.

Dont have anything planned , just an idea.
 

jopsuk

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Yes you can, only P&O Ferries allow foot passengers, sadly the shuttle bus that ran from Dover Priory to the Eastern Docks is no more so its a 15-20 min walk or 5 mins in a taxi
The DFDS ferries have no foot passenger doors on the side (for Calais) or connection on the rear (for Dover)
 

MarcVD

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I have been on such ferries, where foot passengers are taken on board and disembarked with a bus .
 

superjohn

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The DFDS ferries have no foot passenger doors on the side (for Calais) or connection on the rear (for Dover)
The former SeaFrance pair still appear to have the gangway at the rear. They date back to the days when SeaFrance still took foot passengers. Calais Seaways served the route in the same era, albeit for P&O, but has been through so many transfers since it is possible the necessary fixtures are no longer present.
 

Metal_gee_man

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The former SeaFrance pair still appear to have the gangway at the rear. They date back to the days when SeaFrance still took foot passengers. Calais Seaways served the route in the same era, albeit for P&O, but has been through so many transfers since it is possible the necessary fixtures are no longer present.
The Dover - Dunkerque ships (Delft, Dover and Dunkerque seaways) were never designed for many passengers let alone foot passengers they didn't have any any rear or side foot passenger ramps fitted when they entered service for Norfolk Line as freight only ships
The Dover - Calais ships are actually all equipt with foot passenger access
The Calais Seaways always had foot passenger access from when it was built and operated by Sally Line (Ramsgate) and when it passed multiple hands via P&O it ended up with DFDS as very much a specialist Dover - Calais ferry
The other two ship were built as the SeaFrance Rodin and Berlioz both on the same design (4 years apart)
They took foot passengers and still could and now running around as the Cote de Dunes and Cote des Flanders

Sadly DFDS don't see it as a profitable venture, extra costs like running a number of buses, staffing check in/ticket selling offices in terminals, and actually reducing capacity of the number of profitable lorries/vehicles carriable because the ships run on a certain staffing level to safely supervise an evacuation of upto a limit well below the actual capacity of the ship to reduce costs during quieter times.
 

jamesontheroad

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I have been on such ferries, where foot passengers are taken on board and disembarked with a bus .

Finnlines do this in Trävemunde (DE) and Malmö (S). I discovered this route by chance when a UK-Sweden itinerary was scuppered by DB delays in February. I missed the last train from Hamburg to Copenhagen and a hotel night there, so went to Trävemunde instead. A VW minibus drove three of us from the terminal into the boat, where we boarded via the car deck. In Malmö we had to wait until the entire boat had disembarked and another minibus drove onto the car deck to take us to the terminal (and, thoughtfully, just beyond the terminal to the bus stop on the street outside). I caught up with my original Copenhagen-Stockholm train when it passed through Malmö.
 

MarcVD

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I have been on such ferries, where foot passengers are taken on board and disembarked with a bus .

It was last year, just after Xmas, P&O between Calais and Dover and back. Did both crossings on the same day, with the first and last available crossings, to visit Canterbury.
 

MotCO

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Slightly OT, I recall that P&O used V511KMY, an Optare Excel, ex Metrobus of Orpington, on the shuttle service. If the shuttle service has ceased, any idea what has happened to the bus?
 

alex397

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Slightly OT, I recall that P&O used V511KMY, an Optare Excel, ex Metrobus of Orpington, on the shuttle service. If the shuttle service has ceased, any idea what has happened to the bus?

V511KMY is currently parked up at the Eastern Docks, alongside 4 other Excel buses (the newest one being from 2002). I know this, because I walked along the White Cliffs last week and you get a good close view of the Eastern Docks. I presume they are mothballed, unless they are used for other things such as moving staff.
It is surprising to have a fleet of Excels still (well until recently) in service, and in quite good condition for their advancing age.

Talking about the foot passengers at Dover, is there any official wording about the current suspension of foot passengers? I can't seem to see anything online, including the P&O website.
 

jopsuk

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Talking about the foot passengers at Dover, is there any official wording about the current suspension of foot passengers? I can't seem to see anything online, including the P&O website.
It's on the Dover-Calais page
DOVER TO CALAIS FERRY
The Dover to Calais ferry route allows direct travel from England to France. The P&O Ferries service runs up to 23 times a day with a sailing duration of 1 hour 30 minutes.
  • Fresh air and plenty of space for safe travel
  • Please note that we cannot carry foot passengers at this time
  • France is currently on the UK government's quarantine list
 

Alfonso

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Some ferries won't carry foot passengers but do carry bicycle passengers. There's also the channel tunnel bike service for I think £30 each way.
Brittany ferries do good value and flexible (one route one way, another route back allowed) day returns ( actually up to 27 hours ashore) for about £24 plus overnight accommodation and often have newspaper offers for £12 up to 24 hours ashore, but currently the day trip offers are all suspended.
 

jopsuk

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Some ferries won't carry foot passengers but do carry bicycle passengers. There's also the channel tunnel bike service for I think £30 each way.
Brittany ferries do good value and flexible (one route one way, another route back allowed) day returns ( actually up to 27 hours ashore) for about £24 plus overnight accommodation and often have newspaper offers for £12 up to 24 hours ashore, but currently the day trip offers are all suspended.
on most ferry services cycle passengers count as vehicle passengers- even on the best (Stena Harwich-Hook of Holland) you just line up with the cars for check in and boarding. even DFDS carry bicycle passengers to Calais and Dunkirk (i've done the latter, don't recommend it). Looking at their site, I see they must have had some issues at Newhaven with people trying to find a loop hole as it states:
Due to restricted foot passenger capacity – we cannot accept customers onboard that have booked a crossing with a bicycle, but arrive at port without a bicycle.
and as that isn't mentioned on other routes I am guessing there's been an incident.
 

Alfonso

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on most ferry services cycle passengers count as vehicle passengers- even on the best (Stena Harwich-Hook of Holland) you just line up with the cars for check in and boarding. even DFDS carry bicycle passengers to Calais and Dunkirk (i've done the latter, don't recommend it). Looking at their site, I see they must have had some issues at Newhaven with people trying to find a loop hole as it states:

and as that isn't mentioned on other routes I am guessing there's been an incident.
I guess it's a problem where foot passengers travel on and off the ferry in a minibus or suchlike, rather than "self loading" with their bikes.
 

jopsuk

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I guess it's a problem where foot passengers travel on and off the ferry in a minibus or suchlike, rather than "self loading" with their bikes.
yes, Newhaven does that- so if there's no minibus running (less staff in contact with passengers) it's a problem when people think they can loophole their way past "no foot passengers"
 
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