A EUROPEAN ROADTRIP
My wife and I were setting off on a two week European road trip that would take us from our Essex home in the UK, through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, we would cover a total of 1,300 miles, and stay in six different hotels in four countries.
We have ventured on many a road trip in the past, throughout Europe and the UK, and even driven the Great Ocean Road in Australia, but this was to be our first trip away since 2019, prior to the Covid pandemic, and to say that we were somewhat anxious about the trip would be an understatement.
There seemed to be a lot more preparation needed than on our previous road trips, due to Brexit and Covid. At the time that we were putting together the trip, it was necessary for us to apply for an NHS Covid Pass, but this is no longer necessary. We also had to apply for International Driving Permits (IDP) as we both have the old style paper driving licence, not a photo card. To establish if we needed IDPs or not took several emails and social media messages to the French, German and Belgium Embassies, none of which could give us a definitive answer. The best advise we got was from the French Embassy who, although could not say for sure, advised us that it may be best for us to apply for an IDP, to be on the safe side!
We were also shocked by how much prices had gone up in the last two years, our travel insurance alone had trebled in price, and hotels also seemed more expensive than we remembered, and as for petrol costs, they were astronomical compared to previous trips!
The route that we planned to take would take us through Belgium and Luxembourg so we decided to cross the channel from Dover to Dunkirk, this would save about 25 miles of driving, but would mean a two hour crossing as opposed to a 90 minute crossing if we had chosen to travel Dover to Calais. Total journey time would be much the same, but we would save a little on fuel costs, and it was a journey we hadn't done before, and we are always game to try something new.
We chose DFDS for our channel crossings. As one of Northern Europe's biggest ferry operators, and with up to 54 crossings a day, DFDS are a major player in transporting goods and people from the UK to the Continent. Their ferries are modern and spacious, with all the facilities the traveller needs for a comfortable crossing.
We couldn't have hoped for a better start to our journey, the weather was good and, having stayed the previous night at the Holiday Inn at Dover, we had a quick and easy drive to the port. The sun was shining and all was looking good for the journey ahead. That was until we were ushered into the customs shed at Dover....My first thought was “how on earth are they going to check all our luggage?”, we were packed to the gunnels with suitcases and all the things we would need for our journey, and quite a few things we wouldn't! However, the young customs officer just carried out a routine check under the car, a quick check in the boot and only asked for one item to be put through their scanning machine, we were then soon on our way and in no time at all we were on the ferry, relaxing in very comfortable chairs and whiling away the two hours by exploring the ship, and simply looking out the window at the astonishingly calm sea.
Having gone through French passport control in Dover, once we arrived in Dunkirk we were immediately on our way to our first overnight stay at The Ibis Styles Namur in Belgium. We arrived early evening, so after checking in we went for dinner in the hotel's restaurant Le Felicien. We enjoyed a wonderful meal, served by some very attentive and friendly staff, before retiring to a most comfortable, well equipped room.
Our longest stay in any of the hotels was in Freiburg at The Hotel Zum Schiff. We had visited Freiburg on many occasions in the past and this was to be our third stay at the Hotel Zum Schiff, which although in need of refurbishment, which incidentally has now begun, is a very friendly family run hotel, and ideally suited to our needs, it also has a very good restaurant serving excellent food.
There are many wonderful places to visit whilst in Freiburg, including Tittisee with it's large lake and abundance of water sports, to the nearby ski resort of Hinterzarten, a lovely picturesque town, always worth a visit.
On our return journey we stopped off at Colmar in Alsace, this is a region of France that borders Germany and has a real mix of French and German influence. Colmar, with its beautiful old timbered buildings and network of rivers, put me in mind of Bruges in Belgium We spent several hours here before setting off for our overnight stay at The Ibis Styles Nancy Sud.
Having had a good nights sleep and a very good breakfast, we set off from Nancy for our final stay at The Hotel Kyriad in Saint Quentin, but on the way I wanted to explore the wine making area of Epernay and Le Mesnil Sur Oger. These were both places that featured in my adolescence, as a sixteen year old I had worked for two weeks picking grapes in this area, and this was the first time that I had been back there, almost exactly 48 years to the day! I reminisced as we enjoyed driving around the area, viewing the sprawling vineyards which spread out before us as far as the eye could see, memories came flooding back of those far off, care free days of youth.
For the most part we saw very little other traffic, partly due to the fact that it was a Sunday. We did however have a couple of incidents, one being mayor diversions due to a road closure, the other due to a fallen tree across the road, necessitating a Police road block and traffic control. But despite these little irritants and the unexpected diversion through the centre of Rimes, we arrived in plenty of time at our hotel in order to have a leisurely dinner in the nearby restaurant, before retiring for the night.
Alarms were set for 05:30 the next morning as we wanted to have an early start to arrive in Calais in plenty of time for our ferry. It was a good thing we had given ourselves plenty of time, as once again we were faced with thick fog! Thankfully, after about an hour the fog started to lift and the sun broke through the clouds. We arrived in Calais in plenty of time as planned, which meant we could spend some time browsing in the excellent, newly opened Duty Free Shop in Calais.
The border controls in France can be a little confusing if you haven't travelled since before Brexit, you now have to go through two sets of Passport controls, first the French control and then the UK control. Very time consuming, but it does mean that once you arrive in Dover, you drive straight off the ferry and on your way without further delays.
My wife and I were one of the first vehicles to board and for a while we thought we were in for another quiet crossing. We headed straight to the 7 Seas restaurant for lunch but were told that the restaurant would not start serving food for another ten minutes, my wife found us a table by the window, whilst I went to take some photographs of the ferry for this review. When I returned, no more than ten minutes later, the restaurant was full of teenagers on a school trip, there were literally hundreds of them, all queuing up to be served food. It was only in the last fifteen minutes of the crossing that they left the restaurant to return to their coaches, only then were my wife and I finally able to grab ourselves some sandwiches and bottled water to take to our car to eat on the drive home.
If it hadn't been for the overwhelming influx of coach passengers, then this would have been a very pleasant crossing, the sea was, once again, very calm, and the ferry is a very nice ship, with many good facilities, which under normal circumstances would have made the crossing a very comfortable one.
Although, not without incident, our European Road Trip went very well, for our first adventure since the Covid Pandemic, we are happy with how things went, We were very pleased with our choice of hotels and with our decision to travel with DFDS, the weather, as always, could have been better, but we have no control over that, we were very pleased with the route we took and we would certainly consider the same route again.
You can read my review of Crossing the channel with DFDS by following this link: World Travel Reviews: TRAVEL BY CAR FROM THE UK TO FRANCE (independentworldtravelreviews.blogspot.com)
CROSSING THE CHANNEL WITH DFDS
Established in 1866, DFDS is one of Northern Europe's biggest ferry operators, operating a total of eight passenger routes, four of which are between the UK and the European continent, these are Dover to Calais, Dover to Dunkirk, Newhaven to Dieppe and Newcastle to Amsterdam. Other routes are located in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania and Estonia, with a new route added in August 2022 between Rosslare and Dunkirk.
DFDS have recently been nominated for the World Travel Awards 2022, as Europe's leading ferry operator, and also for the British Travel Awards 21/22. Impressively, they have also been voted World's & Europe's leading ferry operator for the last eleven years.
The ferries operated by DFDS are modern and spacious, with all the facilities required for an enjoyable and relaxing journey. From the comfort of the premium lounge with its complimentary drinks and snacks, to the many varied bars and restaurants, notably the splendid 7 Seas Restaurant with its comprehensive menu and comfortable seating area. For entertainment there is the video gaming area, and for the younger passengers, the 'Pirate's' play area, which is sure to keep them happy and entertained. There is also a well stocked Duty free shop where passengers can browse and shop at their leisure.
There are six vessels operating between the UK and France, three of these are UK flagged vessels, sailing between Dover and Dunkirk, they are Dover Seaways, Delft Seaways, and Dunkirk Seaways. Built in 2005 and of Scandinavian design, they have a light and airy atmosphere. At 186 meters long, 28 meters wide, and with a cruising speed of 20 knots, they can comfortably accommodate 1,000 passengers and 250 cars.
The three French flagged vessels are Cote Des Dunes, Cote Des Flandres, and Cote D' Opale. Cote Des Dunes and Cote Des Flandres were built in 2001 and 2004 respectively and were refurbished in 2016. At a length of 186 meters and a width of 28 meters, they have a cruising speed of 25 knots and can accommodate 1,500 passengers and 400 cars. Cote D' Opale is the newest vessel in the fleet, having been built in 2019 and first sailing in 2021. At 214 meters long, she is also the longest vessel in the fleet. She has a cruising speed of 20 to 22 knots and can accommodate 1,000 passengers.
For our European road trip, my wife and I had decided to sail with DFDS with our outward journey departing from Dover to Dunkirk. Having stayed at a hotel in Dover the previous night, we arrived in good time for our 12:00 sailing. Check in was very quick and efficient, however we were directed into the customs shed for a routine check of our car and contents, then having found nothing untoward they very quickly allowed us to continue, and we were soon onboard and setting sail for France.
The Ferry was very quiet, with not too many passengers, and we found a nice, secluded spot on deck 7 in some very comfortable seats by a window, where we had an excellent view throughout the calm and pleasant crossing. We found the staff onboard, in all departments, to be very friendly and helpful, from the Customer service desk to the Duty-Free shop, all were happy to assist us when necessary.
The two hour crossing went by very quickly and we were soon disembarking in Dunkirk. As we had already been checked by French Passport control in Dover, and had our British passports stamped, we could now simply drive off the ferry and immediately start our European Road Trip (you can read the full review of our trip by clicking on this link:World Travel Reviews: TRAVEL POST COVID PANDEMIC (independentworldtravelreviews.blogspot.com) ).
Our return crossing to the UK was also with DFDS, but this time we sailed on the Calais to Dover route. Again, we arrived at the port in plenty of time to catch our ferry which was timed to leave at 13:15. However, when we checked in, which unfortunately wasn't as quick as it had been in Dover, our boarding card stated our sailing time as 12:50. This was good as it meant we would arrive in Dover 25 minutes earlier than expected, and could start our 124 mile drive home that much earlier. Unfortunately, this meant that we couldn't spend as much time as we would have liked in the excellent, newly opened Duty Free Shop in Calais.
If it hadn't been for the huge number of very excitable and very noisy teenagers, then this would have been a very pleasant crossing indeed, the sea was once again very calm, and the ferry is a very nice ship with many good facilities, which under normal circumstances would have made the crossing a very comfortable one.
Over all, I certainly do recommend DFDS as a means to cross the channel, the vessels are modern, spacious, clean and comfortable and all the staff that my wife and I encountered were very friendly and extremely helpful.
For further information on DFDS sailings and fares, please visit their website at: www.dfds.com or keep up to date with current news on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Youtube.
