Newhaven -- Dieppe - Second Ferry is back in May

[Thunder Bolt]

So what is the best French seaport to have a day trip too?

Taking the kids across the channel for the day is an 'itch' I've had for a while.
I was hoping Dieppe would be ideal for a bit pottering simple bite to eat and head home again.

Boulogne.

If I was going for the day, I would go through the tunnel, and drive to Bruges. It's only an hour from Calais, and a lovely town to visit.

 

[Barry Izbak]

So what is the best French seaport to have a day trip too?

Taking the kids across the channel for the day is an 'itch' I've had for a while.
I was hoping Dieppe would be ideal for a bit pottering simple bite to eat and head home again.

I've done this a few times. Dunkirk.
90 mins to the tunnel from Brighton. 35 mins crossing. 25 mins to Dunkerque. Loads of restaurants and of course there's a rather large sandy beach

 

[Stat Brother]

Boulogne.

If I was going for the day, I would go through the tunnel, and drive to Bruges. It's only an hour from Calais, and a lovely town to visit.

I've done this a few times. Dunkirk.
90 mins to the tunnel from Brighton. 35 mins crossing. 25 mins to Dunkerque. Loads of restaurants and of course there's a rather large sandy beach

Thanks chaps, expect to see a just before the May half term.

 

[Questions]

And slightly off topic, I seem to remember getting a ferry from Brighton marina to France some years back (maybe early/mid 90's) is this a figment of my imagination or was there really a service?

There was a hoverjet terminal there. You are correct Surrey jim.

 

[gjh1971]

Done a few trips for the day using the tunnel / car. Le Touquet is a pleasant town , as is Bolougne. Bruges the best of the options, and have also done Antwerp and Ypres in a day.

 

[cjd]

So what is the best French seaport to have a day trip too?

Taking the kids across the channel for the day is an 'itch' I've had for a while.
I was hoping Dieppe would be ideal for a bit pottering simple bite to eat and head home again.

Couldn't think of anything worse with two young children.

10 hours on the ferry there and back...depending on how rough the crossing is. Rip off prices for inedible food on their restaurants...and the general smell of vomit.

Better to to take a flight to La Rochelle from Southampton. Car park is 50 metres from the airport. One hour check in. One hour 5 minutes for flight and a shuttlebus at the airport taking you direct to La Rochelle, about 1.5 miles away. Providing you only take hand luggage you are off the plane and through customs (sort of portable cabin) in about 3-4 minutes.

Flybe were doing return flights for about £60 last year.

 

[The Hon Sec]

A bunch of us do daytrips to France a number of times each year and have pushed the boundaries distance wise as far as possible. We always use P&O for the marvelous breakfast. Have got as far as Arras, Lille and Ghent but time constraints mean we dont see much going that distance. Just have a meal and a quick stroll if we want to do some shopping back at the port.
Best towns to visit in my view are Boulogne, Montreuil sur Mer, Arras and particularly Bruge. Been back there to stay for a few days. Good restaurants and beers. Nice restaurant in Montreuil sur Mer called Froggies. And St Omer's not bad.

 

[Stat Brother]

Couldn't think of anything worse with two young children and the general smell of vomit.

Ah so you've travelled with my kids before.


It's an odd 'itch', that won't go away.
We like to go and museum our way around London.
Obviously we're at home on a beach, and are equidistant between Brighton & Portsmouth (not that we've done the dockyard).

But I just kind of think we should be 'popping across the channel', and normalising it, and yet I still shy away from the day out.
France/Europe isn't just EuroDisney and a bike race.

I don't think I'm making much sense, but I know what I mean!!

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Would recommend Portsmouth Dockyard. You can get a ticket that gets you into everything including the boat trip round the harbour ( which was my favourite bit)

Im rather liking the idea of a day trip to Boulougne and getting over to Bruges too. I like Belgium its like a pleasant cross between France and Germany.

 

[Notters]

Couldn't think of anything worse with two young children.

10 hours on the ferry there and back...depending on how rough the crossing is. Rip off prices for inedible food on their restaurants...and the general smell of vomit.

Better to to take a flight to La Rochelle from Southampton. Car park is 50 metres from the airport. One hour check in. One hour 5 minutes for flight and a shuttlebus at the airport taking you direct to La Rochelle, about 1.5 miles away. Providing you only take hand luggage you are off the plane and through customs (sort of portable cabin) in about 3-4 minutes.

Flybe were doing return flights for about £60 last year.

Rip off prices? Think you're thinking of somewhere else. We did the trip in October. It was about a fiver for a full English on the way and about*a fiver for a pint of Grolsh AND a large glass of wine on the way back. Incredibly cheap.

They announced the additional ferries in November by the way. Shows how bad their PR is that this comes as news to people. Also shows how shite the argus is given that I emailed the editor about it at the time.

 

[Stat Brother]

Rip off prices? Think you're thinking of somewhere else. We did the trip in October. It was about a fiver for a full English on the way and about*a fiver for a pint of Grolsh AND a large glass of wine on the way back. Incredibly cheap.

They announced the additional ferries in November by the way. Shows how bad their PR is that this comes as news to people. Also shows how shite the argus is given that I emailed the editor about it at the time.

Well the visit Dieppe tourist info site still thinks it's 2012, so it would appear the Argus is bang up to date.

 

[Danny-Boy]

The French visitors may be lucky enough to stumble across La Baguette shop in 'Centre Villie'

From memory wouldn't it be selling "Le Pastie de Cournouailles"? I seem to remember from my 'A' level days that's one of very few places or towns that have a special french name.

Others are:

Londres
Douvres.

Rien de plus?

 

[Danny-Boy]

If they had decided to do this a bit sooner we may have been tempted to go this way for our annual trip to France - 35' ish drive to Newhaven instead of nearly three times that to Dover plus starting the holiday by driving for nearly 70 miles in the wrong direction! Looked at going Portsmouth way but that way seems expensive and really requires you to go overnight which I do not fancy at at all.

Pity they can't get the fast ferry back which made day trips even more practical - Dieppe is a very pleasant town to spend a day with quite a few reminders of the infamous 1942 raid.

Yes some of the houses near the port still have shell holes, or did the last time I went. However the shops have a rather different concept of "opening Hours" the antiques places and hobby shops didn't open until the p.m. Wonder what time they close?

And is there a fare for foot passengers? Maybe you HAVE to have transport in which case I'd get a bike for the day.

 

[KNC]

It'll never be as good as it used to be when the ships berthed immediately next to the row of restaurants on the west side of the river.

.....and straight on the train to Paris

 

[Danny-Boy]

A bunch of us do daytrips to France a number of times each year and have pushed the boundaries distance wise as far as possible. We always use P&O for the marvelous breakfast. Have got as far as Arras, Lille and Ghent but time constraints mean we dont see much going that distance. Just have a meal and a quick stroll if we want to do some shopping back at the port.
Best towns to visit in my view are Boulogne, Montreuil sur Mer, Arras and particularly Bruge. Been back there to stay for a few days. Good restaurants and beers. Nice restaurant in Montreuil sur Mer called Froggies. And St Omer's not bad.

Many years ago a group of us got the boat to Le Havre for a day and ended up in a seaside place called Etretat. Fascinating, I think it still had a medieval market place. Bit touristy though.

 

[Danny-Boy]

.....and straight on the train to Paris

Yes Lord B. For a little while I worked in Gay Paree, the trip back to Eastbourne where my parents lived was very easy, the train (direct from Paris then) always got in about half an hour before the boat sailed so you had time to charge down the pedestrian High Street and grab some wine/cheese/whatever.

One night however I missed the boat and had to stay in a "pension", bit grim but cheap.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

The French visitors will be sure to love the High Street. You can buy most of the goods on offer in every shop and still get change from a tenner

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Couldn't think of anything worse with two young children.

10 hours on the ferry there and back...depending on how rough the crossing is. Rip off prices for inedible food on their restaurants...and the general smell of vomit.

Better to to take a flight to La Rochelle from Southampton. Car park is 50 metres from the airport. One hour check in. One hour 5 minutes for flight and a shuttlebus at the airport taking you direct to La Rochelle, about 1.5 miles away. Providing you only take hand luggage you are off the plane and through customs (sort of portable cabin) in about 3-4 minutes.

Flybe were doing return flights for about £60 last year.

You've not used the ferries recently have you ? I use the Newhaven one at least 3 times a year and each time the 3 course meals are around £7 a head ( yes, it's pretty standard food but certainly no worse than a supermarket cafe ). As @Notters has mentioned, the beer is a reasonable price as well. I went at Christmas and the return journey ( split over 8 days ) was £110 which covered the car and three of us travelling. Bloody good value in my mind.

EDIT - and in the Summer I do it with three kids and have done so since they were 2,4 and 5. No issue at all.

 

[sully]

And slightly off topic, I seem to remember getting a ferry from Brighton marina to France some years back (maybe early/mid 90's) is this a figment of my imagination or was there really a service?

There was for a short while. Didn't it go to Fecamp?

 

[Westdene Seagull]

There was for a short while. Didn't it go to Fecamp?

Or was it a Hovercraft ? I definitely went to France on a hovercraft as a kid - could have been from Newhaven though.