Our Ferry Trip to France with DFDS Seaways.

Here's a Top Tip:

If you ever travel by boat, it's wise to make more than a mental note of the clearly colour coded and numbered deck that your car is parked on, especially before you play several games of Uno with your kids to while away the crossing - a card game comprised of only colours and numbers which will serve to befuddle your brain - so that when you come to claim your vehicle at the end of the journey, it will not be where you thought it was.

You may end up on the wrong clearly coloured deck on the wrong numbered level, with your children worrying, you nervously laughing, faking bravado for them while asking the crew to find it for you, which is easily done because someone on their radio will be asking where on earth the owners of the little blue number right at the front of the ferry.  You know, the ones with the first-on (supposedly) first-off priority boarding privilege.

That will be us then.  And a cracking start to our little sojourn.........lots of games of Uno ;).

So what were we doing and what did we think of our ferry trip to France with DFDS Seaways?

Aside from being gracious in the face of an anxious woman with her children on their first time as a family heading towards unfamiliar territory, they've been voted the World's Leading Ferry Operator for the last four years running.

I only know this because, as we drove on board at Dover we passed a great big hoarding advertising this enormous achievement.  Not being allowed to photograph it because you need a special Harbour Licence (*hastily deletes all inadvertent snaps taken before this information was gleaned*) and feeling it was a bit wasted there - seen only by the people having already committed their cash, I thought it deserved a proper mention here.

Image courtesy of the World Leading Ferry Operator for the last four years running. 

We were travelling to Dunkirk - but this is where else they go -

Image courtesy DFDS Seaways

The crossing is very short - only two hours from Dover to Dunkirk - but there's lots to keep the children amused for the duration anyhow.  We were blessed with a beautiful day on the way over, so they mostly ran around on deck, but there is a 'Little Nippers' play area (for up to age six or 1m height) which the youngest explored and, next to it, a Cafe Bar with TV Lounge, which the eldest enjoyed before we all settled down to play cards (*cough*).

First and foremost, though, we had to hit the shop and buy all the kit legally required for driving in France.  This took about five minutes, but it's hard not to be sidetracked by all the brilliant savings on the beauty products - from fragrances and make-up to skincare.  There's also jewellery, toys and games for travelling, maps and information books, newspapers and magazines as well a selection of stuff you might have forgotten to pack, plus plenty of beers, wines and spirits at lower than UK prices.  

But the best bit for us as a family was the size of the ship.  It feels very spacious - not so big that I had to keep the children close to me - yet large enough so as not to induce seasickness.  Seeing as the eldest, who usually suffers when travelling, was ill on the way over from Sussex to Kent during the car journey the previous day, this is really not insignificant!  We felt fine, even on the return crossing when the weather was rather more rainy and we couldn't be outside for much of it.

There are three eateries - a restaurant as well as La Veranda cafe bar (below) and a Food Express, offering a variety of different options, catering for all tastes.  There's certainly no shortage of choice and there were no queues.  There is also an upgrade option of entry into the Sea View Lounge at a supplement of £8 per person each way, from which children under 8 years old are excluded.



All in all, our experiences of the Dover Dunkirk crossings were very pleasurable, positive ones.  At only £39 per car with up to nine passengers for a return fare, travelling to France by Ferry can be a really reasonably priced option for a family holiday.

There is a link to recommended accommodation in all the ports on the DFDS Seaways site, which I'd managed to overlook, such was the short notice in which this break was booked, so we took pot luck in a Budget Hotel, which was brilliantly located and friendly, but the size of a box and incomparable to the one we'd stayed in at Dover, so I would recommend staying somewhere that has been endorsed by the experts.

We loved Dunkirk as a destination.  It's full of history and the beaches are massive.  It is from here that the famous emergency evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers took place in the Second World War, with a hastily assembled fleet of over 800 hundred boats, made up of all those imaginable and possible  - from large British destroyers to fishing boats and private pleasure craft and is of where Winston Churchill spoke when he said 'We shall fight on the beaches:'

'....We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender... '  Winston Churchill. 


We took some time to honour those who had fought for our freedom as the children played.  It seemed important and appropriate to do that, but we gave the War Museum a miss for now - until the boys are older.  In better weather, these beaches must come into their own and it's no wonder that they are popular with kite-surfers, sand-surfers and wind-surfers.     

And, of course, the food in France is always worth the trip to get there.  It's the only place I've ever drunk wine that actually tastes of grapes and we were able to indulge in exquisite long lunches that met my high expectations.  As a bonus, too, with the Euro exchange rate at 1.30, they were much cheaper than they would be at home.

There are up to 12 sailings per day and Priority Boarding is £10 per car each way, but beware of an overwraught single mother who's forgotten where she's parked.  (You don't get stuck behind somebody so silly, by the way, you just drive around their car).

Little did we know that getting lost on board at the outset might be an omen of things to come once we'd been let loose on the roads in France (and Belgium, as it happens) and that trying to navigate roundabouts in the wrong direction, plus having huge lorries thundering past in what would normally be an inside lane would take a bit of getting used to, but that's a story for another day......!

Disclosure - We were provided ferry crossings to and from France for the purposes of this review but (unless otherwise specified) all words, opinions and pics are my own obvs.

The Premier Inn, Dover.

I am always a bit wary of  travelling to a departure point of travel on the actual morning of leaving if there's an early start.  It's one of the extra pressures of being a single parent that I could do without.  I would be afraid of oversleeping and be too stressed to be able to settle, so I like to book accommodation the night before and be where we should be.  The kids love it and probably stay awake much later than they would usually but, hey ho, the holiday starts earlier and we get an extra night away from home.

In this instance, we needed to be in Dover, for my rather spontaenously booked short trip to France.   We had to be at the port for 9am, which is a perfect time of day to set sail and we were booked into the Premier Inn. 

First off, it's easy to find.  It's nestled right into the famous White Cliffs, bang on the seafront, a hop, skip and a jump from the ferry terminal.

Premier Inn, Dover Central.

I was a bit worried about potential noise with it being so near the docks, but there was none.  All the windows were double glazed and we all slept brilliantly, unlike a night we spent at Heathrow once (!) - which wasn't with this particular chain.  The Premier Inn guarantee a great night's sleep.  Their bespoke beds, made famous by Lenny Henry in their TV ads, are so comfortable that they've had to arrange for the company that makes them to sell them the public and I can vouch for them being as deluxe as we have been led to believe.  All rooms have king size ones and there were an extra two individual single beds set up for the children.  Additionally, there is a choice of firm or soft pillows!

We'd also been allocated a room in the special 'Quiet Zone' especially for families - so there was no door slamming (but they were all on soft close mechanisms regardless) or noisy passers by at unreasonable hours.

Seeing as this is supposed to be a Budget Hotel - family rooms are available from £35 per night, it must be said that it certainly didn't feel like one.  The kids kept saying how posh the whole place was. Our room was spacious and clean, with crisp linen, a beautiful bathroom en suite and the shower was powerful (something else they guarantee), with soap and bodywash provided in dispensers. There was a large TV, tea and coffee making facilities with extra supplies available for free on a stand at Reception, plus the obligatory free Wi-fi,

It is not surprising that they have been voted Hotel Chain of the Year at the British Travel Awards and are also a Recommended Provider for UK Hotel Chains by Which?    

Overall, we were mightily impressed and another thing that contributed to the kids keeping asking to come back to it once we'd checked into our much smaller, humbler hotel in France, was the Table Table restaurant and bar in situ.  I liked the cool layout - open with stylish wood and bright but calm terracotta colours plus, again, the reasonable prices.  Children even eat free before 5pm Monday - Friday, although for kids up to age 12, their Junior menus are only £3.99 anyhow.

For our evening meal, I ate a scrummy Thai Green Curry.  It was presented differently to usual and could have done with some extra sauce, but it came with fresh chillies and spring onions on the rice which is an idea that I will now nick for home.

There was a good choice - lots of healthy options all round - and, as you know, I have no qualms in saying when the food isn't up to standard.  The boys enjoyed their spag bol and burger too and neither did the breakfasts disappoint, where, again, up to two children can eat free with one paying adult.

There is quite a selection of prepared fresh fruit, pastries, breads (inlcuding crumpets) and cereals before choosing specifically what you'd like for a cooked one.  Everything was decent quality and truly set us up for the day ahead.

The next time we need a Hotel, we'd consider ourselves very fortunate indeed if it could be a Premier Inn.  We were a bit sad to leave, but had a date with a boat and, before we knew it, we were off on the next leg of our (mad) mini adventure abroad!

Disclosure - we were provided with overnight accommodation for the purposes of this review, but all words, pics and opinions and are my own, obvs.

Never the Twain Shall Meet.

Angelic.

The boys behaved extraordinarily well the other morning.  And that evening.  They were positively angelic.

That's both of them.  On the same day.  So, I'm wondering whether it will happen again in my lifetime, obviously.

'But what brought this on?'  I hear you ask.  Yes, I do.  I can see you're aghast, thinking 'How does she do it?'

We all know when you have two (or more) children that one will be playing up when the other isn't and they will take in turns, like they've made a secret plan to shred your nerves.  The one who listens in the morning will have done his stint and revert to ignoring you later in the day, while the sibling who refused to get dressed couldn't be sweeter within a few hours.  He'll sit saintly drawing, do as he's asked the first time you suggest something and want the light turned out after just the one book.  *Faints.*  

No. Never the twain shall meet.  Normally.  And there isn't any secret answer - only that they both wanted to watch a particular film.

But, silly me, lulled into a stupid false sense of security, I did something really rather rash and booked a trip to France.

It was supposed to be easy - nipping over from Newhaven (near us) to Dieppe -  a small port that I've already visited a couple of times, but the children have never been.  It's only tiny and it would be easy to show them around.  Simples, I thought.  A cinch.  What fun!

But it didn't work out like that.

I took the advice we'd been given at a Travel Blogging session at the Britmums Live conference, which was to decide where we want to go, then ring the right people and ask if there are any preferential press rates.  As long as we're prepared to write about our trips, which bloggers will usually do naturally and for free, it can be possible to get a discount of some kind.

They didn't have that particualr route available, but could offer me Dover to Dunkirk instead.  What the hell? I figured.  Let's go for it.   Dover's just along the coast.  Never been to either place.  What fun still!

Only now, here I am, printting off maps for places I don't know, visiting my lovely friend Tania en route, whose place we've never been to before either, booking a Hotel in Dover and another in France, both requiring more directions and maps and even driving on the right hand side of the road in one case, of course.  Not that I've ever minded driving on the other side before, but it's always been in a car designed to do that, not in my very own trusty Ford with the steering wheel in the opposite position to where it should be.

I have a feeling I'd much rather keep banging my left hand on the driver's door and just copy the person in front than be doing what we're all booked up to do. (Don't we all do that when we hire a car abroad - keep going to change gear where we're used to our gearstick being?!).

My fretting was further fed then by this pretty awesome but terrifying post by PINKODDY - where she outlines in explicit detail the documents and things we need to know to drive legally in France.  But we're now sorted, thanks to her and I realised that my winging it as a single parent just stepped up a serious notch or two.

The only things now are to get the students all stocked up with food before we go away and try not to panic about whether the boys will behave!

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

Anya XX