The Ferry Price Was How Much?

What the feck happened to ferry prices? At about this time in 2022, we looked at the cost of getting to Europe for some, most welcome, European touring. [See Trains, Ferries and Touring Europe]

Back then, we picked a random week and compared the costs of getting to different parts of Europe by ferry or the Channel Tunnel. We then did some simple maths—anything more complicated would confuse us—to work out how much it cost, not only in terms of money but also how much the travelling would eat into our “happy time”.

After all, Spain is great, but sitting on a ferry or riding via France, takes a couple of days. Any time on the bike is time well spent, but would you prefer scratching on the central European twisties, munching miles on a French motorway, or sitting on a ferry going to Spain?

As the start of our 3,000-mile road test of the Suzuki GSX-S1000GX approached, I did what I nearly always do and started booking the overnight ferry from Harwich to the Hoek of Holland.

After making a large mug of tea to recover from the shock of the ferry price, I went looking for better options.

Ground Rules

With so many fares available—basic, flex, super flex, overnight, and daytime sailings on a damp Wednesday—we needed to fix some rules for the train and ferry price comparison.

We picked the first week of July (1^st to 7th) as the core dates and then looked for availability. All of the fares we compared are for one rider and their motorcycle. Adding a pillion or sharing a cabin won’t double the cost, but it doesn’t give a balanced comparison with the Channel Tunnel.

Channel Tunnel £127 Return

The Channel Tunnel (Euro Tunnel, Chunnel or Le Shuttle – they are all the same thing) is an easy option if you live nearby. For me, it is 180 miles away, and that is from the Midlands. If you live in Scotland, it is a whole day of riding, perhaps even two.

The tunnel fares get more expensive as you approach the middle of the day. The increased popularity of these trains means they can charge more, so we went for the cheaper morning departures (both ways), opting to get up early and save some money.

Out 1^st July, return 7^th July. £127 on a fixed no-changes fare. Compared to 2022, the cost is the same.

Stena Line Ferry (Harwich) – £350 Return

The advantage of using the Stena Line ferry is that I get to sleep my way across the English Channel. As the ferry leaves Harwich at around 10 pm, I can quit out of work, ride to Harwich in time to make the ferry and sleep my way to The Netherlands. The first day of annual leave I use is the day I ride off the ferry.

The downside is that a cabin is compulsory on the overnight sailing, which increases the price. Even on the mid-afternoon return ferry, a cabin is worth the money. It is somewhere to get out of my riding clothes, enjoy some peace and quiet, and, at my age, sneak an afternoon nap. The sailing is nine hours at night and five hours during the day.

The evening departure gives the Harwich ferry a big catchment area, and as you are paying for a “room for the night” on the ferry, you could argue that the transport cost is £70-£100 less, as without it you’d be staying in a B&B overnight.

Even after subtracting the cost of the floating hotel room, the Stena Line ferry is twice the price of the Channel Tunnel and has increased in price by more than £100 compared to 2022.

P&O Ferry (Hull) – £500 Return

This is the ferry price that really stunned us. It wasn’t that long ago that Roger and Richard had booked this ferry to attend the Assen MotoGP race, and it wasn’t that much.

Charging £150 more than a similar crossing from Harwich appears to be based on the extra mileage if you live north of Hull.

The government estimates that riding a motorcycle costs 24p per mile. So, to get closer to the actual cost, we added another 40% and used 34p per mile.

The £150 extra ferry cost, divided by 34p, equals 440 miles of riding. The round-trip distance from Hull to Harwich is 432 miles, and the Channel Tunnel is 480 miles.  Is that convenient maths on our part, or is the idea that anyone north of the River Humber will take the P&O Ferry rather than ride further south, so charge them more?

The P&O return ferry from The Netherlands to Hull arrives the next morning. In our example, the Sunday night ferry (arriving on Monday) is £50 more than the one on Saturday night (arriving Sunday).

So it could be argued that the cost of the P&O Hull ferry is “only” £450. We didn’t include this figure in the 2022 comparison, so we can’t tell you what has happened to the ferry price since then.

DFDS £85 Return

After we had done all the work and published the article, a reader contacted us to point out that we had missed the best cross-channel deal—DFDS from Dover.

Along with regular sailings, a cross-channel return on the same dates would cost £85 for a motorcycle and rider. Availability was limited on some days. It is obviously a very popular option.

The downside is the longer crossing time, but as the reader pointed out, you can use the time to get a decent break. You also get a chair to sit in while you drink your overpriced coffee.

Your alternative to this with the Channel Tunnel is sitting on the floor of a barren train carriage.

If you are feeling flush, the DFDS Ferry has a fancy lounge you can upgrade to for £20 each way, where snacks, tea, and coffee are included, along with a better seat with a better view.

And the icing on the DFDS cake is that if you are over 60, ask about the rumoured 20% discount when you book by phone.

Ferry Prices

As the Irish expression goes, “If you want to get to Dublin, I wouldn’t start from here”, and the same is true for the Channel Tunnel. It is fast, cost-effective, and the first choice for many motorcyclists heading to Europe. How convenient it is will depend on where you start from.

The ferries to the Hoek of Holland have become expensive in comparison, with the cost double or triple that of the Tunnel, but if you’re riding south and passing Hull, it has to be tempting to eat the increased cost.

As for Spain … Portsmouth or Plymouth to Santander were both £700 return for a single rider, motorcycle, and cabin. We booked for the same dates, or as close as possible, as the sailings aren’t every day.

Surprisingly, the 2022 cost for the ferry to Spain was £33 more. At £700, it is still a chunk of change, but the price has decreased compared to 2022, and we left booking our imaginary trip too late for the cheapest, non-flexible fare.

£700 to Spain. £350 to £500 for The Netherlands. £90 to £120 to France via a ferry or the Channel Tunnel. I think the argument over which deal is best is still raging in the other office.