Can I cross the Channel on ferries as a foot passenger?

Q After the Eurostar London-Paris debacle on Friday, some people were talking about travelling as foot passengers on the ferries from Dover. But I thought foot passengers were banned from them? I’d like to be wrong!

Adrian B

A A half-tonne unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered on rail tracks close to Gare du Nord station in Paris on Friday morning. Lines were closed until mid-afternoon, and Eurostar cancelled all 32 trains between the two cities – putting paid to the plans of around 25,000 passengers. The obvious options – flights from London airports to Paris – quickly sold out, as did long-distance coaches. But some travellers made their way to Dover and sailed to Calais on P&O Ferries, continuing from there to the French capital.

DFDS and Irish Ferries do not take foot passengers; their business is shifting cars, coaches and trucks between the Kent port and northern France. P&O Ferries, though, believes there is a market that needs serving. It allows passengers without vehicles on three sailings a day between Dover and Calais (a small fraction of the daily departures).

The experience is neither fast nor smooth. The port of Dover is a good mile from the nearest station, Dover Priory – taxis are available. You must report to the passenger terminal at least 90 minutes before sailing. A shuttle bus then departs from the terminal and takes you through the maze of roads and marshalling areas to the ferry.

The voyage itself takes around 90 minutes. Once the ferry arrives in Calais, passengers are warned they must wait at least half an hour to disembark, after the vehicles have driven off. “Please allow for this time when making any travel arrangements from Calais port to your onward destination,” P&O Ferries advises. At least in Calais there is a shuttle between the passenger terminal and the main rail station.

I much prefer the DFDS Newhaven-Dieppe service, which is well set up for foot passengers. Trains arrive at Newhaven Town, close to the passenger terminal. On the other side, it’s a bit of a walk between the French port and the station, but overall a more enjoyable experience between London and Paris – with the option to stop off in beautiful Rouen, where you change trains for the French capital.

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Q Why do people still catch trains from London to Paris? So many cheap flights...

Mike L

A The short answer: because Eurostar usually provides a smooth and professional intercity service taking two-and-a-half hours, with minimal stress compared with flying. But the fact you ask is telling.

For many years a much more typical question would be: “Why do people fly from London to Paris? So many fast trains.” When Eurostar first opened at scale, the number of flights between the two cities – previously Europe’s busiest international air route – tumbled. But since Covid, Eurostar has been assiduously milking its monopoly on the rail line, with limited capacity and high fares.

Budget-minded passengers have flocked back to the airlines. Today you can choose from 27 flights each way, serving four London airports and both Paris airports, with fares from £38 one way (easyJet, Luton to CDG, booked on Sunday evening). The cheapest one-way Eurostar fare on any of the 15 trains, also booking the evening before, is more than five times higher at £195. Even with the additional costs of larger baggage on flights, and train fares to and from the airports, taking the plane works out at less than half the price of Eurostar.

To be fair, Eurostar still has some £78 return fares from London to Paris and back for early bookers but they are scarce; none in March, and in April there are only two days going out and one returning when it applies. In contrast, easyJet has plenty of return trips starting at £60 or so.

Too cheap to fly? Yes, I think there should be higher taxes on flights where a good terrestrial alternative is available, such as London to Paris. But I also think that Eurostar needs to have its monopoly challenged so that fares are cut and customer service improves. Friday’s cancellation of all 32 trains on the link because of the discovery of a Second World War bomb on rail tracks close to Gare du Nord station in Paris was delivered with a corporate shrug.

The 25,000 travellers who had their plans torn up learnt that airline passengers enjoy much stronger rights – to alternative transport, meals and accommodation – than Eurostar provides. Yet another reason, I am sorry to say, for sticking to the skies.

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Q This year we’re boycotting “Trumpton” for obvious reasons and it’s high time we visited old friends in Canada, near Toronto and Halifax, Nova Scotia. We have flights to Toronto booked in early June with Avios on British Airways. I'm considering driving to our friends near Halifax; what’s not to miss along the way, please?

John M

A A great journey awaits you. I shall begin by respectfully asking you to reconsider your London-Toronto return ticket and turn it into a one-way outbound; with Avios, you can change your booking for a flat £35 per person. My reasoning: you really should “open-jaw”, flying out to Canada’s largest city but back from Halifax to London on WestJet, which has plenty of flights at £250 one-way in June. It would cost you much the same to fly to Toronto to connect with your homeward leg on BA.

Next, a string of outstanding locations awaits, but I urge you to make the most of your journey by public transport.

Ottawa and Montreal, two contrasting but intriguing cities, are eminently walkable. A car would be an encumbrance. Two days in each will be just right. The same goes for Quebec City, which has a magnificent setting above the St Lawrence River. You can continue on Via Rail all the way to Halifax, but I recommend a couple of stops along the way to appreciate more of eastern Quebec and New Brunswick. Hop off the train at Campbelltown and rent a car for a day or two to explore the Gaspe peninsula of Quebec. Back on the train, another six hours takes you to Moncton for another rewarding pause before the final stretch to Halifax.

I did look at a one-way car rental from Quebec City to Halifax, but the drop-off fee was a punishing C$1,200 (£645). If you decide to stick with the Toronto flights and rent a car for the whole trip, by far the quickest and most interesting way back is to slice through the beautiful US state of Maine. I should say that the voters of Pine Tree State emphatically chose Kamala Harris in last November’s election.

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