What are our options for getting to Dover?

We will finish our trip to France by driving along the coast of Normandy before catching a ferry to Dover, England. What French ports can we depart from? I have been reading about LD Ferries going to Dover from Boulogne. Have they started? Do we have to drive all the way to Calais? We would like to spend our last night reasonably close to where we get the ferry. Does anyone have any hotel/b%26amp;b recommendations?

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There wouldn%26#39;t be much difference between driving to Boulogne and driving to Calais. They are no more than 25 miles apart if that. There are several options further west from Caen or Le Havre but none would take you to Dover. There is also still ferry service between Dieppe and Newhaven but it%26#39;s a slow crossing and likely not very useful for you. FWIW, the coast between the Seine estuary at Le Havre and Calais is not the most interesting coastline I%26#39;ve ever seen, but if you have to get to Dover you don%26#39;t have any option that I know of other than to drive all the way to Calais or almost all the way to Boulogne. The Boulogne-Dover ferries do not carry foot passengers on all their sailings. I do not know if the same is true about the Calais-Dover routing.

The LD Lines web site: http://www.ldlines.co.uk/

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The LD Line crossing from Boulogne to Dover is opperating. I used it as a foot passenger on their %26quot;fast ferry%26quot; last month which took about an hour. It went pretty smoothly, although the facilities at Boulogne are pretty limited and, unlike from Calais, there are not many sailings.

I disagree with Irish Rover about the actual coast of eastern Normandy, but you would presumably be sing the mainroad a bit inland. Howeer, I would agree that unless you are actually going to Kent, you should investigate the ferry crossings to Portsmouth from Cherbourg, Caen or Le Havre.

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The main operators for Dover-Calais ferries are SeaFrance and P%26amp;O (who also do services from Portsmouth). There isn%26#39;t much between them - travelling by car we take the cheapest, usually SeaFrance, though their services aren%26#39;t quite as frequent as P%26amp;O.

If you%26#39;re heading for Canterbury, the distance is going to be much the same whichever side of the channel you travel, probably more convenient on the French autoroute ... though I suppose you could go to Canterbury as a day trip by train from London after you%26#39;ve finished the rest of your tour?

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For anyone taking a car Eurotunnel is quick (but can be dear), and avoids a rough crossing. Those crossings don%26#39;t take so long, but for people prone to seasickness, it%26#39;s a boon!

For a stop overnight, Logis hotels are available all around the area. Escalles can be a good stopover, close to Boulogne and Calais. When you know which port, come back for more suggestions of hotels and B %26amp; Bs.

Jo