Ferry or fly?

[father-of-3]

We are off with friends to Brittany in June. They are travelling by Ferry = total of 6 hours driving (2 our end then 4 in France) plus 8 hours on Ferry. If we fly it will be 1hr drive, 90min flight then 1 hr drive.

Our friends are trying to persuade us that the Ferry is a destination in and of itself and that the kids entertainment is great and that that was the best bit of their holiday last year.

We have 3 children dear-daughter 4yrs, dear-daughter 2yrs (just)and dear-son who will be 10 months. The girls are fine in the car in front of the TV but baby is not too keen on his car seat which is too curvy for his back.

Has anyone tried the Ferry to either Saint-Malo, Caen or Le Havre from Portsmouth and is it great fun or will it be 8 hrs of agaony on top of extra driving?

The price difference is not that significant for us (ok it is significant, but not for the purposes of this argument)

Thanks!

Thanks for you help.

[annie0000]

What you missed in your list, is the couple of hours hanging about in the airport each end.

We took the overnight ferry to Holland a couple of years ago, and it was great, but not sure how it would be with 3 little ones, ours were 6 & 7 at the time. The worst bit of that trip was the 4 and a half hours in the car to and from the ferry terminal.

If it was me, I would be tempted to fly, because my eldest gets travel sick if he watches the tv or plays on his ds (unless we are on motorway and then he is okay for short periods) so we would probably not drive for so long again. If your kids are fine in the car, then you do have the advantage of having your owns things avaialble to you for the journey and you can stop and start when you like.

In any case, I would get your son a new car seat if his is not comfy for him regardless of what you do for the holiday - you only get one back!

I wouldn't hestitate to take our 2 on the ferry again, as long as it was closer to where we live, but being in Scotland, our options are a bit limited on that score!!!

[Naomicorlett]

We fly every time now. Tried the ferry a couple of times and hated it. Mind you we live on Isle of Man so its a ferry then a long drive then a ferry for us. We fly into Lorient as it a lovely small airport. Good luck what ever you decide.