You can pay a lot to just turn up without a booking. There are plenty of crossings (up to 4 per hour) and it runs all night, so it is never fully booked for days on end, though you might have fewer choices of departure time still available when you do book. Guess your arrival time as best you can.
Travel very late or very early in the day and you can cut the Eurotunnel fare to around £200 return on Saturdays or £165 return midweek. By doing so, you could tackle the driving during the night when there will be less traffic.
Eurotunnel is now highly profitable, after a difficult start when it was held down by massive debts from the tunnel construction. Debt restructuring in 2007 reversed the company's fortunes — at the expense of thousands of small shareholders who saw their holdings slashed in value.
Generally speaking the ferry is usually slightly cheaper, but whichever option you choose, make sure to shop around for deals and book well ahead of time to get the best-value fares.
Well, you can still turn up and buy a ticket at check-in but with dynamic pricing, it's almost certain to be more expensive than pre-booking and is subject to availability at peak times. Once you've booked online (or by phone), you don't get a ticket or anything – just a booking reference number.
Yes, you can bring food with you for personal consumption between Folkestone & Calais, and for your onward journey. However, there are certain kinds of food that you cannot bring into the EU —use this resource on restrictions as a guide.
How do you book and do you need to? Well, you can still turn up and buy a ticket at check-in but with dynamic pricing, it's almost certain to be more expensive than pre-booking and is subject to availability at peak times.
Passenger safety on-board the shuttlePassengers should not stand or walk between vehicles or between vehicles and the doors at either end of the carriages during the crossing. Passengers must not tamper with the on-board safety equipment, such as wheel chocks and fire extinguishers.
Ticket prices can increase over time as the day of travel gets closer as the amount of space available on our shuttles decreases. To book the best fares, we recommend booking as early as possible in advance.
Eurostar trains are for foot passengers only, so are ideal if you don't need or want a vehicle for your trip. Eurotunnel Le Shuttle carries freight and all forms of vehicle, including cars, motorbikes, campervans, caravans, coaches and lorries.