Countries · Driving from the UK · Channel crossing

How to Cross the Channel by Car: LeShuttle or the Ferry

Checked 13 October 2026 on LeShuttle's, P&O's, DFDS's and Brittany Ferries' own pages and on GOV.UK · skynomad

The tunnel and the Dover ferries both check your passport in England, so the choice comes down to time, where you are going in France, and what is on your roof. Every time and rule below comes from the operator's own pages, read on 13 October 2026.

Take LeShuttle for the Fastest Crossing

LeShuttle runs through the Channel Tunnel 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with up to four departures an hour. The planned crossing is 35 minutes from platform to platform; between November 2024 and October 2025 it averaged 35 minutes 17 seconds.

You stay in your car the whole way. Arrive at Folkestone no less than 1 hour and no more than 2 hours before your departure. Boarding starts 25 minutes before it leaves. Passports are checked before you board, by the British and French authorities, so there is no border check when you drive off in Calais.

Fares change with the date. On 13 October 2026, LeShuttle's own pages started at £124 each way for a Standard ticket and £98 each way for a Short Stay, for a car the size of a BMW 3 Series with nothing on the roof.

Check the Height and the Fuel Before You Book LeShuttle

• Over 1.85 m, or anything on the roof. A roof box or roof bikes put you in the single-deck carriage, and the price can change. Tell LeShuttle before you travel if you add one after booking, and the same goes for a rack or box on the back.
• LPG, LNG or CNG. LeShuttle does not carry a car that runs on LPG, LNG, CNG or any other flammable gas. Book a ferry instead.
• Pets. From £24 per pet each way, checked in at the Pet Reception before you board. LeShuttle's pet page says to arrive at least 90 minutes before departure; its help pages say at least 1 hour. I'd allow the 90.

Pick the Ferry Port by Where You Are Going in France

Dover to Calais or Dunkirk suits Paris, Belgium, Germany and the east of France. Newhaven to Dieppe lands you in Normandy. The Portsmouth and Plymouth sailings go to Normandy and Brittany, and an overnight one saves a night in a hotel on the way.

DFDS suggests arriving 120 minutes before check-in closes. On DFDS, a dog stays in the car during the crossing. Brittany Ferries sails from Portsmouth to Cherbourg only up to twice a week, so check the timetable before you plan round it.

Ferry fares change with the date and the time of day, and each operator's own page shows more than one starting price, so I compare them on the booking pages for the day I travel.

Allow Time for the EES Fingerprints at Dover and Folkestone

The EU's Entry/Exit System registers the fingerprints and photo of non-EU travellers on a short stay, British passport holders included. It is free and you do nothing before you reach the border. Children aged 11 or younger have their photo taken but not their fingerprints. The record is valid for 3 years.

At the Port of Dover and at LeShuttle in Folkestone, the EES check is done before you leave England. If you sail from any other port, such as Newhaven, Portsmouth or Plymouth, you are registered when you arrive in France.

LeShuttle said there would be no EES fingerprints at its Folkestone and Calais terminals during the 2026 summer holidays. Check its EES page in the week you go, and allow extra time either way. The EU's travel authorisation, ETIAS, is expected to start in autumn 2026, but no date had been announced when I checked.

After the Crossing

From Calais it is €25.20 in tolls to Paris and €76.30 to Lyon: French tolls. What you need in the car: driving in France. Going to Disneyland Paris? The drive from the tunnel and the port.

Take LeShuttle for speed and the ferry for an LPG car or the west of France, and check the EES page in the week you travel. Every time and rule on this page was read on the operator's or GOV.UK's own page on 13 October 2026.