Taking the western less travelled Autoroute and then skirting round the north of Charles de Gaulle, cuts the mileage to less than 200 miles from Calais and cuts the tolls down to around 20€ each way (19.90 iicr last year) and also cuts out the endless queuing on the notorious Paris Peripherique . Diesel in France is on average less than £1.15 per litre, so basing that on 400 miles @ 40 mpg makes £75 for fuel and tolls. The cheapest 'ninja' suitable bookings on the tunnel for Thursday/Saturday when I looked the other day was £92 while the cheapest ferry crossings were £74. That gives ~£150 just to get from the UK and back. Add the UK portion of the journey and breakdown cover etc. and you're probably looking at another £100 at least. Put four in a car and it's £62.50 each. Letting the train take the strain sounds like a good idea, but you still have to get to/from the train, which probably involves more train fares/fuel/parking, ramping the price up further. It's pretty much always cheaper by car, if you get it right. Just sayin'.
P.S. I'm leaving after work on Wednesday evening for a stupid o'clock crossing from J10/M25 and returning Sunday/early Monday and have space if anybody wants to chip in £65 towards fuel/tolls.
P.S. I'm leaving after work on Wednesday evening for a stupid o'clock crossing from J10/M25 and returning Sunday/early Monday and have space if anybody wants to chip in £65 towards fuel/tolls.