JANUARY 2023
During our summer of 2022 we discovered that traveling by ferry is by far the most kid-friendly way to travel. In this blogpost I will explain all about our journeys by ferry in the United Kingdom and why it is so kid-friendly. If you are traveling with a baby or a kid, I would highly recommend to travel by ferry (Greece is amazing to explore by ferry as well).
Details of the trip
For our summer of 2022 trip we decided to go to the UK by ferry. We booked a spot for our campervan on the Stenaline ferry and also booked a room for our overnight trip. We were pretty late with booking and P&O ferries was having a reorganization, so we had to pay quite a lot for this trip. If you are traveling with a normal car, the journey usually is cheaper. We paid € 187 for our campervan and € 202 for a luxury room with a double bed.
Why travel with a ferry?
We loved our trip with Stenaline and found it the most comfortable way to travel. You can check in a few hours in advance of your trip, but you don’t have to. We checked in early, so we could check out the boat and get Hugo to bed in time.
Our trip started on on Friday night and we arrived in the UK on Saturday morning, while having had a good night of sleep. After roaming around the boat, Hugo went to bed in the early evening, while we enjoyed the boat’s bar to have a drink. Our room featured a coffee station and mini-bar with free wine and even a little bathroom where we could have a shower in the morning. I have never arrived to my final destination in such a relaxed way and I didn’t have the feeling of having lost time.
During our UK trip we also took the ferry between Wales and Dublin, which we also really enjoyed. This was a shorter journey of about 3 hours and we joined the boat as foot passengers. The advantage of a ferry when traveling with kids is that you can let them play. Our boat featured several playing and entertainment areas, where you could let the kids play. I find this way more comfortable than tying Hugo up in an airplane seat. We were able to bring our buggy on board, so Hugo could even have a little sleep, as the movements of the boat made him sleepy.
On our final leg of our trip we took the ferry between Dover and Calais with DFDS. Again, we were treated perfectly. Our boat was delayed and they rebooked us on the boat to Dunkirk, so we wouldn’t lose time. Again, greatly appreciated when traveling with a kid!
