Travel Information (from the UK) The ports with the shortest driving distance to our holiday cottage are Saint Malo, Roscoff, Caen and Cherbourg. The main roads in France are generally very good, being dual carriageway of a motorway standard for much of the route. Traffic on these roads is generally far lighter than in the UK, and rarely will you encounter road works or traffic jams. There are no toll roads in Brittany, but there are in Normandy (the Michelin route planning website will identify these for you). When using Cherbourg, we found the motorway services in Normany to be excellent, with outdoor picnicing areas with tables & benches and good food. Other services can be a bit basic. There are other crossings including the Channel Tunnel, Dover etc which offer a far quicker and far cheaper option from the UK, but you will have to drive further on the French side. There is no such thing as "the best crossing" - it is all realtive to where you live in the UK  and your personal preferences, such as: Your departure point in the UK. If you prefer an overnight crossing on the ferry to arrive refreshed. If you prefer a cheaper crossing e.g. Calais, and don't mind the longer drive. If you have children, how well they travel in the car. Your preferred crossing times. How good your sea-legs are, and the likelyhood of a rough crossing. If flying, your length of stay. For short-breaks you can get away with hand luggage. Whether you need all the comforts of your own car, or prefer to hire a French left-hand drive. To help you compare all the travel options, we have set out many of them in a table below, but do chcek with operators, schedules are constantly being modified.   The Drive Alive! web site has a lot of useful information on driving in France, including leagl regulations and tolls. One thing worth mentioning are the new regulations that require you to carry a reflective jacket and warning triangle inside the car. If you have a break-down, you must wear the jacket before you get out of the car. The French police are conducting spot-checks, and you will see many French drivers now have one slung over the back of the drivers seat so they don't get stopped. We can now offer guests up to 10% discount off bookings with Brittany Ferries. Ask us for details before you book.   Note: you should allow extra time when travelling on Saturdays in August, which can get very busy with English, French, Dutch, German and Swiss holiday makers. The toll booths (certain routes via Normandy) can also cause delay and service areas and petrol stations get very busy.   Distance & drive times are from the French arrival point to Guegon  Departure Crossing Times   Operator Distance miles Drive Time     Ferries       Saint Malo The best crossing in terms of distance to the cottage. Our favourite overnight crossing from the UK. You pay a premium for cabins & food but the service and quality are excellent. Outwood journey is overnight, return is day-time.  Up to 10% discount available. Portsmouth 9h day 10h45 overnight    74 1h40   Saint Malo Travel via the Channels Islands, so you can lose the shorter crossing times on the stops to/from Gurnesey or Jersey - check timetables. Weymouth, Poole 4h30-5h15 day 74 1h40   Roscoff Off peak you will find sailings are not every day. Overnight and some day crossings in peak season. Up to 10% discount available. Plymouth 6h day 8h overnight   110 2h15   Caen This route has the greatest variety of crossing times, which allows for greater flexibility. We prefer to take this route when returning to the UK using their high speed catamaran service (3h45 crossing). Up to 10% discount available. Portsmouth 3h45 h/speed 6h day 7h overnight   164 2h30   Cherbourg High speed ferries available after March. Just 3h crossing on the catamaran. Check web site for special offers on 5 day returns.  Up to 10% discount available. Portsmouth, Poole 2h15-3h h/speed 4h30-6h day 6h30 overnight 188 3h17   Le Havre New operator, bought the crossing off P&O. Overnight crossing on UK departure & 05h30 crossing time on return. A little further to travel by road, but some very good offers. Low cost, no frills style service, but generally good value. See below for more info. LD Lines also have a new day-time service from Newhaven. Portsmouth Newhaven 5h30 day 7h30 overnight   219 3h28 Calais Up to 25 sailings a day, with crossing times of 75-90 mins. Approx. 23€ toll charges. Dover 1h15 day 380 5h30   Channel Tunnel Departing from Folkstone from just £49 one way, the tunnel offers a good valaue option if you can travel at off peak times you will get the best fares. The journey time is just 35 minutes. Approx. 22 Euro toll charges. Calais 0h50 day 380 5h30     Airports       Rennes Quick and easy access to Rennes airport from our cottage in less than an hour. The route is nearly all dual carriageway. Edinburgh Manchester Southampton Exeter 1h-1h30 52 0h59  Dinard Dinard Airport is which makes for a quick and hassle free experience. Route to the cottage is across scenic countryside and usually takes less than 1hr30. Often special offers from Hertz car hire from the Ryanair web site. East Midlands Bristol Stanstead 1h 63 1h30 Nantes East Midlands Gatwick Bristol Cardiff Bournemouth Stanstead 1h 86 1h33   Brest Manchester Birmigham Luton Southampton Exexter 1h   126 1h54               Car Hire www.holidayautos.com www.europcar.com www.carrentals.co.uk www.hertz.com                                                                                                   LD Lines We sailed with them in 2006 and 2007. They offer a no frills, value for money crossing. There is just one ship that sails out from Portsmouth overnight (11pm dep.) and returns from Le Havre daytime (5pm dep.). We booked one of their few 4 berth cabins outbound, but you can use a free reclining seat or reserve a club class seat. There is something a bit 'Faulty Towers' about this ship! The whole ship has seen better days; the crew will win no awards for customer service; the restaurant is called Little Italy (on a French Route!), and Egon Ronay would not be impressed by the food...but it is good value. Update: LD Lines seem to have put their prices up considerably in 2009, and we have now switched back to Brittany Ferries. When you take into account the discount we can now offer, the shorter drive times, better quality and service, they work out as our best bet, but It does depend on where in the UK you live. Ryanair We have flown Ryanair East Midlands Airport to Dinard, where we hired a car, and found this to be a quick and simple route at excellent prices, which can start from £0.01 plus taxes! Dinard airport is located just 3 miles from the town, so if you have some spare time, you may want to combine your arrival/departure with a visit to the lovely town or beaches. Dinard is a very popular resort, so in summer it does get busy, but off season you will have no difficulty parking near the town or beach. The airport is very small by UK standards, with just two check-in desks. There is a cafe serving drinks, coffee and meals, but they are on the expensive side, so we would recommend you eat in Dinard if you have the option. Five major car hire forms operate from the airport. We usually find Hertz are cheapes when booked through the link on Ryanair's web site, but National (booked through EasyCar) have also worked out as the best value. The Money Saving Expert has a good guide to saving money on car hire. Comparison Sites You can compare different ferry crossing options and prices at: ferry2france - does not include LD Lines. aferry.to  - includes LD Lines. In our experience you do not get any discount by booking through these sites, but they can be useful to compare your options. Brittany ferries offer a £10 discount if you book on line direct with them (and we can offer a further 15% off their normal prices). Find a Flight: There are now over 100 possible ways to fly from the UK and Ireland to France. The France Flight Route Map  from FrenchEntree.com is a convienient way to explore the possibilities. Compare air fares at:   Skyscanner