Why is the channel tunnel such a rip-off?

I think we look back on the hovercraft with rose tinted spectacles. It was noisy, shook you to your core and you stayed strapped into a seat for the entire journey as I recall. The tunnel is a much better experience for a swift crossing.
 
[TW]Fox;26572370 said:
When I went to Europe, I did the ferry on the way out, at £29. Got there 30 minutes before, loaded exactly on time, spent 90 minutes having a rest and then drove off.

Way back I tried the tunnel. It was more than double the price of the ferry. Picked a time based on the 'Next train within 2 hours' policy. Got there 2 hours early (In reality I'd picked a later train incase of traffic). They made us wait for 2 hours in the little shop. Great.
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Hmm, that's unlucky. The many times I've arrived early for the tunnel I've always been loaded onto the next train and hardly had to wait at all. Or maybe I've just been lucky?

Don't get me wrong, the ferry isn't bad, I just prefer the tunnel.
 
Just come back from using the tunnel for the first time, it was £3 each way more expensive and really quick to load and unload, we got there 3 hours early on the way back and they loaded us on the next one with no additional charges, it was strange driving straight off the train onto the M20 with no more customs or border controls.

However, if I'm with the kids, the ferry is more of an event.
 
When I went to france for a week I just used the ferry as I didn't need the speed of the tunnel, and at around £150 for a >5 day return ticket the ferry was more than half the price (£65) which is quite a saving.

Sure on a plane people have paid different prices, but at least the price of your outgoing flight doesn't change when you change the return date the way it does with euro tunnel. Makes it feel less of a rip off.
 
BigT said:
I think we look back on the hovercraft with rose tinted spectacles. It was noisy, shook you to your core and you stayed strapped into a seat for the entire journey as I recall. The tunnel is a much better experience for a swift crossing.
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No for me it was the fact it was cheap and quick (quicker than the tunnel).

I like the ferry as you can get some ridiculous deals. :)

Though I tend to use the Eurostar and just hire a car, as I can get returns through work for under £60 any time I want. :)
 
I've done both and tbh as Fox said further up - for the sake of a few minutes faster and a huge amount of money its really not worth it over the Ferry. If I can get a cheap deal on the tunnel (which you usually can't) I will use it, I'm going over on the tunnel next week infact, but will be using the Ferry a few weeks after that.
 
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