Last night I bit the bullet and at what many on here would call 'the very last minute' booked a return crossing with Eurotunnel, outbound 02 September return 30 September with both crossings at around noon local time.

When we first started going to France with the Triton in tow we could pay full whack for the Tunnel using our Tesco vouchers and the cost was around £300 in total. In 2015 and 2016 we even went across in May-June and then again in September.

This time, however, not having been to continental Europe since 2019, I was shocked at how expensive it now is to go to France. Eurotunnel quoted us £579 for our crossing but I was able to reduce this by £60 by booking through the Caravan and Motorhome Club eventually paying £517.44 for the cheapest, non-refundable tickets. On top of this I also took out the C&MC's Red Pennant travel insurance package that cost us another £299.65 making a grand total of £817.09 before we even leave the house.

My wife and I both dislike ferry travel and have found the Tunnel to be much better suited to our needs but this evening I thought I'd check how much I could have saved by taking a ferry. Again I was surprised as DFDS quoted me £541 Newhaven-Dieppe return for the same dates (more than I'd expected) and compareferries.com came out at £507 for a Dover-Calais.ferry again with DFDS. These prices would of course have dropped if booked through C&MC.

Are these prices typical or are they high because of my late booking, I wonder? Can worthwhile savings really be made by booking early and do others make non-refundable booking to keep costs down or do you pay more for refundable tickets?

It's all a bit of a minefield and I'd be interested to read your views..

I go direct and buy the cheapest non refundable fare. Going direct with the operator does give you some wiggle room in altering a booking that the C&MC as a third party will charge you for, that is if you can contact them in your hour of need.
I've found tunnel versus the Dover ferries a close call since post Covid, none being clearly cheaper. The tunnel is however so convenient if you turn up early as they have more crossings and the flexibility to slot you in earlier. If travelling down the east side of the country it would still probably be my choice.
The best value crossing continues to be DFDS on the Newhaven-Dieppe route, but you say you both dislike ferry crossings. This is a shame as if you phone them you get a 10% discount as an over 60 year old, something that is not advertised or available over the internet.
Pre Covid the crossing timetables and fare generally went live to coincide with the October C&MC show in Birmingham. Things now happen a lot earlier and summer 2025 crossings have been live with Brittany Ferries for about a month.
Booking early is definitely the way to go. When we returned home in 2023 via Dieppe to Newhaven our crossing on the single leg was just over £100. I recall talking to a late booker on this route who had paid nearly £700 for a return. He near fell over when I told him our crossing price.
Next year we are going out end of August and back 3 1/2 weeks later on the Plymouth -Roscoff route with a friends discount code. We have an overnight cabin on the way out and a mid-day crossing coming back, total £440, so definitely worth booking early.

For Red Pennant it again pays to plan early. For 4 weeks iin 2023 it would have cost us £179, but for a years policy with multiple 30 day crossings it was £311. So we have travelled out Aug/Sept in 2023 and June/July in 2024. This meant a saving on the Red Pennant as our two holidays fell within a one year policy.

Colin

It's going to take me some time to digest all that, Colin.

Many thanks for sharing your experiences in such detail; it looks like real savings are available when you are prepared to do the research and, as Freddie Laker used to say in his Skytrain ads, "but be sure to book early".