We are moving back to the UK end of August. Everything was going to plan, and today I booked our van (self drive from uk to switz and back). Then went to book the tunnel and found out that the van must go through the freight and our two dogs and cat arent allowed in the freight.
My question is....
Is there anyone out there that will be making a euro tunnel crossing on Monday 26th or Tuesday the 27th of August, who would be willing to meet us at the Pet check place and take our animals over. We would then reload them on our van the other side. Obviously they all have passports etc and we would come with you to get their microchips scanned etc in Calais. It really would just be a case of having them in your car just for the crossing. We would obviously pay the extra it costs to have pets and would even pay your entire crossing fee.
I know its a long shot. I just dont know what else to do. We have enough stuff that we prob do need to hire a Van (no furniture- just boxes etc). I am now so worried.
Let me know if anyone happens to be going back then, or if anyone has any bright ideas please also let me know!!
With a ferry, you could be a foot passenger with your pets, and your spouse could be a vehicle passenger with the van.
I really don't see what the problem is. Nor, since there's a month to go, why it is urgent.
btw - if you go as freight through the tunnel, you get fed. The freight shuttles run a little bit slower so as to allow the journey to count as a break for the lorry drivers, who spend the journey in a carriage at the front of the train.
I had a friend whose dad was a lorry driver, he had a dog he used to take with him everywhere on the truck including on the ferrys to the continent. He never had a problem!
It's no problem. I drove a van over a couple of years ago with a friends dog. The Eurotunnel Freight service is a separate train, you drive your van or truck onto a pretty much open train and the driver and passengers are transported into a carriage. There is no facility for animals.
On the ferry, the dog must stay in the vehicle though.
And the ferry is much cheaper than the Eurotunnel Freight service, but on the ferry make sure you let them know you are not carrying commercial goods, otherwise they will charge you more!
They stopped serving food on the freight train last year, as not many drivers would eat it due to the extremely poor quality. As for the crossing time, it is the same as the tourist train, however the time to load/unload makes for a drivers full 45 minute break as required under tachograph rules.
When I moved here I came in a van via the ferry. My cat was allowed on the ferry, no problem - she had to stay in the van and she was as happy as a cat generally is under such circumstances! I think we moved her (in her travelling cage) into the cab and left the window open... she was fine. I had an extra large cage and she had access to food all the time, and whenever we stopped I gave her a little pouch of wet food, which my vet had advised as she might not drink much on the journey.
Why not ask friends or relatives in UK to come to Calais - they could enjoy a night there, do a bit of shopping and sightseeing and meet you the next day (or same day if they are in South East- they could book the pets to travel with them, and then swap on t'other side. Must say I much prefer the Tunnel with pets, as they stay in the car with you (or friends in this case), especially if it is a bad crossing. If you need the name of a vet in Calais, I can tell you which one we use. BTW the Hotel de la Plage takes pets, if you intend to spend the night in Calais.
Not really. When you make a booking you have to give the details of everyone travelling in the vehicle and whether you are bringing pets which are then checked-in along with everyone else. Plus, iirc foot passengers - apart from guide dogs, etc, - are allowed to take pets on the ferry. Which makes sense as pets stay in the vehicle during the journey and a foot passenger doesn’t travel with a vehicle.
Depending on where you are going in the UK, I could lend you a larger cat wire crate with plastic floor- so that cat can move around, have food and water and a litter tray. But I want it back, so it depends if you can easily do that (either in Surrey, Kent or East Leicestershire.
I recently went through the eurotunnel (in a rented car) with two dogs because that ended up being the best option for us to transport them without flying. I found the following link helpful for detailing out the different transport options for pets:
I think most of the ferry services do not allow pets with foot passengers unless in some cases they are crated but even in that case they are sometimes not allowed (with exception of service dogs). Goodluck with your travels!