First time going to France - all advice needed!

As regards the crossing, I think the OP has to think what time they can realistically leave home to arrive at a port on the south coast, add on the crossing time and then make the choice. This will then give the answer on an overnight stop requirement on the way out. My choice would be for one in France as the holiday would seem to begin sooner, campsite costs are lower and you would not be worrying about getting up early on a campsite and rushing for a ferry check-in.

For choosing a site we've always used UKCampstes as a guide, which has reviews on sites across Europe. The filter facility is really useful to narrow down your choice.

The viamichelin website is great for working out realistic on the road travel times 

Other things to consider are Red Pennant Cover and the all important fridge, not a cool box. A table top ST rated job really would be very useful for August as the caravan fridge will struggle.

Colin

As Colin states a departure from Poole or Portsmouth will start the holiday earlier and the kids will be excited. Visit Disney at the end of your holiday and leaving the site in the morning this gives you a Calais crossing and the option of an overnight in Kent or a trip home to arrive late evening, with contented kids asleep on the back seat. 

if on a budget look for ex municipal sites away from the coast (use an old ACSI discount book for a guide you won’t get the discounts but it’s a useful reference) most either have a pool or access to a local one and inland you won’t need to book after 15th August, providing you arrive at your chosen site before, or shortly after lunch.

We had a lot of holidays in Brittany when our children were small, it's a great place to visit and the campsites are very child friendly. We used to time the trip for the second half of August when it is noticably quieter, though I think these days you'd still need to book in advance. We used one called Arzano near Quimperle a few times, it's by a river with a lot of organized kayaking etc, had good swimming pools slides etc, also entertainment. It's slightly inland but an easy drive to various beaches.

We used the Plymouth Roscoff ferry overnight and easily arrived at first campsite by early afternoon. Also Roscoff is a very easy port to use, and to get out of, compared to some of the busier ones.

I'm sure you will all have a fab trip.

The Tunnel would always be my first choice but I live in Milton Keynes so its a relatively straightforward journey down to Folkestone. Having said that from where you live the Portsmouth/Poole options would probably be a lot more convenient. If you are heading for Paris then its a shorter journey from Caen than Calais. Other than Disneyland Paris you need to work out where you would like to be based for the bulk of your stay, seeing much of Brittany might be a bit tight if you only have two weeks unless you are prepared to make more frequent shorter stops.

David

I know I've posted this on another forum, as the question on which crossing to use comes up frequently and there is no simple answer. but here goes:-

I've just done the number crunching on distances, times etc as a future guide. Looking at late August out, late Sept back, starting in Hatherleigh mid Devon and aiming for Limueil east of Bergerac in The Dordogne. We are 2 adults with car and caravan.

The initial obvious choice of a Plymouth crossing doesn't really pan out when you look at the results. It would seem in future I'd be looking at an a very early morning departure from Hatherleigh, take the Newhaven Ferry and then drive for an hour or so after arriving in Dieppe.

Hatherleigh to Plymouth - 1hr 15mins + 38miles
Brittany Ferries Plymouth to Roscoff crossing - night out with cabin, midday back = £520 inc friends and family disc’
Roscoff to Limueil - N12 & D939 = 10hr 7mins + 446 miles and zero tolls

Hatherleigh to Poole - 2hr 40mins + 112 miles
Brittany Ferries - Poole to Cherbourg crossing - 08:30 out and 18:15 back = £423 inc friends and family disc’
Cherbourg to Limueil - D939 & N162 = 10h 38mins + 424 miles and zero tolls

Hatherleigh to Newhaven - 4hr 50mins + 220miles
DFDS - Newhaven to Dieppe crossing - 09:30 out and 12:00 back = £263 - 20% over 60’s disc = £210
Dieppe to Limueil - D565 & D704 = 9hr 49mins + 408 miles and zero tolls

Hatherleigh to Folkstone - 5hr 20mins + 270miles
Eurotunnel - Folkstone to Calais - Typically £520 return
Calais to Limueil - A20 & A16, via Dreux = 9hr 54mins + 528 miles and tolls at Euro 43 [non tolls = +2hr]

I've done all the crossings except Poole to Cherbourg and each has there merits. 

I was not surprised by the price differences in my 1/2 hour spent looking things up, but what I had not expected was how similar the journey times would be down to the Dordogne.

Colin

I booked Newhaven - Dieppe on 30th Dec for August for 3 adults + 1 child through club & only paid £254....

I used this crossing last year & found it very easy.... Dover is equi distance from where I live & despite the longer crossing time, it went surprisingly quickly...

Obviously, much depends on where in France your final destination is!

That’s a detailed breakdown from Colin, and many will find it helpful. Though they may be shocked at the way I myself spend money these days, regardless of economy.. 

If I go to France again it will be on the 1330 sailing on Pont Aven from Plymouth, with a window table in smart waiter service restaurant before they even cast off the mooring ropes. We wouldn’t want an overnight at Newhaven docks with HGVs waiting for a 7 am. check in - even though it’s cheaper still there on the midnight boat with a 5 am. arrival in Dieppe. 

We go to Roscoff because we love it there and would always hang around for a few days before moving on. We ride a motor boat over to the island of Batz and take a picnic to the garden there. If the tide is right we walk over the causeway to the other island - Ile Callot-  right opposite Carantec. We wait for market day in St Pol de Leon and warn the man at the tiny cafe in the Grande Rue that we shall want lunch. And on the way home we buy better wine at the warehouse by the red double decker bus and a 25kg sack of the famous local pink onions. And always we go for a final farewell meal in Roscoff at Restaurant Les Alyzes by the old stone lighthouse.

I don’t do cheap any more. 

Happy travels to you all.

Whilst members replies here have all been very informative and useful, most have or are  based on the individual posters experiences.  It should be considered that the OP has a journey of 120+ miles/4hrs just to reach England. For my part we live 30 mins from the M4 bridges and travel times to Plymouth and Portsmouth are comparable, Poole from this side is a real pain to get to. We have used all these crossings, mainly to Brittany but also Normandy. Unless travelling to northern France/Belgium we would never consider Dover. For the OP that would take at least 8Hrs.

Thanks for the ferry / travel info.  We have been thinking about the Dordogne as (probably) the first part of our trip, so this may prove very useful

Scoutman, interesting that you discount Dover-Calais as a route for the OP. 

For the 20 years of our trips to France when we lived in Essex we departed from Dover or Folkstone.

We then moved to Formby on Merseyside and continued to use Dover or Folkstone. The distance and timing, according to viamichelin, are near identical to Pembrokeshire. 

We stayed with Dover or Folkstone for the competitive prices they offered along with the significant number of crossings that ran throughout day and night compared to other providers along the coast. This gave greater flexibility in planning the trip and if you arrived late or early at the port the benefit of knowing another crossing was probably available very soon. I really don't think this peace of mind can be ignored.

Colin