Le Shuttle - How Early Can I Arrive

[RGG]

As per the title.

The departure time is 0930hrs this Sunday - from Calais.

I potentially could arrive at 0400hrs - Will they let me in?

[Type R Tom]

RGG said:

As per the title.

The departure time is 0930hrs this Sunday - from Calais.

I potentially could arrive at 0400hrs - Will they let me in?

I think it generally comes down to how full they are, I doubt it will be an issue at that time of the day.

Are you asking if it's worth the risk of powering through, getting there early, instead of stopping for a nap somewhere?

[RGG]

Type R Tom said:

RGG said:

As per the title.

The departure time is 0930hrs this Sunday - from Calais.

I potentially could arrive at 0400hrs - Will they let me in?

I think it generally comes down to how full they are, I doubt it will be an issue at that time of the day.

Are you asking if it's worth the risk of powering through, getting there early, instead of stopping for a nap somewhere?

I think I want to drive in the dead of night vis a vis early morning - thus arriving very early.

But also thought it would be safer having a short sleep in the departure car park.

[Type R Tom]

RGG said:

I think I want to drive in the dead of night vis a vis early morning - thus arriving very early.

But also thought it would be safer having a short sleep in the departure car park.

Only you will know how you feel on the day. Just go with whats safe. The french motorways can get a bit boring at times!

The advantage of the train vs the boat is they are so regular. At this time of year I'm sure it will be fine whatever time you get there.

[greygoose]

Not many people travel at that time so they’ll probably just put you on the next train (though they aren’t as frequent during the night compared to after 6am).

[sjg]

They'll put you on an earlier one as long as there's space and it's not a more expensive one. So at 4am, yes.

As said, they're less frequent though (one every 2 hours) overnight so you could be in for a wait anyway.

[Exiled Imp]

The website says not to arrive more than 4 hours before the departure time (unless you have flexi).

As said above, I think it depends on how busy they are.

https://www.leshuttle.com/uk-en/support/articles/w...

[RGG]

greygoose said:

Not many people travel at that time so they ll probably just put you on the next train (though they aren t as frequent during the night compared to after 6am).

Thanks

[RGG]

Exiled Imp said:

The website says not to arrive more than 4 hours before the departure time (unless you have flexi).

As said above, I think it depends on how busy they are.

https://www.leshuttle.com/uk-en/support/articles/w...

Thanks

[RGG]

sjg said:

They'll put you on an earlier one as long as there's space and it's not a more expensive one. So at 4am, yes.

As said, they're less frequent though (one every 2 hours) overnight so you could be in for a wait anyway.

Thanks

[RGG]

Type R Tom said:

RGG said:

I think I want to drive in the dead of night vis a vis early morning - thus arriving very early.

But also thought it would be safer having a short sleep in the departure car park.

Only you will know how you feel on the day. Just go with whats safe. The french motorways can get a bit boring at times!

The advantage of the train vs the boat is they are so regular. At this time of year I'm sure it will be fine whatever time you get there.

Thanks

[quarryman111]

I did an overnight easy traffic-free drive from the NW arriving at 04.40 for an 0.830 booking recently on a Saturday. The next train was 05.15 for a £20 supplement; the next was ‘free’ at 06.00 which I took.I’ll never drive to there in daylight again!

[georgefreeman918]

As others have said, just turn up and see your options. We recently got there earlier than planned again travelling through the night and both times we were put on an earlier train FOC

[Steve H]

They will often offer a slightly earlier train FOC but on my last couple of crossings I was then also offered an even earlier option for an extra £100 or so. I tend to take the free version and head down to the departure rows after grabbing a coffee to see if they load me on the earlier train anyway.

Either way they will almost certainly let you in to access the main waiting area by the shops etc.

ETA. Just realised you will already be there round about now .

[RGG]

Here’s an in the moment update

Shuttle is booked for 0930

I arrived 0230 😂

They wouldn’t let me on an earlier train because I had a day trip ticket - non amendable

So here I am

And now the train is delayed one hour

Happy Days

[quarryman111]

Bad luck! Must be something to do with having a day return rather than a period return or just a single I guess.

Edited by quarryman111 on Sunday 28th September 09:38

[RGG]

quarryman111 said:

Bad luck! Must be something to do with having a day return rather than a period return or just a single I guess.

Edited by quarryman111 on Sunday 28th September 09:38

Day Trip Ticket - "Non Amendable" - Not even moving to an earlier train - That's probably worth knowing.

Any other ticket - They would have put me on the next one, I'm pretty sure.

Having said that Le Shuttle Day Trip Ticket actually covers two days - £150 around half price , I think.
I booked Saturday 0300 to Sunday 0900 - but could have left anytime Saturday and returned anytime Sunday.
The £150 was less than any ferry ticket - for a van that was, not a car.

I was offered an on the spot ticket for circa £200 but politely declined.