Best routes for travelling to the UK from Berlin

Two of us plus our dog are going to London next week. We're coming back at the end of July so can buy return tickets. We'd thought to rent a car the entire time, but it doesn't seem sensible to pay for the car on the ferry. I'm wondering:

- what are the cheapest and best ports for travel from mainland europe to southern UK?
- can I take a dog on the train, then on the ferry, then on the UK train?
- what about flying - we flew the dog over here from Canada, but is this possible for a shorter haul flight?
- what about renting a car, driving to the port, then renting again at the other end?

I have to do a lot of research obviously, but am finding the Internet a bit overwhelming since I'm still deciding on my approach - car, air, boat, train etc. Has anybody got any useful travel tips?

Thanks very much.
Abi

Well, my 2cents is: if you are planning to rent a car the whole time, surely its got to be cheaper and least stressful all round if you take the car over on the ferry?
I found none of the cheaper airlines flew animals between UK and Germany, both BA and Lufthansa were surprisingly expensive, eg our cat alone was £400 one way. Our tickets were of course about a quarter of the cost.
If you have no experience of UK trains, try keep it that way. They are expensive and not most reliable.
You could do car hire in Germany(car1) then ferry then car hire in UK(car2) , then ferry back then car hire again in Germany(car3) but id bet its more expensive than just taking car 1 over on the ferry.

(Above is subject to standard TT terms and conditions, ie 29 people will point out how wrong all this is.)

You're leaving this all rather last-minute if you're planning on travelling "next week", which is perhaps now this week. So expect to pay a lot more than if you had planned this a few weeks ago.

Hiring a car for six weeks is going to be enormously expensive, and as you presumably won't be needing it in London, seems rather pointless. The cost of renting an unneeded car for six weeks will dwarf the cost of taking it on the ferry. This leaves flying or taking the train. You'll have to do the research on prices and how to transport the dog on a plane, but on a train it's no problem. Small dogs travel for free, larger dogs require a child's ticket. You'll have to check Eurostar's rules though. Had you booked earlier, you would have been able to get a return ticket from Berlin to London for around €100, but now it will be considerably more.

Tibia's opinion on Britain's railways is somewhat overly-pessimistic; for a start you'll be on Eurostar, which is a whole different kettle of fish, and secondly I've yet to hear anyone proclaim how wonderful driving in Britain is. Again, if you book in advance, train travel in the UK is very cheap.

EDIT: Hang on, what the fuck, a dog to Britain? Don't you need to put the mutt into quarantine for three months?

Bringing pets to the UK ...

We have a similar pet problem in the opposite direction to work out :- how to travel from the UK to Berlin (one way) with four cats when we move house.

We can't fly them over and we want to sell our cars (which are too small for four cats in their carriers) before moving, so the options are:

1. rent a large estate car or small van in the UK, drive down to the tunnel and go over on Eurostar, drive up to Berlin. Offload the cats and drive the car back to the UK. Fly over to Berlin from the UK. The problem with this is all the driving and flying.

2. rent a car in Rotterdam, bring it back to Hull on the ferry, drive down to our place in England. Load up the cats, drive down to Eurostar pick-up, drive up to Berlin. Leave rented car in Berlin. The problem with this is the cost of a rented car which you can leave at a different location from where you picked up.

3. persuade a friend in the UK with a large car or van to pick up us and the cats and drive down to Eurostar, share time at the wheel up to Berlin. Friend drives van back. The problem is finding a gullible very kind friend .

4. Trade our cars in for an estate-sized car and drive the cats through the tunnel to Berlin. The problem here is we don't want to be stuck with a car in Germany (running, taxing, repair costs etc) and are planning on using just local transport.

5. rent a car in the UK, drive over with the cats on Eurostar etc. Meet removal van in Berlin. Removal people have brought along another guy who we pay to drive back to the UK and return the rental car for us. Here the problem is persuading the removal company to take this on, and our trust that they will get the car back and in one piece.

6. abandon the cats with the RSPCA This is not an option!

The timing of all this with moving out of our UK house and meeting the removals van in Berlin are a nightmare!

Any thoughts or alternative options welcomed.

You aren't by any chance doing this this week or early next are you? If so, we can drive your rental car back to the UK! It would be perfect for us.

Thanks to others for the advice re. travel to the UK.

I took a norfolkline ferry from dunkurque to Dover for only €25 each way. they have different rates at different times of day.

Strangely enough . . . unfortunately no. That would have been so cool wouldn't it?

We haven't signed the contract on the house yet, and so we haven't got a moving-in date, so this logistical exercise will be a few months off yet.

Still, in the unlikely event that there are any TT'ers wanting to transport something in a car from Berlin to the UK in the not too distant future then we may have the wheels for you, and we'd give you something for your trouble. You'll have to find your own way back though.

@ STB, fair comment!
LimeyC, are you just going to be staying in london or travelling round? As pointed out, a 6 week car hire in london wouldnt be the best use of money. My revised, vodka-free 2cents is, take train & Eurostar.

We're travelling around and will mostly be in the country - hence needing car. London's just 3 days at the start (and no tube station near so it'll be useful). I'm not sure if the dog is allowed on the train the whole way...and DB are hell on earth to ask questions of.
I think the train/eurostar route is the best, then renting or borrowing cars in the UK. The thought of screaming up through Europe on the autobahn does not appeal as much as a nice trouble-free train ticket.
Thanks for all comments and advice (minus the wrist-slapping for booking late, STB - not even sure it does go up last minute, does it? And if it does, not much help to know it now!...).
The dog, by the way, has his papers and everything - he came from Canada so already needed the rabies tests. Apparently he just needs to see a vet 48 hrs prior to arrival in UK, with tick and flea treatments and various forms filled out.
Oh, how I hope I am correct...

A

PS If anyone knows someone TRUSTWORTHY who would like a cheap furnished and very beautiful 74 sq m altbau in 'Kreuzkoelln' for 2 weeks starting 21st June, drop me a line. Spread the word.

Well good luck however you do it! I'd certainly use a car to travel the regions in the UK, regional trains are not so dandy.
PM Chicacherrycola, she was looking for somewhere to stay, around that timespan.

except guide dogs, dogs are not allowed on Eurostar. Furthermore, I believe that dogs are only allowed on ferries if they are left in the car, so foot passengers can't take them. So looks like car all the way

Hmm, so it seems. What an arrogant way they choose to convey the message that they offer a bad service:


They also can't be bothered about unaccompanied minors. Shameful.

Eurostar: How to be unhelpful

I'd suggest the ferry route also, and I'm guessing it'd be much cheaper than Eurostar.

Alternatively -and asuming DB allows dogs on the trains- I can confirm that you are allowed to have dogs on trains here in the UK (except on some routes during rush hour but this shouldn't be a problem for you) so the train route may also be an option. Also trains services here aren't bad at all, and as long as you're travelling somewhere 'central' should get you relatively close to your front door.

Let me know if you need further help, and I can be more specific and hlp with trains times/routes in UK etc

You could keep your eyes open for a half decent (preferably german) left hand drive estate (buying estate cars is much more common for germans than brits I'd say) being sold in the UK. If it's anything like Ireland there'll be plenty knocking about. You'll find a surprising number given all the immigration from continental Europe in recent years. You'll also pay less than the going rate for the equivalent right hand drive motor. Then simply sell it when you get to Germany. You'll have almost no chance of selling a right hand drive car in Germany I'd say but who knows.

This is all getting remarkably complicated and expensive for the sake of taking a mutt with you for a few weeks. Would you not consider keeping it in a shelter or with a friend/relative for the few weeks that you're away?

hi all
Arah - thanks for offering to check UK trains! I'm from there originally so should be OK - just London-Penzance and back (and from ferry port to London). I knew dogs were OK on UK trains (and they're NOT that bad, plus cheaper than in Germany!)...but this Eurostar thing is a nightmare. Their website copy is smug and obnoxious - as tho' there are no other animals than service dogs and pythons...stupid.
If the thing about dogs and ferries is really true, then we're up shit creek, and will need to get a car all the way. Which is ridiculous, as we flew Pip the dog all the way from Toronto with less rigmarole. Small Town Boy - I can't leave him here he deserves some country air after all battling un-neutered Berlin hounds in Goerlitzer Park for 5 months...!
I will check the ferries to see if it's really No Dogs Unless Locked in Hot Car...which seems insane, but always possible.
What a minefield!
Hey - anyone want a ride to London (with a dog in the car, yo) and split gas and ferry??

We checked this out when looking at the option of a ferry from Hull to Rotterdam. The cost is £15 per animal, and they stay in air-conditioned kennels on the vehicle deck, not in your car. We didn't fancy subjecting our cats to a North Sea crossing without us on hand, when they'd already be stressed out by the car journey. Plus my sea-legs aren't so good, so heaven knows what the cats would make of the motion sickness.

We just booked on Norfolkline from Dunkerque to Dover. The dog was 30 euros extra and has to stay in the car but my mother did this once and says there's someone keeping an eye on the animal, and the journey is just 1 hr 45 mins and he likes cars. Didn't know about the kennel option - I guess it varies between companies.
Good luck with the cats.

The whole thing is so patronising, I just can't believe it. Excerpt from the paragraph for wheelchair users:


Makes my blood boil. Stupid %&#%s.

It's their idea of slick marketing; I'm sure in some boardroom somewhere words like 'irreverant' and 'unconventional' came up when planning their web copy. (I'm a writer and can just picture it). But it backfires and makes them look like assholes. We should complain to them en masse for their patronizing manner and poor service.

Done.

Well, I suppose the good thing about standardised responses is that they can fob you off within 24 hours.


Ooh, outside agencies!! This sentence bears repeating though:


One of the daftest things I've ever read.

Yay for you. You took the time to tell 'em what dicks they sound like. I wouldn't be surprised if they did take your criticism on board at some point. Funny how they say that they take this tone because the Armani Suit brigade tell them it's OK to...it's all about branding, not about being helpful.

Last year I travelled many times from Edinburgh to Frankfurt with my spaniel. Flying was hopelessly expensive and Eurostar has a no-pet policy so I always drove and put my car on le Shuttle. This is EXCELLENT - 30 minute crossing, only a 30 minute check-in time and a little play area for doggins to stretch his legs before the trip. I did it many times and never ever had a problem. £30 to get the dog from Continent to UK, but it used to be free the other way (something to do with the rabies threat). Anyway, it was always fast, easy and cheap, with brilliant staff. Big thumbs up.

Never tried the ferry with the dog, preferred to drive and do the train thing because I could make stops for runs in the park if I did the driving myself.

Cadi


PS: I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good dog behaviourist in Berlin? I'm in the process of adopting a rescue dog and need some advice on handling her particular situation...