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Why DFDS are your best option for an obligation free purchasing journey to France, and a information that can assist you plan your personal journey…
As a journey blogger, I’m fortunate sufficient to journey so much, which suggests I typically get an opportunity to select up a cut price within the airport obligation free outlets. But I’m all the time very restricted about how a lot I can carry or match into my hand baggage. So after I took a ferry to France this month for an in a single day Christmas journey, I used to be very enthusiastic about loading my automotive up with obligation free bargains!
When it involves obligation free purchasing, DFDS are one of many high decisions. They have an enormous array of products, a lot of unbelievable particular gives, and an excellent Reserve and Collect service that can assist you benefit from your purchasing journey.
This December, I took the ferry to Calais with my dad for a festive father-daughter getaway. We had a good time trying out the Christmas markets, consuming far an excessive amount of, and searching across the metropolis. And on the way in which house, we stuffed my boot with Christmas presents and celebration drinks courtesy of the onboard obligation free store.
Below, I’ve shared my experiences of taking an obligation free purchasing journey to France with DFDS, together with precisely how a lot I saved. I’ve additionally rounded up my suggestions for planning your personal purchasing journey. Bon voyage!
My journey to France was a part of a collaboration with DFDS as a way to showcase their obligation free purchasing expertise. All phrases and opinions are my very own and unbiased.
Duty free purchasing has all the time been a enjoyable perk of journey. Whether it’s on the airport or onboard a ferry, you possibly can decide up some superb bargains on tech items, perfumes, magnificence merchandise, designer put on, cigarettes, alcohol, and extra.
But travelling to France by ferry from the UK opens up an entire new obligation free purchasing expertise. Especially if you happen to’re taking your automotive with you. You can refill the boot with all of your purchases and never fear about the way you’re going to hold all of it!
Plus, you typically have so much longer to browse onboard a ferry than you do on the airport. And because of DFDS’s big portside outlets and superior Reserve and Collect service, you get even longer to buy – in addition to entry to an excellent larger catalogue of products.
And don’t overlook, if you happen to do any purchasing within the EU (outdoors of the obligation free shops on the port and on the ferry), you can even declare the VAT again. Read my put up about Tax Free Shopping for extra particulars.
OK, so obligation free purchasing wasn’t my ONLY motive for travelling with DFDS this winter – however it was a reasonably large perk!
In early December, I hopped on a ferry from Dover to Calais with my dad for an in a single day journey. The plan was to discover the Christmas markets, do some Christmas purchasing, eat as many pastries as attainable within the area of 24 hours… and refill on celebration drinks for Christmas with some obligation free bargains! And we managed to tick off all these packing containers.
We had a unbelievable expertise with DFDS from begin to end. Check-in and customs had been such a breeze (particularly in contrast with the same old queues and crowds at airports). We’d upgraded to Priority Boarding, too, which meant that we had been first on the ferry – and first off on the opposite facet!
Even with out that, the DFDS group appeared to have boarding and offloading all the way down to an artwork: the entire thing was tremendous environment friendly.
It may simply have been the Christmas spirit within the air, however each member of employees we met was completely beautiful, each within the port and on the ferry. Especially within the onboard obligation free store, the place everybody was extremely useful and pleasant. The store was a lot larger than I used to be anticipating and had an enormous vary – I’ve written about it in a bit extra element additional down this put up.
How Much I Saved with DFDS Duty Free
Here’s what we purchased, how a lot we spent, and how a lot it might have price if we purchased it in a UK grocery store. For comparability functions, I’ve used the present worth of every merchandise at Tesco* (not counting any reductions).
| Item | Price | Supermarket Price | Saving vs Supermarket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombay Sapphire Gin 1L (2X) | £14.99 (every) | £27.50 | £12.51 (every) |
| Kraken Rum 1L | £12.69 | £32 | £19.31 |
| Bacardi Gold Carta Ora 1L | £10 | £22 | £12 |
| 24 Pack Birra Moretti | £16.99 | £30 | £13.01 |
| Lanson Black Label Brut Champagne | £19.99 | £36 | £16.01 |
| Yellow Tail Bubbles Sparkling Wine (2X) | £5.99 (every) | £10 | £4.01 (every) |
| TOTAL SAVINGS | £93.37 |
In whole, we spent £101.63 on spirits, beer and glowing wines – and saved £93.37 vs shopping for that complete haul in Tesco… BARGAIN!
Obviously, if you happen to’re travelling with DFDS solely to do obligation free purchasing, then you definitely’d additionally should take note of the price of the ferry and petrol in opposition to how a lot you’re saving. That mentioned, it could nonetheless work out cheaper if you should purchase so much – and makes for a fairly enjoyable day journey!
If you’re travelling to France anyway, the obligation free purchasing is simply an added bonus and makes the ferry journey house that rather more thrilling.
Duty Free Allowances into the UK from France
If you’re particularly travelling to France as a way to benefit from the obligation free purchasing, you’ll most likely wish to convey again as a lot as attainable. This means you want to concentrate on precisely how a lot you’re allowed convey into the UK.
The obligation free allowances for getting into the UK are fairly in depth, however there are limits, so make certain you don’t go over them. The present allowances are outlined beneath.
Remember – these allowances are per individual. So if there are two of you in a single automotive, you possibly can convey double the quantity again into the UK. Ideal if you happen to’re throwing an enormous celebration (a few my pals did this to purchase the wine for his or her marriage ceremony!).
Alcohol Duty Free Allowances
42 litres of beer
+
24 75cl bottles of wine (18L)
+
4 litres of spirits (over 22% ABV)
OR 9 L of glowing wine, fortified wine, or different alcoholic drinks lower than 22% ABV
OR an equal mixture, eg 2L of spirits and 4.5L glowing wine.
Cigarettes Duty Free Allowances
200 cigarettes OR
100 cigarillos OR
50 cigars OR
250g tobacco OR
200 sticks of tobacco for digital heated tobacco gadgets
OR equal mixture, eg 100 cigarettes and 25 cigars (half of every allowance).
Other Duty Free Allowances
Up to £390 price of some other items.
If you’re bringing greater than these allowances, you should declare the products and pay tax or obligation on them. Find out extra right here. Thesea llowances had been right as of December 2022, however it’s all the time price checking the newest information at gov.uk earlier than you journey.
This was my first journey to France with DFDS and I used to be actually impressed. Not solely with the obligation free purchasing, however with the entire journey expertise altogether.
DFDS have a number of ferry crossings a day between Dover and France, serving each Calais and Dunkerque. These are quick, frequent and tremendous handy. I travelled on a snowy weekend in December, when trains and flights had been being cancelled throughout the UK – however the ferry crossing nonetheless ran, and it ran on time!
The drive-through check-in and customs cubicles imply you don’t even should get out of your automotive until you’re on the ferry – a lot simpler than flying. All the employees I encountered had been completely beautiful, and the entire course of was impressively environment friendly after I travelled.
Crossings to France begin from simply £68 for a automotive + as much as 4 folks, so ferry could be a far more cost-effective strategy to journey to northern France than flying – and much more snug! Day journeys begin from £39 (automotive + 4) – so a brief purchasing journey may be fairly price efficient!
DFDS Duty Free Shops
For obligation free purchasing, DFDS actually are top-of-the-line choices. The onboard store is big – and rather well stocked with an enormous vary of drinks, cigarettes, electronics, toys, magnificence merchandise, and extra.
Last time I travelled by ferry (with a special firm), the onboard store was a tiny little area and solely actually stocked the most well-liked excessive road manufacturers. The store on DFDS felt extra like those you see at airports: very huge and rather well stocked.
But in addition to this fab onboard store, DFDS even have obligation free outlets on the Calais and Dunkerque ports. These are even larger and have a wider vary of merchandise to select from – the one in Calais is 1,000sqm!
If you’re undecided you’ll have time to go to the store earlier than your return ferry, you can even benefit from the Reserve and Collect service. You merely choose all the products you need on-line, then pay and acquire on the port facet store earlier than boarding the ferry. The service is very easy to make use of, because it’s primarily on-line purchasing, and will prevent loads of time.
More Reasons to Choose DFDS
- Unlimited baggage allowance
- Up to 50% financial savings vs the UK excessive road
- Park proper outdoors the Duty Free outlets in Dunkerque and Calais to refill your boot!
- Use the Reserve and Collect service to avoid wasting time.
Make it a day journey
If obligation free purchasing is your solely motive for taking the journey to France, then lower prices by reserving a day journey. Same-day return crossings are cheaper – and also you received’t should pay for lodging!
Cut journey prices
Book as far upfront as you possibly can, as it will typically get you the most effective deal. And if you happen to can, keep away from travelling at peak instances like summer season, British and French public holidays, and weekends.
Save time with Reserve and Collect
I’ve already talked about this above, however the DFDS Reserve and Collect service is an effective way to avoid wasting time along with your obligation free purchasing.
Simply log on and order every part you need upfront, then pay and acquire on the store within the port earlier than boarding the ferry. It’s additionally a very easy
FYI – you should have a ferry crossing booked as a way to make a reservation. You additionally want to do that no less than sooner or later earlier than you journey. I stupidly left it to the final morning and missed my probability – so be sure you order your reserve and acquire.
Don’t miss the outlets on the port
I discussed the portside obligation outlets above. These big shops are proper earlier than you board the ferry at Calais and Dunkerque and are tremendous handy. They even have far more inventory and a wider vary to select from. So if you wish to get the most effective bargains, make sure to schedule time to go to the outlets.
Get to the port early
If you haven’t used the Reserve and Collect service, I like to recommend arriving on the ferry terminal as early as attainable to have a while within the Duty Free Shop earlier than boarding the ferry.
We arrived about an hour earlier than our crossing, and although there was no queue at verify in or customs the method took round quarter-hour. By the time we had been by way of, they had been already boarding – so I missed my probability to browse the portside store. Next time!
Plan upfront
Plan upfront and make a purchasing checklist to be sure you keep inside your allowance, save as a lot cash as attainable, and decide up the most effective bargains. Browse on-line to see what gives are at present on, as a way to work out easy methods to get essentially the most on your cash, then make a listing prepared for while you go to the store.
Make the Most of your Trip
Even if you happen to’re planning a fast day journey for some obligation free purchasing, you possibly can nonetheless benefit from your journey to France and make it a very enjoyable day trip!
Spend a little bit of time exploring Calais. On a reasonably brief strolling tour of town you possibly can go to the attractive Hotel de Ville (Town Hill) and neighbouring Beffroi (Belfry), Fort Risban close to the water’s edge, Calais Lighthouse and the spectacular Tour du Guet – a Thirteenth-century watchtower within the Place d’Armes.
If you have got time, take a stroll on Calais Beach so far as the historic Fort Lapin battery and the encircling sand dunes. The lengthy, sweeping expanse of white sand at Calais is a superb spot for a stroll at any time of 12 months, even after I visited on a frosty winter morning.
Even if you happen to’re pressed for time, you might squeeze in lunch or dinner at an area restaurant to benefit from your purchasing journey to France. Speaking of purchasing, make sure to swing by a grocery store and a few of the smaller native meals outlets and patisseries to select up some yummy French meals to take house!
Finally, if you happen to’re travelling across the festive season so as do your Christmas purchasing or decide up the celebration drinks, make sure to try the lights and Christmas markets in Calais whilst you’re on the town.
Read More
Best Places to Visit in Northern France
A Brit’s Guide to Shopping in France
If you’re taking an obligation free purchasing journey to France with DFDS, let me know the way you get on within the feedback beneath. I’d love to listen to about it!