A boat full of savings! Five ways to save money when traveling by ferry this summer, from avoiding extra flight baggage fees to avoiding staggering rental car fees

Each week our holiday hero, Neil Simpson, delves into a great holiday theme and does all the legwork so you don’t have to. This week: Five ways to save money on a ferry.

Families opting to take a ferry instead of flying to some popular short-haul destinations such as the Channel Islands this summer are in for big holiday savings.

By driving your own car to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and even Spain, you can avoid queues, costs and the high pressure sales techniques at car rental desks.

Here are five ways you can store a package on a ferry.

1. Save additional baggage fees. Airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz charge around £60 each way for large bags in the hold and £27 for hand luggage in overhead bins.

If you arrive at check-in with excess baggage, you can be fined up to £48 per bag. “Take your car on a ferry and you can fill your suitcase without worrying about the size or weight of the luggage,” says Abby Penlington, director of booking and information website Discover Ferries. If roof boxes or bike racks keep your car within the ferry’s size restrictions, they may be included in the ticket price.

2. Dogs are welcome on board many ferries, so pet passport holders can save on kennel or dog sitting costs by taking them on holiday.

With Brittany Ferries, pets can stay in cars, sleep in kennels, or join owners in new “pet kit” cabins for 1- or 2-day sailings to Bilbao and Santander, Spain. Brittany says 100,000 pets are expected on board this year, with Portsmouth to Normandy the most popular route for pet owners.

Dogs are welcome on board many ferries, so pet passport holders can save on kennel or dog sitting costs by taking them on holiday

3. Cross the English Channel and avoid airport parking fees. Low-cost parking website YourParkingSpace predicts prices will double come summer.

Figures show that Luton, Heathrow and Bristol airports increased prices the most over the holiday weeks of last year and predict that Easter and summer prices will be higher than pre-Covid levels. A week’s off-site parking at Gatwick in July starts from £125 if you book now and is expected to cost £200 if you stay until the last minute.

4. Take your car to Europe and avoid sky-high car rental costs, which are expected to be up to 60 percent higher this summer than last year.

Rental companies have not yet replaced any cars sold during Covid and are charging higher prices for the cars they have. According to Holiday Autos, a Fiat 500 can cost £550 for a week in Bordeaux in August – a third more than last summer.

5. Getting seats next to each other or more legroom on a flight is getting more and more expensive. Book the more spacious emergency exit seats on British Airways European flights and an additional £29 per person may be charged, while the additional cost of booking the same row of seats on Ryanair and other airlines starts at £21 per flight.

Short haul: Return fare from Poole to Guernsey from £170 for a double car with Condor Ferries. Above is the quaint high street of St Peter Port in Guernsey

On ferries, families can sit together in restaurants, by the windows or on deck. Many routes also offer free Wi-Fi and duty-free shops on board for you to explore.

For more information on car ferry routes visit discoverferries.com, where you can also find information on paperwork and traffic rules across Europe.

Some of the most popular routes this summer for one car and four passengers are Newcastle to Amsterdam with DFDS from £47, Dover to Calais from £99 and return with Irish Ferries, Hull to Rotterdam from £201 with P&O Ferries and Portsmouth to Caen in Normandy from £209 with Brittany Ferries.

From Poole to Jersey or Guernsey return journeys with Condor Ferries cost from £170 for a double car.