When MHM were in Dover recently the port seemed very busy indeed with one tunnel out of operation and miles upon miles of lorries waiting to board and the price of fuel had dropped considerably although we are not sure where the ships bunker here or in Calais one would have thought it was a bonus for the ferry firms.
On a positive note Wilkins said the Sea France new ferry Molier will benefit by economy of scale carrying more passengers and freight than their smaller ships. Neither shipping line goes out of their way to promote their crossings to motorhome owners. An obvious way of saving money is by improving fuel economy through reducing weight, ensuring tyre pressures are correct, driving sensibly, being light footed or even just reducing the distance of trips. A less obvious wayto cut costs for some may be to reduce their insurance premium.
Many specialist insurance policies on the market include European cover automatically when in theory a large proportion of owners never venture outside the UK. Caravan Guard allow motorhome owners to opt out of European cover and rate premiums dependent on annual mileage. However, we were surprised to realise this was based on a packaged holiday and made no reference to the possibilities for motor caravanning in the Canary Islands after all this is Motorhome Monthly!
So it is possible! Although camp sites are virtually non-existent all of the above Islands offer fabulous beaches and many places suitable for wild camping. The only real difficulty we encountered was the scarcity of fresh water but with a generous tip here and there this can be overcome garage filling stations, ferry ports, etc.
Sadly, the travel costs have spiralled in recent times. The only ferry service operator, Acciona, having taken over the previously state owned Trasmediterranea are now charging somewhere in excess of 3, euros return, although this does include cabin accommodation and all food for the 36 hour journey. For travel between the islands we preferred to use Armass or Fred Olsen ferries, being cheaper and more direct. Then a drive down to Cadiz with one excellent overnight stop in mid-Spain.
