The cross-Channel operator, which sails between Dover and Boulogne, has said its fuel costs have doubled compared to last year forcing it to pass some of the increase on to passengers.

WITH the rising cost of jet fuel pushing up the price of flights what options are open for those people who want to cross the Channel by ferry?

There already seems to be a change amongst holidaymakers to travel by sea to France, for example, in April the Port of Dover reported that it handled almost three million tourist car journeys last year, its highest since 1999.

And whilst ferry crossings have recently been stuck outside French ports as local fishermen have set up protests over fuel costs, there is still a sense that the holiday starts on the boat, something that can't really be said for low-cost airlines.

Below is a round-up of the ferry operators and their routes for this summer, I've also included Eurotunnel, and remember the earlier you can book the better, and if you can sail during off peak periods you can also save, more cheap ferry tips here.

Brittany Ferries
Routes: Portsmouth to Caen (5hrs 45mins), St Malo (10hrs 45mins) and Cherbourg (3hrs).
Poole to Cherbourg (4hrs 30mins), Plymouth to Roscoff (6hrs) and Cork to Roscoff (14hrs).

Condor Ferries
Routes: Poole (4hrs 35mins) and Weymouth (8hrs 15mins) to St Malo, via the Channel Islands, and Portsmouth to Cherbourg (5hrs 30mins).

Eurotunnel
Route: Folkestone to Calais (35mins).

LD Lines
Routes: Portsmouth (3hrs 30mins) and Newhaven (5hrs) to Le Havre, as well as Newhaven to Dieppe (4hrs). Also a service from Rosslare to Le Havre (21hrs).

NorfolkLine
Route: Dover to Dunkerque (1hr 45mins).

P&O Ferries
Route: Dover to Calais (1hr 30mins).

SeaFrance
Route: Dover to Calais (1hr 30mins).

SpeedFerries
Route: From Dover to Boulogne (50mins).

FROM July 1 all cars in France will be required to carry a warning triangle and high visibility jacket which must be used in the event of breakdown.

The official Securite Routiere website says the rules have brought France in line with other European countries.

Both the jacket and triangle have to conform to EU standards, and the jacket has to be worn by the driver when they exit the car while the triangle has to be placed at least 30 metres from the vehicle.

Failure to have a triangle or jacket in your car will mean a fine of €90 for each offence and the Securite Routiere website says that motoring supply shops and supermarkets will stock items.

Also from September 1 cyclists will be required to wear high visibility jackets when outside towns, as well as during the night or when visibility is poor.

A one page document can be downloaded covering the high-vis jackets, triangle and cycling regulations (.pdf)

Transport is likely to be severely impacted with Eurostar warning that whilst their own service will operate normally, onward travel via the TGV network as well as buses or the Paris Metro will be difficult.

It is almost impossible to predict with any precision how much of an impact the walkout by workers will have as the influence local representatives have varies, but going on past experience it is best to expect the worst.

The strikes are planned to start at 8pm on May 21 and last on through until 8am on May 23, but services are likely to take some time to be back to normal as staff and equipment usually have to be moved into position for the start of work.

Many travel companies are likely to use their websites to keep people up to date, so here are some that may prove useful:

French railway Infolignes service

Eurostar

Port of Dover

Speed Ferries

P&O ferries sailing updates

Yahoo! France strike news headlines (in French)

THE end of May sees the deadline for the submission of details about your income to the French tax authorities. >p>If you make your declaration online then you have a little longer, and if you are already registered in the system and employed, then it could be just a case of checking the figures and confirming them, more details at l'impôt sur le revenu.

However, what if you have to undertake a little more work and declare income you have received from overseas and especially convert it to euros?

A similar question had been left on the forum and as I was about to start looking online I received a message from Ian Gillis, of the La Vie en France group, pointing to documents on the Banque de France website.

He had tracked down details of the average for the euro exchange rate from the past two years, the figures are:

Exchange rate per euro
Dollar (period average)
2006: 1.2256 and 2007: 1.3705

Sterling (period average)
2006: 0.6817 and 2007: 0.6843