Ally

The operator SeaFrance makes your journey pleasant, above all if you are travelling with your children. There is so much to do on board for them! And when you arrive in France just over an hour later you are a short drive from a fantastic choice of family attractions.

Your holiday in France begins as soon as you step on board your SeaFrance ferry at Dover, when you are greeted with a friendly bonjour, great French food and lots of entertainment.

Then when you arrive in Calais, there is barely enough time for the children to say Qu'est-ce que c'est? than you are at Eurolac, a fabulous boating park set in 64 hectares of woodland, just a 15 minute drive from Calais near Ardres. Here young sailors and nautical mums and dads can test their seafaring skills driving miniature ferries, tugs and trawlers around the beautiful lake, mooring up for a delicious fresh fish lunch in the waterfront restaurant. Lifejackets are provided and children from as young as nine can take the helm.

Alternatively you can take a 45-minute drive to the fairytale town of Le Touquet with its thatched houses, leafy forests and pristine beach. Children of all ages will love the Aqualud waterpark, the biggest in northern France, with its wave machines, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, water chutes and water rides.

Famed for its horse-racing and riding school, Le Touquet calls itself a town for all seasons. It certainly has enough to keep even the most demanding children entertained. A great family outing is to hire bicycles and meander through the sand-dunes and forest trails.

Not to be missed on Le Touquet's famous beach is an amazing exhibition of sculptures made from sand. No need to travel to Egypt to visit Tutankhamun's tomb, they've rebuilt it just over the Channel. It took over a month to create the 24 magnificent sculptures from 2,000 tons of sand shipped in from Belgium (the French grains were too fine). Children will wonder at the larger-than-life-size crocodiles, scorpions, hippos, scarab beetles, temples and pharaohs.

For families seeking some higher-octane activity, just ten miles out of town is the Bagatelle amusement park offering all the stomach-churning twists and turns you would expect from a serious roller coaster experience, but in a lush leafy setting.