UK to Portimao
Discussion
JohnRS4 said:
Think Santander in Spain is the nearest you can get on a ferry.
^ This. Although I wouldnt do it this time of year as it very choppy, easier to go Caen or st Malo and enjoy the drive. Or pay a company to take it there and you bring it back. (I can recommend one 
)I was at Portimao last month and it was a very lovely 20c. Off peak hotels are very cheap which will help too.
Did a round trip to the Algarve via the Channel Tunnel a few years ago, there and back in 6 days. 2 overnight stays on the way down 1 in france near Poitiers and another in Spain cant remember exactly where now. The drive down through the Pyrenees via Bilbao was fabulous, lots of Artics crashed through the barriers on the twisties and still visible having gone down mountainside, I guess drivers overcooking it or falling asleep!!!!
Bit of a fright in the early hours, mountain road and stopped by police wearing full combat gear including balaclavas and armed with Machine guns, stingers across the road but waved straight through when they saw we were british registered.
Bit of a fright in the early hours, mountain road and stopped by police wearing full combat gear including balaclavas and armed with Machine guns, stingers across the road but waved straight through when they saw we were british registered.
I drove down from the North west in a van with my motorbike in the back. Got a ferry from Portsmouth to Santander and drove to Jerez non stop, no problem , in one go. Did a meeting there then drove to Portimao for a meeting there and then drove back to Bilbao in one go from Portimao, no problem. Took about 6 or 7 hours. There is next to zero traffic so the drive is simple and stress free and therefore not tiring.
boringbeige said:
I drove down from the North west in a van with my motorbike in the back. Got a ferry from Portsmouth to Santander and drove to Jerez non stop, no problem , in one go. Did a meeting there then drove to Portimao for a meeting there and then drove back to Bilbao in one go from Portimao, no problem. Took about 6 or 7 hours. There is next to zero traffic so the drive is simple and stress free and therefore not tiring.
^ yup, long drive from Santandar but doable, I think it's about 650 miles Portimao from there. Motorway most the way.Personally I'd take the ferry from Plymouth if its close, and saves about 5hours on the crossing.
Hopefully Nigel won't mind me piggybacking on this thread a wee bit.
Roughly what does it cost to get a car taken down to somewhere in the sunny/twisty/mountainous bits of Europe? Portugal, Switzerland - that sort of thing? Within reason I'd happily pay someone to park my car up ready for me to fly in and collect. Less time on motorways and more time on twisties!
Failing that, a ferry at the right tide and a minimum of front splitter scraping is a decent fall-back option.
(Nigel - excellent plan, by the way! We've also been looking at Spain/Portugal for this year or next.)
Roughly what does it cost to get a car taken down to somewhere in the sunny/twisty/mountainous bits of Europe? Portugal, Switzerland - that sort of thing? Within reason I'd happily pay someone to park my car up ready for me to fly in and collect. Less time on motorways and more time on twisties!
Failing that, a ferry at the right tide and a minimum of front splitter scraping is a decent fall-back option.
(Nigel - excellent plan, by the way! We've also been looking at Spain/Portugal for this year or next.)
drpep said:
Thanks for the replies. Reckon Santander will be the most paletable. Adds another day or two to the trip but hearts don't bleed when there's surfing and seafood to be had.
Cheers.
Ever been to Conil de la Frontera? Not a million miles away from you and even closer on the way down. Cheers.
Mucho surf and Seafood, and still a proper old Spanish town.
Enjoy your holiday
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