Ferry to Santander or drive from Calais
Discussion
Planning a road trip in Jan or Feb, idea is to drive to Tenerife, taking the Alpine.
Need to get to Huelva for the boat to the Canaries and taking a month out to do it.
So wondering if I either get the ferry Portsmouth to Santander to just drive down through Spain or make life easier yet more interesting with crossing the Channel at Dover/Calais.
In the end, it looks like both will cost the same. Santander route is £850 return while the Calais route will be around £200 plus petrol, tolls and hotels.
I'd imagine I'd be bored stiff on the ferry plus I'll still have an even longer stint at sea in order to get to Tenerife from Huelva.
Any advice welcome, ta.
Need to get to Huelva for the boat to the Canaries and taking a month out to do it.
So wondering if I either get the ferry Portsmouth to Santander to just drive down through Spain or make life easier yet more interesting with crossing the Channel at Dover/Calais.
In the end, it looks like both will cost the same. Santander route is £850 return while the Calais route will be around £200 plus petrol, tolls and hotels.
I'd imagine I'd be bored stiff on the ferry plus I'll still have an even longer stint at sea in order to get to Tenerife from Huelva.
Any advice welcome, ta.
I am at the early stages of planning February and March away in south Spain, subject to work clearance.
As you say, costs-wise there is not much in it. Having used the boat a few times, I don't mind it, and it gives me time to catch up on some reading.
I have never done the drive down through France. I suspect it would be quite tedious if not an efficient way to reach Spain. It will be interesting to hear others' thoughts.
As you say, costs-wise there is not much in it. Having used the boat a few times, I don't mind it, and it gives me time to catch up on some reading.
I have never done the drive down through France. I suspect it would be quite tedious if not an efficient way to reach Spain. It will be interesting to hear others' thoughts.
I'd take the ferry and save 1400 miles of relatively dull driving through France. It's not like the old days, the Gendarmes are much hotter on speeding now.
The last thing you want when you get to Tenerife is be sick or tired of driving. The ferry will give you a great opportunity to plan out routes and such.
The last thing you want when you get to Tenerife is be sick or tired of driving. The ferry will give you a great opportunity to plan out routes and such.
I would suggest a middle ground. Take the ferry from Portsmouth -> St. Malo and drive down the West coast of France.
The St. Malo ferry timings are pretty much perfect. You have time for a nice relaxing dinner on the boat, enough time for a decent nights sleep and you're in St. Malo at around 8am ready to hit the road. The one hour time difference is absorbed by the crossing. It's then a 7.5 hour drive to San Sebastian, which is the perfect place to stop for the night. Getting through St. Malo is a doddle, even in "rush hour", and you're pretty much straight onto fast empty roads all the way south. No worrys about massive border force queues in Portsmouth, there's only the one boat leaving at that time. There's also no time to get bored on the boat.
Coming home, the St. Malo ferry only runs overnight in that direction on a Tuesday. If you can't make that work, then Santander to Plymouth is much better than either of the Spain -> Portsmouth routes. I really don't like the boats on the Portsmouth <-> Spain routes. I can't tell the difference between the "Commodore" cabins and standard cabins, and apart from those there are only 3 decent cabins on each boat and they book up REALLY fast. On the Plymouth boat you can book a cabin with a balcony, so you can watch the dolphins in the Bay of Biscay.
It is definitely worth getting priority disembarkation - you need one of the swankier cabins to be able to do this.
The St. Malo ferry timings are pretty much perfect. You have time for a nice relaxing dinner on the boat, enough time for a decent nights sleep and you're in St. Malo at around 8am ready to hit the road. The one hour time difference is absorbed by the crossing. It's then a 7.5 hour drive to San Sebastian, which is the perfect place to stop for the night. Getting through St. Malo is a doddle, even in "rush hour", and you're pretty much straight onto fast empty roads all the way south. No worrys about massive border force queues in Portsmouth, there's only the one boat leaving at that time. There's also no time to get bored on the boat.
Coming home, the St. Malo ferry only runs overnight in that direction on a Tuesday. If you can't make that work, then Santander to Plymouth is much better than either of the Spain -> Portsmouth routes. I really don't like the boats on the Portsmouth <-> Spain routes. I can't tell the difference between the "Commodore" cabins and standard cabins, and apart from those there are only 3 decent cabins on each boat and they book up REALLY fast. On the Plymouth boat you can book a cabin with a balcony, so you can watch the dolphins in the Bay of Biscay.
It is definitely worth getting priority disembarkation - you need one of the swankier cabins to be able to do this.
I'd get the ferry from Plymouth down to Santander. It's the shortest.
Driving down through France is very dull so I'd put the effort into a really good route through Spain. They have some glorious empty winding roads down there, many with fantastic quality tarmac. You could even pop into Portugal where admittedly the tarmac's not generally as good but still some fantastic scenery and roads.
As far as motoring is concerned Spain really is the playground of Europe these days. France is just dull and heavier on the policing. Keep the car and yourself fresh and take the ferry. No point in being a bit tired of being in the car right at the point the fun starts.
Driving down through France is very dull so I'd put the effort into a really good route through Spain. They have some glorious empty winding roads down there, many with fantastic quality tarmac. You could even pop into Portugal where admittedly the tarmac's not generally as good but still some fantastic scenery and roads.
As far as motoring is concerned Spain really is the playground of Europe these days. France is just dull and heavier on the policing. Keep the car and yourself fresh and take the ferry. No point in being a bit tired of being in the car right at the point the fun starts.
I did a spreadsheet of 5 different options for driving to Spain, with an initial target of San Sebastian. I came to the conclusion that costs are pretty much a wash - yes you can save £100 or so, but it's more about doing it the way you want to do it.
Defining Day 0 as leaving home after you've finished work, and Day 1 being your first truly free day, it looks a bit like this (no driving through the night in these scenarios). Also assumes you're somewhere in the Southeast, 2hrs (ish) from Folkstone / Portsmouth and 4 hours from Plymouth :
Eurotunnel Option 1 - Leave home Day 0 5pm, arrive Day 1 7:30pm
Eurotunnel Option 2 - Leave Day 1 9am, arrive Day 2 4:00pm
Plymouth Santander - Leave Day 1 9am, arrive Day 2 5:00pm
Portsmouth Santander - Leave Day 0 8pm, arrive Day 2 10am
Portsmouth St. Malo - Leave Day 0 5pm, arrive Day 1 5pm
Both Eurotunnel options require a hotel. None of the others do, but involve 1 or 2 nights on the boat.
Tolls from Calais to San Sebastian are £95, at 28mpg, fuel is £185
Tolls from St. Malo to San Sebastian are £42, fuel is £130
Tolls from Santander to San Sebastian are £15, fuel is £33
Hotels are down to personal preference.
Defining Day 0 as leaving home after you've finished work, and Day 1 being your first truly free day, it looks a bit like this (no driving through the night in these scenarios). Also assumes you're somewhere in the Southeast, 2hrs (ish) from Folkstone / Portsmouth and 4 hours from Plymouth :
Eurotunnel Option 1 - Leave home Day 0 5pm, arrive Day 1 7:30pm
Eurotunnel Option 2 - Leave Day 1 9am, arrive Day 2 4:00pm
Plymouth Santander - Leave Day 1 9am, arrive Day 2 5:00pm
Portsmouth Santander - Leave Day 0 8pm, arrive Day 2 10am
Portsmouth St. Malo - Leave Day 0 5pm, arrive Day 1 5pm
Both Eurotunnel options require a hotel. None of the others do, but involve 1 or 2 nights on the boat.
Tolls from Calais to San Sebastian are £95, at 28mpg, fuel is £185
Tolls from St. Malo to San Sebastian are £42, fuel is £130
Tolls from Santander to San Sebastian are £15, fuel is £33
Hotels are down to personal preference.
Haha. Some good answers, thanks folks. Will probably go the Portsmouth to Santander route then as I'm in SW London.
I did do Wandsworth to Avignon in one hit, a long time ago. Using a ferry to Calais. Something was wrong with my BMW so I was restricted to 50mph.
That was boring on the autoroute during the early hours.
I'm sure I was hallucinationing once we finally arrived.
I did do Wandsworth to Avignon in one hit, a long time ago. Using a ferry to Calais. Something was wrong with my BMW so I was restricted to 50mph.
That was boring on the autoroute during the early hours.
I'm sure I was hallucinationing once we finally arrived.
You have a nice car for the journey. Do what appeals most!
I would drive, my wife might prefer the ferry. The bay of Biscay can be interesting early in the year. The last time we did it, in early January, it was a mill-pond and so extremely pleasant as we had a great meal and cinema onboard.
Next May, we intend to sail to Santander, visit Lisbon and then trundle back via Paradores and some nice places that we know in France. The options are infinite, if you have time. It is not so much the direct cost comparison thing. It is the holiday experience that really makes the difference and good memories.
For example, in September 2000, we bought a cottage in the hills behind Marbella. In anticipation, the year before I bought a 1959 Frog-eye Sprite at an Auction at Silverstone. I was supposed to travel Plymouth to Santander, but when I arrived at the port in the morning, Brittany Ferries had cancelled the crossing, but could take me to Roscoff landing at 10:30pm. At this time French were striking and and fuel was in short supply.
I bought a 10ltr petrol can in Plymouth and when disembarked started to drive the Brest peninsular in fog and what passed for headlights in 1959. The first fuel stop was out of fuel, but the second at Niort was OK. I made Bordeaux for 8am and had 40-winks on a concrete bench. I made the border about 2pm and fuel was OK thereafter.
I made Burgos about 5pm in a state of collapsed and booked into a hotel for the night. I drove through Madrid the following day without problem (this is pre SatNav) and continued south making Andalusia for a hearty lunch at 2pm. The car started suffering from fuel vaporisation once the afternoon heat kicked-in.
This may sound like the journey from hell, but it was probably my most enjoyable journey ever discovering new places seeing incredible sights and generally overcoming adversity. A journey on the ferry would have been boring in comparison.
I would drive, my wife might prefer the ferry. The bay of Biscay can be interesting early in the year. The last time we did it, in early January, it was a mill-pond and so extremely pleasant as we had a great meal and cinema onboard.
Next May, we intend to sail to Santander, visit Lisbon and then trundle back via Paradores and some nice places that we know in France. The options are infinite, if you have time. It is not so much the direct cost comparison thing. It is the holiday experience that really makes the difference and good memories.
For example, in September 2000, we bought a cottage in the hills behind Marbella. In anticipation, the year before I bought a 1959 Frog-eye Sprite at an Auction at Silverstone. I was supposed to travel Plymouth to Santander, but when I arrived at the port in the morning, Brittany Ferries had cancelled the crossing, but could take me to Roscoff landing at 10:30pm. At this time French were striking and and fuel was in short supply.
I bought a 10ltr petrol can in Plymouth and when disembarked started to drive the Brest peninsular in fog and what passed for headlights in 1959. The first fuel stop was out of fuel, but the second at Niort was OK. I made Bordeaux for 8am and had 40-winks on a concrete bench. I made the border about 2pm and fuel was OK thereafter.
I made Burgos about 5pm in a state of collapsed and booked into a hotel for the night. I drove through Madrid the following day without problem (this is pre SatNav) and continued south making Andalusia for a hearty lunch at 2pm. The car started suffering from fuel vaporisation once the afternoon heat kicked-in.
This may sound like the journey from hell, but it was probably my most enjoyable journey ever discovering new places seeing incredible sights and generally overcoming adversity. A journey on the ferry would have been boring in comparison.
croyde said:
Haha. Some good answers, thanks folks. Will probably go the Portsmouth to Santander route then as I'm in SW London.
I did do Wandsworth to Avignon in one hit, a long time ago. Using a ferry to Calais. Something was wrong with my BMW so I was restricted to 50mph.
That was boring on the autoroute during the early hours.
I'm sure I was hallucinationing once we finally arrived.
I'm in West London and have done Pompey to Santander/Bilbao for the last 2 years. Departure was 7pm on a Thursday so no need to take that day as holiday if you can WFH. Whilst the crossing is 36hrs most of it you're asleep - just take a book for when you're not.I did do Wandsworth to Avignon in one hit, a long time ago. Using a ferry to Calais. Something was wrong with my BMW so I was restricted to 50mph.
That was boring on the autoroute during the early hours.
I'm sure I was hallucinationing once we finally arrived.
Would defo do again although we're in France next summer so different itinery.
Ferry costs must be a big factor here.
The Huelva to Tenerife is a nigh on two (2) day sail from what I can see.
Here’s a link to a rough time and cost without cabin which I would have thought essential.
https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/#/passengers
From what some people have told me some ferry lines ,ie DFDS will offer a discount to over 60s if booked by phone for some reason. This of course may just be the channel crossings but could be worth exploring to help with costs.
As for driving through France or sailing down to Santander is a gamble on crap driving weather or possibly a rough sailing. For me I would drive down through France using saint Malo or Dieppe overnight etc. I don’t use Cherbourg apart for Ireland as it’s stuck out on a peninsula and is an extra hours drive.
Good luck with it as it sound fun.
The Huelva to Tenerife is a nigh on two (2) day sail from what I can see.
Here’s a link to a rough time and cost without cabin which I would have thought essential.
https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/#/passengers
From what some people have told me some ferry lines ,ie DFDS will offer a discount to over 60s if booked by phone for some reason. This of course may just be the channel crossings but could be worth exploring to help with costs.
As for driving through France or sailing down to Santander is a gamble on crap driving weather or possibly a rough sailing. For me I would drive down through France using saint Malo or Dieppe overnight etc. I don’t use Cherbourg apart for Ireland as it’s stuck out on a peninsula and is an extra hours drive.
Good luck with it as it sound fun.
Done the ferry plenty of times. Its really not that boring, food is pretty good considering and booze is cheap(ish) with plenty of French wine. If you have some good reading and films loaded or get some work/admin done it doesn't feel too strenuous. Prefer the plymouth route as just one night onboard but if not running then Portsmouth is fine, it works well as you are dropped in Spain in the am. I've seen it rocky and been in an inside cabin, it isn't as bad as some of the horror stories on here but I get that is subjective.
Driving through France is not as quick or enjoyable as it used to be with the Gendarmerie the way they are nowadays, the best driving is to be had in Spain/Portugal on the continent these days IMO, so might as well save the miles for when you're there.
I would recommend stopping on the way down to Huelva in Spain somewhere - Salamanca or Caceres work really well and are just off the motorway on the way down to Huelva. As a detour I couldn't recommend enough heading into Portugal to Serra Estrela and relive Catchpoles Alpine video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLVZ-SFgrys - but check weather this time of year it does snow sometimes. Portuguese motorways are tolled but are very quick with minor policing in the Alentejo area. Alternatively if you have time the Basque region and Picos are outstanding, maybe best to stop by on the return trip for a night so you are close by to the Ferry.
Driving through France is not as quick or enjoyable as it used to be with the Gendarmerie the way they are nowadays, the best driving is to be had in Spain/Portugal on the continent these days IMO, so might as well save the miles for when you're there.
I would recommend stopping on the way down to Huelva in Spain somewhere - Salamanca or Caceres work really well and are just off the motorway on the way down to Huelva. As a detour I couldn't recommend enough heading into Portugal to Serra Estrela and relive Catchpoles Alpine video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLVZ-SFgrys - but check weather this time of year it does snow sometimes. Portuguese motorways are tolled but are very quick with minor policing in the Alentejo area. Alternatively if you have time the Basque region and Picos are outstanding, maybe best to stop by on the return trip for a night so you are close by to the Ferry.
HocusPocus said:
Pray you don't get a winter storm down the Bay of Biscay and the French Atlantic coast. 2 days of tumble drier might be chunderful. 
I wonder too if I still have my sea legs.Back in '82 I got the ferry from Harwich to Esberg, Denmark, to start a job on a farm.
24 hours of a very rough North Sea storm in the middle of winter.
I remember being tossed around my berth in an inside cabin, shared with 3 strangers, oooeer missus and getting up for breakfast to be faced with piles of sawdust covering pools of vomit on my way to the canteen.
As I was tucking into weird Scandi food for breakfast, I commented to the guy sharing my table that this stuff was delicious.
His eyes widened and he promptly threw up....
Many years later and a very rough crossing across the Channel late at night.
My aged mother was very unwell with sea sickness but then there was an announcement that crates of beer were selling at half price. I had to leave her
Maybe this time Kharma will get me
Do not take the ferry. It is the sickest I have ever been. Whole time was like being in a washing machine.
I was surprised the van I was in had not moved with how much the boat was tipping around.
I drove back through France and took the tunnel.
Do get yourself the motorway tags for the car.
https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/
They are so much easier than faffing about with tolls.
I was surprised the van I was in had not moved with how much the boat was tipping around.
I drove back through France and took the tunnel.
Do get yourself the motorway tags for the car.
https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/
They are so much easier than faffing about with tolls.
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