Turbocharger Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 We're planning a European holiday at the end of the summer, and weighing up the ferry to Bilbao vs driving down, to see Barcelona and the the French riviera. Has anyone used the ferry or have any recommendations? It's either £400 of incarceration and vomit, or a quick and relaxing route to get to Spain for the beginning of our holiday, and we can't decide which... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godlykepower Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 John, the ferry to Bilbao is very expensive and a very long journey. I have just tried getting a sample quote (2 people in a Defender with a roofrack, no trailer, last 2 weeks of August) and it came out at £1420! No thank you. My opinion would be save a ton of money and go from Dover to Dunkirk which is normally under £50, but I expect in summer to be £100 (ish). Plot yourself a nice little route south & enjoy a bit of France for a day or two. You could have a nice little route over the Pyrenees, or go through my favourite place in France, the Verdun Gorge on your way to Monaco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 a quick and relaxing route to get to Spain for the beginning of our holiday Go Brittany then!!! Having done both P+O and Brittany I prefer the latter. Cost is about the same, the journey is faster - only 20h from Plymouth - and the ferry is newer, or at least more recently fitted. I felt that the clientele were a higher class. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Further to my post above, I agree with everything Martin said. The ferry does save a hard day driving though if that is not your thing or you are on time constraints. 13 hours Dunkirk to Toulouse (Aspet) in a Lard Cruiser with a trailer on - three drivers stopping for coffee and fuel only. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godlykepower Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 13 hours Dunkirk to Toulouse (Aspet) in a Lard Cruiser with a trailer on - three drivers stopping for coffee and fuel only. Yeah, thats about right. When I last drove from southern France, the seat runners on the drivers seat were knacked, so Jude couldn't reach, so I had to do it on my own. As I get bored driving a Defender on motorways, I always get on the smaller roads. I drove from Dunkirk to Chamonix over 2 days (cant remember exactly how many hours) on nothing but B roads, and it was very pretty & a nice drive, but not efficient if, as Chris has mentioned, you have time constraints. Coming back from Monaco, I used B roads to get through the Gorge (which I cannot recommend enough - stunning) and once I had cleared that, I got on the Peage & nailed it (relatively speaking) and it still took 2 days - although to be fair, the first whole day is the 120 miles north of Monaco. If you have the time, or can plan it right, it may work out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 John Forget the booze cruise with P&O,, go with Britany, (belive they are binning the Portsmouth/Blbao route later this year anyway),, Far better boat, and quicker £700 ish return in May Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 yep, P&O are cancelling the floating bingo hall this year, so Britanny will be the only choice. After doing the ferry a couple of times though, I don't think I'll ever bother again - it probably costs the same as driving down with fuel/tolls/camping etc, but it just feels like you've chucked two days of your life away. There's nothing to do other than drink/look for imaginary whales/drink/get ripped off for food/buy duty free/drink it/start seeing imaginary whales I'll drive down next time and at least enjoy the journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 the floating bingo hall Sums it up rather well. look for imaginary whales... ...get ripped off for food We saw a whale and some dolphins. Surprisingly, the all you can eat fixed price buffet was rather good value - on P+O and Brittany. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hiatt Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I went to the SW of France with 110 and car trailer last Sept. Going down we went Portsmouth-St Malo and on the return we got the Santander ferry. I much preferred the route down, got some sleep overnight on the ferry, had a leisurely drive down and was in a bar supping beer near the Spanish border by 6.00pm. The road from France to Santander or Bilboa is not nice with a trailer, it's up and down and only a Motorway in the loosest sense. Campaniles or Kyriad hotels are so cheap on the way down if you wanted an overnight break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 For our pending Morocco trip I'm booked Brittany Ferries Portsmouth - Santander with a 110 up to 2.6m high - out end of March return mid April - total return fare with driver £450/vehicle plus cabin or couchette. Two vehicles going with one driver each, share a cabin for £65 each way. Then drive to Southern Spain 10 hours to Malaga. Family fly down to Malaga 3 people £200 return with Ryanair. This is a cheaper option, not having to feed and entertain enroute and avoids the "how long until we are there" questions every half an hour, let alone all the pee stops and other distractions! I doubt the difference in cost compared to driving all the way from Calais will be more than a £100 after taking account of all the extra expenditure feeding and accomodating passengers and paying tolls if pushing on. That's a £100 well spent for the peace. The numbers only work if the ferry is reasonable which they are for me in the Spring. July and August I would do the long drive and incorporate the time into the holiday as others have suggested. Mind you I would not be heading for Morocco at that time of the year. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 John About the same as we have paid for the trip in May,,and very similar to last year,, Last year we got to about a hour north of Gib,from getting off the boat,, If going to Morocco, it has to be a no brainer, adding the extra distance through France,, its over 3000 miles as it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Thanks guys - seems opinions vary depending on price, and how much of a hurry you're in. Since we'll be going September-ish, and will be making a big loop down through France to Spain, across the Riviera to Monaco and then back up home again, I think we'll take the autoroute and a night in a campsite or cheap hotel then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 a night in a campsite or cheap hotel then. Ask Mo Murphy if he knows of a Formula1 hotel on your route. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Ask Mo Murphy if he knows of a Formula1 hotel on your route. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Pray tell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_J85JTY Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 We used the ferry a few years ago and I would never do it again. Its not too bad on the way down but the way back is a real drag. We have both decided we are going to share the driving and blast down in one, possibly 2 days. The bonus I guess of just being us without any rugrats to entertain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoggyN Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 We used the ferry a few years ago and I would never do it again. Its not too bad on the way down but the way back is a real drag. We have both decided we are going to share the driving and blast down in one, possibly 2 days. My parents used it a few years ago. The way down was fine, but on the way back they hit bad weather and had to seek shelter. They were on it a week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_J85JTY Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Good god! Did they have many psycological problems after? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baggy Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 (edited) plymoth santader 600 2 bodys one disco roof bokes ext last year 6th september good crossing ^^^^^^^ Baggy, perhaps you were having a bad day when you posted this, in future if you have something to contribute it would be helpful if you could take some more care with your keyboard. As you will note a translation has kindly been provided in a subsequent post! John Edited March 2, 2010 by headhunter Lack of clarity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 plymoth santader 600 2 bodys one disco roof bokes ext last year 6th september good crossing WTF? ^^^^^^ Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Twig Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Translates as: Our journey from Plymouth to Santander last year cost £600 This was for two people, one discovery with roof boxes etc The journey took place on the 6th September, and it was lovely... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Thanks A Twig. What language was that? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bull Bar Cowboy Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Yes, the Brittany run from Plymouth is OK …………….. just booked up for July (2+Estate Car + outside large cabin) and it was £880 before I started applying my discount schemes and disclosing the colour of my underwear ..... the final agreed figure was more then resonable …............ I guess thats the problem with living on an island, these clowns can charge pretty much what they like. For those you travel a long way to Plymouth, the port and facilities are sh1te ! …….if need to over night then try to stay a little out of Plymouth…….. Lucky its only a 20 minute drive for me………. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I got the last lot of tickets for a decent price by placing the booking on the phone rather than on-line - as we were meeting others in Spain who were being sensible and flying down, we could order two car spaces and book one room between us - you don't get this option on line. I also did loads of web surfing for discount codes and found one that knocked 10% off or something - can't remember what it was, maybe some cheese club or something, but I just said a magic word and they applied the discount Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoggyN Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Good god! Did they have many psycological problems after? Ha ha! They were fine. They are retired and had nothing better to do. I think they both put on a stone in weight with all the free food that was provided. On the other hand, quite a few of the lorry drivers got a bit agitated as some of their loads were perishable. Apparently, it was a bit stinky on the car deck by the time they docked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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