Portsmouth to Santander Ferry Crossing

[jkspoff]

Hi all, I am planning a visit to our apartment next week in Carvoeiro, having priced up all the options taking the car seems like the cheapest and I would quite like the ferry experience as its an overnight crossing. Has anyone any experience of this, how was it, any tips on the crossing or best places to book for the best prices ? The price is £350 return, the drive doesn't put me off, it a total of 16 hours driving from door step to door step all being well with traffic etc, with only 10 of that being through Spain and Portugal. Any info would be appreciated, oh and buy the way how much are the tolls through Spain etc ?

[DaveK]

We did Plymouth-Santander-Portsmouth last July with Brittany Ferries and enjoyed the experience. I am sure you will too.

10 hours drive is not far off the mark; we disembarked at 11.30ish but it took a good 45 minutes to exit the dock area onto one of the busy major roundabouts in Santander, but after that a very easy drive, arriving in Carvoeiro before 22.00.

Cannot remember the tolls exactly but I think there were no more than two in Spain and then the A2 down to the Algarve. Total cost was no more than about 25 euros each way. No doubt someone will have a more accurate figure but we did comment on how few tolls there were.

Have a good trip.

[sam]

We did this trip a few years ago, and despite sharing a cabin with our 2 children we enjoyed it. We went out of season (March/April), but I understand the boat can get a bit rowdy in high season. The Bay of Biscay can be a bit choppy and stomach churning.

Our only problem was about an hour before we reached Spain it started raining, and did not stop for about 2 and a half weeks. We had planned to spend a few nights travelling through Northern Spain and Portugal, but we were so wet, cold and fed up by the time we reached the border we just carried on to Carvoeiro. The last few days of our 3 weeks it stopped raining and we travelled up to Northern Spain and visited Bilboa and the Guggenheim museum, which was good.

Hope the weather in Portugal holds up for you. I was out there the weekend before last and came back with a slight tan. Sun bathing at 3pm, then had to scrape the ice off the car at Gatwick that night.

[shanagarry]

I did the Portsmouth Santander trip twice last year - one return trip and another single trip alone to leave a car in Carvoeiro. Fortunately for the round trip in May we enjoyed excellent conditions - good weather, great scenery and super empty roads. For me the drawback was the sea crossing (it wasn't rough, just too long) - looking for dolphins and whales is not for me and with the boat sailing at a crawl - I found it very irritating. I estimate the crossing could be done in a fraction of the time but I suspect they won't sell too much food etc should they do that.

We arrived in Santander on a Wednesday at 6.00pm - it was the evening of The Champion's League final and we headed for Palencia to stay in a hotel to watch the game. As you know the result was a disaster and wished we'd kept going.

We set off for Vila Real in Northern Portugal - stayed there over night and the following night we stayed in Sintra - both places are fantastic. We arrived in Carvoeiro on the Saturday at 1.00pm - great trip and highly recommended. The North of Portugal has some stunning places to see - as incidentally does the North Of Spain. We spent quite a bit on tolls but who cares when you are enjoying yourself.

The trip on my own with the car was intended to be quick. The same dolphin nonsense on the boat and disembarked at 6.00pm. I arrived in Carvoeiro at 4.25am the following morning. It rained from the time I got off the boat all the way to Carvoeiro, I crossed into Portugal at Badajoz headed to Evora and then to Beja before joining the motorway shortly after - I had three stops for fuel and coffee etc and only spent €7 on tolls (the part from Beja area up to Messines). It took me just shy of 10 hours mostly in the dark but on good roads. It took me ages to get to sleep after I arrived but then I had 6 weeks to get over it.

There are many route options - one being to drive down through Spain to Seville and then across. We prefer to get into Portugal and explore. The previous year we did the same trip over 5 nights and entered Portugal at Braganca then across to Porto down to Fatima and an overnight in Sintra before heading South. Take the time to plan - it will be worth the time.

Some places that are well worth seeing are Valladolid, Salamanca, Ciudad Rodrigo (Spanish border), Vila Real, Marvao, Sintra (stunning), Santarem, Covilha and many more. I won't bore you with the places to avoid - as there are a few.

Enjoy

[pato]

We did the Plymouth Santander ferry about 25 years ago, we took a chance I suppose because my late wife used to get seasick on the Mersey Ferry, I think the notorious swell seems to be the major problem on the Bay of Biscay, initially I'd convinced my wife that it would be like a millpond and she fell for it, the reality was that after half an hours sailing we decided to go to the restaurant for a bite to eat, the front, or bow of the vessel, to be nautical, was a panoramic view of the sea, hang on is that the sky? no, it's the sea, no...... and that was it I suppose, she spent the whole voyage seasick in a cabin, with 75% of the other passengers in varying degrees of that sickness some in the lounge some in the bar, you name it and they and their sick bags were there.

We toured Northern Spain and Northern Portugal and as you would expect of scousers slept where and when we stopped, My wife and I and our two sons and had some wonderful times there, staying in La Corruna and a lot of the places previous posters have visited, it's a great experience and who knows I may do it again before I expire, give it a go, the return journey was fine.

[Bruce Wallis]

We did the Portsmouth/Bilbao last month. Excellent....shame it's going.

Overall....including meals it cost £410 for the 2 of us including meal vouchers.
Sounds expensive, but I costed the journey going through the channel tunnel....french tolls, petrol....overnight stops + meals at Bordueux and around the Spanish border at San Sebastian ie before the drive down from Bilbao or Santander to the Algarve, and the difference was nominally less than £10.....and that took no account of wear and tear on the car or drivers!!

We docked at 0700, and burned it down into central Spain. Tolls were about £20.
When we got down into the Extramadura, we realised we were fine for time, so re-routed ourselves onto minor roads through the mountains and arrived really relaxed at our overnight stop, a lovely hilltop town, with a medieval castle called Trujillo, where we had booked into a renovated monastery..(which was lovely )

The next morning, after exploring this lovely town, we left about 11-00, and totally ignoring tom toms attempts to take us by motorway via Lisbon, we plotted a cross country route to Carvoeiro, arriving easily by 5pm.
Tolls??? Nil
Enjoyment of the journey....even in January?? Recommend it to all of you.

We will return the same way......this time driving up to Porto, then cross country through the Douro valley to the Spanish border at San Sebastian.
Then.....it will be april/may....we will poodle back up through France.

Try it.

[wee beanz]

We crossed from Plymouth to Santander many years ago when our kids were young. Going was no problem but coming back was horrendous. As soon as we left Santander the ferry was like a rollercoaster, everyone was being sick everywhere, you couldnt walk around on the boat, you staggered, the ferry arrived back 2 hours late, it was 26 hours of sheer hell! We decide there and then that we would never do it again and we havent. However my niece was on the ferry a week after us and her trip was great.

[jkspoff]

These are all fantastic reviews and its so good to read the different experiences you've all had on this crossing and the driving. We decided last minute due to several reasons including the weather being so poor in Carvoeiro at the moment, that we would put it off until the Easter, so all being well we'll be driving down there soon. I look forward to the experience even more so now I've read your good experiences, well most !

[Matryx]

Hi, I took the crossing from Plymouth to Santander and back last summer with the dogs on Brittany Ferries. The ferry crossing was great, and I really enjoyed the drive down to Carvoeiro, with beautiful scenery along most parts of the route. Many of the roads are pretty new, with hardly any traffic, so it's much more relaxed than driving in the UK. There are a umber of diferent routes you can take, but try avoiding Madrid. I drove from Santander to Palencia and onto Valladolid, Salamanca and then head for Lisbon. It's very straightforward, and I'll be doing it again this summer!

[shanagarry]

If you are heading for Carvoeiro and find you are heading in the direction of Madrid - you have gone astray - unless of course you want to

[Matryx]

If you are heading for Carvoeiro and find you are heading in the direction of Madrid - you have gone astray - unless of course you want to

Correct, and I was!

[shanagarry]

Matryx - you won't make that mistake again then

[Matryx]

Matryx - you won't make that mistake again then

Sure won't, my wife will be navigating this year!

[shanagarry]

So it's Barcelona then

[Ellie]

We did the Plymouth to Santander crossing on our very first journey out to Algarve....and boy was it rough! ..never again!
We always travel overland now and thats what we'll do when we've sold here. Im not a good sailor and on that crossing through the Bay of Biscay everyone was seasick...and I mean everyone
We have a set route we take after going through the tunnel..and head for southern France stopping over at the Green7 hotel near Le Mans and then through the Pyrenees and then a stop over near Burgos at the 'Picon Del Conde' (anyone who likes camping, they have a camp site here)
Then we cross over the border into Portugal and find it best if you cross the country and take the road down from south of Lisbon.
(we stopped at Grandola on our very first trip out)
Don't know if this is of any help.