Probably the best option. We've done it a few times and its a great start to a holiday. We took the mini-cruise which was really good. Basically get on Sunday night around 9pm and they arrive tuesday morning about 6am so you can then get into spain. A straight drive from home to majorca is madness lol. You can then do the return through france whcih is kinda cool as you do it one way.
Thinking of driving to Spain next August.
- Thread starter Schizo
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Probably the best option. We've done it a few times and its a great start to a holiday. We took the mini-cruise which was really good. Basically get on Sunday night around 9pm and they arrive tuesday morning about 6am so you can then get into spain. A straight drive from home to majorca is madness lol. You can then do the return through france whcih is kinda cool as you do it one way.
Which route was that? I know the old P&O route from Portsmouths to Bilbao took 36 hours and if you get the wrong Bilbao to Portsmouths return is two nights onboard .. otherwise it is a max 24 hours onboard. (excluding coming back in the New Year a few years back when we sat in Santander for 15 hours until the weather improved)
I drove to San Sebastian and Santander 2 years ago.
tunnel to France, no motorways, 2 hours driving every other day with stop offs for 2 nights at a time, overnight ferry back form Santander to Plymouth (I think)
brilliant holiday, zero driving fatigue, zero traffic, plenty of 99-100 RON petrol - was about 2000 miles IIRC
tunnel to France, no motorways, 2 hours driving every other day with stop offs for 2 nights at a time, overnight ferry back form Santander to Plymouth (I think)
brilliant holiday, zero driving fatigue, zero traffic, plenty of 99-100 RON petrol - was about 2000 miles IIRC
Took me a while to find it as I can’t find the old booking email. I think this is it. Point aven ship rings a bell
https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/offers/ferry/mini-cruises/santander
Soldato
I've done Folkestone to Alicante several times as my parents have property out there and I enjoy driving in general.
Agree that the least stressful method is the 24hour ferry to Bilbao/Santander, it's basically a floating bar to kill the time. However this can be expensive depending on the time of year and type of cabin you're after. I've also been on one crossing across the Bay of Biscay which was awful for rough weather, the ship ran out of sick bags... If you have a weak stomach it can be an unpleasant experience if you're unlucky.
I've also driven direct. I've tried avoiding toll roads in France but it adds so much time, I usually give up after the 50th town and get back on the autoroutes.
Driving through Spain is usually problem free, but it's also very empty. Not a lot to look at for hours at a time. Zaragoza is a nice stop if it's on the way as you're unlikely to visit a place like that otherwise.
I've purposefully driven through the Pyrenees for some fun on the mountain passes. As someone who also enjoys trips to the Alps for the same reason I much much prefer the Pyrenees. Far less traffic and just as spectacular. More sweeping corners rather than tight hair pins. Definitely check it out of you're that way inclined.
I'd say go for it. Much prefer driving than flying. It's so convenient having your own car and being unrestricted luggage wise.
Oh and the Spanish treat roundabouts completely differently to us especially in the south. They seem to always go around in the outside lane regardless of exit, so be careful there. Nothing else worth noting really.
Agree that the least stressful method is the 24hour ferry to Bilbao/Santander, it's basically a floating bar to kill the time. However this can be expensive depending on the time of year and type of cabin you're after. I've also been on one crossing across the Bay of Biscay which was awful for rough weather, the ship ran out of sick bags... If you have a weak stomach it can be an unpleasant experience if you're unlucky.
I've also driven direct. I've tried avoiding toll roads in France but it adds so much time, I usually give up after the 50th town and get back on the autoroutes.
Driving through Spain is usually problem free, but it's also very empty. Not a lot to look at for hours at a time. Zaragoza is a nice stop if it's on the way as you're unlikely to visit a place like that otherwise.
I've purposefully driven through the Pyrenees for some fun on the mountain passes. As someone who also enjoys trips to the Alps for the same reason I much much prefer the Pyrenees. Far less traffic and just as spectacular. More sweeping corners rather than tight hair pins. Definitely check it out of you're that way inclined.
I'd say go for it. Much prefer driving than flying. It's so convenient having your own car and being unrestricted luggage wise.
Oh and the Spanish treat roundabouts completely differently to us especially in the south. They seem to always go around in the outside lane regardless of exit, so be careful there. Nothing else worth noting really.
I’ve found seasickness pills and laying down is the perfect way to deal with 30ft waves on the Bay of Biscay. Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night sleeping on your side but having that feeling due to the angle of the ship you are on your back. I always try to get a low cabin midship.
I decided the rules regarding the Spanish and roundabouts is whatever Spaniard is within a kilometre of the roundabout has right of way. The Spanish are interesting drivers... some of the overtaking I’ve seen on the n340 is suicidal.
24 hours each way and 6 hours or so in Santander. I must admit I do like Santander ... some really good seafood.
If thats correct it mustnt be the one we used. It was definately 2 nights on board. Just checking the link, it mentions 2 nights, but also says on tues, off weds. weird. Pretty sure it was the pont aven though...
Trawled through my old emails 
It was brittany ferries. Portsmouth > Bilbao. Departure Sunday 2230 and Arrive 0745. It says 2 night crossing, with 1hr 30m stopover at Roscoff to board more passenger. Arrive Tuesday morning. Paid £472. This was in April 17. The ferry was the Cap Finistere.
It was brittany ferries. Portsmouth > Bilbao. Departure Sunday 2230 and Arrive 0745. It says 2 night crossing, with 1hr 30m stopover at Roscoff to board more passenger. Arrive Tuesday morning. Paid £472. This was in April 17. The ferry was the Cap Finistere.
Soldato
Brittany ferries do both 24 hour and 2 night crossings on the same routes
Soldato
Don't forget to include wear and tear costs on the vehicle, and any tolls and ferry costs involved. Also as the possibility of having to add a single night in a hotel if you can't drive for the best part of 24 hours between two of you.
Just out of curiosity where are you driving from in the UK?
Just out of curiosity where are you driving from in the UK?
I drove to Dénia, Spain August last year.
After crossing the tunnel to give you an idea which way I took:
* Into FR: Rouen/Le Mans/Tours/Bordeaux/Bayonne
* Into ES: N121A/Pamplona/Zaragoza/Valencia
Observations: this route was quite boring. Very flat, from sometime after Bordeaux I just remember seeing an endless straight road and felt there was really not much to see until approaching the border and into ES and the terrain changed and became more interesting.
On the way back however:
* From ES: Valencia/Barcelona
* Into FR: Perpignan/Clermont-Ferrand/Orleans/Paris/Amiens/Boulogne-sur-Mer
Observations: this route was much more interesting coming back. Really bendy autoroutes going up and down the Massif-central mountains in FR. Was really interesting experience. I enjoyed this way.
Costs are return:
Crossing: £265 (notional as used clubcard points)
Fuel: €329.28
Insurance (breakdown-EU) £41
Tolls-FR: £155.74 (in GBP as used toll-tag, used a friends not activated for ES)
Tolls-ES: €67.95
Emissions sticker (for Paris mainly): £3.76 inc shipping
Further observations: I spread it out over 2 stops getting down there (near Tours and near Pamplona). The car did not have air-con, so had windows down, unrefined, noisy. I was drained when I finally got there. If I had a more refined car w/ air-con obviously would have been more comfortable, etc.
Would I do it again? Yeah, I do like a good road trip!
After crossing the tunnel to give you an idea which way I took:
* Into FR: Rouen/Le Mans/Tours/Bordeaux/Bayonne
* Into ES: N121A/Pamplona/Zaragoza/Valencia
Observations: this route was quite boring. Very flat, from sometime after Bordeaux I just remember seeing an endless straight road and felt there was really not much to see until approaching the border and into ES and the terrain changed and became more interesting.
On the way back however:
* From ES: Valencia/Barcelona
* Into FR: Perpignan/Clermont-Ferrand/Orleans/Paris/Amiens/Boulogne-sur-Mer
Observations: this route was much more interesting coming back. Really bendy autoroutes going up and down the Massif-central mountains in FR. Was really interesting experience. I enjoyed this way.
Costs are return:
Crossing: £265 (notional as used clubcard points)
Fuel: €329.28
Insurance (breakdown-EU) £41
Tolls-FR: £155.74 (in GBP as used toll-tag, used a friends not activated for ES)
Tolls-ES: €67.95
Emissions sticker (for Paris mainly): £3.76 inc shipping
Further observations: I spread it out over 2 stops getting down there (near Tours and near Pamplona). The car did not have air-con, so had windows down, unrefined, noisy. I was drained when I finally got there. If I had a more refined car w/ air-con obviously would have been more comfortable, etc.
Would I do it again? Yeah, I do like a good road trip!