Brittany Ferriers from UK to Spain

Scooblitz

Scooblitz

Zorg Guru (III)
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British Zeds
Scottish Zeds
Joined
Aug 7, 2017
Points
135
Location
Glasgow, Scotland
Model of Z
2.8
Since it's January and absolutely kelpit (dreary) outside this time of year, i am starting to plan summer holidays for this year and saw that there is a potential route to Spain for myself via Cork. There lots of routes from the South of England for our other British members to pick from.

Does anyone have any experience with Brittany ferries or similar companies taking there cars across to Europe?

Any tips on when there are good prices available?
 
Sorry can not help regarding the ferries as we always catch the tunnel. We drive down to Ashford from Nottingham 478 miles from Glasgow and stay over night in the Premiere Inn catching an early crossing the next day. Then its a 2 day drive to Spain or to the Alps. It maybe something for you to consider
 
Done the ferry once not with the zed though. Ok if you want a rest after a long UK side drive but tbh I didn't like the way the cars are packed on with very little room to open doors etc. Wouldnt take any of my Zeds on there almost guaranteed a door dink.
 
My Mum and Dad live in Spain and they use Brittany Ferries quite a bit, specifically the Portsmouth the Santander/Bilbao route. They rate the crossing, and when you balance up fuel and toll road costs against the ferry cost, its normally a dead heat (time dependant).
If I remember correctly the ferry is 24hrs, but there is loads to do on the ferry, and they tend to sit and relax.
P
 
We dont do the tolls except to make up time. A lot better routes than the Toll roads and you get to drive through the Pyrenees and also see the real side of France when going to Spain
 
We have done Portsmouth to St Malo night crossing and found it very good. Was a few years back and did it with the caravan in toe so more expensive than just a car. From memory it cost around £500 return.
 
We used the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre, booked a 2 birth cabin. Found it an excellent service.
Meant it cut out the slog round the M25 to Dover or Ashford & it also meant I'd saved a bit of driving on the other side, we were heading down to the South of France close to the Spanish boarder.
We used the Fast Cat on the journey back from Cherbourg to Portsmouth takes about 3 hours, but it was a bit un-comfortable due to rough sea.
Gary
 
Have done Portsmouth/St Malo overnight too. Nights sleep on the ferry and arrive early morning. Useful if you want to get a good days driving in (although we only did 20 miles). Yes some care is needed parking up on the ferry although the loaders noticed the car and parked us so our doors opened between the front and rear of adjacent cars giving us a little more room. If the ferry is rammed then I guess they don’t have the opportunity to do that.
 
Have done Portsmouth to St Malo outward and Santander to Plymouth return both good value crossings with overnight berth. Don't recall any problems with door clearance but maybe we were lucky. Facilities were good and all open, unlike when we did Genova to Palermo, with another company, just before summer season started very little open and limited food - return was a month later `in season' with no problems.
Take it easy in the bar the night before, if you are docking early morning :beer:eek::oops:
 
I have fancied taking the ferry to Santander and driving back across the Pyrenees and up the west coast of France
 
We used to live in Spain so we regularly travelled there and back. Since returning we still regularly make the trip. As someone said , the cost difference between driving all the way through France and taking the ferry to Spain is negligible. If you just want to get to Spain I'd take the ferry every time. If you want a leisurely tour through France that's different. Travelling A to B across France to get to Spain is grim. Poor service areas, fuel pumps 'Card only' often not working, everywhere shut at night etc. We take Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to Bilbao or Plymouth to Santander and only use the big ferries (Pont Aven and Cap Finistere). Taking an overnight crossing we have a meal ,then a night's sleep plus breakfast before continuing our journey. A very pleasant way to make the trip. As for parking on board, the ships have designated parking lanes, there is no 'packing them in' , plenty of room to get out of your car. Never had any problem whatsoever, with my Zed or even this last summer in my E class Merc,which is not a small car. The parking lanes take motorhomes, so plenty wide enough.
Always been very happy with Brittany Ferries and look forward to our next trip.
 
Tearoom said:
I have fancied taking the ferry to Santander and driving back across the Pyrenees and up the west coast of France
Click to expand...
Have done that in reverse - St Malo to Dinan to La Rochelle to Bordeaux to San Sebastian and then Santander. Interesting places but some of the driving is boring. There is a great coastal drive between San Sebastian and Bilbao - ideal for the Zed. :coolsteer)
 
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