drive or ferry ?

[Icemaker]

we are looking to have our first trip to spain with our van. we said we would go to spain as we have family living theire and could pitch up at theire villa. extensive grounds, private pool, and free, bliss. however another relative of ours goes regular and always drives down, they live in an area called mahacca, (i think thats how you spell it). I have had a look at the maps and done an auto route calculation and i think it would be cheaper and a lot less hassle to get the ferry to bilbao or santander. however my relative says its a waste of time as you miss all the scenery through france. problem is he goes for three months and we will only have three weeks, i dont fancy wasting 6 days of my holiday driving theire and back. i would appreciate any comments on both options and any advice that you could give, bearing in mind that my wife will only tow in emergencies so all the driving will be done by me. THANKS.

 

[Stuart620]

let the ferry take the strain and save driving an extra 1600 miles and toll charges. did the trip to santander last year and it was great

stuart

 

[mikeE]

John,

Ferry, Ferry, Ferry.

I too am the only driver and three days through France is no great pleasure - I have done it twice and it is a lot of days out of a three week holiday. Yes you do get to see some scenery but mostly, in my experience, it is road seen through the large window on the front of the car. We live in the northeast of England and last year discovered the joy of avoiding the hack to Dover by going North Shields to Ijmuiden. Less rush, nice meals, a good nights sleep and so on. Now this ferry is no use for going to Spain but it illustrates the point I am trying to make.

Ferry, Ferry, Ferry.

 

[CaptainKangaroo]

I have done Santander and barcelona, it was a piece of cake. 3 days driving? sure if you 30mph all the way. Keep to a steady 60 and it will take about 24 hrs including breaks or stop overnight and break the journey up

 

[mikeE]

Dave 1,

Did you do Santander to Barcelona in 24 hours or was it Channel port through France - as John is asking - to Santander or Barcelona in 24 hours ?

 

[mikeE]

Sorry Dave 1 that should read Andy

 

[CaptainKangaroo]

I did channel port to santander first time and like it so much I did barcelona the following year. Its a nice drive go through le mans and you see some gorgeous scenery. It can be done in 24 hrs but that is non stop, well apart from toilet stops etc. It would be best to take an overnight stop

 

[Albert_5039897]

Just done a q

 

[Albert_5039897]

Ignore my previous reply - typing error. I have just done a quick check on mileages using Autoroute, Calais to barcelona 845 miles, Santander Barcelona 440 miles, did the same for ferry routes Dover calais

 

[Icemaker]

Thanks very much ALBERT, your comments are appreciated. i got a quote from the ccc and was surprised to find that it added almost 650 pounds to the cost if i took the ferry to bilbao, so i did a costing for driving and found that with the current price of diesel i would be about 250 pounds better off driving, of course this does not take in to account the wear and tear on my vehicle. We have always wanted to visit spain with the van as we have quite a large family out there but i must say the ccc quote of 1600 pounds makes flying very very attractive, last time we went it cost 45 pounds per person (4). I am sure we will not be happy untill we have tried the van abroad so we will suffer the cost for experiance sake but i will leave the decision as to whether it is the ferry or driving to my parents as my dad is now 68 years young and may or may not be reluctant to drive that distance.

 

[littleangel]

Hi Icemaker, I'm off to the pyrenees, which I know is a lot shorter, the only driver, I'm crossing using Portmouth - Le Harve, so a nights sleep wake up in France, and less miles than Dover- Calais. Is there a reason long ferry crossing are out?

By the way I'm going independent as it was cheaper than with Select sites.

 

[RayS]

I gues you are going to the Mojacar area. We go most years and use the route down the west coast of France, into Spain and then via Pamplona to Zaragoza to Valencia and then down the cost via Murcia. Cherbourg to Mojacar is about 1200 miles this way. Easy driving, especially if you get into Spain on Saturday or Sunday morning. We use overnight ferry to Cherbourg, get to Bordeaux area that day, then towards Pamplona, then Valencia and arrive Mojacar on the 4th afternoon. But it does mean a steady 45mph average - including lunch stops.

Until recently, the ferries have taken 36 hours to Spain, so not much - if any- gain in time. The new brittany service takes only 18 so I shall certainly be looking at this next Spring. Don't forget to allow for the tolls on the French Autoroutes - quite an item Cherbourg to Irun.

"Second Driver" towing would be quite feasible on the run across from Pamplona as the autovias are almost empty particularly on Sundays out of season and you can avoid most large towns.

Hope this helps.

 

[JoannaLesley]

Why take the boring route with all that motorway style food by using the ferry. If you drive through France and use the Caravan Club's vol 1 guide to Europe, you can find wonderful varied (and cheap) municipal sites and experience real French food.

 

[petercoachman]

Thanks very much ALBERT, your comments are appreciated. i got a quote from the ccc and was surprised to find that it added almost 650 pounds to the cost if i took the ferry to bilbao, so i did a costing for driving and found that with the current price of diesel i would be about 250 pounds better off driving, of course this does not take in to account the wear and tear on my vehicle. We have always wanted to visit spain with the van as we have quite a large family out there but i must say the ccc quote of 1600 pounds makes flying very very attractive, last time we went it cost 45 pounds per person (4). I am sure we will not be happy untill we have tried the van abroad so we will suffer the cost for experiance sake but i will leave the decision as to whether it is the ferry or driving to my parents as my dad is now 68 years young and may or may not be reluctant to drive that distance.

hi drive down and take your time we did caen to marbella 1430miles in 4 days easy driving beautifull country side tell dad i'm 66 years young have a good time

 

[RayS]

Why take the boring route with all that motorway style food by using the ferry. If you drive through France and use the Caravan Club's vol 1 guide to Europe, you can find wonderful varied (and cheap) municipal sites and experience real French food.

Motorway is quicker to get to the sun, but we always divert to supermarkets for diesel and local food and tend to use the aires rather than the full service areas and "eat in". Also, you can often get back onto the old parallel RNs typically RN137 down the west coast for a stretch between two autoroute junctions - these will probably have bigger lay-bys and some Routiers with lagre vehicle parks if home catering palls.

 

[Alan_5077225]

Icemaker

I'm having exactly the same quandry about next year so it would be great if you can leave some feeback on how you got on.