Pete 75C Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Hi all. I'm planning to do a couple of trips down to Spain next year with a semi-high roof Transit van. Having costed the fuel/tolls/accomodation to drive all the way, the Britanny Ferries route from Portsmouth - Bilbao on the mv Cap Finistère is looking rather cost effective. Sailing at about 22:30, there are 2 nights onboard and it arrives at about 07:30 - the morning arrival appeals to me, because the onwards journey across Spain to Alicante should be achievable by nighfall. Question is... has anyone done this route? I can imagine having a couple of beers once the ship sails and then hitting the sack (bunk), but what on earth do you do the whole of the next day??? Being a vehicle ferry, I'm not expecting cruise liner levels of entertainment. Suggestions as to the level of comfort/facilities would be welcome from anyone that's done this journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted December 18, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 18, 2017 (edited) I have not done it myself but I know several people that have and they all found it good. Bay of Biscay can, of course, be very rough indeed. Doing nothing all day on a ship may not be much fun. But it's no worse than being stuck at the wheel of a van all day on a French autoroute. The only interesting way south through France is the A75 via Millau but hard work in a well-loaded van and definitely not recommended between January and March. Edited December 18, 2017 by Joseph_Pestell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted December 18, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 18, 2017 Having used Brittany Ferries to hop from Portsmouth to Caen this year, I have to say that they do have two cinemas, and there was entertainment for the kids in one lounge. I have to say the 7 hours went past quite tolerably, but I wouldn't want to do it again. I have no idea how you would fill that whole day, other than drinking yourself blind.... Andy G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted December 18, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 18, 2017 When P&O used to do Portsmouth - Bilbo, they marketed it as a 'mini cruse' with the ship having cinemas and some sort of evening entertainment laid on. There was also a spa IIRC and they did used to go on about Dolphin / Whale watching too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 I have no idea how you would fill that whole day, other than drinking yourself blind.... Yes - I had planned... Breakfast/coffee/book/tea/book/lunch/beer/book/tea/book/dinner/beer/beer/beer/bed. I guess I'm not very imaginative! I must remember to deliver Mike's (Enterprisingwestern's) box of Plastikote Suede which cannot be carried by air. I wonder if I can pass the whole £300 ferry crossing off on him as P&P??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 It depends on the weather, and if you're a good sailor or not. My sister travelled to Bilbao on her honeymoon, and drove back, as the journey had been so rough. Similarly, in the early days of Eurotunnel, I met a passenger who had driven back from Spain, swearing she'd never use a ferry again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 It depends on the weather, and if you're a good sailor or not. I have honorary sea legs, so the potential roughness of the crossing doesn't worry me too much. As Joseph said (above) it has to be better than driving the whole of France in a van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted December 18, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 18, 2017 I've done Plymouth - Santander. It's a long crossing, take a good book or 3. I've done the crossing when it was very rough, and it was, er interesting. It would be worth you looking up which ship it is and seeing what facilities that it has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Interestingly, I was passing Ushant southbound yesterday morning, and saw (via Marine Traffic) the Cap Finisterre heading north, passing between Ushant and the mainland. I was surprised to see this, but it's obviously approved. Could be quite scenic if the weather is clear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 It would be worth you looking up which ship it is and seeing what facilities that it has. It should be the Cap Finistère and after a closer look at the website, there would appear to be a decent amount to do. I hadn't expected a car ferry to have a "heated outdoor pool", but as that's only open between May - September in calm seas, I doubt it will be an issue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Got to be better than driving the whole of France and then half of Spain. Having done a similar trip but from western France through to a place just up the coast from Alicante, and also right down to near Gibraltar several times, my only advice would be to avoid any route via Madrid (unless your satnav is absolutely brilliant). It may be longer, but a journey via Zaragoza down to Valencia and then along the coast, will probably be more relaxing. Remember also to add 50% to any time a satnav gives you in Spain, mainly due to gradients, and the number of times you have to slow from the strange 120kph max down to 100 or 90kph for certain sections, especially tunnels, and then have to get back up to speed in a transit! I know many ignore these limits, but.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted December 18, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 18, 2017 I know of a group from my local, that did a return booze cruise Plymouth, Santander and over half of them threw up all the way there and back, the others stayed in the bar and got wrecked. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 There's a bar... You can get your nails done... ..and there are lessons in bending balloons....... ...and there's a bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravensdmufan Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Take a couple of small kits (to build in the cabin, not in the bar area - you'd get some very strange looks) - you know, the ones that have been in the "to do" drawer for all that time! Never waste valuable modelling time! (Just make sure you keep all the bits in a tray in case of a rough crossing!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Take a couple of small kits (to build in the cabin, not in the bar area - you'd get some very strange looks) Model making? --- beer? --- model making? --- beer?...... That's gonna be a tough choice... If I do have a couple of beers and the crossing is a bit rough, I very much doubt my ability to assemble even the simplest "snap-together" kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted December 19, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 19, 2017 It would seem Pete that you're either a driver or sailor. me?, I'm a car man. Modern Transits aren't the hell holes you seem to think they are, (and that's from me and I'm not a Dagenham Dustbin fan), but having spent some considerable time in a certain red Transit, I'd find it quite acceptable to drive down here in one. I broke the road trip down into 3 halves with 2 nights accomodation and treated it as a sight seeing trip, the highlight being the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans. Come down the middle route via the Somport tunnel and it's a relaxing drive, all motorway/dual carriageway standard. If you need a wingman I'd even consider flying back to assist, if only to save the carriage charge on the Plasticote! Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 If you need a wingman I'd even consider flying back to assist, if only to save the carriage charge on the Plasticote! I reckon we'll negotiate the P&P charge down to a beer by your pool. The van's not an issue. I'm at home in a MWB hi-roof Transit, it's just the distance that bothers me. I had to drive the wife's Citroen C3 shopping trolley 340 miles down to South London and back earlier this month and I hated it, although that probably says more about the car than the distance. I can see me having to do a couple of trips next year, so I may book the ferry for the first trip and then drive the whole way for the second. My "wingman" on Trip #1 will be 18yo son, so as he'll no doubt have his head buried in some portable tech for the entire trip... he'll be no good as a map reader, because him and his iPhone got us completely lost in Benidorm last year looking for the Cheeky Monkey bar near Levante beach... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 I reckon we'll negotiate the P&P charge down to a beer by your pool. The van's not an issue. I'm at home in a MWB hi-roof Transit, it's just the distance that bothers me. I had to drive the wife's Citroen C3 shopping trolley 340 miles down to South London and back earlier this month and I hated it, although that probably says more about the car than the distance. I can see me having to do a couple of trips next year, so I may book the ferry for the first trip and then drive the whole way for the second. My "wingman" on Trip #1 will be 18yo son, so as he'll no doubt have his head buried in some portable tech for the entire trip... he'll be no good as a map reader, because him and his iPhone got us completely lost in Benidorm last year looking for the Cheeky Monkey bar near Levante beach... 340 miles in the UK is a lot harder work than the equivalent distance in France, because (as long as you avoid Paris), traffic is much lighter. I have done Kent to Lyon (about 500 miles) many times on my own, whilst, when there are two of us in the car, we have driven from Northern Italy within a day. One good thing about the French autoroutes is that there are services every 20 miles or so, alternating between full-blown ones (though without the time restrictions we get in the UK) and ones that are just a parking and picnic spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcD Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 We were thinking of going to Brittany next year with a caravan and small people, we were thinking of doing Plymouth-St.Malo over driving from Dover. Would out taking the boat be better than driving with small people? Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wireman Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Hi Pete. I have made this crossing on several occasions. Plymouth - Santander, Portsmouth - Bilbao, Portsmouth - Santander and despite all horror stories, have never had rough weather across Biscay. ( Had very rough night across to St.Malo last year ). The Pont Aven is a much superior ship to the Cap Finistere, although at increased cost. Even with just two people travelling, always book four berth outside cabin, beeing able to see out makes a tremedous difference, especially if it is a little choppy. I believe the Portsmouth - Santander is only one night on Board, all features of both ships are on the Brittany web site with details of cabin types etc. If you are able to be flexible, mid week travel away from school holiday dates is always cheaper. One interesting and usefull thing about coming back through Santander is that vehicles are allowed into the ferry terminal early and passengers can the walk into town, which is literally through the gates and your there. There is on board entertainment, but in good weather a doze in the sun, long lunch, look for dolphins, couple of trips to the bars and the day passes quite quickly. My wife is not a good sailor, but it is not an unpleasant way to travel and delights in telling me about seeing a whale whilst I was off getting coffe or something. Hope this is of some interest . Have good crossing . Regards. Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Last February I did Perth to Melbourne to Perth in MrsB's Fiat Scudo (7000km round trip) and it really wasn't bad at all. I had MissB to assist on the outward journey but did the return solo in 3 longish days. Regular leg stretches, a decent selection of CDs (no radio reception over most of the great emptiness that is southern central Australia) and the rather civilised cabin of the Scudo made it quite pleasant really. We won't mention the speeding ticket on the last morning . Mind you, it did provide me with a useful alibi when. a week or two later I received an erroneous camera fine for my motorcycle, taken simultaneously with my booking 800 km away. Anyhow, depending on how you, personally, are with long distance driving in general, the run down through France needn't be too daunting. Driving might mean you can avoid Bilbao too. Always a bonus in my book, although it's 20+ years since I was there so it might have improved a bit since then . As you've already noted, driving vs ferry is quite comparable costwise. Back in the early 90s I was going by motorcycle to visit some friends in Asturias and worked out that taking the ferry Plymouth to Santander vs across the Channel and riding down worked out identical to within the margin of error on my fairly hazy estimates for petrol, food and camping fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted December 19, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 19, 2017 Having used Brittany Ferries to hop from Portsmouth to Caen this year, I have to say that they do have two cinemas, and there was entertainment for the kids in one lounge. I have to say the 7 hours went past quite tolerably, but I wouldn't want to do it again. I have no idea how you would fill that whole day, other than drinking yourself blind.... Andy G Normandie is being replaced on that route quite soon, so facilities will presumably improve. Normandie is to transfer to the Le Havre route. Food is better on Barfleur (Poole - Cherbourg) and the crossing much shorter. My next trip via that route is on 27 December. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted December 19, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 19, 2017 We were thinking of going to Brittany next year with a caravan and small people, we were thinking of doing Plymouth-St.Malo over driving from Dover. Would out taking the boat be better than driving with small people? Marc Depends where you are starting from. I tend to avoid Dover/Folkestone these days as, living in Dorset, it adds a lot of mileage to my journey (including the M25 ). Poole is just 40 minutes away and Portsmouth 90 minutes. The route across Picardie and Normandy by motorway is quite a pleasant drive and much of it is toll-free. But Portsmouth - St Malo or Plymouth - Roscoff overnight may be rather easier with small children involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welchester Posted December 19, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 19, 2017 We were thinking of going to Brittany next year with a caravan and small people, we were thinking of doing Plymouth-St.Malo over driving from Dover. Would out taking the boat be better than driving with small people? Marc Definitely better. There are very few Plymouth-St Malo sailings. The usual routes are Plymouth-Roscoff and Portsmouth-St Malo. Have done the latter many times travelling to the Vendée from the Midlands, and would always do so from choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 We were thinking of going to Brittany next year with a caravan and small people, we were thinking of doing Plymouth-St.Malo over driving from Dover. Would out taking the boat be better than driving with small people? Marc A lot of people living here in western France, or with holiday homes, tend to use the long sea crossings, often the one to Caen, if their UK origin/destination is in the Midlands, South West or North West or similar. But if you are located further east, or south east, I would prefer the drive from Calais through Normandy to Brittany any day over the drive down to Portsmouth or certainly Plymouth, whether with small humans or not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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