Anyone done Portsmouth to Bilbao ferry?

[mzmum]

Hi, have mad idea to do the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao this summer which would mean just 300 miles driving to our campsite in the Dordogne rather than the 600 miles we did last year.

It wasn't toooo bad but we had to do an overnight stop with 2 young children & this year I thought it might be fun to do the ferry. It's a 21.15 departure arriving 2 days later at 8.00am so pretty convenient. We are only an hour from Portsmouth too. There's loads of entertainment on board, you get an ensuite cabin but it would cost us about £200 more in travel.

Worth it or not? Has anyone done it? Thanks.

I remember doing it when i was younger. My mum and dad took me on the same route. Was ok, cabins are cramped (especially if you dont pay for a window!) extra beds are above your head (like bunk beds) as they drop down from the wall. Still not such a bad thing, it was just the sea legs afterwards! I felt like i was on a boat for 2 days after we got off at Bilbao.

I know somone who has - lots and lots of puking up. And this was in August. Bay of Biscay can be rough. I've been tempted but that was enough to confirm why I couldn't do it.

I did it for Christmas and New year once before the kids were born. It was very, very rough on the sea but I was fine. I wore sea bands which may or may not have helped but it was awful. Walking along you were swaying from one side to the other, as was everyone else. Looking out the back window of the ship it was full of sea at one point and then all you could see was sky as it was so rough. At night you could hear the ship crashing down with each movement, which can be scary but depends how you are with ships I guess.

It was probably the worst time of year to do it but was manageable imo, for me at the time. I wouldn't do it with children though. Then had a drive to Lisbon from Bilbao. Did the same on the way back.

There was a cinema on board, shops, restaurants, bars, casino etc. Small cabins, very small.

Mmmmmmmm, thanks for your thoughts. Not so sure now whether it's a good idea with kids. Have heard from elsewhere that it can be very rough too. Could be a nightmare..... Might have to grit my teeth and get on with the long drive again!

Though I have also noticed something called Autotrain where you pop your car on the train at Paris and meet it at Bordeaux - brilliant!!!

I would contact the tourist boards and see if they have any advice.

I think nothing beats the views when driving over the Pyrenees. We used to drive round Europe a lot and going through the mountains was my favourite part as a child.

I look back on it now and realise how lucky i was with the amount of places i saw when driving round, you dont see much on a boat.

Hi,

Not sure if it still is, but last time we did this about 10 years ago it was a real party ship, full of stag and hen weekends. don't remember this being a problem (this was before kids for us) but it did have a reputation for wild weekends.

bay of Biscay can be a nightmare, even the crew were throwing up on our journey last year!