Is it a crazy idea to get a car ferry to Spain from Southampton?!

[lavenderpekins]

Hi family of 5 in August dc's would be 8, 5 and 3 cost of return ferry is around £900-£1k. Half our budget! not had a hot holiday in years and desperate for one.. Can anyone recommend somewhere to stay in Spain? I know its a long shot! Crazy as it sounds quite like the idea of travelling to Spain by boat! We 'd love a villa if poss! Thanks

might be cheaper to drive a bit further a pick up the boat in Plymouth. then camp? there used to be a great spot just past santander near a place called Sant Vicente..
here it is www.campingelrosal.com/
jsut googling it for you brings back very happy memories, if camping is a nightmare for you i expect that coast is cheaper than the Med

Thanks so much sofio308 for your link.. I can't face camping but they do have little bungalows.. But for 4 people. Will contact them though! So northern spanish coast is nice?! I've never been to Spain..! i'd love a quiet laid back pace preferably with no english fish and chip shops iyswim?! Anymore recommendations?! I NEED a nice warm/hot sunny holiday this summer or i may have to leave my family and run away (somewhere hot)

Yes, crazy. It goes through the Bay of Biscay, where the weather can be diabolical. Seasick central.

Really?! Even in August? Have you done it notnowImreading?

do they still go to spain from soton - i'm not sure they do.

Portsmouth, not Southampton.

Not crazy, an adventure! You could also get to sw France that way...

Portsmouth is even closer to us thanks Jenijena! Any recommendations for sw France?! Sorry i know I can google but I've spent every evening this week googling and reading resort descriptions! My 8 yr old is keen to experience somewhere other than France.. Managed northern France 2 yrs ago and it rained please i'm desperate

Ps i can't actually believe people spend nearly 10k on a 2 week all inclusive Thompson holiday!!! Who are they?! Do they save for years ?!

We took the car ferry from Santander to Portsmouth, overnight. It was a lovely journey, really enjoyed it. The Bay of Biscay is fantastic for sealife, we even saw a pod of dolphins.

We definitly plan on doing it again.

My husband does this trip fairly regularly, yes it can be rocky, but unlikely in August, and it's a nice relaxed way to travel, some of the boats are like small cruise ships - and you can pack as much as you like and don't need to hire a car. Flights and car hire would probably cost as much or even more so I would go for it - sorry I can't help with accommodation there as we live in the Algarve

Ooh thanks for the encouragement kelda and costacoffeeplease! Good to know its worth it if I now scour the internet for a week!

I've not done it personally, but my family are from the north of Spain and some of them do the Plymouth/santander crossing.

The north coast is just gorgeous, but it's not always guaranteed sunshine. August should be ok, but you sometimes get weather fronts across Galicia. Santiago is one of my favourite places in the world.

You can also sail to Bilbao - the Basque Country is also stunning. San Sebastian is beautiful, but pricey. Worth a visit if you're nearby.

We did St Nazaire-Gijon in Northern Spain in Feb - it was fine, not rocky at all. It was with LD lines and cost about £250 including cabins - brilliant price and a great experience. Sorry I can't recommend anywhere to stay as we drove down into Portugal which was great too.

We did Portsmouth to Santander and back - was fine. The ferry even had a little swimming pool on board.

We stayed in a cottage in a little village in Asturias, the only thing we wished was that we had chosen somewhere nearer the coast because the beaches were fantastic. Weather was great for us, but it's true that it can be stormy or windy.

Not sure when you have plans to book for but normally in Spring time there is a National Ferry fortnight -I think it is March this year. You should have a google on past ones to see if it is worth holding off booking until then-there are usually discounts and sometimes free child crossings and other offers.

camping playa joyel friends did the Plymouth/Santander ferry and stayed here in a mobile home thing. Said it was great!

I've contemplated that trip quite often and not yet bitten the bullet. Could I suggest Italy. There are lots of airports and I've found as a consequence flights are better value, esp midweek to midweek.

it can be very friskay in the bay of biskay

Done a couple of portsmouth to Bilbao crossings, quite enjoyed them but they are long! And we seemed to spend quite a lot of money just to pass the time. A coffee here and there, a few drinks, dinner and breakfasts, trip to cinema. Plus the price of the cabin. Both trips were calm and saw dolphins, whales.

We got the boat back from Spain last year and this year are taking it both ways. We paid for one of the outside cabins with kettle & tv, which we really appreciated. LD lines now provide a service which is cheaper but I think they may be smaller ships with less facilities.

The Northern Atlantic cost of Spain is beautiful and very different from the South. Camping Playa Joyel has a fantastic beach for young children and older ones.

We went on the Santander ferry last year with 3 dc. I'd been putting it off for years because of horror stories about storms, but it was calm and lovely both ways. Really pleasant travelling, my dc like it better than plane or car as they can run around.

We camped in the Pyrenees and the Picos de Europa. We had booked to stay at Playa Joyel but we hated it - very crowded and noisy. We prefer the wilder spaces or low key campsites without all the karioke activities. There is nicer coast as you go further west and east from Santander.

how long does it take?

It depends on the ship but usually 21-24 hours

Did the trip in July a couple of years ago, nightmare crossing - hated every second of it! Sorry.