Help to plan ferry and accommodation from uk to Spain please!

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Hi everyone, any pros on travelling from south uk to Spain by ferry please? A one night ferry stay would be better, and taking our car with 7 of us in it so ideally only want to drive up to 2 hours on arrival.
We would like to stay in a villa with a pool and close enough to sandy beaches for the children to swim and with bars/shops for the older teens. Obviously we will have our car so we can drive off to water parks and other beaches. Any tips on companies to use for a nice villa or even on a villa complex? Thanks so much!

Budget isn’t too important, and ideally to drive up to 2 hours maximum once in Spain

Maybe consider the Plymouth to Santander ferry route which is an overnight 24 hour trip. Then you are approx 2 hours away from San Sebastián.

I can't advise on specific accommodation, but we thought that San Sebastián was stunning when we visited last year.

San Sebastian is brilliant if you want a city, we have also stayed in Llanes in Asturias which has stunning beaches and isn't long drive to the mountains. Happy to be corrected but I don't think the north has the big waterparks like south, I've never seen one in 3 visits. The north is about food, beaches and gorgeous landscapes for me!

Be aware weather very much not guaranteed in northern Spain! We were there last week and it was humid and overcast some days. We've also been in June and had a lot of rain.

2h from Santander won’t get you the type of heat you’d get in Andalucía or even Catalunya. The north coast is beautiful but quite wet even in summer. I’m guessing you want to be near the coast? Otherwise you could head inland to somewhere like Burgos but I’m not sure how warm it gets?

Not sure if you’ve done it before but the ferry trip can be a bit rough going through the Bay of Biscay…..

We travelled Portsmouth-Santander route and there was certainly enough to keep my 7yo occupied on board. I'm prone to seasickness but it was fine for me.

We don't do the Portsmouth to Santander ferry anymore as we've had too many awful crossings. We do Portsmouth to Caen and take our time getting to our final destination on the southern Spanish coast. We are away for 6-8 weeks so the trip down is usually a week or so and a bit quicker back as the weather deteriorates in the autumn.
If you've only got 2 or 3 weeks it looks like you'll need to risk the Bay of Biscay and stay in northern Spain. There's some great resorts but it's definitely more expensive than the costas and the weather totally different as others have said.

You’d have to drive further than two hours really to find the beach/villa Mediterranean sounding holiday that you want. You’d really need to be north east side of Spain to find the type of resort you’re looking for but obviously not boat accessible from UK!
Hopefully someone has been in a similar place that can advise you.