Santander or Bilbao? (1 Viewer)

Welsh girl

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Don't know which port to come back from when we come back from Portugal in April. Which is best please?
Price is same but timings better
will it still be cold in Northern Spain in April?
 

Theonlysue

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Not long enough!
More shops at Santander. Bilbao us just a port with nothing to do.
 

vwalan

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early april can be chilly but normally ok . we use santander ideally outwards and return . but it seems might have to be portsmouth out as plymouth seems to stop 14oct.
santander is a far easier place than bibao. better to avoid that traffic area .

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Brisey

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It will be Bilbao for us this year. It is about 60 miles nearer to our destination and we can also overnight on the quayside.

Brisey.
 
Dec 29, 2012
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Brisey, as a seasoned traveller, do you know if it is cheaper to book direct with Brittany Ferries or CC club.
As this will be our first winter abroad, I am getting over excited and desperate to book.
Thanks
David.
 
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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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I booked through cc&c club after looking at the prices it was the same. The only thing is I can pay the whole thing by tesco cc card therefore getting me tesco points as apposed to paying through BF they charge £5 to use a credit card.
ps . They will give me 7% off my return fare as I have used them for my trip there.

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Dec 30, 2008
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Brisey, as a seasoned traveller, do you know if it is cheaper to book direct with Brittany Ferries or CC club.
As this will be our first winter abroad, I am getting over excited and desperate to book.
Thanks
David.


Struggling to book at the moment on-line booking down at C/C which is usually cheaper

Sue
 
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Quoted £5 more last time by C&CC, it covered the credit card charge from BF. Keep us posted, discussed with carefree who were adamant that they charged the same as BF. Paid with debit card in the end to BF.:(
 

Brisey

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Brisey, as a seasoned traveller, do you know if it is cheaper to book direct with Brittany Ferries or CC club.
As this will be our first winter abroad, I am getting over excited and desperate to book.
Thanks
David.

I have only used Brittany Ferries to Spain twice. On both occasions I booked direct with Brittany Ferries. There are a few friendly Funsters who may be prepared to supply you with a discount code if you ask nicely.

On the one occasion I booked a crossing from Portsmouth to Caen through the C&CC. I had to come home a few days early and phoned C&CC to amend the booking. They wanted an extra £140 which was more than I had originally paid. Not surprisingly I turned their offer down. I drove to the port and changed the booking directly with Brittany Ferries, cost was €40.
Brisey.

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Chris

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I usually prefer Santander but last time I drove into Santander it was a public holiday and it was chaotic.

Avoid on a public holiday.
 
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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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Thanks brisey I'll take note of that if I have to change booking
 
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I have only used Brittany Ferries to Spain twice. On both occasions I booked direct with Brittany Ferries. There are a few friendly Funsters who may be prepared to supply you with a discount code if you ask nicely.

On the one occasion I booked a crossing from Portsmouth to Caen through the C&CC. I had to come home a few days early and phoned C&CC to amend the booking. They wanted an extra £140 which was more than I had originally paid. Not surprisingly I turned their offer down. I drove to the port and changed the booking directly with Brittany Ferries, cost was €40.
Brisey.


Just spoke to caravan club after holding for 10 mins:sleep: they eventually informed me that they don't have prices from Brittany till later today.....:rolleyes:

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Dec 29, 2012
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Just tried to book using guest code. Was told to phone, phoned and was told that code had been used more than 15 times and was no longer valid.
Please, has anyone got a new/newish code.
David
 

DBK

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Just tried to book using guest code. Was told to phone, phoned and was told that code had been used more than 15 times and was no longer valid.
Please, has anyone got a new/newish code.
David
That's interesting. First time I've heard of that but it was always on the cards I suppose and is the reason I wouldn't give out my club number to anyone but family. Call me miserable if you like but once you have given out your number you don't know who it might be passed on to.

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Dec 29, 2012
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Thanks to Geejay, now sorted.
Many thanks for all replies.

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Oct 30, 2008
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Came back from Bilbao with Brittany Ferries early this year. There is a very good restaurant at Puerto Zierbena, about a mile from the port.
Mainly fish. Gambas with garlic to die for!!
 
Jan 16, 2013
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Heading down to Spain again this winter via Bilbao same as last year. The benefit of traveling via Bilbao is that the ferry arrives early morning (every other sailing) enabling you to get some distance without stopping for the night. We can make it to southern Spain by early evening on one hop.
 
D

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Does anyone know how many pet friendly cabins the ferries on either of the Portsmouth routes have and how quickly they sell out? I've looked at a few random dates and those cabins come up as sold out on all of them.

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makems

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Just tried to book using guest code. Was told to phone, phoned and was told that code had been used more than 15 times and was no longer valid.
Please, has anyone got a new/newish code.
David
There was a change in their terms I think this year. In the past it didn't matter how many times the code was used but the member would only get their bonus fee a max of 15 Times.
Now the code can only be used a max of 15 times.
 

makems

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Re which is best: we've done both ports a few times and for us it's Bilbao every time. Easy in, easy out,straight off the motorway. There is a motorway service station just before the ferry exit (if coming from the West) which has LPG so you can top up with diesel and LPG at Spanish prices before boarding. You can overnight on the dock either before boarding or after disembarking if it's late. Just a few miles away is a huge out of town retail,park with Lidl, Aldi, Mercadona and Carrefour. Ideal for topping up on cheap plonk and beer on your way home. There is a free parking spot on a hill overlooking the city (used to be a chargeable aire but now free) with a bus stop outside to take you into the city for sightseeing (the Guggenheim museum is a must see).
Santander you have to drive through city traffic which can be deadly depending on the time of day and you can't overnight at the port. Not very easy to park anywhere in a Motorhome if you want to see the city. Ended up driving round city streets to find supermarkets to stock up (although admittedly there might be more accessible ones somewhere).
 

Geejay

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Does anyone know how many pet friendly cabins the ferries on either of the Portsmouth routes have and how quickly they sell out? I've looked at a few random dates and those cabins come up as sold out on all of them.

If you look on the BF website and check the info on the ferries you'll find the number of pet-friendly cabins listed. Only on Cap Finistere (17) and Etretat (13) on the Spain route.

I think they sell out pretty quickly but it's always worth checking from time to time as there may be cancellations. Last Dec while on the Pont Aven en route I checked our return date and found Cap Finistere still had a pet-friendly cabin available so I phoned up and managed to change our booking.

PM me if you want a discount code.

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