Plymouth or Portsmouth to Santander

[POH]

Hi all, looking at booking ferry to Santander mid April , got 2 choices see attached , question is which is the better option , Direct Ferries or Brittany ferries both ship wise and cost, maybe someone can tell me the discount fare ??? or where i can get the discount from?? we will be very grateful for any pointers .

 

[Chris]

I tend to choose whichever port the Pont Aven sails from. In my opinion its the best ship although I haven't been on the new one.


Portsmouth is easier to get to for me but I will drive to Plymouth if needs be.

As for the discount code you may need to post a new thread seeking that and I am sure you will quickly get a response.

 

[carolyn]

I’m like Chris, go from either, Pont Aven is nicer but if price is better we go for Cap Finistere. I’ve sent you a code for 10% off. Not tried new boat yet .

 

[franknjan]

Pm sent

 

[franknjan]

With regard to the crossings. I've noticed that for later in 2022 all crossings from Portsmouth to Bilbao are all 2 nighters.
Plymouth to Santander are 1 night.

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[TDub49]

Hi all, looking at booking ferry to Santander mid April , got 2 choices see attached , question is which is the better option , Direct Ferries or Brittany ferries both ship wise and cost, maybe someone can tell me the discount fare ??? or where i can get the discount from?? we will be very grateful for any pointers .

Brittany Ferries - join Club Voyage? Depending on how often you plan on crossing it can easily pay for itself after the first year in terms of savings on fares and on board.

 

[mikebeaches]

Usually a much shorter crossing from Plymouth than from Portsmouth, whether to Santander or Bilbao.

We're slightly nearer Plymouth, so it's our preferred departure port, but not too big a deal if we have to use Portsmouth.

And yes, Pont Aven is our preferred ferry, though haven't tried the Galicia yet...

 

[Millcourt]

There is only one company operating a ferry service from UK to Spain. This is Brittany Ferries. Direct Ferries is a booking agency who MAY be offering a small discount, but check the ticket flexibility constraints in case you need to amend or cancel. Our experience is that it is probably best to book directly with Brittany Ferries and in this Covid time we choose the slightly more expensive Flexi ticket option.

If you make more than one return crossing a year, it is almost certainly advantageous to join the Club Voyage. As well as getting a 30% discount on the passage costs (not the Cabin costs) you also get a allowance towards on board food…… but check this out carefully as the benefits currently on offer are not quite as generous as previously (which are maintained for existing members when renewing). If you are going to be a very infrequent traveller on this route, just take advantage of the 10% discount you have been offered by other Club Voyage members.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Our Preferred route is (or was) Portsmouth - Bilbao on Cap Finistere, 24 hours approximately.

Pont Aven is being replaced in march 2022 by "Salamanca" the CNG powered sister ship to Galicia.

We have travelled on Galicia, twice and did not like anything about it.

So I have re-booked this years crossing from Galicia, Portsmouth - Santander to Plymouth - Santander on Pont Aven.

Pont Aven is a Nice ship, but not sure how much longer BF intend to keep her on that route. The crossing is around 17 hours or so, depends on the weather etc.

So,

Portsmouth - Bilbao or Santander Approximately 30-33.5 hours
Plymouth - Santander Approximately 17 hours.

If any of my Friends want a Discount Code, please PM me.

 

[Simon Meadwell]

Yep Galicia a poor relation to Pont Aven and Cap Finistere imo

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[cmcardle75]

With regard to the crossings. I've noticed that for later in 2022 all crossings from Portsmouth to Bilbao are all 2 nighters.
Plymouth to Santander are 1 night.

Having taken this ferry (mine docked in Roscoff? to swap crew), I can heartily recommend it. You can drive down at a reasonable time of day and arrive in the evening in time to relax. When you arrive in Spain, its nicely in the morning, ready for the day's drive in time to get to a destination before it closes. There's no additional waiting time on the ship compared to a standard crossing, the extra time is spent asleep. Although I was trepidatious when booking it, I would now seek out this itinery, assuming it still goes to the same timetable and isn't much more expensive.

 

[Lucky]

I would avoid Direct Ferries (or any agency for that matter) and book with the ferry company. No doubt DF are nice people but from memory they work regular office hours which can ge a problem if it's Sunday afternoon and you need to change your crossing.

 

[POH]

Up date, all booked now Plymouth to Santander end of April many thanks to all the funsters who gave me the discount code , hope you are ready for all the questions on where to stay , not into wild camping, so any camp sites names ,places , would be great.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Our Preferred route is (or was) Portsmouth - Bilbao on Cap Finistere, 24 hours approximately.

Pont Aven is being replaced in march 2022 by "Salamanca" the CNG powered sister ship to Galicia.

We have travelled on Galicia, twice and did not like anything about it.

So I have re-booked this years crossing from Galicia, Portsmouth - Santander to Plymouth - Santander on Pont Aven.

Pont Aven is a Nice ship, but not sure how much longer BF intend to keep her on that route. The crossing is around 17 hours or so, depends on the weather etc.

So,

Portsmouth - Bilbao or Santander Approximately 30-33.5 hours
Plymouth - Santander Approximately 17 hours.

If any of my Friends want a Discount Code, please PM me.

My apologies, I just read my post.

Sorry, it’s Cap Finistere that is being replaced by Salamanca on the Bilbao route. Hence the (or was) in my post

 

[Peter Goadby]

I live near Plymouth so a no brainer for me. Join their club to get great discounts on fares plus free breakfasts

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[Lyrick]

Brittany Ferries - join Club Voyage? Depending on how often you plan on crossing it can easily pay for itself after the first year in terms of savings on fares and on board.

Check out the new Terms and Conditions for Club Voyage. The discounts have changed for new joiners and vary for different times of the year.

Might not make it worthwhile on some crossings.

Patrick

 

[Popty]

We (wife and l + our trusty rv) are booked on the Salamanca, Portsmouth-Bilbao, 28th April, arrive in Bilbao Saturday morning 30th, any other rvoc members travelling on the same sailing???

 

[Dorwyn]

It u

With regard to the crossings. I've noticed that for later in 2022 all crossings from Portsmouth to Bilbao are all 2 nighters.
Plymouth to Santander are 1 night.

It used to stop at Roscoff overnight to change crews I think

 

[Landyguy]

What are rough costs please

 

[Mikeco]

What are rough costs please

It’s easier to go on the Brittany Ferries website and do a dummy booking, just put in all your details and stop when you reach the payment page.

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[Mike Rivers]

Firstly, have done trips from Portsmouth and Plymouth. There is (or can be) a price variation between say Direct Ferries (or AFerry) and booking directly through Brittany Ferries so explore all options. One company will let you pay deposit with bal due closer to sailing while another will require full monies upfront so be aware. Finally in 2020 (first year of COVID) we’d already booked with AFerry but had to change return crossing as original had cancelled. It would have been easier had we booked directly with the ferry operator (in this case Brittany Ferries) as organising refund and transferring to different sailing was challenging as in we were trying to deal with Brittany Ferries through AFerry. So in summary there are no rights and wrongs but best advice is to be aware of best deal at time of booking and whether full payment or deposit only required at time of booking. This year coming we’ve already booked a Portsmouth > St Malo return trip via Direct Ferries. I could have gone through Brittany Ferries direct but cost saving was significant and outweighed any consideration I might have had regarding paying deposit only through Brittany Ferries.

 

[Gunn1707]

If you’re a member of the Motorhome and Caravan club they do a discount on all ferries and the Eurotunnel