Ferry from Santander or Bilbao Spain

Why? Brittany Ferries wants almost five hundred bucks from Bilbao to the UK. It takes about twenty-four hours. Easyjet will do it in two hours for sixty bucks, plus the junk fees. Plus the Bay of Biscay can get a bit lumpy even at the best time of year.

The reason why is because it's a car ferry. If you want to go from Britain to Spain (or vice versa) and want to take your own car with lots of luggage for a self-catering holiday, then it's a good native to a shorter ferry trip and a long drive. The ships used are large and comfortable, so it is much like a short cruise.

We did it with our 48 students in September of 2001 when our college would not let us fly to our next destination and we wanted to go to the southern part of Europe and continue our trip. We were thrilled to find out about the ferry to Spain. A coach dropped us off at the port in the UK, we walked on to the ferry and different coach picked us up in Spain. I know this is a little bit different from the average walk on reason. The ferry crossing was very rough, more than half of our group couldn't make it out of their rooms the entire trip. They told us that we were following a hurricane down the coast of France...For those of us who could stay on our feet, we were confined to the inside because of the weather but the the ship was very well appointed, much like a cruise ship as already stated. There was a theater, casino, restaurants, and dance floor. Those who were not sea sick in our group really enjoyed it. I do not recall the cost but it wasn't that expensive for a walk on passenger then and we weren't allowed to fly.

Why as a foot passenger? Five hundred bucks a day is pretty stiff for a cruise. 'the Bay of Biscay can get a bit lumpy even at the best time' ........ ' the ferry crossing was very rough, more than half of our group couldn't make it out of their rooms the entire trip' But if you want to do it, leaving from Santander is probably cheaper, but probably a bit harder to get to from the rest of Spain. Also, it's pretty much the pits. I know both cities well, Bilbao has more to offer. Nothing against BF, I've ridden them off and on - - but to me, a ferry ride is something to endure, certainly not a highlight for which I'd dump my wallet. And, dollars to donuts, there's never been a hurricane in the Bay of Biscay. Storms with hurricane-force winds, sure, but the water's too darn cold to support a storm with circular motion.