# Bilbao or Santander?



## Dunpleecin

Apart from the 32 hour cruise to Bilbao, there doesn't appear to be much difference in going to either Santander or Bilbao so I wondered what peoples thoughts were on whether either route was better than the other. We'll be driving down south when we get into Spain. I've done Santander before and it seemed straightforward and easy to get out of but never done Bilbao. Santander possibly adds more km to the journey but it depends on the route south so from that point of view not much difference. Prices are similar too.

Anyone have any strong preference either way?


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## Micksantacruz

32 hours ? where you sailing from ? I hope you trip is better than mine 24hrs from Plymouth and sea sick all the way. The seas were terrible. If your going south Bilboa is the better option faster roads and lovely views. We travelled to Portugal


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## Guest

I vote Bilbao... that way you get to pass through Vitoria-Gasteiz... it is located 1 hour South of Bilbao on the road to Madrid... and is the capital of País Vasco y one of my favorite towns in the world.


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## Mouton

*Bilbao*

We have done the Bilbao ferry/trip down to Southern Spain a few times and I think it is better than Santander. In fact, we are leaving from Portsmouth next Sunday (24th) via Roscoff en route to Bilbao, then to Alicante. It takes us a leisurely 7hr drive down there. You will drive right through the middle of Spain on the high plains, passing Zaragosa and a couple of thousand Wind turbines. There will be hardly any traffic, you can go for a few miles without passing any cars! Make sure you make a stop at one of the service stations along the way for a tapas, probably better fare at the Bilbao side, where you will get great Pintxos (Basque tapas) well worth the visit. And if you have any spare time when you arrive in Bilbao, make the trip to San Sebastián which must rank as one of the finest cities in the world, with a magnificent beach area as well. Any questions pls feel free to get in touch


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## Dunpleecin

Thanks for those. Looking like Bilbao at the moment then! The 32 hours is a cruise rather than a ferry and is a two night stop on the ship. That's the Sunday sailing.

Not sure what time we'll have as our car will be full of stuff we're moving over! But there's plenty of time to explore and discover Spain anyway!


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## Micksantacruz

Dunpleecin said:


> Thanks for those. Looking like Bilbao at the moment then! The 32 hours is a cruise rather than a ferry and is a two night stop on the ship. That's the Sunday sailing.
> 
> Not sure what time we'll have as our car will be full of stuff we're moving over! But there's plenty of time to explore and discover Spain anyway!


Lol I had the car full too even had the washing machine in the back


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## baldilocks

For me the most sensible option is to forget the ferries and seasickness, and take the tunnel, enjoy the drive down through France into Spain then pass round Madrid and on South. We have made the trip three times in both directions with no problems.


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## Dunpleecin

baldilocks said:


> For me the most sensible option is to forget the ferries and seasickness, and take the tunnel, enjoy the drive down through France into Spain then pass round Madrid and on South. We have made the trip three times in both directions with no problems.


Ah that's where opinion is possibly split Baldy as I quite like the ferry over. Also, it's cheaper in fuel as we're in the North West of England so going to the opposite side of the country in order to come back again doesn't add up.


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## Stravinsky

We used to go through France but for the past few years have gone from Portsmouth to Santander or Bilbao. Before P&O took off I would have said Santander was better ....... but now both are serviced by Brittany Ferries and there is little difference in the actual trip. However I would say Bilbao now every time, only because Santander adds an extra hour to our trip (travelling to Valencia Area). If you are heading directly south then not a lot of difference


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## baldilocks

Dunpleecin said:


> Ah that's where opinion is possibly split Baldy as I quite like the ferry over. Also, it's cheaper in fuel as we're in the North West of England so going to the opposite side of the country in order to come back again doesn't add up.


Would have thought that the cost of the ferry.... etc

However, an over-riding consideration for us is SWMBO gets "mal de mer"


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## Stravinsky

baldilocks said:


> Would have thought that the cost of the ferry.... etc
> 
> However, an over-riding consideration for us is SWMBO gets "mal de mer"


The cost of ferry v driving through France, ferry Portsmouth Bilbao wins. Costed it on more than one occasion and when you take hotels, tolls, fuel and wear & tear on 2500 miles, and the stress of 2.5 days driving .... ferry is a winner, albeit not hugely


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## Mouton

We travelled from Aberdeen via the tunnel and down Atlantic coast of France in July last year, but on the first day of the French school holidays, a bad time. Everybody was on the road that day, and all the service stations were packed out, toilets were shocking, and you had to keep an eye on your motor as the car parks were infested with dodgy characters only too eager to look in the windows to see what might be there for the taking. We couldn't wait to get out of France and into Spain. Ferry every time for us now.


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## Navas

baldilocks said:


> Would have thought that the cost of the ferry.... etc
> 
> However, an over-riding consideration for us is SWMBO gets "mal de mer"


Haven't driven from England in many years. In more recent years we've done the drive from Germany though! We normally take the long way around, passing south of Paris and then heading down past Bordeaux and into the Basque Country. From there, we normally have to pass Madrid, depending where we're heading (usually Andalucia or Extremadura) and then loop around back up to near Zaragoza to visit cousins, from there we drive across to the Costa Brava to stay with my mum for a few days before returning to Germany via Lyons. For us, the journey along with overnight stops en route in small hotels away from motorways, is a part of the holiday  
Sadly, due to personal circumstances, we haven't done this for the past couple of years. I miss it all so much!
Not sure I would want to take the ferry to either Santander or Bilbao even if we were to come from England with the car.


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## Mouton

You certainly lay down the rubber! I don't mind the driving but was just put off the France bit. Even when we stopped over in France lots of restaurants and places were closed for the holidays, high season too lol...looking forward to our trip over at the weekend tho


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## GallineraGirl

baldilocks said:


> Would have thought that the cost of the ferry.... etc
> 
> However, an over-riding consideration for us is SWMBO gets "mal de mer"


Try Biodramina cafeina tablets for the seasickness. They are only obtainable in Spain (there seems to be no English equivalent ) but work brilliantly for me. I have had no problems with several rough crossings.. Regarding the cost of the ferry if you are using it to go to England, after about three weeks it is cheaper than flying, if you have to hire a car there. Also, if you add in the costs of a couple of nights accommodation and petrol/tolls it is comparable with driving up through France. Of course you could avoid all toll roads and sleep in the car....


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## soldierboy001

As a regular user of this route I would say Santander if you are traveling to Benidorm or anywhere south of Benidorm, this is because of the cost of tolls, travelling west of Madrid until you get to Albacete and then across to Alacante and up to Benidorm, this will put an hour onto your journey time but save on the cost of fuel and tolls. If you are using sat nav then insert Murcia to get you to Albacete and then Benidorm or other when you get there.
Actually in January this year due to bad weather my boat was cancelled so I had it transferred to Portsmouth / St Marlo on the over night boat arriving in St Marlo at 08..15 and taking a not very fast journey making a few coffee stops I arrived in Benidorm at half after midnight. The costings for both journeys ( I went Santander ) were within pounds of each other.


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## Stravinsky

soldierboy001 said:


> As a regular user of this route I would say Santander if you are traveling to Benidorm or anywhere south of Benidorm, this is because of the cost of tolls, travelling west of Madrid until you get to Albacete and then across to Alacante and up to Benidorm, this will put an hour onto your journey time but save on the cost of fuel and tolls. If you are using sat nav then insert Murcia to get you to Albacete and then Benidorm or other when you get there.
> Actually in January this year due to bad weather my boat was cancelled so I had it transferred to Portsmouth / St Marlo on the over night boat arriving in St Marlo at 08..15 and taking a not very fast journey making a few coffee stops I arrived in Benidorm at half after midnight. The costings for both journeys ( I went Santander ) were within pounds of each other.


I'm confused. I've done these routes as well quite a few times. The route from Santander and Bilbao is more or less the same if you choose the straight dual carriageway drive which goes past Zaragoza. We don't do Santander now because it adds an hour to an already long journey. There would be very little saving on fuel, and the tolls iirc were only €25 before they went up

I've done St Malo as well and really enjoyed it as it gave us the chance to go through the Pyranees. The main difference of course is the wear and tear on the car and unless you go for the frantic one hit drive its two days of it and a hotel


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## soldierboy001

Stravinsky said:


> I'm confused. I've done these routes as well quite a few times. The route from Santander and Bilbao is more or less the same if you choose the straight dual carriageway drive which goes past Zaragoza. We don't do Santander now because it adds an hour to an already long journey. There would be very little saving on fuel, and the tolls iirc were only €25 before they went up
> 
> I've done St Malo as well and really enjoyed it as it gave us the chance to go through the Pyranees. The main difference of course is the wear and tear on the car and unless you go for the frantic one hit drive its two days of it and a hotel


The route past Zaragoza incurs 42euro in total toll charge and the Madrid route incurs a less than 2euro charge which gives me over half a tank of diesel or 500km of driving as I said the only penalty is the extra hour driving time of course if time is the essence take the shorter route.
Yes if you are going further south than Benidorm/Alicante then the drive does need a stop over depending on your landing time and how much further.
Wear and tear not a problem on modern cars and bringing a service a little bit nearer also not a problem. As I said I did not do a frantic drive from St Marlo and my satnav seemed to give my estimated arrival time as if I was doing 50MPH.

You pick your priorities and do it accordingly.


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## Stravinsky

soldierboy001 said:


> The route past Zaragoza incurs 42euro in total toll charge and the Madrid route incurs a less than 2euro charge which gives me over half a tank of diesel or 500km of driving as I said the only penalty is the extra hour driving time of course if time is the essence take the shorter route.
> Yes if you are going further south than Benidorm/Alicante then the drive does need a stop over depending on your landing time and how much further.
> Wear and tear not a problem on modern cars and bringing a service a little bit nearer also not a problem. As I said I did not do a frantic drive from St Marlo and my satnav seemed to give my estimated arrival time as if I was doing 50MPH.
> 
> You pick your priorities and do it accordingly.


OK understood, but the toll from Bilbao to Gandia is less than €30. It was around €25 when I did that journey in January, roughly 7 hours straight dual carriageway


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## soldierboy001

Stravinsky said:


> OK understood, but the toll from Bilbao to Gandia is less than €30. It was around €25 when I did that journey in January, roughly 7 hours straight dual carriageway [/QUOTE
> 
> It was 29euro something last December and the their is the 13euro something from Benidorm to almost Valencia not sure where as I was not taking in the sights.
> Everybody has their own reasons to go which way they want and I can ask 10 people on our site and they will all give different routes, but this has been a very interesting thread.
> P.S. That dual carriageway was a motorway wasn't it and got a bit hairy around Zaragoza and that's from me who finds the perifice around Paris easy and also millions of miles under my belt as a military driver and HGV driver.


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## zenkarma

baldilocks said:


> For me the most sensible option is to forget the ferries and seasickness, and take the tunnel, enjoy the drive down through France into Spain then pass round Madrid and on South. We have made the trip three times in both directions with no problems.


Baldi

What is the approximate cost of this in terms of petrol, road tolls and channel tunnel fees?


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## baldilocks

zenkarma said:


> Baldi
> 
> What is the approximate cost of this in terms of petrol, road tolls and channel tunnel fees?


Can't remember now, it was almost 5 years ago.


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## zenkarma

baldilocks said:


> Can't remember now, it was almost 5 years ago.


Bah!


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