# bilboa - portsmouth



## pg1710 (Jul 19, 2010)

Hello,

Would just like to know if anyone has used this service and if it was any good. I think it departs bilboa on a saturday at 2045 the boat is capp finnishere (spellings probally wrong), also roughly how long a drive from denia to bilboa and can anyone recommend a good route as there is a bit of difference on via michelin , rac, tom tom ,etc


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

pg1710 said:


> Hello,
> 
> Would just like to know if anyone has used this service and if it was any good. I think it departs bilboa on a saturday at 2045 the boat is capp finnishere (spellings probally wrong), also roughly how long a drive from denia to bilboa and can anyone recommend a good route as there is a bit of difference on via michelin , rac, tom tom ,etc


Hi

I wasn´t aware anyone now went to Bilbao since P&O terminated the route.. Which operator is that? I presume Brittany?

I have driven many times on that route and always follow Tom Tom. With breaks your talking 8-10 hours if memory serves me correctly to get down to Denia. Although it will sound rediculous I don´t have a clue what route we took I just listen to the woman and obey but the drive is pleasant and you´ll do it in a day!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Brittany Ferries - mv Cap Finistère Overview

The above link might help,

Hepa


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Hepa said:


> Brittany Ferries - mv Cap Finistère Overview
> 
> The above link might help,
> 
> Hepa


That looks fancy doesnt it Hepa! I want a go!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> That looks fancy doesnt it Hepa! I want a go!


I think it was the P&O ferry, Pride of Bilbao, but yes very posh!

Hepa


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Hepa said:


> I think it was the P&O ferry, Pride of Bilbao, but yes very posh!
> 
> Hepa


the pride of bilbao was easily recognised by its flat end (so to speak). I think that ship is now out of service. P&O told me that it had come to the end of its serviceable life before it needed a major overhaul and the cost woudl be too much which is why they didnt renew the lease.

Wherever that one has come from it looks the part!

Sad really because that was a good vessel. It was build to break ice so handled the unpredictable biscay bay very well (compared to the Pont Avon which I used a few times and in bad weather seemed to get tossed around like a dhingy!)


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## pg1710 (Jul 19, 2010)

Brittany ferries now do santander 3 times a week and bilboa twice a week i believe. I thought the drive would be 8-10 hours but i'm not going to avoid toll roads so hopefully a bit quicker, flying just isn't an option with 2 disabled children and a disabled adult (pesky arthritis and thats 1 of the children)


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

pg1710 said:


> Brittany ferries now do santander 3 times a week and bilboa twice a week i believe. I thought the drive would be 8-10 hours but i'm not going to avoid toll roads so hopefully a bit quicker, flying just isn't an option with 2 disabled children and a disabled adult (pesky arthritis and thats 1 of the children)


The tolls aren´t that bad on that route anyway... I tend to use toll roads for long hauls. Much of the route I took was toll free anyway.

You probably are aware of this but when you book your ferry tell them you have disabled passengers, and again when you check in. They will tell you to put your hazards on as you embark the ship but you will then get parked in a good location close to a lift... every little helps !


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## pg1710 (Jul 19, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> The tolls aren´t that bad on that route anyway... I tend to use toll roads for long hauls. Much of the route I took was toll free anyway.
> 
> You probably are aware of this but when you book your ferry tell them you have disabled passengers, and again when you check in. They will tell you to put your hazards on as you embark the ship but you will then get parked in a good location close to a lift... every little helps !


Nope i didn't know that, thanks for that tip, I'm driving from calais coming out but going back via bilboa, wasn't meant to be like that but what the hell in for a penny and all that, The route from calais has me going through paris and thats the bit that i'm most concerned about as i know it's just as bad as m25 rush hour


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

pg1710 said:


> Nope i didn't know that, thanks for that tip, I'm driving from calais coming out but going back via bilboa, wasn't meant to be like that but what the hell in for a penny and all that, The route from calais has me going through paris and thats the bit that i'm most concerned about as i know it's just as bad as m25 rush hour


Same applies on the calais ferry re the disabled passengers! P&O are particularly good at this!

Paris ring road is hell... I have done it 3 or 4 times but never like it. Having said that, its only a small part of the journey so enjoy it... it will be an experience! You can avoid it and do more of a west coast route.. again dont ask me how... my ex used to work out the routes, i just did the driving and lsitened to tom tom!


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## pg1710 (Jul 19, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> Same applies on the calais ferry re the disabled passengers! P&O are particularly good at this!
> 
> Paris ring road is hell... I have done it 3 or 4 times but never like it. Having said that, its only a small part of the journey so enjoy it... it will be an experience! You can avoid it and do more of a west coast route.. again dont ask me how... my ex used to work out the routes, i just did the driving and lsitened to tom tom!


I think it's an experience that i'll try to avoid, the west coast route i beleive is calais to rouen to chartres then down to millau at least i hope as thats my stopover point


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

I think we went Roeuon, Nantes, Bordeaux, did an overnight in Bayonne and crossed into Spain over that way and did Pamploma, Zaragoza and that way. There was an amazing stretch of new Spanish motorway that was a couple of hundred miles long (at least) and we never saw another soul apart from at the one and only service station. I remember the temperatures being above 40 but it was a beautiful drive!


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## pg1710 (Jul 19, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> I think we went Roeuon, Nantes, Bordeaux, did an overnight in Bayonne and crossed into Spain over that way and did Pamploma, Zaragoza and that way. There was an amazing stretch of new Spanish motorway that was a couple of hundred miles long (at least) and we never saw another soul apart from at the one and only service station. I remember the temperatures being above 40 but it was a beautiful drive!


That's another one that i'm after, are there plenty of service stations on route, i mean is it likle over here with motorway services every 30-40 miles, i know they're dearer but once i've actually arrived at destination then thats when i'll get more adventurous. I'm only going via millau as that's the way sat nav kept putting me and it looked fairly straightforward route.


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