Jazzyman01

Hi

I am looking to drive to Portugal on 26 May.

Looking at the ferry prices the Santander is quite expensive, but limits my driving, whereas the UK/France ferries cheaper, but driving further.

Can anyone let me have their experience of the travel either via Santander or France please?

Realise that the cost of the petrol has to be added to the France journey, anyone any idea of current cost of fuel in France?

Finally (hopefully) I believe that there as some changes regarding taking vehicles to/through France and the gendarmes are pouncing on unsuspecting tourists with great enthusiasm (extra revenue easily come by) does anyone know what they are?

Thanks very much in advance.

J

Titleist

Hi have a look on page 2, there is a thread "max where are you", there is lots of info there

Titleist

Regards the changes to vehicles, I think it is things like triangles, hi vis jackets and the like, which are not law here but are abroad, perhaps someone like the AA would have info on that

Golfister

Jazzyman - we have just come back from doing the trip, via Eurotunnel and driving through France. You just need to have a triangle and a very attractive flourescent vest for each passenger (you can buy them at the tunnel or ferry terminals if you need to).

We've done a tally up of what it cost compared to what we would have had to pay for flights at Easter and 3 weeks car hire, and it actually worked out pretty much the same, even taking into account tolls and overnight stops.

We actually really enjoyed it and will be repeating the experience when we go again in September. I think it's worth it for stays of 3 weeks or more, not sure if I'd do it for a shorter time than that though.

Jazzyman01

Thank you both for the information. Much appreciated. I have a triangle and hiviz jackets so will remember to take them with me.

We have only got a week as I have hired a van to move furniture and need to get it back.

I think I will definitely use the France route for a longer holiday trip. Did it take you long?

Note that you were travelling from Chesterfield, so it would have been about 45 mins longer than my journey as I live at junction 23 of M1.

Thanks again to both of you.

J

j1mbo

Jazzyman01, we've made the Santander crossing 13 times, the last one being the permanent move to the Algarve a few years ago. We worked it out that comparing flying and car hire to driving, ferry, fuel, a one night stop in Guarda on some trips, the Santander route was a no cost option. True. No cost.

We would come to PT with the car laden with belongings which would be left here, then fill the car with wine and booze and head back to the UK after our 10 day break. The money we saved (the exchange rate was a tad bit better then) compared to what the same alcohol would cost in the UK paid for the trip.

Whether this would work for you depends on how much (if) you drink and the rate you could get for your Pounds. Boa viagem.

Golfister

Hi again Jazzyman. Yep, like Jimbo, we also loaded the car up with vino on our return journey, some from Portugal, some from Calais, and even taking into account the exchange rate now, we still got some good bargains.

We made three stops each way, but only because time wasn't an issue for us and we didn't want to drive too long each day, but we could quite easily have done it quicker had we wanted/needed to. On the way down, we stayed two nights in Salamanca, just to have a day there to look round. Apart from that we stopped near Rouen and Bordeaux. On the return leg, we stopped in Valladolid, a small B&B near to Angouleme and then Calais.

brodev

I have done almost every combination of ferry to France, Spain and Belgium in order to find the optimum way of doing this journey. My preference is to arrive in Santander. I cannot go to Bilbao as I cannot take my dog there. It is not just extra petrol coming through France but I have hotel costs and meal costs and extra wear and tear on me.
For France you need 1 set of light bulbs, 1 first aid kit, 1 triangle and 1 hiviz jacket for each passenger. In Spain, however you need 2 triangles. The hiviz jackets need to be in the car and NOT in the boot as going to the boot to get them requires getting out of the car and you cannot do that without a hiviz jacket.

Jazzyman01

Thankyou all for your input, believe it or not I had completely forgotten about getting some good vino/port on the way back.

Will do the Santander route now as my 11 year old has elected to come with us and, quite frankly, 24 hours of driving with "are we there yet" is likely to end in a gaol sentence!

j1mbo

Good choice. Almost as good as following my blog!

Jon_D

Jimbo, just found your blog. Great read!

max0603

1/ If flagged down by French police shout 'you won't take me alive copper' mention Trafalger and put your foot down.

2/ If flagged down by the Spanish police refer to rule 1. HTH

Jazzyman01

Great advice, unfortunately as I will be driving a laden furniture van, I think my "getaway" will be at a speed that will ensure I am captured very quickly - and probably by the foot patrol.

jayferreira

hi we drove from machester to portugal with our funiture if you have two drivers it will cost a lot less in hotels and we did it in 2days each way fro calais to the silver coast in portugal the moter ways are good but you have the tolls to pay but if you only have a week thats the way to go if you need more info send a private mess jay