Cherbourg or Santander?

quilkin

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Probably a question that's been asked many times before. I want to drive to Southern Spain in January, heading towards Cadiz first and moving slowly up the S.E. coast for a couple of months.
I live in Cornwall so normally I'd get a ferry from Plymouth but there aren't any until the end of March. None from Poole either, which I have done before. I will have to drive to Portsmouth, (or to Folkestone and take the tunnel).
If I get a ferry to Cherbourg, rather than Santander, it's an extra 1000 km or so of driving, and I reckon in fuel it costs me 10p per km, so on that basis it's definitely cheaper to drive through France than to get the ferry to Spain, even with a Brittany Ferries Club discount (I haven't renewed my club membership yet, I have had France but maybe will switch to Spain). I don't like driving more than 400km per day so it's an extra 2-3 days if I drive through France - I have plenty of time so the days themselves aren't a problem, but that's a lot of tiring driving (I'm on my own, no shared time at the wheel).
Also in the thought process is that last time I returned from Santander (to Plymouth, in early October) I had a force 8-9 gale all the way which wasn't pleasant. I'd prefer a shorter crossing for that reason.
Any thoughts?
 
10p sounds too low, if you get 27mpg and fuel is £1.45litre/£6.50gal then that’s 24p per mile. 15p per km.
 
I asked the question and I get 40mpg on flat roads if I drive carefully. I don't go above 60mph. That's about 10p per km at 1.50 a litre.
But I didn't include wear-and-tear in my analysis, that might make it up to 20p per km.
But (within reason) cost isn't the main issue, it's enjoyment of the whole trip.
 
I didn’t clock your MH in the avatar, I can only dream of 40mpg, I’m really chuffed with the occasions I manage 30mpg. Wear and tear happens and you don’t want to think to much about that, I replaced 3 tyres and a battery on my last trip. Tyres are consumables, and the battery was the original 10 year old starter battery - I didn’t ever consider it lost under the passenger’s feet. Personally, I enjoy driving and not ‘ferry-ing’ so I’d say sod it and go to the chunnel, which I do from Exeter.
 
quilkin said:
Probably a question that's been asked many times before. I want to drive to Southern Spain in January, heading towards Cadiz first and moving slowly up the S.E. coast for a couple of months.
I live in Cornwall so normally I'd get a ferry from Plymouth but there aren't any until the end of March. None from Poole either, which I have done before. I will have to drive to Portsmouth, (or to Folkestone and take the tunnel).
If I get a ferry to Cherbourg, rather than Santander, it's an extra 1000 km or so of driving, and I reckon in fuel it costs me 10p per km, so on that basis it's definitely cheaper to drive through France than to get the ferry to Spain, even with a Brittany Ferries Club discount (I haven't renewed my club membership yet, I have had France but maybe will switch to Spain). I don't like driving more than 400km per day so it's an extra 2-3 days if I drive through France - I have plenty of time so the days themselves aren't a problem, but that's a lot of tiring driving (I'm on my own, no shared time at the wheel).
Also in the thought process is that last time I returned from Santander (to Plymouth, in early October) I had a force 8-9 gale all the way which wasn't pleasant. I'd prefer a shorter crossing for that reason.
Any thoughts?
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I always take the short ferry/long drive option for dog reasons . Also drive on my own .
I just enjoy France even in bad weather .
If no time restrictions enjoy the journey
 
Personally I'd do 1 week in france on the way down. 6 weeks in spain. One week in france on the way back. And I'd use the tunnel and have more spending money.
 
Same, tunnel or short ferry and enjoy the drive down and back, plenty of good scenery and great places to visit.
 
Take the Cherbourg option and plan your route through France to see as much as you can and take in some nice aires.
Diesel here is around £1.30 a litre or less ( depending on your exchange rate. ) so you will still be saving money.
And avoid toll roads!
Don’t forget to enter Spain now you need to be fully vaccinated
 
Live in the SW and use Plymouth as our closest gateway to Europe, usually to roscoff but we have on occasions returned from Santander. I reckon the difference in mileage costs to the Dover area then back to the west coast area of France oddly almost equates to the extra fuel plus time lost before hitting the SuperU. That’s a personal choice and I can understand the logic and draw of more frequent and cheaper crossings via Kent. As for taking your time through France then that is the great joy of a camper van in a camper friendly country. Never tire of the french wandering, have enjoyed Spain and intend to edge towards Portugal once the great unpleasantness settles down a little but France always draws me back.
 
Thanks all, concensus seems to be to drive through France, which I have done a few times before - but in September when the weather is warmer! I guess I may get lucky, but central France can be worse weather than Cornwall in January. I don't mind cold and dry but don't like stopping and exploring (or even driving!) if it's pouting with rain (or snowing).
 
by preference i normally use the overnight st malo ferry but this year for some reason there is no provision for dogs just stay in the veh but molly at 11 yrs old is too old for a 13/14 hrs crossing ,, this year it looks as though we’re going to go newhaven dieppe £96 for a small motorhome + 20% old fogey discount if you phone up, double the crossing time of dover calais but saves over 120 mls on the other side
 
Why not go one route, and come back the other. Then you'll which you prefer know for next time.

We always use the 2 night ferry to Bibao and a one night Ferry back. Last time I did the maths for Liverpool to Peniscola I factored in Tolls / Fuel / site fees / Tesco vouchers and the Ferry was under £200 more and a day quicker. So really it comes down to a personal decision.

However, for reasons beyond our control, we had to return from Spain via the Tunnel.
I hated the French part of the journey. I now know to ignore facts, figures and statistics and use the Spanish ferry in future.

Not saying the Tunnel isn't fine for some people, just not for me.
 
We are planning same trip in jan previous years we did Santander can be very rough but worth it if you have sea legs.
Now we have a dog it has to be the tunnel
Didn't consider newhaven route but will think about it for return, how old do you have to to get old fogey discount Ken
 
rugbyken said:
by preference i normally use the overnight st malo ferry
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I see that Condor are doing Poole - Cherbourg in January, whereas Brittany Ferries don't start until late March. I hadn't considered Condor, anyone know how they compare to BF? Going from Poole rather than Portsmouth saves me an extra hour's drive in the UK. And the crossing is only 4 hours.
 
r4dent said:
Not saying the Tunnel isn't fine for some people, just not for me.
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witzend said:
Tunnels the best way to cross the channel The only snag for Us is it's to far away from Cornwall
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My comment referred to travelling to Spain.
It isn't the tunnel I dislike it is the long drive through France afterwards.

When I went to see a friend in Budapest it was a no brainer to use the Tunnel.
 
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