A tour of marinas in Spain - where do you suggest I go?

[Asm]

My first trip out to Spain each year is usually by car via Brittany Ferries. Until the 9th of May (which may be extended) a PCR, LAMP or TNA test is required no earlier than 72 hours before arrival (not departure like some countries). Taking into account the time required for couriers etc, this requirement makes the 2 night crossing unviable if a PCR test is used. LAMP test is quicker, TNA doesn’t seem to be available. I was wondering what plans ferry travellers have to take this test and have the results in time to board the ferry, particularly on the routes direct to Spain. In my case, a further issue, I need another test taken within 72 hours to arrive in Palma!

 

[Hurricane]

But not more than 90 days..............

Yet
Come on - be positive.
Things will change - they have to.
And, in the meantime, it is easy to work within 90/180.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Almost all Brittany Ferry crossings to Spain are just 1 night, only once was it 2 nights. So it might help looking for crossings which take less than 24 hours, certainly the last Plymouth Santander crossing I did was 20 hours, and returning to Portsmouth was a 30 hour trip.
Its looking as though the main problem will be leaving this country. I would normally be going over in March for 2-3 months, didn’t happen last year and looks very unlikely this year.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Yet
Come on - be positive.
Things will change - they have to.
And, in the meantime, it is easy to work within 90/180.

They are changing, each time for the worse. The lockdown is seemingly open ended, and until it’s lifted, including the tier regulations, certainly tier 4, foreign travel is banned. And I can’t see or use my boats here in the UK, let alone the one in Spain, again with no end in sight.
It's very depressing.

 

[Clancy Moped]

They are changing, each time for the worse. The lockdown is seemingly open ended, and until it’s lifted, including the tier regulations, certainly tier 4, foreign travel is banned. And I can’t see or use my boats here in the UK, let alone the one in Spain, again with no end in sight.
It's very depressing.

At the Spanish end its being reviewed every 14 days.

 

[Asm]

Almost all Brittany Ferry crossings to Spain are just 1 night, only once was it 2 nights. So it might help looking for crossings which take less than 24 hours, certainly the last Plymouth Santander crossing I did was 20 hours, and returning to Portsmouth was a 30 hour trip.
Its looking as though the main problem will be leaving this country. I would normally be going over in March for 2-3 months, didn’t happen last year and looks very unlikely this year.

There’s a two nighter every week, obviously I won’t be taking it!
I was hoping on info re getting the required test in a reliable timely manner

 

[longjohnsilver]

There’s a two nighter every week, obviously I won’t be taking it!
I was hoping on info re getting the required test in a reliable timely manner

Sorry can’t help with that, but will be interested to read anything you or anyone else discovers.

 

[Clancy Moped]

Sorry can’t help with that, but will be interested to read anything you or anyone else discovers.

I think the first thing to lookout for would be the Spanish letting non residents in, and work backward from there.

 

[Hurricane]

There’s a two nighter every week, obviously I won’t be taking it!
I was hoping on info re getting the required test in a reliable timely manner

The two nighter has always been run - she is the Cap Finistere - Portsmouth to Bilbao and calls in at Roscoff to re-provision etc - passengers and vehicles stay on board nobody embarks or disembarks.
Thats why she takes two nights - the stop in Roscoff is during the night.

However, we now have a bigger problem - the new ship Galicia.
She is slower than the rest of the fleet and instead of the Portsmouth Bilbao/Santander crossing taking 24 to 26 hours it is now going to take up to 34 hours!!!
As I've said before, my preferred ship is the Pont Aven and I am hoping that she will continue to do the Plymouth Santander run.
That keeps the crossing down to 20 hours and she has a much nicer silver service restaurant on board.

 

[DavidJ]

The two nighter has always been run - she is the Cap Finistere - Portsmouth to Bilbao and calls in at Roscoff to re-provision etc - passengers and vehicles stay on board nobody embarks or disembarks.
Thats why she takes two nights - the stop in Roscoff is during the night.

However, we now have a bigger problem - the new ship Galicia.
She is slower than the rest of the fleet and instead of the Portsmouth Bilbao/Santander crossing taking 24 to 26 hours it is now going to take up to 34 hours!!!
As I've said before, my preferred ship is the Pont Aven and I am hoping that she will continue to do the Plymouth Santander run.
That keeps the crossing down to 20 hours and she has a much nicer silver service restaurant on board.

That’s an interesting run From Santander
Just looked up Santander to Sant Carles and it’s 6:30 hrs 620 km which is an ok days run. Unfortunately not so convenient for Empuriabrava 7:40hrs 838km

 

[Hurricane]

That’s an interesting run From Santander
Just looked up Santander to Sant Carles and it’s 6:30 hrs 620 km which is an ok days run. Unfortunately not so convenient for Empuriabrava

I think you might be pleasantly surprised.
The ferries from the UK arrive in North Spain at Bilbao and Santander.
Santander is about 40 minutes further to drive than Bilbao.
But once you are on the AP68, it is a very quick run across Spain onto the AP2.
All the driving is on fast motorways.
Road tolls still in place on those routes.
Not sure about the road tolls north of Barcelona but the tolls from Tarragona south to Alicante have now been removed.

On our trip to SC, we leave the AP2 at junction 3 and drive down the Ebro Valley through Caspe and Gandessa onto the Ebro Delta where Sant Carles is located.
Lovely roads - very little traffic.
These pics show the typical state of the cross country roads from the AP2 down to SC




Can be a very pleasurable journey.
I can do the run to SC with a trailer in under 7 hours.

In your case, you would continue on the AP2 to Barcelona and the up to Roses/Empuriabrava.
I think it should take about the same time as the run to SC.

The beauty is that you have your car with you for your stay/holiday.
If you get the right ferry, you can also treat the crossing as a bit of a holiday - nice cabin - nice evening meal etc.

There are other ships in the Brittany Ferries fleet that do the run.
These are designed for truckers but they are quite comfortable - some even have upgrades to the cabins that make them more comfortable than the "cruise" ferries.

Why not try it sometime.

 

[Clancy Moped]

The Febuary 2nd deadline for none residents entering Spain has been extended, no review date has been set as of yet.

 

[DavidJ]

I think you might be pleasantly surprised.
The ferries from the UK arrive in North Spain at Bilbao and Santander.
Santander is about 40 minutes further to drive than Bilbao.
But once you are on the AP68, it is a very quick run across Spain onto the AP2.
All the driving is on fast motorways.
Road tolls still in place on those routes.
Not sure about the road tolls north of Barcelona but the tolls from Tarragona south to Alicante have now been removed.

On our trip to SC, we leave the AP2 at junction 3 and drive down the Ebro Valley through Caspe and Gandessa onto the Ebro Delta where Sant Carles is located.
Lovely roads - very little traffic.
These pics show the typical state of the cross country roads from the AP2 down to SC
View attachment 108039

View attachment 108040

Can be a very pleasurable journey.
I can do the run to SC with a trailer in under 7 hours.

In your case, you would continue on the AP2 to Barcelona and the up to Roses/Empuriabrava.
I think it should take about the same time as the run to SC.

The beauty is that you have your car with you for your stay/holiday.
If you get the right ferry, you can also treat the crossing as a bit of a holiday - nice cabin - nice evening meal etc.

There are other ships in the Brittany Ferries fleet that do the run.
These are designed for truckers but they are quite comfortable - some even have upgrades to the cabins that make them more comfortable than the "cruise" ferries.

Why not try it sometime.

Santander to Empuriabrava is 7:38hrs 838 km (Tomtom) which for me when you add stops is a bit too far in one push.
However I do need a change and we could take in a Paradore (Lleida) on the way which my wife loves.

 

[John100156]

There’s a two nighter every week, obviously I won’t be taking it!
I was hoping on info re getting the required test in a reliable timely manner

Sometimes they are two nights and sometimes only one depending on times.

This was the issue I had for my trip that I did late December, I was planned to go via Brittany Portsmouth-Santander ferry.

I have run down to SCM many times from both Bilbao and Santander, as Mike says, it’s a very pleasant and easy, mainly motorway, run normally. If you are interested in toll charges, I have a bip-and-go so could look them up.

I used Express Test, it was undertaken without fuss at Northampton Saints Football Club car park.

I booked two PCR tests (one for SWMBO) for 17:00 on 25 Dec., and we received the test results via email at 15:35 on 26 Dec. Say 24Hrs.

The Ferry crossing was schedule 23 Hours, say 24Hrs, so you could just make it to the ES Border Control within the 72 Hrs timeslot if you booked your test slot carefully and ran down to (or a hotel near) the port, to await your result, wasted journey if positive though. Of course you need to overcome travel restrictions which fortunately I could.

In the end, I thought it was just too close on timing and I did not want all the stress, so I took the Eurotunnel and drove through FR (stayed overnight in Orleans) to get to the marina in ES.

With the Chunnel arrangement both Border Controls are in the UK, so only minutes apart. There was no border checks or significant policing at the FR/ES border, a long drive, which we have done many times before but I much prefer the ferry route…!

 

[Hurricane]

We have only stopped a couple of times - we usually press on and get to the boat.
But a couple of years ago, we stopped at Parador de Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
So, if she likes Paradors, then there is this one to try as well.
Really quaint - in the middle of the old town - lots of history to take in whilst you are there.
The timing works quite well on this one if the ferry is a later than usual sailing.
A couple or three hours into the journey and it is a short detour from the main motorway.

On the way back, we usually time it to be in Santander about 3 or 4 hours before departure.
The ferry usually departs in the late afternoon and there is a park with some nice restaurants near the ferry terminal (took me years to find it!!!)

In the past, we have also taken a couple of days to do the run and stopped of in the Rioja wine region - there are some interesting vineyards that take visitors - really interesting.

 

[John100156]

The return trip on 10 January post Brexit was a blooming nightmare due to the massive stow storms and motorways and road closures. I had allowed 2 hours more than usual to get to Santander but it was impossible, so quickly booked another hotel in Orleans and diverted through the ES/FR road border, Once again a UK Reg car and no significant policing at the FR/ES/UK borders and on that day other than quarantine no return PCR tests.

 

[John100156]

In the past, we have also taken a couple of days to do the run and stopped off in the Rioja wine region - there are some interesting vineyards that take visitors - really interesting.

Looks like Mary is driving again.....

 

[Hurricane]

I've just noticed the Asm poster - sorry I didn't read your name!!!

 

[John100156]

Lets hope we can all get together late summer

Free food and wine - observing social distancing by forming a 20 boat raft in the lagoon, all hanging-off JW's anchor...

 

[Asm]

I've just noticed the Asm poster - sorry I didn't read your name!!!

Re Santa Domingo de la calzada. There are two Paradors in town, the one you describe is one to go for (middle of the town) Have a look in on the chickens housed in the cathedral (just across from the hotel) the chicken miracle is documented.