Brittany Ferries sailings to Spain now (16 July 2025) live for 2026
- Thread starter Arsey
- Start date
Looking at next years Spain/Picos tour.
Usually travel to Spain and Plymouth.
There always seems delayes getting off at the Plymouth end.
Considering transit via Plymouth going out and return on the Portsmouth boat (Galicia) I know it’s a bit more stuck on the boat.
Is there a bun of fight getting off at Portsmouth ie bikes are in the lower bowls of the boat.Is Portsmouth better/ worse or the same with more hours on the boat.Thank you
Usually travel to Spain and Plymouth.
There always seems delayes getting off at the Plymouth end.
Considering transit via Plymouth going out and return on the Portsmouth boat (Galicia) I know it’s a bit more stuck on the boat.
Is there a bun of fight getting off at Portsmouth ie bikes are in the lower bowls of the boat.Is Portsmouth better/ worse or the same with more hours on the boat.Thank you
I’ve always found Portsmouth quicker to get away from than Plymouth, but as you might expect it is very dependent on where you are on the ship. The fact that it’s quicker to get away from Portsmouth it’s self as you are straight onto the motorway makes the biggest difference.
Plymouth has improved in the last couple of years in terms of passport control as they have built new facilities. This is only of benefit once you are off the ferry of course and you will always be last off due to loading in the deck 2 dungeon.
On the newer ships, you are on upper decks so off the ferry much earlier. I have not done Spain from Portsmouth on the newer ships but we have done the shorter routes on them, recently the newest one to St Malo, so the layout is the same.
For me, and the reason I still use Plymouth is that the sailing times suit me (out late afternoon and inbound before lunch). Then add the reduced crossing time and any delay getting off the boat is offset by fewer hours at sea so the door to door time is less using Plymouth (only 30 mins difference in travel time from home).
Having never traveled on the newer ship Galicia .
Are the motos the last cohort of travelers off the Galicia ship .
In Spain it’s not an issue because Spanish customs are pragmatic and very efficient .The blockage a few weeks back was getting us 200 motos off the ship ,once off rode straight to passport checks.
I only live 15mins away from Portsmouth also.
It’s when you arrive at Plymouth the port is to small and your queue to get off the ship.British passport seem not as pragmatic as our Spanish officials.
Any feedback on the Spanish-Portsmouth route please.
We had Galicia as a replacement on the Cherbourg to Portsmouth route. We were placed on deck 3, which is the main one level with the dock. They stick you in the middle in the gaps between the pillars. If you are on this deck then you are among the first off.
On the St Malo route, we used the sister ship St Malo with the same layout. There were lots of bikes on this ferry. Two of the group were sent up a ramp to deck 5 and the third bike that arrived later was put onto deck 3. The bike on deck 3 was off the boat at least 20 mins before those on deck 5 as they can't lower the ramp until deck 3 is clear.
We came back in a week ago to Portsmouth, we were on Deck 3 and were pretty much first off.
Passports were a bit slow as they insisted on everyone taking their helmets off but we were still on the road at about 6.15pm, 45 min after arrival.
Fortress Britain in action. Good to hear.
Yep, border force keeping our borders secure. There’s no way that any foreign crim is going to get into the UK on British motorbike that’s just disembarked a Brittany ferry, by pretending to be a British biker that’s been on holiday with his Mrs.
They take the job seriously
No pleasing some people .
If you’re going to Plymouth to catch a ferry then what’s a few hours of motorway just to get there to start a week or two away on amazing roads ?
Or just get the ferry from Portsmouth.
At least you have a choice of two within a few hours .
Mick hasn't read the postprice and location a must, A vw van?
As you say no pleasing some people........
If you book the ferry crossings online to secure the crossings , can you add the hotels at a later date .Secure the package discount belatedly?
Apparently you can not book as a ferry/hotel package (holiday) until November .
Apparently you can not book as a ferry/hotel package (holiday) until November .
This is what I have done.
I contacted Customer services - as they were not doing their 'packages' with the discount, when they released 2026 timetables. The Hotels they will use have not yet confirmed for next year apparently, and they are changing their operating systems. The CS representative who called me back, said that if they maintain the offer of a 30% discount for a packaged booking, it will be applied when they confirm with me the Hotels for next year.
I have secured our crossings to Spain, and paid the deposits. They have noted my requirements and will contact me again, once the 2026 availability and offers are confirmed and then add the hotel and apply the discount at that point. Although it was emphasised that only if they continue with that offer for 2026, it will be a commercial decision. I took the view, that it is where we want to go next year, Spain and Portugal; it is the method we need to use to get there; I wanted to secure the crossings at this time for planning reasons, plus before they the increase crossing prices as availability decreases; and if the offer is not continued, then so be it, as we still want to go back there and options are limited. Hopefully it will come good ...
I used the Portsmouth to Bilbao several times but the new ferries seem to take longer and cost a lot more. I will be looking at Plymouth going forward even though Portsmouth is more convenient
We are doing Plymouth-Roscoff outbound and Bilbao-Portsmouth inbound. However just as I clicked checkout the price of the cabin went up by £15! I emailed Britany Ferries and they said its "Dynamic Pricing"!
