Posts Tagged “Ferries”
Posted by ferry in Routes, tags: Asturias, Aven, Basque, Brittany, Cantabria, cruise, Ferries, ferry, Gallicia, Northern Spain, Plymouth, Pont, portsmouth, Santander, spain, Spanish
Plymouth to Santander by Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries have been plying the route from the West of England to Santander in Northern Spain for decades and have recently refurbished with faster bigger ferries. Sailing from either Portsmouth on the south coasts of England or Plymouth in Devon, Brittany Ferries are well equiped for the longer sea crossings, avoiding the need to drive all the way down through France. Portsmouth to Santander is the newest route, with the flagship vessel Pont Aven adding the departure port option to the existing route of Plymouth to Santander since March 2009. This new crossing takes 24 hours, reducing the need for overnight cabins to one night, which is faster than anything previously.
More like a cruise than a ferry crossing, the Pont Aven is equipped with swimming pool and whirlpool, entertainment and children’s soft play and video areas. Two cinemas, bars and restaurants including seafood buffet meals help to pass the cruise time with quality offerings.
So why take a ferry to Santander?
Santander is a rather smart resort in Cantabria, with close associations with Madrid whose citizens tend to prefer to decant to the north and west of spain if possible in summer rather than to the steaming hot and over crowded southern costas. To the East is the Spanish Basque Country, and then France while to the West is Asturias and then Gallicia, so the whole of the North of Spain is available to explore from Santander.
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Source: Maison de la France
Cross channel ferry links and rail services make France a good option for British people looking for an affordable break, according to an industry spokesman.
Jean-Pierre Courteau, director of government tourist office Maison de la France, said that the country is a “very inexpensive place to get to” for British travellers.
While he admitted that it will be difficult for the tourism industry to be profitable during the economic downturn, Mr Courteau said that the proximity of France makes it one of the most viable options for Brits travelling on a budget.
“You don’t have to fly there, you can take the ferry or the train. France gives a good opportunity to travel on a budget,” he said.
“I don’t say that we are going to profit from the crunch and the financial situation but people who are aware of not flying and travelling on a budget will come to France this year.”
Mr Courteau pointed out that, with about 11 million visitors every year, Britain is the most important source market for the French tourism industry.
This is one of the catamaran Fast Cat ferries that could well be deployed on the new Severn Seas Ferry route in the Bristol Channel. There are two and they were in use on the Isle of Wight until recently.
Posted by ferry in eurostar deals, tags: Calais, channel ferry, cross channel, Deals, Dover, eurostar, Ferries, Folkestone, high speed, Kent, London, paris, passenger
Eurostar Deals from Kent
I met someone in Kent the other day who was worried that the latest eurostar deals are proving too attractive with passenger volumes steadily increasing.
When the Channel Tunnel project reared its head again in the 1980s, the people whose jobs depended on the cross channel ferry industry at Dover and Folkestone were worried that these ports were soon to meet an iminent demise. Once the plans for a rail tunnel were reavealed however, it didn’t look so bad. Having to put your car into a wagon to be transported underneath the channel is not so different to driving onto a roll on roll off ferry. So large freight still travels by ferry, and passengers who prefer a lounge, cafeteria and view of the white cliffs and the ocean prefer that route too.
Competition for Eurostar deals
Eurostar deals are more attractive to people wanting to go direct from London to Paris, unencumbered by a vehicle and as such , the competition is really the airlines rather than the ferries. Here the channel tunnel provides a direct advantage, not from Dover to Calais, but from London to Paris. Here are some more resources which deal with the comparative benefits of a high speed Eurostar service:
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