Driving to Portugal from UK?

[mudcow007]

Thinking about driving to Portugal next year with the mrs, nipper an my new pet drone

A few peeps have said it will cost a fortune etc an is not worth the hassle, others have said its a nice drive.

Anyone ever done it?

I reckon it would take 2 - 3 days?

Liverpool > Portsmouth > boat to Spain > Portugal

Flights are about £600 - £700 so that's what i have to work with, with costs etc...

[Itchy]

[Lord Percy]

When I was about 16 my dad decided to drive to the east coast of Spain. Family holiday sort of thing, so 6 of us in total. We crossed to Calais and drove the lot. It took ages, we stopped once in France, once in Spain, then got to the destination and stayed for a week I think. On the way back we passed Andorra and did a detour to take Normandy in as well. Nice trip, although Dad get really stressed at times because of the amount of driving with 4 annoying children in the back. That's all I remember really. It did take bloody ages.

I see you'd be boating to Spain so a huge chunk of driving is chopped off. As Itchy said, the boat journey will cost a lot as it's a massive stretch of ocean to cross.

For the amount of actual driving it'll take to get into Portugal (most of it's sat on a boat anyway...), I wonder if it'd be cheaper to fly then rent a car when you arrive.

[mudcow007]

Holy Moly!!

Just got a quote on ferries an its as you say, basically £600 (with a cabin)

Looking at using the tunnel, driving all the way is roughly the same (with tolls etc)

will leave it with the boss to decide

ta

[weasley]

I've no idea about price, but there's the motorail service that takes cars on the train from Paris to southern France, including Biarritz.
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[Robby]

Fly, get a hire car. Don't waste a week driving there and back to save a couple of hundred quid.

If you want to drive to your destination, pick somewhere nearer.

[P.]

Because I'm cheap.... I've managed to find flights and a 4 star hotel for 12 nights in the Algarve for under 200 per person. I'd rather that than sweatbox it over there. With regards to the ferry.... Fuck. That. Did it to Santander from Plymouth. I'd rather crawl through glass than do it again. Cost wise it was 300 for the bike and myself with no cabin. A cabin was 95 more. That's 400. You can't select 'none' either. You have to buy sleeping seats.

[Northern Monkey]

I've driven to Spain from Newcastle, with a load of kayaks on the roof.

It was horrendous. Just fly.
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[Andy_Pagin]

Bloke I used to work with had a holiday home in Portugal, he and his Mrs. used to drive out there several times a year, so it can't be that arduous. Suppose it depends on the car you've got (they have a decent Merc), how much you like driving, and if you plan to stop anywhere pretty on the way.
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[MCN]

People fly places and hire a car if needed when they get there.
No fun on a motorway for three days.
And if the car chucks it halfway that is when the real fun begins.

If you didn't have to get to the southern seaport from L'pool then it would be a bit more pleasant for everyone.

I remember a discussion with a lass who liked to holiday in Porto. She flew from Glasgow to there and I was surprised that it took almost as long to fly there as it did for us to fly to Tripoli Libya.

It is bluddy far

Off topic:
I've always fancied taking a bike there but the tyres would be gubbed before I got to a track.
I would only do it if I had a van or paid some monkeys to transport. Like Focussed \events etc.

What's wrong with Margate? Only 5 hours 20 mins (M6)
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Taught2BCauti...]

I regularly drive through France with my 2 kids, and find that choosing the toll-free routes gives a more family-friendly experience, and allows you to re-fuel at the supermarkets (which are much cheaper than the petrol stations on the motorways).

See https://about-france.com/driving.htm for lots of useful info.

I have found that the cheapest ferry crossing is from Newhaven to Dieppe, then driving down through Bordeaux to Irun, Vitoria and Burgos.

I normally head down to Madrid and Granada from Burgos, but if you head towards Valadolid and Salamanca instead, that will put you close to Portugal.

It's difficult to avoid all of the toll roads in Spain, but well worth it for the time you will save.
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[janner_10]

Done it this Christmas from Tewkesbury to South Poland. (About 1100 miles) The traffic was a nightmare on route, so basically spent 27 hours in the car over 2 days.

The traffic was clear as we travelled back on NY Day, so it 'only' took 19 hours.

Its boring and uncomfortable and not fun in the slightest.

Would not recommend.
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[mudcow007]

Car is a 2.2 diesel CRV so its pretty comfy to drive (got arm rests) I will try an speak to the boss, she seems hell bent on driving

Me, I would prefer to spend a few more days in the sun than driving but what do i know!?

[.....]

Driving/riding when you're touring is fun, especially when you have no particular destination in mind and are just enjoying it. Driving long distances just to get somewhere is a slog and no fun.

[Rogerborg]

[dodsi]

simple, book yourself a flight and give her the car keys with a "see you there".

4 hours vs 2/3 days travelling?

Not even the maths stack up, Ferry/Channel Crossing/, fuel, wear and tear, tolls, hotels/lodgings.

Life is too short.

We drove some massive distances over 3 days this year around Nevada/California/Arizona but it was really pleasurable because 1) it was to see lots and lots of things and 2) it was in a 400+BHP Camaro SS.

We did, las Vegas - Winslow Arizona (to stand on a corner) - Meteor crater - Petrified forest - Flagstaff - Little Canyon - Grand Canyon - Route 66 seligman - kingman - Hoover Dam - Las Vegas - pahrump - Death Valley (quite a few of the sights within) - Las Vegas.

was excellent but really tiring over 3 days and that was with really frequent stops to see a lot of things that are on the way.

Slogging that out would have been dull just to drive the equiv distance.

[Baffler186]

[CaNsA]

How many in-car fights do we reckon there will be?

[Northern Monkey]

[WD Forte]

I've driven from Bristol to Perpignan near the Spanish border on the Med and back in van
We meandered down the west coast via Carnac, la Rochelle, Bordeaux etc and
It was kind of fun as we camped where and when we felt like it.
At Perpignan ( which I liked) we picked up one of my lads who had been living down there
and we then had two days to get back for the ferry at Cherbourg which was a chore.
as it felt like work not play.

If you've plenty of time and money isnt too much of an issue, it can be a great way to explore
and learn about countries and johnny foreigners with their funny lingo and ways.
If time and money is limited and you're not interested in culteral exchanges then
it could be a fretful arseache.
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[mudcow007]

I think i have persuaded her to fly - saying that the baby is too young to understand where she is an so its kinda a wasted trip

plus will save a fortune to fly an get a car t'other end

cheers all