Part of FerryGoGo
About FerryToSpain.co.uk
We cover the four direct ferry crossings between the UK, Ireland and Spain. We have made one of them ourselves, the photographs on this site are our own, and we tell you when something is an estimate rather than a fact.
What this site is
FerryToSpain.co.uk is an independent guide to the four direct sailings between the UK or Ireland and Spain: Plymouth to Santander, Portsmouth to Santander, Portsmouth to Bilbao, and Rosslare to Bilbao. All four are operated by Brittany Ferries, and we cover the return sailings from Spain too.
Alongside the routes you will find guides to all five ferry ports, covering parking, directions and check-in at Plymouth, Portsmouth, Rosslare, Santander and Bilbao. There are detailed pages on each of the four ships, a full 2026 timetable in both directions, and destination guides for Bilbao and Santander for once you have arrived.
We are not a ferry company, a travel agent or a booking site. We do not sell tickets, take payments or have any control over sailings. If you have a problem with a booking, Brittany Ferries is who you need.
The site is run by FerryGoGo, which builds independent guides for ferry travellers.
We have actually taken the crossing
In August 2026 we sailed Plymouth to Santander on the Pont-Aven, five of us, in a Commodore Suite. Twenty hours and thirty minutes across the Bay of Biscay.
Who writes this
FerryToSpain.co.uk is written and run by Jochem, founder of the site and of FerryGoGo. He made the Plymouth to Santander crossing with his family in August 2026, and the photographs throughout this site are his own.
Elsewhere: Tripadvisor · Quora
Almost every photograph on this site is from that trip: the check-in booth at Plymouth, the queue of cars waiting to board, the pool deck, the arcade, the suite, the sign telling you the ship runs on British time, the coast of Cantabria coming into view, and the ship in the wing mirror as we drove off the ramp in Santander.
We have not sailed the Portsmouth or Rosslare routes. Where we write about those, it is from operator data and published sources, and we say so on the page rather than implying otherwise. The trip report lives on the Plymouth to Santander page.
How we research this
Ferry information goes stale quickly and a lot of what is published online is years out of date. When we rebuilt this site we found timetables that were two years old, ships assigned to the wrong routes, and one page claiming a port was a thirty-minute walk from a city that is twenty-one kilometres away. The Bilbao terminal is at Zierbena, and that distance matters if you are a foot passenger.
Two of the ships also swapped routes for 2026. The Salamanca and the Santoña traded schedules, so guides written before this year name the wrong vessel. Our timetable page carries the operator’s published 2026 schedule with the ship named against every sailing.
Where our facts come from
- Sailing times and ship assignments: Brittany Ferries’ own published schedules
- Port details: the port authorities themselves
- Customs and passport rules: GOV.UK
- Distances and drive times: checked, and labelled approximate where they are
- Everything about being on board: our own crossing
What we do differently
- We name the year a timetable applies to
- We do not publish fares we cannot verify, because they go stale within months
- We say when a figure is approximate
- We write the drawbacks as well as the good parts
- We correct things when we find them wrong
If you spot something out of date or wrong, tell us. We would rather fix it than defend it.
How the site pays for itself
Booking links on this site go to Brittany Ferries, and we may earn a commission if you book through one. It costs you nothing extra, the price is the same as going direct, and it has no influence on what we write.
Brittany Ferries is the only operator running direct crossings to Spain, so there is no competitor we could be steering you away from. Where a different route or a completely different way of travelling would suit you better, we say so: our page on going via France exists precisely because the direct ferry is not always the right answer.
Elsewhere in the FerryGoGo network
FerryWeather.com
- Wind, wave and sea-state forecasts by ferry route and sea area
- Covers the Bay of Biscay, which every crossing on this site has to get across
- Explains what a forecast means for passenger comfort, not just the numbers
- Useful the day before you sail, and for deciding whether to take something for seasickness
Why it matters on this route
- Biscay has a reputation for rough water and it earns it in winter
- A large ferry rarely cancels for weather, but you will feel it
- Conditions halfway across often differ from the weather at either port
- A cabin with a window helps, and taking something before you feel unwell works better than after
Large overnight ships like the Pont-Aven and the E-Flexer vessels handle weather that would stop a smaller craft, so a rough forecast usually means an uncomfortable crossing rather than a cancelled one. For confirmed delays and cancellations, always go to Brittany Ferries directly.
