# Ireland to Spain by ferry/train?



## grahamo (9 Jul 2007)

Hi,
Going to Salou in spain next month but want to go by ferry and train. Has anybody done this before? What can I expect? How long will it take and roughly what is the cost?


----------



## BOXtheFOX (9 Jul 2007)

Brittany Ferries goes from Plymouth to Santander.


----------



## grahamo (9 Jul 2007)

BOXtheFOX said:


> Brittany Ferries goes from Plymouth to Santander.


I looked at their website but that route takes 35 hours which put me off a bit. I was thinking of ferry/train to london then maybe the eurostar to paris then an overnight train to barcelona


----------



## EvilDoctorK (9 Jul 2007)

grahamo said:


> I looked at their website but that route takes 35 hours which put me off a bit. I was thinking of ferry/train to london then maybe the eurostar to paris then an overnight train to barcelona



www.seat61.com is the best resource for what you need.

Ferry to Northern Spain probalby isn't ideal for Barcelona as it's still a fairly long train ride from Santander to Barcelona.

I would think you're looking at ferry to Holyhead (2-4hrs), Train to London (~5hrs), Eurostar to Paris (2.5-3hrs), Train Paris-Barcelona (12hrs overnight  - or slightly faster day trains)


----------



## macnas (9 Jul 2007)

The ferry from Plymouth to Santander takes 19 hours.


----------



## michaelm (9 Jul 2007)

grahamo said:


> I looked at their website but that route takes 35 hours which put me off a bit. I was thinking of ferry/train to london then maybe the eurostar to paris then an overnight train to barcelona


You've answered your own question there, and as EvilDocktorK recommends www.seat61.com is a great resource.  I drove to Salou last summer, it's a fair drive, if there's a next time I'll take the train.


----------



## grahamo (9 Jul 2007)

macnas said:


> The ferry from Plymouth to Santander takes 19 hours.


Yes your right! my mistake!

Anyway, thanks for the replies everybody. I'll check out the links.


----------



## macnas (10 Jul 2007)

If you look in the Brittany Ferries website ------> 
http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=68 
you will see that the average crossing time is 20.5 hours. 
 Train connections from there to all major cities in Spain. 
[broken link removed]


----------



## BUBSY (17 Jul 2008)

Hi Grahamo
Did you do it?  We are toying with the idea of not flying next time.   Have checked ferry prices and they seem very expensive from UK to Santander.


----------



## macnas (17 Jul 2008)

Spotted this in the paper  (IT)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
First ferry service between Ireland and Spain proposed

RONAN McGREEVY
SHIP ROUTE: THE PORT OF Cork is to seek financial support from the EU for the first ferry service between Ireland and the north of Spain.

The Ro-Pax (freight and passenger) ferry service, with a journey time of 24 hours, would run between Cork and the northern Spanish city of Gijón around three times a week.

It would put Alicante and other resorts on Spain's Mediterranean coast within a day's drive of the port.


This would be nice!


----------

