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Which ferry for Morrocco, Calais - Dover or Plymouth - Santander Which ferry for Morrocco, Calais - Dover or Plymouth - Santander
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  #1  
Old 21 May 2009
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Which ferry for Morrocco, Calais - Dover or Plymouth - Santander
Hello,

Opinions please,

I am in Warrington near Manchester.
On a planned trip to Morrocco, would the informed drive to Dover, ferry to Calais and drive to Algeciras

Or, Drive to Plymouth, ferry to Santander, then the drive to Algeciras.

What is the cost benefit to driving as to getting the longer Santander ferry ?

'vette
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  #2  
Old 21 May 2009
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Location: Maidstone, Kent, England
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Another nearer option for you might be Portsmouth to Bilbao. We did it last year. 36 hours on ferry, arrived in Bilbao at 08.00am & then 1.5 days to Algeciras. An hour on the Fastcat ferry to Ceuta and then on to Chefchoen for mint tea

A return ticket with a cabin was £325 & we worked it out to be cheaper than Dover - Calais, Motorway Tolls, Fuel & at least 1 overnight stop as well as wear & tear on the bike. It also meant that we could spend more time riding in Morocco
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Old 23 May 2009
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I did some sums on the options and came to the conclusion that there was not a lot in it comparing road through France/Spain when compared to a ferry to Bilbao or Santander. So unless time isn’t a factor and you want to make France part of the trip IMHO I would use the Santander Ferry.

We used the Plymouth – Santander ferry last time. More expensive than the Bilbao one but from talking to others it’s a far newer/faster and better quality boat.

We’re off in Sept. can’t wait
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  #4  
Old 23 May 2009
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The middle ground would be the Portsmouth to Cherbourg/Caen?St Malo ferries.

They cross over night so you wake up in Normandy and can start your ride down. As previously said: only really worth it if you want to see some of France.

France is very nice, especially off the beaten track, but that is not why you are leaving Warrington, so its up to you to decide if the extra day out of you trip is worth it.
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  #5  
Old 23 May 2009
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Thank you all for your replies,
I do not realy want to see France or Spain again, so to cut out France would be the better option than to drive.
(We did Dover Calais, France, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, France, Spain, to Valencia, France, Calais Dover).
So it's either Santander or Bilboa.
/

/

/

/

I want to spend more time on the African continent rather than the European continent, mmmm, any ferry from UK to Ceuta, or is that too much to expect ?



Thank you all once again.

'vette
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