Driving to Mallorca - Help & Advice please.

[med777]

Hiya ppl,

We have just bought a second hand Picasso to leave in PP as we have totally lost faith in the hire companies.
Planning to set off from Glasgow on the 13th December. Has anyone any info/exp they would like to share. eg - channel crossing/tunnel.. which is best ? Booking crossing - what's the policy on arriving early and catching an earlier boat/train ? Barcelona ferry - book in advance? Anyone have any timings for the journey-2/3/4 days ? Any major problems to prepare for?

In short , any info would be appreciated

Miriam

 

[sandy]

Hi Miriam. We drove our (left hand drive) car over when we moved here in April. We took the overnight Poole-Cherbourg ferry so that we could have a full days drive when we arrived, then had two overnight stops on the way, one north of Bordeaux, and the other south of Perpignan. We used AutoRoute to plan our trip (mileage/costs etc) making sure we finished each leg by about 5 pm so we could relax and have a meal. The last leg was only a 2-3 hour drive to Barcelona in order to catch the lunchtime ferry. Everything was booked over the net, including the ferries. We used Acciona to Palma. The ferry was really nice (as good as, if not better than Brittany Ferries). The only thing you have to remember is that even though you have printed off your voucher from the website (in the same way you book a flight), the voucher has to be stamped at the ferry office in Barcelona, so park your car where told, near the boarding ramp, but then go into the office for verification. The Barcelona-Palma ferry left at 1:00 pm, arriving at 8:00 pm and cost about 200 euros. You have to book a seat or cabin, even though it wasn't overnight. The website is really quite explanatory

Acciona Trasmediterranea Ferries - book Acciona Trasmediterranea Ferries with Southern Ferries

If you need any further info, let me know.

Sandy

 

[Sparky]

Hello Miriam, we came over by car last year in early December. We took the Brittany Ferries Plymouth/Santander ferry which sailed at noon on Sunday Nov 30th, it took 24 hours but we had booked a cabin. We arrived at 1pm in torrential rain and headed towards Bilbao, as we started climbing up into mountains the rain turned to snow and very soon we found ourselves in blizzard conditions. It was very scary but soon a snow plough appeared ahead of us, so it wasn't too bad. We drove until about 6:30pm and had an overnight stop just outside of Zaragoza in a motel just off the motorway.
After a good nights sleep and some breakfast, at about 10am we headed towards Barcelona, it was a lovely sunny morning but freezing cold. The drive down through Aragon was strange, the road was practically deserted and you could see for miles either side of the motorway but there was nothing, no houses or buildings of any description.
We got to Barcelona at about 1pm and went straight to the Acciona ferry office to book the crossing to Palma, there is only 1 a day in December and that wasn't until 11pm, with a cabin it cost about €380, so not cheap. I think we got into Palma at about 7am and were in PP by 8am on Wednesday December 3rd.
There were i think 3 toll roads on our journey but it was only about €30 in total but be warned, you have to be very careful in the ferry ports, there are a lot of thieves about. Someone tried to lift hubbies laptop from the car outside the booking office in Barcelona. We parked the car in an underground carpark while we went for some lunch, everything was ok but we could not relax and were glad when it was 4pm so we could move it into the secure area. The journey is 436 miles from Santander to Barcelona.
Hope this helps Miriam and good luck, maybe we could meet up when you get here and you can tell me how your journey went.

P.S another thing to be aware of is the ferry crossings were both very rough.

 

[Sun Properties]

I booked my first overnight stay in the UK - Travelodge 20 miles from Dover - up early the next morning for an early crossing - decided to go the slow route through France (rather than using toll/autoroutes) which meant two stops in France but I did take it at a leisurely pace. Hotels in France were relativelly cheap including the second night stop in Pepignan. Again up early for the daytime crossing from Barcelona to Palma.

 

[Gommar Goffer]

I guess if you treat it as a holiday in itself it is not that expensive ?

GG

 

[Quelys]

Hi, we're doing the journey too this winter but from Mallorca to the UK. We've decided to make it into a holiday and will be taking our dog (he usually has to stay in Mallorca at Chrsitmas time). I agree the ferry crossing from Palma to Barcelona is expensive and we've been warned about thefts (especially in Barcelona where you should stay in your car and wait for help if you get a flat tyre) but everything else has worked out reasonably. I've booked everything over the internet and we'll be leaving on the 19th Dec arriving in the England on the 22nd, stoping offs in Perpignan, Bourge and Calais. The channel tunnel seemed the most reasonable and quickest crossing from France for us. You can give a time and travel two hours either side of that so if you arive early they will put you on the next available train. On the way back we'll be leaving on the 30th arriving Palma on the 4th, staying 2 nights in Paris, one in Limoges, one in Carcasonne and night crossing to Palma. We've calcualted costs of between 1,500€ - 2000€ return.

 

[med777]

Thank you all for sooo much info !

GG, Nae holiday for me ! I have done the motherly thang ( grr) and have stepped down from this one ( tho I really want to do it) but... No 1 son nearly bit my hand off when I said we had bought a car for Spain... so son & OH are doing the transporter run ! Tho, son is putting himself thru Uni and has to carefully balance uni & work.. so he is wanting it done & dusted in record time !

Cos of the time of year, I feel they would be best doing the Scotland to this side of the Channel in one day and then stopping.
Cos of timings... if they go over to france, (same day ) it means that they will be arriving in the dark... not really gonna get much further south, and having to look for B & B + food in unfamiliar ground & language, so I cant see the advantage of crossing the Channel on the first day. Better to get an early start next day.... no ?

Having looked at various options, the tunnel seems cheapest and best... any advice/opinions ?

Miriam

 

[Sun Properties]

IMO tunnel easier and quicker but unusual for it to be cheaper - so if it is go for it - it will save over an hour. If they use the autoroute it will definitely make things quicker but add on around 50 euro for the tolls plus the extra fuel.

 

[overthehill]

Hi there, good luck with the drive.

Finding B&B in France is dead easy & can be booked over internet. Go for Etap chain - basic en suites, sleeping up to 3, but plenty of them, usually next to main routes so easy to find & cheap. If you don't mind toilet & shower being outside your room Formule 1 chain even cheaper. Have stayed in many of these & for 1 night they are fine & management usually speak english.

 

[ray]

it's illegal to leave a non Spanish registered car in Spain if you aren't actually there and for people who stay in Mallorca for more than 6 months in any 12 they should not legally be driving a British registered car and should have applied for Spanish residency.Having said that there's plenty of British and German cars driving around who shouldn't be here so I guess you won't stand out!!

 

[med777]

...and the journey begins !

Father & son set off, this frosty morning, (mega pieces/ sugar fixes/ energy drinks/torches/blankets/ tow ropes/ jump leads/ dedahdedah, packed !) on the transporter run from Ayrshire to Palma !
Using Google Latitude, I have been able to watch their whole trip so far... online ! The first thing I noticed was they had missed the M74 ?... When I sent a text asking how so... aparently the sliproad was closed !
Thoughout the day a couldn't resist having a wee peek to see where they had reached. It had been decided they would stay over in Folkstone and were booked on an early train tomorrow(sunday). At about 6pm... I checked online and they had reached Folkstone but I was a bit concerned as the location looked very like the the laned areas leading to toll booths!
I gave them a call. Latitude hadn't updated and they were in fact in France and had cleared Calais ! ( NOTE FOR OTHER TRAVELLERS.... They had just been doing a reccy at Eurotunnel but before they knew it, they were at the toll, car reg logged automatically and they were on the train ! And there was a couple of other travellers in the same position. Not a major prob... as u are given the choice to accept/decline... and told if it will cost any more to go on an earlier train.)
They decided to go for it and have now pulled over for the nite in a small hotel in Bethune, (42 euros for a twin ensuite with tv) They have been out for a late dinner in a nice wee local restaurant and hope to get an early start tomorrow....

Will update tomorrow

Miriam

... oh! and enroute, hubby managed to loose his credit card wallet ! MEN... aint safe to let 'em out alone, is it ! lol

 

[Sparky]

Glad to hear they made such a good start Miriam. Hopefully the rest of the trip will go well, but i am afraid there is very bad weather forecast for the next week, with heavy rain, snow and high winds.

 

[lollipop]

Will keep a look out for them Miriam,what colour car am I looking for. Are they then taking it to airport or planning to leave here.
Chris

 

[med777]

.... the journey day 2

the boys (??) got off to an early start and are doing lunch and some sightseeing in Paris !

Sparky... Alistair will feel just like he is back in Scotland then ! lol

Chris, Alistair is staying till Saturday ( Ric is palma port- airport- home, work on wed) Its a pale aqua colour, Picasso and hopefully it will be parked up at Park & Fly at the airport.

.... just checked Latitude again... they seem to be headed for the Eiffel Tower !... yup, just got a pic of the Tower on the Blackberry ! Lucky them

Miriam

 

[med777]

... the journey day 2(part 2)

The transporter duo are tucked up for the night in a hotel in Clermont Ferrand, having had a great day rounded off with a lovely meal. It has been snowing lightly there this evening. They are approx 300 miles from Barcelona which they can easily do tomorrow in time for the ferry.

Miriam

 

[Sparky]

Miriam, tell them to be very careful in the ferry port in Barcelona, there are a lot of bad peeps hanging around there .

 

[med777]

... the journey day 3

It started off well enough tho there was a covering of snow on the car but they got an early start and were making good time.
Just after lunchtime, I got a call from the ferry co. The weather is too bad and the ferry has been cancelled !
Not a problem for hubby, but son is flying back from Palma tomorrow.. so now he is flying from Barcelona TO Plama tomorrow morning, to get his Palma to Gatwick then connecting flight to glasgow... best laid plans !!!!!!!! lol
Fingers crossed all the flights work out tomorrow and hubby gets car and ferry tomorrow night

Miriam

( and sparky, thanks. Have passed on ur comments about the port to hubby)

 

[Sparky]

Oh what a shame Miriam and i hate to say it but the wind is forecast to stay high for tomorrow and Wednesday. Hopefully they are wrong.

 

[lollipop]

Certainly not a night to be at sea,winds howling around and sea really rough. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. What a shame when they had done so well.

 

[lollipop]

Miriam,it is looking very bleak at the moment, hope hubbie has found reasonable accommodation in Barcelona as he may well be holed up there for another night at least.