# Brittany Ferries Discounts ?



## VenturerDave

We are hoping to spend at least some of this coming winter in Spain. As always costs have come into focus as we are on a fairly tight budget.
Brittany Ferries Website have quoted a price of £373, one way, Portsmouth to Bilbao and having scoured the internet I have been unable to find any discounts available to reduce this cost. I know I could do a short crossing at Dover and drive down to Spain but living in the SW it would entail so much travelling it would take away alot of the pleasure. My wife is also worried about encountering bad weather along the way.
Can anyone help with info on how to get a discount on Brittany Ferries prices or any other advice that would achieve the same. 
return journey is open at the moment as we may choose to come home via a long diversion but who knows?
This is our first trip abroad with our motorhome so any advice at all on the subject would be appreciated.


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## Grizzly

Do you have any Air Miles ?

If you do, ring Air Miles and ask how much they can use them to reduce your ferry costs. Air Miles themselves are, in our experience, a very good and efficient company to deal with; they do all the booking.

The two clubs ( CC and C&CC) both offer discounts if you book with them but, in our experience, the discount is not usually as good as you can get by booking direct yourself- but worth a try.

G


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## aldra

Check the return price, it often saves money

We've used it to save time, When are you going? 

we've had lovely weather travelling in October through France and spain 

just come back from Germany and France 50% (or more) rain, cloud and damp in 6 1/2 weeks

Aldra


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## bob23

I use www.vouchercodes.com and have just completed a search for you.
They state that they do issue their codes when available but not at present.
A link on their site is www.ferryfaresto.co.uk who advertise cheap Brittany Ferry fares.

I would wait awhile and watch voucher codes site, there is no charge to you for the service and I think you can set-up an email alert for when they become available.


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## DTPCHEMICALS

If you have a friend or relative living in France ask them to join the Britany Ferries Overseas property owners club. Obviouskly you will pay for their membership.
The member must produce an overseas adress and utility bill as proof of overseas property ownership. Never had to do that when I joined 15 years ago. The member will then receive up to 30% discount on the crossings.
I packed my membership in last year after giving a couple of members a discount code of 15%.
Tesco tunnel now.


Dave p


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## raynipper

Hi VenturerDave.
I can give you a BF discount code to get 15% off the regular ferry price.

Give me a pm and I will send it.

I tried Air Miles but in the end it cost me more than the discount price direct from BF.

Ray.


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## PAT4NEIL

can you book for march yet as we are hoping to go one way with Brittany ferries too was quoted 400 pound one way which is out of our price range.

Thanks pat


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## provencal

Hi Dave,

As you live in the SW, you might be interested to know that LD Lines will give a 20% discount on the Newhaven to Dieppe route, if you are over 60.
You need to book by telephone to get the discount.

Brian


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## PAT4NEIL

Hello Brian

Ld lines wont help us with are under the age of 60.  

Pat


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## VenturerDave

Thanks for the replies. We are not sure whether we can rent out house out at the moment and that is dictating whether we go for a longer or shorter stay. If we can't we will probably cross early in the new year then return mid March when I have a hospital check up.

Raynipper - Thank you for your offer. 15% would come very close to the figure given to us by the C&CC this morning so may well go with them. It's just a shame the Plymouth / Santander does not run beyond end of October as Plymouth is only an hours drive away for us.

Any advice on essential things to take for a longish stop in Spain. We have silver screens now (picked up off Caravan Selecta for £60, but I am sure there are plenty of other items that would make a long stay more comfortable and enjoyable.


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## Cazzie

We also live in the SW so find it more convenient to use BF. I always look on BF website and get a quote first then book a return crossing through the CC. If you also book either min. 7days camping cheques or CC campsite we have so far got the crossing at least £100 cheaper.(Twice last year and once this year so far).


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## VenturerDave

Cazzie

What do you mean by 'Camping Cheques' as I am completely ignorant on the subject. Are they something you use to pay for camp sites abroard ?


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## sprokit

VenturerDave said:


> We are hoping to spend at least some of this coming winter in Spain. As always costs have come into focus as we are on a fairly tight budget.
> Brittany Ferries Website have quoted a price of £373, one way, Portsmouth to Bilbao and having scoured the internet I have been unable to find any discounts available to reduce this cost. I know I could do a short crossing at Dover and drive down to Spain but living in the SW it would entail so much travelling it would take away alot of the pleasure. My wife is also worried about encountering bad weather along the way.
> Can anyone help with info on how to get a discount on Brittany Ferries prices or any other advice that would achieve the same.
> return journey is open at the moment as we may choose to come home via a long diversion but who knows?
> This is our first trip abroad with our motorhome so any advice at all on the subject would be appreciated.


Hi VenturerDave

If you live in the south west, why don't you try Plymouth - Santander. (It's not much different to Bilbao and a lot closer to the SW than Portsmouth, so less of a drive )

Just checked on the Brittany Ferries site for a 6.5m vehicle with bike rack (making it 7m) & up to 4m high, 2 adults, single passage with reclining seats instead of a cabin - £345. (Sailing 09 October 2011)

Sprokit (Keith)


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## Grizzly

sprokit said:


> If you live in the south west, why don't you try Plymouth - Santander. .......single passage with reclining seats instead of a cabin - £345. (Sailing 09 October 2011)
> 
> Sprokit (Keith)


Keith is right; this is the way to go. I would however pawn the dog and go for a cabin rather than a reclining chair. It is a long crossing and you could have a rough one. Somewhere to spread yourself, sleep properly and shower is worth a lot. The cabins we had was comfortable and almost silent.

We took a small travelling kettle, continental adapter, coffee, tea, some croissants, rolls, cheese, tomatoes, fruit, milk and made our own lunch on day one and breakfast next day. Being able to make unlimited drinks, sleep and read in privacy meant a lot. We treated ourselves to a (very good) restaurant meal in the evening but we could have had a much cheaper option in the cafeteria.

G


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## Cazzie

Hi VenturerDave
Camping cheques, available through the Caravan Club, cost £13.99 each and cover 1 night camping + electricity + 1 pet in the low/med seasons, sometimes with extra discounts for longer stays(eg.7 nights stay for 6 cheques). You get a book with them showing which sites you can use them at and between which dates. They are valid for 2 years so you don't have to use them all on the same holiday.
Cazzie


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## peedee

Sorry but I don't understand this reluctance to drive even if you lived at Lands End after all what is your motorhome for? Sounds as if you have the time and, if money is tight, a channel crossing and down through France is the cheaper option and can be very enjoyable. See >this thread.<

Your motorhome is your transport and your hotel, your daily travel can be as long or short as you like and there are plenty of aires to stop on for free or very cheaply. If the weather bothers you, plan an easy route down the west of France and round the Pyrenees via Bilbao and on to Burgos. If you have internet access it is easy to keep an eye on the weather and alter your travel accordingly but on this route you should not have a problem.

peedee


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## 113016

peedee said:


> Sorry but I don't understand this reluctance to drive even if you lived at Lands End after all what is your motorhome for? Sounds as if you have the time and if money is tight a channel crossing and down through France is the cheaper option and can be very enjoyable. See >this thread.<
> 
> Your motorhome is you transport and your hotel, your daily travel can be as long or short as you like and there are plenty of aires to stop on for free or very cheaply. If the weather bothers you plan an easy route down the west of France and round the Pyrenees via Bilbao and on to Burgos. If you have internet access it is easy to keep an eye on the weather and alter your travel accordingly but on this route you should not have a problem.
> 
> peedee


Spot on peedee!

Just out of interest, I checked to see what BF prices are and they are completely out of the question for me as not cost effective!
But if others have money to burn, then spend it and bump BFs profits up  
Regarding the weather driving down through France during the winter.
I have posted above that I drove continually with a truck to Madrid and Portugal for a number of years (hundreds of trips) and mostly via the old N121a up to Pampalona. I never had the luxury of delaying my journeys due to weather forcasts and I never had any serious problems. I think that some people are forgetting that as you are driving in a M/H even if the snow comes down, you can always park up and sit it out  
But I doubt that you will need to do this unless you are very unlucky as most of the European countries that get heavy snowfall know much better that the UK how to keep the traffic flowing.  
I think that nowadays more and more people are trying to plan their holiday down to the last minute detail  
Myself, I would much rather just go for it, although be prepared for all eventualities and enjoy what happens, it even adds a little excitement


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## MEES

We drove back from Malaga in december last year to use the Dunkirk crossing.

There was plenty of snow lying but all roads were clear.

it just felt like a very long drive as the days were short and the evenings were long. Its never quite so exciting on the return journey  

We also were a bit shocked paying out on some autoroutes and filling the tank every day. Plus we ate out more on the reurn journey  

So this time we are driving down taking our time full of excitement and and taking Santander/Portsmouth back with a dog cabin. Its almost £500 one way but I am going to join the regulartravellers club which will cost me £100 but give me more than £100 discount on the fares and 30% discount for next year.

I havnt worked out the differencial but by the time you factor fuel, autoroutes and an overnight the difference is worth considering if you can afford it.


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## 113016

Hi Mees, try a price comparison factoring out the Autoroutes as there are perfectly good RN alternatives in France and likewise in Spain.
eg the Spanish part to Madrid 
N121a to Pampalona then the N113 and C101 to Almazan (missing out Soria) then the N111 to Medinacelli and onto the N11 to Madrid.
or
You could go down the N1 via Vitoria and Burgos


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## peedee

Tolls in France are now very expensive but cheaper in Spain. As Garth says it is easy to avoid them or strike a balance of when it is better to pay, e.g. to bypass Tours. My winter trip this year cost me £29.03 in tolls £24 of which I could have easilly avoided if I had not wanted to crack on a bit. (£17 in France and £6 in Spain for about the same distance!)

peedee


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## 113016

Peedee, I agree again as we have recently returned from our 10 week tour to Portugal, via Dunkerque, driving thorough France and Galicia in Spain and our total toll bill was around the same as yours £29 and a few pence.
Also like you, I could have missed some of these out  
I can afford to pay, but why should I when there are perfectly good alternative roads. The French won't pay unless they have to!


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## teemyob

*Work*

Hello,

I watch these topics with great interest.

Seems the vast majority on here that contribute to them are, either retired or are able to spend long periods of time away.

We both work. I run a business and Mrs. TM works full-time. I know there are others on here who work, not many seem to reply to the big BF debates.

So as mentioned, if you are able to do Ten week tours or winter in Spain, then yes, that too may be our preferred option. But as our time away is limited, BF is the better option.

On a good day, Manchester - Portsmouth is 4 hours (you are lucky if you live closer). 
Board a Ferry and in 24 Hours, we are in Northern Spain.

If you look at the maths in a fair an unbiased way, Brittany Ferries Spanish routes, on the whole out of high season, do not work out that much more expensive (if not less) than travelling by other ports and driving through France / Andorra.

Grizzly,

Be careful if you travel on BF's Cap Finistere as the power is limited in the cabins and often trips.

TM


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## peedee

Teenyob, I accept what you say other than it does not work out that much more expensive. It certainly is not cheaper. I was not being biased and unlike many I have quoted facts from my own records and actual fares. 

Even when I worked and did not take the dog, I still did not use the Bilbao or Santander ferries. If you cannot take 3 weeks out than in my view you are wasting time and money going to Spain. Go somewhere closer or even fly and capitise on off season cheap lettings which I think you have advocated before.

peedee


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## 113016

Hi temyob.
I take your point about fitting in with work, however I only retired just over a year ago and before that time we usually toured around southern France and just dipping our toes into Spain for a short time.
However if I wanted, I could quite comfortably drive off the ferry at Dunkerque and be in Northern Spain well within the 24 hours that the BF takes and I would have saved money.
When I was trucking, I usually used Cherbourg or Caen and Madrid was only a 17 hour drive. Calais added a few more. Our first overnight stop was Castets or Cap de Pin, both in the forest road between Bordeaux and Irun and 10 hours off the ferry. Another 7 hours would put us in Madrid.
I also used the Bilbao and Santandar ferry's but more often than not the timings were wrong and it was quicker by road. OK if you need a 24 hour mandatory rest period!
I suppose that as an ex trucker I do think a little differently and a trip down to Madrid was just a weekly hop! and it does not tire me out as I was quite used to it, although nowadays I don't tend to drive for such long distances in one hop!
It all comes down to choices as to where and how a person wants to spend their money.
My choice is not to give it to BFs, 
Works for me but it may not work for others!


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## teemyob

*wee*



peedee said:


> Teenyob, I accept what you say other than it does not work out that much more expensive. It certainly is not cheaper. I was not being biased and unlike many I have quoted facts from my own records and actual fares.
> 
> Even when I worked and did not take the dog, I still did not use the Bilbao or Santander ferries. If you cannot take 3 weeks out than in my view you are wasting time and money going to Spain. Go somewhere closer or even fly and capitise on off season cheap lettings which I think you have advocated before.
> 
> peedee


Fair comment weedee

TM


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