“Being able to watch the journey out of the cabin window, seeing France fade away and Spain come into view, you experience the travel and the journey itself as part of the trip, rather than it being a means to an end. We both really love that,” says Katie Nicholson, who recently became a digital nomad, setting sail with Brittany Ferries from the UK to Spain on a new adventure with her partner, Ciaran.
“We rented out our flat and are now remote working from Spain and Italy for a few months, and doing this on and off for the rest of the year,” she says. “We got the ferry mid-April from Portsmouth to Santander. Even before we bought the car for the road trip – an old convertible Saab 93 – we planned on getting the ferry, aiming to fly less.”
As more people seek out greener ways to head abroad compared with flying, demand for ferry travel is on the up. And many travellers, like Nicholson, are reaping the benefits of avoiding busy airports and cramped airline seats in favour of fresh air, good food and plenty of space to take a stroll.
“It feels like you’ve started your holiday early. You don’t really relax when you’re in an airport or on a plane, whereas on the ship, it’s more like: ‘What shall we eat? What shall we watch? Shall we go and sit in the sun and read?’ – all very nice decisions to have to make,” says Nicholson, who last took a ferry on the same route with her family about 20 years ago. “We loved it. It was such a novelty for me and my sister.”
Good food, great views and a comfortable cabin make for a relaxing journey
Boarding the Brittany Ferries service to Santander at about 8.30pm for a departure time of 9.30pm, she describes the process as “genuinely seamless”, queueing for about 20 minutes before tickets are scanned and you are directed to your room. Once en route, the couple settled into their “newly decorated, spotless” four-berth cabin with outside view and en suite (there are dog-friendly and more spacious “deluxe” cabins also available). While the upper deck offered seating and stunning sea views, there was plenty to keep them occupied indoors too, with a complimentary selection of new films and TV shows in the cabin, as well as entertainment in the cafe-bar, including bingo, DJ sets, a pub quiz, and football games shown on the big screens.
“There was also morning yoga, talks on whales and dolphins – and whale-spotting at certain times of year – as well as lighthouse watching, which took place along a specific part of the route that came close to the French coast, with a guide explaining them all,” says Nicholson. “It kind of felt like we went to France in a way. Given that everyone was speaking French on board – plus, in the cafe, we had one of the best croque monsieurs I’ve ever eaten.”
The ship also had a more formal restaurant serving a mix of “beautifully plated” Mediterranean dishes, from gazpacho with fresh crusty bread, Iberico ham and padron peppers, to Greek stifado stew and rack of lamb. After two relaxing nights on board they arrived quayside in Spain at 8am, refreshed and ready for their road trip. “The whole thing was so smooth. We got in the car and we were out and into the sunshine in maybe 15 minutes,” she says.
“On the first day we drove straight down to Seville, because we wanted to get there for the Easter festival. I think if we’d flown, there’s no way we would have been up for getting into a car for eight hours,” says Nicholson. “We arrived in the city for the hottest April on record. It was pretty full-on, but amazing to be there and soak it all in.”
After the bustle of Seville, it was on to Frigiliana, a small inland village with just a few cobbled streets of whitewashed buildings with blue and green shutters. The clear sparkling waters around Nerja were only 10 minutes by car for a day at the beach. Then it was on to Valencia for football at Spain’s oldest stadium, Estadio De Mestalla, and sampling local produce at the food markets, from fresh seafood and charcuterie, to sweet Valencia oranges, juiced to order.
They stayed in Valencia’s buzzy neighbourhood of El Carmen, home to historic architecture, a thriving street art scene, and independent shops and restaurants serving a variety of cuisines. “We actually had Nepalese curry one evening. Valencia has a more multicultural dynamic so we stepped outside the Spanish food culture and tapped into the rest of what the city had to offer,” says Nicholson.
The seaside town of Cadaqués; Valencia; pan con tomate
After a few days in Sitges, known for its LGBTQ-friendly culture and vibrant nightlife, the north-eastern seaside town of Cadaqués rounded off their time in Spain. “It was here that I finally had pan con tomate, which I had been waiting for since the start of the trip! It’s simple but delicious, and we couldn’t find it anywhere in the south as it’s more of a Catalan dish,” she says. “Close to Cadaqués we also discovered Cap de Creus natural park, a 15-minute drive from where we were staying. It’s an incredible mountainous landscape by the sea, with a monastery perched up high on the hillside.”
After five weeks exploring Spain by car, the pair moved on to Italy by ship: a transport decision they made having enjoyed the previous sea crossing so much. Then, spontaneity prevails for the rest of their European adventure, before returning to the UK by the end of the year.
“Especially as we were going for so long, it was great to have that benefit of our car. We were just able to pile in everything that we wanted to bring. That made such a big difference and it was great for an overpacker like me,” says Nicholson. “The sense of freedom and flexibility of taking the car with us on Brittany Ferries definitely made me want to consider this for future travel.”
Drive on, put your feet up and relax on the way to your European break this summer. To find out more about hassle free holidays by ferry, click here
