travelling to southern spain without flying from the U.K.

[ilovespain]

Hi looking for advice please. I am planning a trip to Spain this year with my special needs brother who is too afraid to fly therefore its ferry/bus/car/train. Probably will be end of August/beg of September.
He has not travelled further than France and this will be special for his 65th Birthday
I would prefer to get him to Andalucia as it's my favourite part of Spain and I have promised him a flamenco show!
Have done a bit of research regarding Brittany Ferries to Northern Spain or train all the way from London, both seem arduous. And probably will need to include an overnight stay somewhere en-route (this isn't a problem).
I have found a lovely Cortijo just north of Malaga which has animals which I know he will love and it's in driving distance to Granada for the flamenco
Can any of you lovely people help me?
Thank you!

[olive]

If you have access to a car preferably with air con that is how I would travel. Once on mainland Europe the roads are empty apart from the big cities. Overnight somewhere near the France/Spain border.

Then you would have a car at your disposal in Andalucia. Perhaps take in the Alhambra palace too. Last year it had 2.5 million visits.

[Enrique]

Hi ilovespain,
Brittany-Ferries to Santander, chill out for 22 hrs on the trip over. Depending on the time of arrival . Hotel Alisa at Lerma is about 3.5 hrs from the Port. Or if landing earlier Hotels south of Madrid.
Motorways very quiet and if you use the M-50 round Madrid that's normally quiet too.
Just check its not a Holiday weekend on the Days you plan to travel, or the return from "Summer" holidays as most of Madrid will summer on the Northern Coast and return en mass.

[Lavanda]

I've done Exeter to London, London to Paris, Paris to Madrid (overnight sleeper with cabin and showers, etc) and Madrid to Málaga. It was a very relaxing journey. The train changes were easy but the 'hardest' was in Paris changing from the Gare du Nord to the Gare d'Austerlitz as I couldt work out the Metro. However, I had three hours to do it in and spent an hour (after putting my bags in the left luggage in the station) in the Jardin des Plantes just across the road from the station. It was lovely.

The whole timetable was:
Exeter Central 07.11 to Waterloo 10.42 (but it will be St Pancras International now)
Waterloo 12.48 to Paris Gare de Nord 16.47
Paris Gare d'Austerlitz 19.43 to Madrid Charmatin 08.58 (next day)
Madrid Atocha 12.25 to Málaga 16.33

You can see that the connections are not 'rushed' but are easy with enough time. If you like trains and looking out of the window and just taking to people and reading, sleeping, eating and doing civilised things I can recommend this trip. I kept a journal and if you PM me I can give you as much information as anyone could probably want.

PS In your case going from London will mean three trains and two changes. Not really arduous, in my experience. In fact it very stress-free.

[country boy]

Fascinating Lavanda, can you remember the fare? Did you book a through ticket?

[masterob]

I'm afraid the night sleeper service (Trenhotel) ceased operating over 2 years ago!

Instead there is a TGV high speed service between Paris and Barcelona. You travel onwards to Malaga by the AVE. I have done the journey many times and will be doing so again in the next month or so.

For detailed info go to www.seat61.com. There is a wealth of information there on all rail travel.

[ilovespain]

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far I think I prefer the train option over Brittany Ferries. And will look at the link www.seat61.com suggested by masterob! I am not really confident enough to drive long distance on mainland Europe. Although have always wanted to do a campervan trip, just need a campervan and a driver! lol. I have spoken to sncf and renfe re train timetables and costs and they say I cannot book anything until 3 months before travel (i.e. May 2016). Neither of them have booking systems that allow planning journeys more than 3 months in advance! Has anyone travelled by train recently from London to the South of Spain (preferably to Malaga) who can give me an idea of approximate cost during the summer months?
Many thanks again for your kind assistance.

[Lavanda]

Masterob, are you sure the Tren has stopped the Madrid-Paris overnight service as I enquired about it for my parents last year and it was still up-and-running then — according to Renfe. I actually got a company to book everything for me and to co-ordinate the timetable and I still have the details and the cost ... somewhere ... but not in my journal. I would think it's easy enough to book it all without using a third party and avoid holidays, weekends and expensive times. I'll look for the details and let you know but, bear in mind, it was a few years ago.

[Enrique]

Martin Page did it for his OH last December.................OK not Málaga but in the general direction....

"Thanks everybody. She's home now. In the end the train saved the day . Two days for euro star to Paris. Paris to Barcelona, over night in Barcelona. Then to Seville and eventually to Cadiz. Total cost of over £300. That's a bit different to £20 and 3 hours from Stanstead. Oleary has some plusses after all eh ?"

Makes the Ferry price a bit more reasonable...............

[masterob]

Lavanda, 100% certain. I did the journey at least 10 times during my time living in Spain and, from memory, it ceased in December 2013! Take a look at the website I quoted above or even renfe website.


ilovespain, details of times and fares are all in the website I quoted as well as how to book all the way.


Enrique, the ferry is a pleasant alternative but does mean a long drive down from Santander/Bilbao as well as a trek to Portsmouth/Plymouth unless you live nearby!

[gus]

If you are over 60 you can get a tarjeta a dorada (gold card) which gets a 40% discount on rail travel ....not sure how you could get one from uk though.

[masterob]

The 40% discount only applies on certain days, otherwise 25%. I doubt if you could buy one in the UK.

[Lavanda]

I booked my whole trip with Rail Europe Direct

www.raileurope.co.uk

and the whole cost was £219.

[lmj56]

Interesting post. I have been looking into taking a car over so I can bring items to my house in Almeria province, then bring some wine and goodies back on the return journey. Crossing to Santander or Bilbao seems to be quite expensive.
Any thoughts on the cheapest way with a car. I looked at putting the car on a train, limited routes and again very expensive.
Cheers

[Enrique]

Hi imj56,

" Crossing to Santander or Bilbao seems to be quite expensive."........did you price up the Economy crossing.................

http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/economie

As it is so popular it gets booked up way in advance..........I've never managed to use it yet.........

[lmj56]

Enrique, thanks for that. Will try next year hopefully some will be available