In part two of our ferry breaks feature, Jane Archer looks at destinations in Belgium, Spain and Ireland. Read part one for ferry breaks in Norway, Denmark and Holland.
Belgium
Bruges
Bruges is celebrated for its canals, cobbled streets, horse-drawn carriage rides and Market Square. It’s also a treat for chocoholics, with shops on every street selling huge bars of the stuff and the Choco-Story museum where they can see how chocolate is made.
Top attractions include the Diamond Museum and the De Halve Maan brewery, where you can learn how beer is made and, of course, have a taste. However, this is a city best enjoyed outside – linger over a beer and mussels in the main square as you enjoy the architecture and watch the world go by, stroll through the streets or join the tourist masses on a canal ride.
Ferry services to Bruges: P&O Ferries’ Pride of Brugge and Pride of York, which sail from Hull to Zeebrugge, 10 miles outside Bruges. There are daily overnight sailings in each direction. Crossing time is 12 hours.
Superfast Ferries/Blue Star Ferries’ Blue Star 1 sails from Rosyth to Zeebrugge three times a week. Crossing time is 18 hours.
On-board facilities: P&O Ferries ships have a choice of standard, premier and club cabins, a Langan’s Brasserie and family-friendly buffets, live entertainment, kids’ clubs, casinos and cinemas.
Blue Star 1 has inside and outside cabins, à la carte and self-service dining, a casino, bar and lounge, cinema and wi-fi Internet corner.
Sample package: Inghams Short Breaks has three nights’ room-only at the Ter Brughe from £147 per person including breakfast. A return ferry crossing from Hull to Zeebrugge for two people and a car costs from £99.
Spain
Bilbao
This is the place for an overdose of culture, courtesy of the Guggenheim Museum, 20 minutes from the port. The building is stunning – a combination of interconnecting shapes variously made from titanium, glass and limestone so no two sides look the same.
Inside, there are 19 galleries – connected by glass elevators and curving walkways suspended from the ceiling – and house art that covers the spectrum from abstract expressionism to cubism and surrealism.
Back in the town centre, take time to check out the shops and restaurants – the city is known for its seafood specialities.
Ferry services to Bilbao: P&O Ferries’ Pride of Bilbao sails from Portsmouth to Bilbao twice a week. Crossing time from Portsmouth is 35 hours; the return takes 29 hours.
On-board facilities: A choice of standard or club cabins, a self-service restaurant and upmarket Langan’s Brasserie, a health spa and hairdressing salon, show bar with live singers and dancers, late-night DJ, cinemas and a kids’ club.
Sample package: LateRooms.com has three nights at the Barcelo Hotel Nervion in Bilbao for £373 for two people from May 1-4 excluding breakfast. A return ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Bilbao for two people with a car and cabin costs from £498.
Santander
Allocate a few hours to see Santander, gateway to the Cantabria and Asturias regions. Drive out of town and head west to discover some little gems along this lesser-known stretch of Spanish coastline.
Santillana del Mar is a living museum of medieval houses unspoilt by the ravages of the motor car – vehicles have to be left in the huge car park outside town – but packed with tourists.
Further west there are delightful seaside resorts and fishing villages; head inland and you can visit the Picos de Europa mountains, rising 8,000 feet. A cable car at Fuente De will take you to the top. The market town of Potes is a good place to stop for its restaurants and to stock up on local food.
Ferry services to Santander: Brittany Ferries’ Pont Aven sails from Plymouth to Santander three times a week from March to Christmas. Crossing time is 20.5 hours.
On-board facilities: A range of cabins from standard to deluxe and Commodore class – the latter with balconies – self-service and à la carte dining, a top-deck swimming pool, bars and lounges, cinemas, casino and kids’ playroom.
Sample package: Brittany Ferries has seven nights at the Hotel Bahia in Santander from £588 per person bed and breakfast including return ferry travel from Plymouth to Santander for two people with a car and cabin in each direction.
Ireland
Rosslare
Rosslare is the gateway to the region’s greater attractions, including numerous golf courses, riding stables and spas.
The Dunbrody famine ship in New Ross is a reproduction of a 19th-century Barque that carried locals to a new life in America.
The Irish National Heritage Park digs through 9,000 years of history as it explains how Celtic, Norman and Viking settlers left their mark. Nearby Waterford is famed for its crystal – you can see it being made at the factory.
Ferry services to Rosslare: Stena Line’s high-speed and traditional ferries each operate two sailings a day between Fishguard and Rosslare. Crossing times are two hours and three hours, 30 minutes respectively.
Irish Ferries’ traditional ferry has two sailings a day from Pembroke to Rosslare. Crossing time is three hours, 45 minutes.
On-board facilities: Stena Line ferries have Stena Plus Lounges and several places to eat and drink. Irish Ferries’ Isle of Inishmore has a brasserie and snack bar, plus children’s play area.
Sample package: Irish Ferries offers four nights’ bed and breakfast at the three-star Talbot Hotel in Wexford from £416 per person, including return ferry crossing from Fishguard to Rosslare with a car.
Dublin
Dublin has long been popular with young groups looking for a non-stop weekend away, but it’s also high on the list for couples for its mix of history, culture and celebrity status.
Historical tours should include Christ Church Cathedral founded in 1030 and Dublin Castle, built on the site of the city’s original fortifications; book lovers can join a Literary Pub Crawl and watch actors perform works by famous Irish writers.
There is excellent shopping and many places to eat and drink, from traditional pubs to trendy restaurants.
Ferry services to Dublin: Irish Ferries’ Dublin Swift fast ferry sails from Holyhead to Dublin twice a day. Crossing time is two hours. The company’s traditional ferry, Ulysses, sails once a day and once at night. Crossing time is three hours, 15 minutes.
Stena Line’s fast ferry sails twice a day from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire. Crossing time is 99 minutes. Its traditional Superferry has two sailings a day from Holyhead to Dublin. Crossing time is three hours, 15 minutes.
On-board facilities: Ulysses has a choice of places to eat, a children’s play area and cinema, plus a Club Class Lounge (also on the Dublin Swift). The Stena Line ferries has Stena Plus Lounges as well as dining and play areas.
Sample package: Thomson has three nights’ room-only at the four-star Park Inn from £147 per person including breakfast. A return crossing from Holyhead to Dublin on Irish Ferries’ Dublin Swift for two people and a car costs from £178.
Belfast
Fine architecture and history abounds in Belfast, but you can also get active – cyclists can don their shorts and pedal along the Lagan Towpath.
There is also a three-hour cycling tour of the city for those happy to brave the roads. Shoppers should head for St George’s Market or the Lisburn Board, while kids will love the W5 Discovery Centre science museum.
Ferry services to Belfast: Stena Line’s Stena Voyager fast ferry from Stranraer to Belfast operates five return crossings a day. Crossing time is one hour, 45 minutes. A traditional ferry sails five times a day. Crossing time is three hours, 15 minutes.
On-board facilities: Stena Voyager will emerge from a £2 million upgrade at the end of the month with a new nail bar, Teen Town with Internet stations and Metropolitan Bar. The ship also has an expanded Stena Plus lounge with leather chairs, laptop power points and a kids’ club.
Sample package: Stena Line has two nights’ bed and breakfast at the four-star Stormont Hotel in Belfast from £155 per person including return travel on the Stena HSS fastcraft with a car.
