Ferry nice: Ireland to get new direct ferry route to Spain

Spain is far and away the most popular holiday destination for the Irish, with more than two million visiting in 2017.

By far the easiest way for sun-starved British and Irish holidaymakers to get to the inviting beaches of Spain is to hop on a plane. In little over two hours – and for prices often as low as €15 – one can be disembarking on the runway at Málaga airport, blinking into the dazzling light of the Mediterranean sun…

Very nice. But sometimes quite stressful. The airport rush. The cramped seats. The overpriced cheese toasties: low-cost air travel to Spain is a blessing, but not always an enjoyable one.

Which is why the news that Cork in southern Ireland is set to welcome a new direct ferry route to Santander in Spain’s north is likely to be music to the ears of many Irish Spain-ophiles.

The route will be operated by Brittany Ferries twice a week, with the first berths going on sale at the end of January. This will be the only direct ferry route between the two countries, with Brittany Ferries recently ending a route that operated between Rosslare in Ireland and Santander, via a stop-off in France at Roscoff.

This new route will have a capacity for 500 passengers and 195 cars, meaning Spaniards who fancy driving around the green green hills of Ireland need simply make their way to Santander for the trip, and vice versa for intrepid Irish travellers.

The crossing will take 26 hours, which is a refreshingly relaxed pace in today’s instantaneous age. There are to be 120 cabins on board, which means families, friends and couples can make a proper night of it, enjoying the onboard bars, restaurants and entertainment before bedding down for a good night’s kip.

Brittany Ferries confirmed that the route will embark from Cork on Wednesdays and Fridays, returning on Thursdays and Saturdays between April and November.

“This is a significant move for Brittany Ferries, offering haulage companies a direct route to Spain and passengers a far greater range of holiday options from Cork,” said Hugh Bruton, general manager of Brittany Ferries Ireland.

In 2017, more than two million people from Ireland visited Spain.