Ferry Plymouth - Santander

Plymouth – Santander with Brittany Ferries

This route links Plymouth with Santander, operated by Brittany Ferries. Use the search engine above for current timetables and fares, or use the Direct Ferries button at the top of the page to compare the sailings.

Brittany Ferries was created in 1972 by Breton farmers who wanted to sell their vegetables in Britain, and began operating from Roscoff in 1973. Based in Roscoff and Portsmouth, it links Brittany and Normandy with Plymouth and Portsmouth, and runs overnight crossings to Santander, Bilbao and Cork. Since September 2024 it has also been the majority owner of Condor Ferries, whose Channel Islands services are being brought under the Brittany Ferries name.

Plymouth

Plymouth has launched more voyages of discovery than most ports. Captain James Cook left Plymouth Sound in August 1768 aboard HMS Endeavour on the first of his three Pacific expeditions. The Royal Navy shaped the city: the vast Royal William Yard, a Grade I listed naval victualling depot built in the early nineteenth century, is now a waterfront collection of restaurants, galleries and flats. Plymouth Gin has been distilled at the Black Friars Distillery, inside a former Dominican friary, since 1793, and it is England's oldest working gin distillery, with tours for visitors. The National Marine Aquarium, the largest in the UK, makes a good rainy-day stop before an overnight sailing to Roscoff or Santander.

Santander

Santander turns its face to the sea. The Centro Botín, two pavilions clad in pale ceramic discs and raised on stilts over the water, was designed by Renzo Piano, opened in 2017 and has become the city's calling card. Cantabria is part of "Green Spain", a coastline of cliffs and beaches backed by the Picos de Europa, which lie within about two hours' drive and offer some of the best walking in the country. The region's food is built on seafood, with anchovies from nearby Santoña the local speciality, and on sobaos, small butter sponge cakes. With the cooler, damper climate of the north, Santander also makes a good alternative base for visitors who find southern Spain too hot in high summer.