There are many ways to travel to Spain from the UK without flying thanks to a variety of train and ferry services from the south of England. On arrival in Spain, there are plenty of options at rail and ferry terminals for onward travel by rail and bus. Spain has one of the most comprehensive high speed networks in the world, so it's easy to travel quickly by train to the major cities.
For detailed information to how to take public transport to the UK's ferry ports, see Green Traveller's Guide to travelling as a foot passenger from the UK to Europe.
Photos: Eurostar and Brittany Ferries
By Ferry from the UK to Northern Spain
Brittany Ferries runs overnight ferry services for foot passengers (and cycle bikes) across the Bay of Biscay from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Santander (it also runs a service from Portsmouth to Bilbao though it is not for foot passengers). These luxurious ferries are like going on a mini-cruise, the dining is first-class, there are lots of facilities to keep the kids happy, extremely comfortable sleeping cabins. And you may see whales and dolphin on the crossing - the Bay of Biscay is one of the best places in Europe to spot these magnificent marine animals.
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See our Guide to How to travel by public transport to the UK's ferry ports in our section on Travelling as foot passenger from the UK to Europe
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Route: Portsmouth or Plymouth to Santander
Journey Time: 20-24 hours (can vary by up to an hour due to tidal conditions)
Sample timetable: Departs Portsmouth 5pm, arrives Santander the following day at 5.30pm. Departs Plymouth 3.45pm, arrive Santander the following day at 1.15pm.
Frequency of Departures: Portsmouth-Santander 2 per week (journey time is 24 hours); Plymouth-Santander 1 per week (this is the fastest service - takes 20 hours)
Car hire at Santander: Yes
Route: Portsmouth to Bilbao (not for foot passengers)
Journey Time: 33 hours 30 minutes (it's a two-night crossing)
Sample timetable: Departs Portsmouth at 9.30pm on Sunday and 7.30pm on Thursday for 2-night crossings arriving at 8am on Tuesday or Saturday morning.
Frequency of Departures: Portsmouth-Bilbao 2 sailings each way per week (journey time is 24 hours)
Car hire at Bilbao: Yes
Ferry tickets provided by Brittany Ferries (NB. To book as a foot passenger, choose the 'on foot' option from the vehicle selection drop-down selection on step 1 of the ferry booking process):
On arrival at Santander ferry terminal
The ferry terminal lies just one block along Avenida Castilla to Santander's main train station - if you have too much to carry, it's just a minute in a taxi. Santander's train station is well connected to the Spanish rail network, with trains running to major centres in the region and the rest of the country. Santander is the capital of Spain's verdant Cantabria region (part of the wider 'Green Spain' region, along with the Basque Country, Asturias and Galicia), with rugged mountain ranges and a beautiful stretch of coastline including the stunning Picos de Europa mountains.
On arrival at Bilbao ferry terminal
The port of Bilbao is 10 miles (16km) north-west of Bilbao-Abando railway station, from where there are regular train services to major centres across
Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona. There is no public transport direct from/to the ferry terminal, however there is a taxi rank outside the ferry terminal, or you could walk just under 2 miles (3km) to Santurtzi metro station to take the metro to Bilbao-Abando station (Santurtzi is the last stop on Line 2 and goes direct to Bilbao city centre).
For ideas of where to stay, great locally run restaurants, heritage attractions and activities, see our Green Traveller's Guide to Green Spain.
Here's a video we produced about a trip Green Traveller made to Green Spain:
Video produced by Green Traveller Productions
By Ferry from mainland Spain to the Balearic Islands
There are plenty of ferry services that travel out to the Balearic Islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The main hub for Mallorca and Menorca is Barcelona, though there are also ferries (in addition to Barcelona) for Ibiza and Formentera that depart from Valencia (3–4 hours by train from Barcelona), Denia (6–7 hours by train from Barcelona).
The ferry port in Barcelona is about 2.5 miles (4k) from Barcelona Sants railway station, about 10-12 minutes in a taxi, but you can get there easily by metro in about 15 minutes, taking the L3 (green) line from the metro station at the station (known as 'Sants Estació') to Drassanes from where it's a couple of minutes walk to the ferry's check-in desk.
Barcelona to Mallorca and Menorca
There are two ferry operators (Balearia and TransMed) that run an overnight ferry from Barcelona to Palma (Mallorca), which takes 8-9 hours, typically leaving around 10–11pm and arriving about 6am, and from Barcelona to Ciutadella (Menorca), which typically leaves at around 9.30pm and arrives 6.30am (though do check these timings with the operator). Balearia also operates a daytime fast ferry (3 hrs 30 mins) from Barcelona to Alcudia in the northerwest of Mallorca, which also stops at Menorca en route; typically it leaves at 4.30pm and arrives in to Alcudia at 8pm.
Barcelona, Valencia, Denia to Ibiza and Formentera
There are two ferry operators (Baleria and TransMed) that run an overnight ferry from Barcelona, which takes 8-9 hours, typically leaving around 10pm and arriving about 6am (though do check the latest timings with the operator); the ferry from Valencia takes about 5 hours; and the ferry from Denia takes just 2-3 hours. It's just 30-minutes by interisland ferry from Ibiza to Formentera (the interisland ferry also runs between Mallorca, Mallorca and Ibiza), but there are also direct ferries from the mainland to Formentera, see our guide to: How to travel overland from the UK to Formentera, Spain
By ferry from mainland Spain to the Canary Islands
There are two ferry routes from mainland Spain to the Canary Islands, from Huelva (near Seville) operated by Baleria, and from Cadiz, operated by Armas Trasmediterránea.
The ferries from Huelva run to the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (which takes about 40 hours) and stop at the Port of La Luz in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria en route, while the ferries from Cadiz run to most of the main islands, including Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Palma, Lanzarote and Tenerife, taking 28–35 hours.
By train from the UK to Spain
It is possible to travel by train to Spain in a day from the UK. The quickest way is to go by Eurostar to Paris and then travel on one of the direct services from Paris to the border town of Hendaye (France), which borders will Irun in the Basque Region of Green Spain – the quickest you can do that journey from Paris is 4 hours 53 minutes. For instance, you could take the Eurostar departing London St Pancras at 08.01, arrive Gare du Nord at 11.24, then transfer across Paris to Gare Montparnasse (see our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris) to catch the 12.33pm train to Hendaye arriving 4.47pm. From Hendaye, you can take the train across to San Sebastian in just 30 minutes.
There are also multiple other connections between France and other areas in Spain, such as between cities such as Lyon and Marseille to Barcelona. From the UK, the fastest route to Barcelona is to take the Eurostar from London St Pancras International Railway Station then change in Paris to catch the high speed train to Figueres, Girona and Barcelona. From Barcelona there are trains throughout Spain, including to Madrid and south to destinations such as Cordoba, Seville and Malaga. En route to Spain, you have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a half to get the connection, though you could get an earlier train and spent a bit more time in Paris, e.g. have lunch at the wonderful Train Bleu Restaurant in Gare de Lyon). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris. At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to 'Barcelona Sants' station. For more detailed information about the journey and arriving in Barcelona, see our guide to How to travel by train from London to Barcelona
Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris
If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through (and catch the day time train the following day down to Barcelona), there are lots of lovely places to stay in Paris conveniently near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations:
For details of to travel to Ibiza from Barcelona, see our step-by-step guide:
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Please note: The information on this page aims to give you a reasonable idea of train and ferry routes, times and tickets, in order that hopefully there’s enough detail to know what's available, how to plan an overland journey and where to book tickets. The information was up to date at time of publication, but services do change from time to time and we cannot take responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies we provide. Always confirm details when you book with the relevant travel operator. If you are aware of any inaccuracies, we'd really appreciate being informed via our contact page so we can make the relevant changes to the information provided for the benefit of other travellers.