Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 9:36am
I agree with Alicia that it is certainly possible to do the trip to Bilbao (or Santander) in one day - I usually leave very early in the morning for a late afternoon boat, approx 9hrs driving, 10-10.5 hrs total allowing for stops, though I am usually driving a van so cruise at less than 120km/h. One point to note is that BF currently require check-in at least 90mins in advance of sailing to allow for socially distanced boarding, rather than the usual 45 mins, which makes it quite difficult to leave early enough in the morning to hit a 3pm or 3.30pm sailing.
Two benefits regarding the test:
- Unlike Spain, UK rules require you to have the test no more than 72 hours before boarding, while going the other way to get into Spain you have to have a test no more than 72 hours before arrival in Spain. Plus you must have your negative result before you can check-in at Portsmouth.
- Currently the UK just require evidence of a negative test, not a negative PCR test. So you can take a faster, cheaper test with results within an hour. Travelling Portsmouth to Spain, you must have a negative PCR test (24-48hr turnaround) making it a near impossible timeframe.
Therefore I would say no problem having a local test then driving to Bilbao or Santander, including having an overnight stop along the way if you have an earlyish boat to catch. The difficult part, under current conditions, is catching the boat from Portsmouth. But who knows what the rules may be come the summer.