Ferry Route Directory for Mainland Spain

A very good thing to keep in mind when planning your Spanish holiday is the ferry routes in Spain. Knowing where you can sail to and from is a very useful tool when planning your route.

Spain is a fairly easy country to travel in by car as long as you keep to the main roads. The main roads and highways are mostly in an excellent state. When you go off the beaten track it is a different story all together. The best advice I can give you is to expect the unexpected and get yourself into a laid back holiday mood! Whether it is a goat herd with all his four-legged friends or a road full of potholes - being impatient will get you nowhere.

Lets start up North and work our way down - listing the 10 ferry ports where you can arrive into mainland Spain - and not to forget: where you can start your sea journey to other countries or to Spanish destinations off mainland Spain.

1. Gijon: placed on the North coast of Spain in in the autonomous community of Asturias you can sail to Saint Nazaire in France . The crossing lasts 14 hours and there are 3 sailings weekly.

2. Santander: is the capital city of Cantabria, also located on the North coast of Spain - between Asturia and the Basque Country. This is where you arrive if you take the ferry from England. There is one weekly sailing from Plymouth in the South of England and the sea crossing is 19 hours and 30 minutes. From Portsmouth the ferry sails 3 times per week and the journey is 24 hours.

3. Barcelona: the second largest city in Spain and the capital city of Catalonia. From Barcelona you can sail to:

The Bealearic Islands:

Mahon (Menorca): 9 Sailings Weekly / 8 1/2 - 9 1/2 Hours Crossing

Ciutadella (Menorca): 7 Sailings Weekly / 4 Hours Crossing

Alcudia (Mallorca): 9 Sailings Weekly / 5 1/2 Hours Crossing

Palma (Mallorca): 14 Sailings Weekly / 7 Hours Crossing

Ibiza: 3 Sailings Weekly / 8 Hours Crossing

Morocco:

Tángier: 3 Sailings Weekly / 26 - 33 Hours Crossing

Italy:

Genoa: 3 Sailings Weekly / 18 Hours Crossing

Civitavecchia (Rome): 6 Sailings Weekly / 20 1/2 Hours Crossing

Livorno (Italy): 4 Sailings Weekly / 19 1/2 Hours crossing

Porto Torres (Sardinia): 6 Sailings Weekly / 12 Hours & 15 Minutes Crossing

4. Denia: is a city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa del Azahar - halfway between Alicante and Valencia. From here you can sail to Ibiza in 2 hours (10 Sailings Daily), Formentera in 3 and a half hour (6 Weekly Crossings) and to Mallorca in 5 hours - 10 times a week.

5. Valencia: the third largest city in Spain. From Valencia you can cross over to Ibiza by ferry 11 times a week (3 - 5 Hours Crossing), to Palma de Mallorca 10 times a week (7 - 9 Hours crossing), Menorca once a week (14 Hours and 30 Minutes Crossing) and finally you can sail to Livorno in Italy twice a week on a 28 Hour Crossing.

Andalusia in Southern Spain has 5 important ports from where you can sail to Morocco, the Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla (located on the north coast of Morocco), Algeria and the Canary Islands.

6. Algeciras:

Tangier Med (Morocco) 1 to 1 1/2 Hours Crossing

Ceuta (Spanish city located on the north coast of Morocco) 30 Minutes to 1 Hour Crossing

7. Almeria:

Nador (Morocco) 6 Hours Crossing

Ghazaouet (Algeria) 8 Hours Crossing

Melilla (Spanish city located on the north coast of Morocco) 3 Hours Crossing

Oran (Algeria)9 Hours Crossing

8. Cadiz:

Arrecife (Lanzarote) 31 Hours Crossing

Las Palmas (Gran Canary) 40 Hours Crossing

Santa Cruz de la Palma - 64 Hours Crossing

Santa Cruz de Tenerife - 50 Hours Crossing

9. Malaga:

Melilla (Spanish city located on the north coast of Morocco). 3 Hours 45 Minutes

10. Tarifa:

Tangier (Morocco) 35 Minutes to 1 Hour Crossing

Coming to the end of the Ferry Route Directory for Mainland Spain you should be aware that there are more ferry routes in Spain than listed here.

What I haven't covered is the ferry routes between the Balearic Islands, Formentera, Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca. You will furthermore be able to find ferry routes between the Canary Islands.

So far - smooth sailing!