Something Spanish To Declare: Santander; strikes; car rental
Where to go, how to save, what to avoid
Saturday, 5 July 2008
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Destination of the week: Santander
With the price of crude oil soaring, in parts of Europe some ferry operators are cutting routes, slowing journeys and curtailing services. Yet Brittany Ferries says that next spring it will launch a weekly "luxury cruise-ferry" between Portsmouth and Santander in northern Spain, crossing in just 24 hours.
The shipping line (08705 360 360; www.brittanyferries.co.uk) says services will begin in spring 2009. The weekly voyage is in addition to the existing Plymouth-Santander service.
The new route will compete with the existing P&O Ferries (08706 009 009; www.poferries.com) link from Portsmouth to Bilbao, which sails every three days.
By air, Santander is served by Ryanair (0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com) from Stansted airport.
Warning of the week: Strikes affecting travellers
At least one no-frills airline has hit out at the number of strikes by air-traffic controllers in France – currently running at around one every two months – which has affected some travellers to the Iberian peninsula. But Spain is not exempt from industrial action. Recently, passport-control police in Spain staged a work-to-rule (they are not allowed to strike), and last weekend some ground staff at Palma airport – one of the busiest in Europe in summer – stopped work for two hours in the middle of the day. The action, by employees of Acciona Airport Services, also affected the other Balearic islands airports, Ibiza and Menorca.
As the high price of oil bites, unrest could increase: airlines and airports cannot influence the cost of fuel, and are seeking to cut costs in areas of the business where they can exercise some control, such as the pay and conditions of staff.
Bargain of the week: Off-airport car rental
You touch down in Spain for a driving holiday – and jump into a cab for a ride into town. This will not only save you the time spent queuing at the car-rental desk, and the stress of navigating out of the airport and into town – it could also save you cash. The reason: most Spanish airports levy a very high fee for car rental pick-up, typically €30 (£25). This does not apply at "downtown" offices. Most big companies will allow you to rent in town yet drop the car off at the airport on your way home, for which no fee applies.
If you decide to travel into town from the airport by bus or train, of course, you will save even more cash compared with picking up the car at the airport.
Download of the week: Spain from tip to toe
The Independent Traveller provides a wide range of video and audio programmes for Spain, from city-break podcasts in Barcelona and Tenerife to "48 Hours" films on León and Zaragoza.
