My name’s Amanda and I’m a ferry-holic. Previously I was addicted to glamorous plane travel, back in the days when a trip away meant grabbing some hand-luggage and heading to the airport with just enough time to hit Pret before boarding the plane to sip free Bloody Marys, watch films and wake up in an exotic country.
But the moment I had kids, relaxing flights were a thing of the past. Suddenly everything had to be meticulously planned and packed in advance because there’s so little baggage allowance. I’d arrive at airports dutifully early but the two hours’ wait to board felt like 10 as I tried to stop the kids from accidentally destroying duty free perfume displays and running the wrong way down the travelators. And while sleepy newborns are a doddle, keeping toddlers amused on a long-haul plane journey is near impossible: there’s only so far a lolly on take off and Peppa Pig on the iPad can get you before it’s run-through-first-class-curtains-repeatedly time.
It was in the early stages of my family’s travel-longing, plane-nightmare era that we started to look more closely at ferry travel. Who knew there was this amazing form of transport, where you could drive your own car on to the boat – packed to the roof with toys/duvets/everyone’s favourite biscuits – stroll around, perhaps even enjoy a film in an actual cinema or a cooked meal at a proper table, and why had nobody (apart from my dad) mentioned it before?
We started off with a short channel-hop and since then have travelled to Spain, the Isle of Wight, Jersey, Ireland, Guernsey, Morocco and back to France several times and each journey has, for the most part, been enormous fun. Our family highlight is still a journey on the 24-hour overnight Cap Finistère Brittany ferry from Portsmouth to Santander in northern Spain.
On that particular ship the fancy cinema was showing Penguins of Madagascar, a “major result” apparently, which we viewed in comfortable seats munching popcorn. My oldest son was also ecstatic when he saw our cabin and its bunk beds – there’s something about a curved window, and watching the land disappear from view that puts a smile on kids’ faces. We also got to meet the captain and, after a brilliant night’s sleep (turns out a bit of rocking is good for getting toddlers to sleep), we woke up in the Bay of Biscay and spotted dolphins after breakfast. The onboard marine wildlife expert told us that, at the right time of year (March to September), you might even see whales too.
It’s probably the best holiday we’ve ever had, before our real holiday had even begun; at no point did I have to strap a sobbing child to a chair due to turbulence, ask if anyone needed a toilet stop or if they’d lost the feeling in their legs from sitting in the same position for 12 hours. I even had wine in an actual glass in the evening.
Not that it’s all been plain sailing (pun intended). There was the time my two-year-old chose not to sit down for an entire four-hour journey to Dublin from Holyhead. I spent the whole time chasing him around the soft play area, watching him dance at the kids’ disco led by an entertainer dressed as a shark. I needed a lie down after that marathon. At least I could relax in the car while he slept as soon as we left the ship – and it was 100% preferable to being cooped up in an aeroplane.
And then there was the time we merrily drove off the boat from France and ended up circling Caen, in the middle of the night, on the wrong side of the road. But, overall, ferry travel is now our favourite mode of transport for the family. What’s not to love about taking the kitchen sink, having access to a kids’ play area, no seat-belts or costly car hire and being able to dash out on deck to spy land when the captain announces we’re nearly there? And did I mention sunrise and sunset? The view from sea is magical and would convert even the most hardened plane fanatic.
