Compare driving to the Algarve with flying

A flight to the Algarve from, say, Birmingham takes about three hours. That doesn't include getting to the airport, security checks, hanging around in the waiting area and then the inevitable queues at immigration.

Driving to the Algarve involves getting you and your vehicle across the Channel to start the journey - that either means a quick hop with Eurotunnel (around 25 minutes) and then a long drive through France, Spain and Portugal; or it means a sea crossing such as the one run by Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to Santander in Spain. This trip gets you a good part of the way down - cutting out the French section essentially - but it was, in our case, a night, a day and another night before disembarking at around 7am.

Last lap ... and we've arrived.

The hotel at Estoril was hard to leave, it has to be said. However, the sunny Algarve coast calls and we head off for a final three hours of driving to get us to Praia da Luz. First though, shopping at the local supermarket - stocking up on everything we need.

Supermarkets in Portugal are remarkably like ones back home - with a few exceptions. The produce is great and fish is exceptional. There are many UK brands on sale because of a huge expat population. So, laden down with wine, beer and pop ... oh, and a bit of food ... we head off to our home for the next seven weeks.

The long long drive to Estoril

We were woken today by gentle music after a fairly bouncy night where Gabrielle didn't sleep much. The ship docked at 7am and we awaited disembarkation before heading out on the road towards Estoril at around 7.30am.  Glorious sunrise and, after a bit of initial confusion, we found ourselves on the main road south.

The drive was eight hours long and during it we saw little in the way of traffic. The roads were so empty that one could bowl along merrily without thinking too hard. We stopped for a sandwich and coffee after the first two hours - our second breakfast - and then again around two hours later for lunch.

Hitting the High Seas

The journey to Portsmouth was simple and we joined queues for boarding. About 30 minutes wait and then we drove past security. No checks for us. Then onto the Cap Finisterre. It's huge and we parked up in G2 before struggling off to find our room 8085.

What a revelation! Loads of space with two neat bunks, wardrobes and a bathroom. Two sockets to charge stuff so we are made. Then off for a coffee before departure.

Today's the day!

It's 27 December and this evening we hit the waves on the Cap Finisterre belonging to Brittany Ferries as we head out on the first lap of our adventure to Praia da Luz. The car boot is packed - actually not as full as we expected - and the car has been washed - a shock in itself.

Now, as we head for Portsmouth, Gabrielle has a huge hangover from the night before and has spent the entire morning getting up slowly, an inch at a time. We've had a ball at the Hadley-Peppers over Christmas and now it's time to make our way South and head for warmer climes. Mind you, it would be hard to be much warmer than Camberley at the moment - around 14 degrees! Let's hope that the same weather effect that's making the UK swelter in winter is going to be applied to Portugal's Algarve coast.