Soldato
Yeah it's a long trip but you get to see places you may never see otherwise.
Thinking of driving to Spain next August.
- Thread starter Schizo
- Start date
Don't do it as a continuous stretch, you'll hate it before you get half way there. Do some stop overs and enjoy some local scenery along your way.
We went to the South of France in convoy and it was a pleasure to drive, but we took fairly regular breaks.
We went to the South of France in convoy and it was a pleasure to drive, but we took fairly regular breaks.
Soldato
^ This
By all means do a long drive but stop over at places, don't treat it as a 'must get there as quick as possible' drive.
Soldato
I did an overnight some years ago, portsmouth to Caen. Paid a few extra quid for a posh seat in a restricted area on the boat, was like a first class plane seat but far more spread out. Crossing something like 7 hours.
This means we started the following day (early morning like 6am off the ferry)
Also your going down the left side of France and can go via Le Mans easily if you fancy a quick poke around.
Its not significantly shorter, but the overnight with a decent seat is quite a nice way of doing it. Was recommended by my uncle who used to do the trip a lot as my cousin lived in France.
This means we started the following day (early morning like 6am off the ferry)
Also your going down the left side of France and can go via Le Mans easily if you fancy a quick poke around.
Its not significantly shorter, but the overnight with a decent seat is quite a nice way of doing it. Was recommended by my uncle who used to do the trip a lot as my cousin lived in France.
Soldato
Sounds like a great idea.
Comfortable crossing, a good night's sleep and ready to set off early.
Thanks for the info m8,I’ll look into it.
Yeah I’ll be stopping over in France for sure,I know it’s a long way but it’s something I want to do (bit like some people on here driving on the ring) and will do it next year or the year after,will have to sit down and work out a route with a stop over for the 3 of us.
Soldato
How long are you planning to go for?
Would echo a toll tag being ideal if going through France. It is tempting to head off the motorway but every junction, roundabout and village/town you pass through with speed limits eats into your average speed compared to wafting along on the toll roads.
Would echo a toll tag being ideal if going through France. It is tempting to head off the motorway but every junction, roundabout and village/town you pass through with speed limits eats into your average speed compared to wafting along on the toll roads.
I’m going for 7 days in Spain but I’ve got 3 days each side of he holiday to do anything and that’s why I wanted to drive as I’ve got the time to drive there.
There is also a factor of hiring a car in Spain when we get there but if I’m driving I’ll have a car to drive around the island.
We spent 6h driving in the dark from Newcastle to Folkestone, then the Eurotunnel so there wasn't much to see there. Calais to Oisterwijk again didn't really have anything in the way of sights. I'd agree with the above posts though, if you have stops along the way and stretch it out then it won't be so bad. I just can't afford to spend the extra days leave on travelling time, I'd rather wake up early, hop in a 20 minute taxi to the airport and be there.
Soldato
Drove from Portsmouth to La Rochelle a couple of years ago via tunnel. The viamichelin site was pretty much spot on for toll costs.
Satnav went weird near Le Mans so got to see more of that than I wanted in the way back.
One thing about the euro tunnel is that if you turn up really early, you can usually jump onto an earlier train if there is space. The French side is a cluster**** though.
I used to drive Cardiff to Aberdeen in 1 sitting a few years back (10 hours), couldn't do it now as its much easier to fly.
Satnav went weird near Le Mans so got to see more of that than I wanted in the way back.
One thing about the euro tunnel is that if you turn up really early, you can usually jump onto an earlier train if there is space. The French side is a cluster**** though.
I used to drive Cardiff to Aberdeen in 1 sitting a few years back (10 hours), couldn't do it now as its much easier to fly.
Soldato
Anyone driving through France, Spain and Portugal should pickup a toll tag to take all the pain out of using the toll roads.
I had one of these when I lived in the UK and sailing through all the peages at 30 kph while paying exactly the same fee of those fumbling with tickets and change out of the passenger’s window was an absolute joy.
https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/
I had one of these when I lived in the UK and sailing through all the peages at 30 kph while paying exactly the same fee of those fumbling with tickets and change out of the passenger’s window was an absolute joy.
https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/
Soldato
Yeah there is that, if you have the time to stretch it out to a full on road trip punctuated by several stops on the way it's a good idea.
Not so great if you've got limited time.
I drive Manchester to Valencia on average 3 times a year. The routes I tend to take are...
- 24hr ferry from Portsmouth to either Bilbao or Santander followed by a 7 hour drive. To be honest I’ve been stopping a night in a Parador on the way to Valencia to break up the journey.
- Channel Tunnel followed by toll roads. I can single stop this with Dijon being half way from Manchester (about 650 miles) but I tend to 2 stop it.
- Overnight ferry from Hull to Zeebrugger and the two stops down to Spain.
- You can get a ferry to the Majorca and Ibiza from Barcelona and Valencia.
- From Jan 1st the AP7 in Spain is toll free from Tarragona to Alicante.
- It is worth renting a tag for the French toll roads.
- Fuel is f'ing expensive in France. Brim the tank in the UK and Spain
- The days of sitting at a ton on French toll roads is long gone.
Soldato
Never, repeat never fill up at autoroute service stations. Pull off the autoroute and fill up at a supermarket. You’ll pay the same or slightly less than UK petrol stations.
That’s superb,thanks for your time in posting.
Soldato
I agree with the others who recommended getting a toll tag - it’ll save you a huge amount of hassle and make the process far simpler.
Unless you’re planning on making a holiday of the drive itself (and it doesn’t sound like you are) then I’d definitely stick to the toll roads. Whilst the speed limit on some of the non toll roads is 110 (more often 80 or 90 nowadays though), you’ll have to slow to 50 for the towns, stand a higher chance of getting caught in traffic, and the drive will be far more tiring. The toll roads are expensive, but they’re expensive for a reason. When I lived in France, I used them pretty much exclusively on any journey longer than an hour or so.
Be careful with the speed limits - they can now send the tickets home, and their cameras are far harder to spot than UK ones. I’d recommend running Waze on your phone which will tell you the limit, plus any cameras or speed traps that have been reported.
In terms of whether it’s too long a drive, I’d happily do it without any bother, others would hate it. Only you can decide that really.
Unless you’re planning on making a holiday of the drive itself (and it doesn’t sound like you are) then I’d definitely stick to the toll roads. Whilst the speed limit on some of the non toll roads is 110 (more often 80 or 90 nowadays though), you’ll have to slow to 50 for the towns, stand a higher chance of getting caught in traffic, and the drive will be far more tiring. The toll roads are expensive, but they’re expensive for a reason. When I lived in France, I used them pretty much exclusively on any journey longer than an hour or so.
Be careful with the speed limits - they can now send the tickets home, and their cameras are far harder to spot than UK ones. I’d recommend running Waze on your phone which will tell you the limit, plus any cameras or speed traps that have been reported.
In terms of whether it’s too long a drive, I’d happily do it without any bother, others would hate it. Only you can decide that really.
Soldato
By all means keep an eye for the speed cameras in France, but a recent report reckoned 75% are out action after being torched by the Gilet Jaunes.
Remember that the limit on the autoroutes drops to 110 kph in the rain.
The 50 kph limit in towns/villages starts right at the red bordered, white background name sign and it’s not unknown for the local Gendarmes to sit right round the corner waving down anyone a couple of kph over the limit. This is where the fun starts as they don’t need any speed measuring equipment apart from their eyes to decide you were speeding. Expect to be hit with a cash fine and the Gendarme to hold onto to your driving license while you head to the nearest cash point.
Do not roll through stop signs. You’re supposed to be stationary long enough to apply the handbrake, look around, release the handbrake and drive off if the way is clear. A favourite revenue generator for the Gendarmes around Christmas time.
You might be starting to see why Gendarmes are posted to different areas from where their families live and have their own fortified barracks in the larger towns and cities.
Remember that the limit on the autoroutes drops to 110 kph in the rain.
The 50 kph limit in towns/villages starts right at the red bordered, white background name sign and it’s not unknown for the local Gendarmes to sit right round the corner waving down anyone a couple of kph over the limit. This is where the fun starts as they don’t need any speed measuring equipment apart from their eyes to decide you were speeding. Expect to be hit with a cash fine and the Gendarme to hold onto to your driving license while you head to the nearest cash point.
Do not roll through stop signs. You’re supposed to be stationary long enough to apply the handbrake, look around, release the handbrake and drive off if the way is clear. A favourite revenue generator for the Gendarmes around Christmas time.
You might be starting to see why Gendarmes are posted to different areas from where their families live and have their own fortified barracks in the larger towns and cities.
btfy, appropriately .