Driving to Spain

[gallego1968]

This year we are thinking on driving to Torrevieja in Spain instead of flying for a change. I worked out that it will take us 2 days there and 2 days back travelling and around £1000 cheaper than flying and then hiring a car.

Has anyone done this before and what advice would you have.

[Its me]

Hi, we do it quite a lot.

I find it a lot easier and cheaper to take Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to Santander or Bilbao.....both about 500 miles down to Torre.

We usually take the route via Madrid, motorway all the way, very quiet roads and only about €3 in tolls.

Saves on hotel costs, the massive tolls driving through France and the coastal motorway in Spain and saves 1400 miles on the car.....

I find unless you have a few stop offs planned the journey through France can be very boring.

If you take a look at the Brittany Ferries web site you will see all the details, if you like the look of if PM me and I will give you my membership number, wi save you 10% on the fare

It only works out cheaper than air fare + car hire on stays of about 5 weeks plus if like us there are only two of you, for say a family of four the savings kick in much quicker

Regards all

Sent from my iPhone using my thumbs

[Yeti_Man]

^^^^ what he said!

We do it once a year now (but to the Costa Blanca area; Altea, Calpe, Moraira, Javea, Denia) and doing the maths the Ferry to Bilbao or Santander makes sense. We usually travel on the 'Pont Aven' which is pretty nice tbh and even has childrens entertainment for our six year old. Usually we'll be doing it as part of a bigger trip so its nice to let the Ferry take the initial strain anyway.

The driving is pretty laid back and I prefer it to driving in this country in a lot of instances. Make sure you have the usual list of items for travelling abraid - hi vis vests, spare bulbs, warning triangle etc etc - oh and pack as lightly as you can is my advice as we always end up stuffing the car to the gunnels and then not using 25% of it. If you do forget anything then you arent in on Pluto - all the usual things can be bought from all the usual places. Enjoy.

[nickguzzi]

Not been that far down into Spain, but for the french section and assuming a short crossing. Calais, Boglogne, Ameins, Beauvais, Paris (I hate navigating and faffing with traffic in foreign cities so would normally avoid like the plague, but as you have a long way to go, my personal aversions may have to be overcome) if you can arrange to hit Paris in the midnight to 6am time window it is usually not too bad, but this is a section where a bit of careful planning an preparation can pay big dividends. Once past Paris it is mostly plain sailing. Orleans, Bourges, Clermont Ferrand, fantastic drive over the Auvergne, Millau (great viaduct!) Beziers, Perpignan and on to the Spanish border. Down to Barcelona, continuing to your destination.

All of the French, German and Italian highway services I have used are far superior to those in UK, and the premium they charge is not so bad either. In France, it is highly probable that there are chain hotels near autoroute exits adjacent to large towns, F1, Etap, Premier Classe, Campanile and Kyriad are wide spread and you are likely to find them in clusters. Again it pays to do a bit of research and have a browse, decide where you have to get to, then search on the sites of which ever company takes your fancy. Check its location is on your satnav or print off a map using google maps as the actual building is likely to be hidden away at the back of an industrial/commercial estate. I normally find Etap or IbisBudget as it is being rebranded suits, 3 beds per ensuite room +/- €50ish. F1 is the same owners but slightly cheaper and down market, usually loo and showers not ensuite. Breakfast is not included and is usually avoided - a cafe or bouglangerie wil be nearby.

Other contributors have recommended the long sea crossing, which may or may not be for you. Personally even the crossing to Calais bores me stupid. I have used the Normandy crossings a lot, but stopped once the companies decided to extend the passage time.

I like driving, so traversing a big country like France is a wonderful opportunity, you may think differently. I usually plan my stops around the availablity of recommended restaurants. Again a bit of detail planning is necessary, as it is now easy to find rubbish food in France too. But planning is part of the anticipation. Have a look at your chosen route, are there things to do and see nearby? Chateaux, historic railways or car museums etc.

You will need extra stuff like a hi-viz jacket per person, 1st aid kit, bulbs set, triangle, fire extinguisher and now breathalyser kit etc, but you would need them anyway, and can get them when they are on offer here rather than at premium prices later.

[GentleGiant]

If you book any one night stays along the way, DONT use Expedia, two out of the three hotels I booked last time had no record of the booking and didnt have any rooms available. Also, be very careful about anywhere you do book, dont take the photos they post on their booking website as the gospel truth; the one that DID receive the Expedia booking (near Rheims), looked very nice on the website, but my 13 y/o son commented that it looked like a cross between a prison and a knocking shop when we got there.

(Please explain why there were multiple unencrypted pron channels, but the three childrens channels were scrambled!!??)

[nickguzzi]

The main cheapo chain hotels in #4 can be booked in advance on their own website, if you don't turn up you don't pay. One of the advantages is you can turn up after hours and book yourself in via a hole in the wall using you card to pay. Not very personal, but basic and serviceable. I don't usually bother to book and have only been turned away once, but as I said, there are usually other similar ones nearby, quite often a franchise restaurant too - Courtpaille or Buffalo Grill are quite distinctive. (these are not to be taken as a recommendation from me!).

[littleade]

+1 on Its me's comments. I've been to spain twice on my bike and using the ferry to spain you can get there in 2 days, giving you more holiday time, plus you won't be as creamed as you would be driving/travelling all the way by car through france, so will need less recovery time. If you do use the Bilbao/santander option I'd recommend you book a cabin as you'll be on the ferry for 24 hours and the last thing you want to be when you get off either end is knacked with a long drive in front of you because you got no sleep

[gadgetman]

They keep playing adverts about this on the radio lately

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=fco%20driving%20spain&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CDsQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fukinspain.fco.gov.uk%2Fen%2Fnews%2F%3Fview%3DNews%26id%3D791658582&ei=chwUUZKiB4rD0QW66YCQBA&usg=AFQjCNFeXqYhcj9tCRhc47f8XBfdRF4AEw&sig2=VShdZ43mf4hI-KvYcCoajg&bvm=bv.42080656,d.d2k

[FUBAR]

(Please explain why there were multiple unencrypted pron channels, but the three childrens channels were scrambled!!??)

You tell us, your the one who booked it!

[g0bgb]

would agree Santander route then onto Madrid, done this to Gibraltar a couple of times , also gone thru France before just set Satnav to aviod tolls

all good fun

[mannyo]

I have driven from the UK to the Costa Del Sol every year since 2008 and doing it again this June. Our usual route to the south is:

Eurotunnel to Calais taking the 4.30am train, then down through Rouen, Le Mans, Tours. We overnight in the bordeaux area arriving at around 5pm. Following day we drive to Madrid, setting off at 9am and getting there at around 5pm again. Last day is much shorter and we usually arrive around midday to 1pm in the Malaga region.

Take your time, have regular breaks and if you start to feel sleepy have a quick 5 minute nap. If you have a nap, make sure all your car doors are locked even when you are inside.

Last year we took the ferry, but it worked out a lot more expensive overall. The ferry cost us the best part of £900 return, and the timings meant that we had to spend an extra night in Spain on arrival before our accommodation was available to us.

Whilst it is more relaxing, we saved nothing since even with fuel and motorway tolls in France it's still a lot cheaper to drive.

This year, we are doing it again but using a different route.

Overnight Portsmouth to Le Harvre, then Rouen, Le Mans, Tours, Bordeaux.......

Any questions feel free to ask, it certainly saves a lot over flying and hiring if the party travelling is large enough.

You need to understand though that the local spaniards drive very differently to us, but you soon adapt and get used to it and you may struggle in some of the places you stop as English is not that widely spoken away from the tourist areas. My dad is Spanish, so for meals and fuel we usually venture off the main roads into small towns and have wonderful food in local cafe's / resturarants thus avoiding the motorway services (which are nothing like you get here anyway). Plus off the beaten track most petrol stations are the "We serve you" variety, that takes some getting used to.

[GentleGiant]

You tell us, your the one who booked it!

I am not saying we were uncomfortable sleeping there - but we arrived at 11:30pm and booked ourselves back out at 3am and made a run for an early ferry crossing!!!

[Gizmo]

Manny, do you know the breakdown on what the rough costs are for fuel to travel through France at an average of 45 - 50mpg (Calais to the border) and what the autoroute costs are?

[mannyo]

Manny, do you know the breakdown on what the rough costs are for fuel to travel through France at an average of 45 - 50mpg (Calais to the border) and what the autoroute costs are?

Did it in My Superb MK2 PD140 DSG, toll wise from Calais to the Spanish border at Irun, its about £48 each way. Fuel wise I got around 450-500 out of a tank, so about 1.5 tanks worth from Calais to Irun.

Fuel is a lot cheaper in Spain than France, but from Irun to Madrid its hard to avoid the toll motorway in the Burgos area as there is no really good alternative.

[Yeti_Man]

Manny, do you know the breakdown on what the rough costs are for fuel to travel through France at an average of 45 - 50mpg (Calais to the border) and what the autoroute costs are?

Guys, ive found this site great for costing my trips (fuel, tolls etc) in advance...

http://www.viamichelin.com/

[Gizmo]

Thanks, that is cheaper than I thought, never looked into it seriously, but with flights costing around a grand for 3 people this is an option we are seriously considering (especially as we get free ferry travel!)

[Oet]

Guys, ive found this site great for costing my trips (fuel, tolls etc) in advance...

http://www.viamichelin.com/

You don't have to go via paris, if you are concerned, though it is slightly quicker as long as you don't do it in rush hour, if you you go via rouen and down towards tours. A good site to see accurate toll costs is the autoroute.fr website.

[Yeti_Man]

You don't have to go via paris, if you are concerned, though it is slightly quicker as long as you don't do it in rush hour, if you you go via rouen and down towards tours. A good site to see accurate toll costs is the autoroute.fr website.

Thats the route I usually take.

[nickguzzi]

You can use either ViaMichelin or GoogleMaps to plan routes. Both allow you to chose a route voiding tolls or motorways, shortest , scenic whatever. The Michelin site is quite broken now as regards selecting hotels or restaurants if I find, but it can be made to work, especially fuel costs and route directions. Once you get the hang of Google it is very useful, and its zoom facility is much more responsive.This site has useful info

http://about-france.com/tourism/routes-to-spain.htm

[Gizmo]

Rough costings worked out on fuel at €1.36 litre and averaging 45 MPG.

Calais to Malaga 1,300 miles, so approx. £300 in fuel and around £73 worth of tolls (toll costs taken from the Michelin site), this is for the round trip,

For those who have done this recently, does that sound about right?

[Tailendcharley]

Hi fellas and galls,

Some interesting thoughts here and I agree with all of them.

I do this drive regularly down to Roquestas de Marr on the south coast of Spain.

I have flown and hired cars there,used my own car driving there from various ports etc at all times of the day and night.

I have now settled for the midnight ferry to France and a slow drive down through France and into Spain taking several days.

We have several drivers with no time restraints so this method suits us.

At the end of the you will find the best method that suits you and go for it.....I will do everything possible to avoid flying...I just hate aeroplanes and airports...each to his own I suppose.

Regards

Terry (I hate flying) Smith.