# France to Spain, tried & tested routes needed



## TBL (Jul 22, 2013)




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## Beemer (Jul 23, 2013)

Short and to the point.


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## weekender (Jul 23, 2013)

We did the Portsmouth-Caen crossing and went down past Nantes and on through the Dordogne.
Arriving at Caen cuts off the corner but the ferry is far more expensive (Newhaven-Dieppe is another less expensive option) but it is still a long drive down to Spain.
Travelling down through France you have two options:
a) use A roads where you will see some real France, this takes time!
b) use Toll roads in this case you will see nothing but tarmac and white lines but it is quicker!
we used camper-stop Aires on the way down and it worked really well.

I am going to Spain in September (after the fix-it meet) and am considering the Plymouth-Santander route but it is bloody expensive!
There is no obvious/easy answer here!


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## dave and mary (Jul 23, 2013)

For many years we used Portsmouth to Bilbao, but with the prices now we drive down. As for a route as other have said you could use tolls and get there quicker, but the way we do it now is using the sat nave and putting in no tolls, and make the tripe down all part of the holiday. We use the book camperstop, we have found over the years to be the best by far as it gives almost all sites and Aires on your way down. Every time we go down we try to change the route a bit, this we do by putting different towns or villages into the sat nave, so look on map see a town that is on the way to Spain put it in and away you go, when you feel like stopping press the button on sat nave and all the sites and Aires come up, look in the camperstop book to see if you would like that site ( to us the main thing is it free most are in France ) This way it saves my wife having to travel with a map out and she can see all the sights on the way. Last year we drifted down to Spain in about a week, but coming back we spent 7 weeks in France and never spent a euro on tolls or sites. Which ever way you go there is lots to see, so take your time and enjoy the trip.    :drive:     :drive:


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## weekender (Jul 23, 2013)

Just checked - it is £585 one way on the Plymouth - Santander including a cheap inside cabin....Gordon Bennett!


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## robjk (Jul 23, 2013)

Easy for me head to Calais set sat nav for destination avoid tolls enjoy the journey down. If we see something or somewhere on a road sign / map that takes or fancy go there then let the sat nav redirect us back onto the route.
If time starts to run out we turn around go home better luck next time. 

Best of luck
Rob and sue


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## noarlunga (Jul 23, 2013)

weekender said:


> Just checked - it is £585 one way on the Plymouth - Santander including a cheap inside cabin....Gordon Bennett!



We've booked Portsmouth to Le Havre followed a couple of days later by St Nazaire to Gijon. After a saunter around Spain and a poke around Portugal we aim to drive slowly up through France for a return trip from Le Havre.

Leaving mid October and returning a week or so into November, the price has come in at £350 including necessary cabins etc.

This will be our second trip ever. The first trip was in May when we went to Cherbourg with the intention of driving down to Spain. Brittany was far too interesting and we never made it through.

Johnny A


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## lebesset (Jul 23, 2013)

where in spain do you want to start ....and how long do you want to stay there , and in what season 
best answer depends on that


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## dave and mary (Jul 23, 2013)

Just one thing I forgot to mention if you go Portsmouth to Bilbao/Santana, You still have 600 miles to drive to get down to the south Almeria area where you need to be in the winter months.      :drive:       :drive:


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## Deleted member 21686 (Jul 23, 2013)

Welcome to the forum.


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## Covey (Jul 23, 2013)

Just re-checked my Dover to Calais one way on P&O at midnight 6th August and the cost for an 8m MH was £64!    

I worked out the cost of the 850(ish) miles to Santander in Northern Spain.  Going on toll roads was prohibitive with a 4.7 tonne vehicle but of course non-toll roads are slower and The Beast is really built for comfort,  not speed.  I worked out that I would need 3 days to get from Calais to Santander without killing myself and remembering that I am going "solo".

Given the cost of diesel for the trip plus night stops,  the cost of a one way road trip is not much different than the ferry to Santander.  Driving the route in three days is not exactly a gentle wander through the French countryside, but more of a slog, and if one had kids, the chorus of "how long till we get there!!" would start 100m outside Calais Ferry Terminal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your route to Spain rather depends on where you want to end up.  I doubt anyone wants to winter in Northern Spain cos I have seen Pamplona when there was three feet of snow on the ground!!


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## dave and mary (Jul 23, 2013)

Covey said:


> Just re-checked my Dover to Calais one way on P&O at midnight 6th August and the cost for an 8m MH was £64!
> 
> I worked out the cost of the 850(ish) miles to Santander in Northern Spain.  Going on toll roads was prohibitive with a 4.7 tonne vehicle but of course non-toll roads are slower and The Beast is really built for comfort,  not speed.  I worked out that I would need 3 days to get from Calais to Santander without killing myself and remembering that I am going "solo".
> 
> ...



This of course depends if you wont to go to northern Spain or southern, I see your thinking but from Santander you still have 600 miles if you are going down south. we lived half way between Granada and Almeria, and when the ferry prices were a lot cheaper then we done that way, but since the increase its dover Calais and a steady drive down, and we always seem to find different thing to see on the way, sometimes we do it in3/4 days but usually 7/8 no rush all part of the fun, and of course we never pay to stop over not with the camperstop book.


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## Covey (Jul 23, 2013)

I can be accused of "too much detail" in my posts but in this case I missed out the important bit!.. A very good friend who I walked the Camino de Santiago from France to Santiago with, is going to Santander to do a language course, and having walked over the Pyrenees five times, I want to take The Beast to the highest point on El Camino where it crosses the Pyrenees and watch a sunset and the sunrise over the hills.

Hence the need to be in Northern Spain in September.  I might drive across to Finesterre (in ancient times it was the end of the known world!!) and then drop down through Portugal via Porto to the Algarve for Christmas.

Two years ago I walked from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostella and then out to Finesterre (locally called Fenestra) to watch the sunset at the end of the world.  This time Mr Mercedes can do the heavy lifting!!!!!!!!!!!!:drive:


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## vwalan (Jul 23, 2013)

i use plymouth to santander ,dont have a cabin just a seat . normally pay abot 5-600quid return . in oct /nov return end april .that also includes 70quid for the dog . but i do use a friends family and friends number . but i cant drive down and back in france for that in my truck .plus less wear n tear. and there in 24hrs .
plus i live 30mins from plymouth . dover is 350 mls away if i want a cheap ferry not.


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## Covey (Jul 23, 2013)

Many moons ago in the days of having to own shares in Townsend Torrenson to get a cheaper fare I had a house in a place called Ampuribrava in the Bay of Rosas just over the southern Spanish border near Perpignan.  We lived near Basingstoke and used to catch the 11pm Portsmouth to Le Harve which got to Le Harve at 6am.  We then blasted down the motorways south through Lyon and it took 12 hours Le Harve to the house and cost £30 in tolls.  

The toll fee was far cheaper than an overnight stop for four cos the non motorway route took two days so really it was a no brainer. Ryanair had not been invented then!!

Running a MH changes the economics considerably.  The Beast weighs in at 4,700kgs and therefore attracts the highest toll rate applied to HGV's so any extended use of the toll roads can prove very expensive. Fuel consumption should be better because you are not grinding up and down the gears so much.  Sensible use of the aires solves the accommodation problem somewhat and there is not the urge to crack on the miles.

My teacher friend in Dusseldorf asked if I could transport her to Santander and back as part of our holiday.  I had to point out that Dusseldorf to Santander and back was a 2000 mile round trip which would take 4 days each way and around £400 in fuel + ++  Her alternative was 2 hours on Air Berlin each way at a cost of €128 return.!!!!  Women, don't we all love them!!!:lol-053:


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## vwalan (Jul 23, 2013)

hi covey . i still have a townsend badge a white t on a blue back ground with townsend below it . got it as a small child sometime in the sixties . hate to think how many times that i wore it as a kid on their ferries . its on my sleeveless denim and still goes abroad frequently . but now its brittany ferries for me . its nice to go abroad but its nice to come home aswell. i remember as kids buying wine in france for 3old penny,s a bottle . in spain 20 celta cigarettes for about 6d. imco petrol cig lighters for about the same as well.
i had some shares as a birthday present years ago .enough to get half price fares . good old dad .


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## Dusty (Jul 26, 2013)

*France, Spain and back!*

We're off beginning of October through to beginning of December. Have no plans except channel crossing dates; out 10 Oct back 1 Dec. Any suggestions welcomed. This is our first long trip, have done many 'holidays' to France but first 'retired' outing!  Hoping to do Italy to Greece then long drive back through Albania, FRY etc early next year! Again suggestions advice welcomed.
Dusty and Do (Gloucester)


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## phil8854 (Jul 27, 2013)

*best route to spain via france*

Hi lived in spain for 14 years travelled back and forth by car many times . different ferrys .portsmouth . pool .dover ,dunkirk . etc ..went by car scenic route over the pirines . takes a long time over 30 hrs with out overnight stop .if you want a quicker route from say dover or other channel port .stay on the coast road and head for bilboa the truckers route fast and no mountains you cross the border at bilboa and head down south towards valencia . its 500 miles approx from bilboa to valencia . just to give you an idea . say 10 hrs if you dont stop to long . the rest of the mileage will depend where you start in france .. have fun .. phil:scooter:


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