road trip to Spain next april/may- advice reqd pls

[kathyshack]

Hi all,
after a bit of advice if possible.... weve been invited to a wedding next may in spain. its in a place called mollerussa approx 130km west of barcelona. Flights for 4 of us are coming out at around £600 and then we'd have to get trains aswell, or hire a car, so were thinking of taking the van down. Now, ive never driven abroad before, and was at first quite daunted by the prospect, but now, im thinking this could be a great road trip. We would have to take summer out of school, but im thinking this could be quite educational in its own right, and as shes only in yr1, i think this wouldnt be to bad if we got some work from the teachers for her.
Im after info on possible routes, ferrys, places of interest to stay, and any kind of advice you have really. im currently thinking we'll have 2 weeks. we'll have a 6 year old and a 2 1/2 yr old with us, so will have to balance it out in terms of driving times etc. What do you reckon? like i said never done anything like this before!!!
any help and advice appreciated
Thanks, Kathyx

[Cableguy]

Sounds fantastic.
Have driven to Spain before, all the way down to malaga. Fuel and tolls can add up to costing more than flying though. But if you turn it into a roadtrip, it's a stunnngly beautiful place to be.

[fodtommo]

I agree on the educational bit!, for gods sake dont forget the laptop and an inverter to run it off the fag lighter!!!! my toddler cannot do more than 2 hrs without endless movies! but yeah go for it, think of what the kidsll see!

[Bowton Lad]

Kathy, from where you live it's around 1,145 miles to Barcelona (Mosseroller is not recognised by the AA), so that's a minimum of 2,290 miles return if you don't deviate from a direct route. I had a quick glance at the route planner on the AA website & the route is motorway to Dover & then motorway Calais - Paris - Clermont-Ferrand - Beziers then over the border in to Spain with yet more motorway. You can use the route planner on the RAC website as an alternative to the AA.

Motorway all the way would be extremely monotonous & very boring for the kids. Work out the fuel costs for your diesel T5 as well as ferry/tunnel fares & motorway tolls Calais - Clermont-Ferrand & then the Millau Viaduct toll on the otherwise toll free A75, then tolls on the Spanish motorways. Don't forget camping fees, food costs etc en route. Then compare that with the air/train fares.

Working all the costs out should keep you quiet for a while. Have fun.

[texasuk]

I did Madrid and back this year and thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I'd recommend allowing 3 days for the driving each way (in a relaxed style), and plan your stops in campsites near the roads you travel on. I personally didn't mind stopping in the free aires or freecamping, but then I only had myself to worry about and I can see why some might feel a bit nervous in them.

Apart from that I cannot recommend the road trip enough, I saw the travelling as an essential part of the holiday that added more than I would otherwise have expected, as well as providing fun experiences all the way.

My route was Le Havre - Le Mans - Bordeaux - San Sebastian - Burgos - Madrid, but that was using the route near the coast to get around the Pyrenees. You might want to go over them south of Toulouse, either through Andorra or at the other end near the coast at Perpignan for a much shorter and direct route.

Whichever way you go you will love it

[Silky]

I haven't driven my van abroad (yet) but there's really nothing to worry about about driving overseas - as long as you remember which side of the road you're on (easy to forget on an empty road when you come out of a junction), the rest of it's just second nature. Depending on when you travel you're likely to find a lot of the roads much quieter than the British motorways and if you've a sat nav, you can sit back and concentrate on the journey rather than trying to practice your French / Spanish and decipher road signs.

I'm sure your little one will learn a lot more on the trip than in school for a week, I'd leave the books behind.

Silky

[horns]

Go for it. We did a similar trip last year, down to Barcelona, across to San Sebastian, and back up again. Stayed over in Calais both directions, plus a stopover in a aire halfway though France. If you fancy a day or two in Barcelona there's a car park with hookup and facilities you can use.

It's a fun trip, and if we managed it in a diesel T25, it should be easy in one of those new-fangled T5s.

[kathyshack]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I think we are gonna go for it. I know it won't be cheaper, but a 2 week road trip will be loads more fun than a 2 night night stay via flying. Just got to figure out where to get ferry to and from, and which route to take down through France. Is there much to see through the centre or would it be better going down the west coast?
Which campsite books would you recomend?
Is there a best time to book ferry? ie sooner rather than later, or do you get bargains nearer thetime?
Do you get an open ticket in case you miss it?
Is there anything I need to know about driving abroad? Do I need to carry certain spares etc?
Any must see recomendations on route?
Probably have loads more questions too, lol. It's all really exciting!
Thanks guys x

[kathyshack]

been looking at ferries.
can get rtn dover to dunkirk for £50
rtn dover to calais (sea france) for £85
portsmouth - caen rtn £250
portsmouth - le harve rtn £305

bilbao and santander routes are £400 single!

[horns]

The tunnel is worth a look too - you can get it for a pretty good price sometimes, its way quicker, and you get to stay in the van!

[Cruz]

Don't forget the tired old 1.9dg following you Kathy

[kathyshack]

Don't forget the tired old 1.9dg following you Kathy

Lol cruz, we'll be following your COOL 1.9dg...... I ain't taking the lead lol x

[Cruz]

LOL We'll take it in turns

[dash]

It will work out more expensive than flying, but also infinitely better - but it sounds like you've worked that out for yourself.

The overnight Caen boat is quite nice if you can get it booked early enough to actually be cheap - you get a good night's sleep* and roll off the boat at about 6am, so you can be a couple of hours into France, then stop for breakfast, and still have a full day to get further south.




* If you're more sensible than me. Last time I used it I was on the bike, and travelling alone so couldn't justify a cabin. Curled up on a reclining chair in full leathers meant I probably had about an hour of proper sleep on the crossing, then got up and rode to Cahors.

[terryvanman]

bilbao and santander routes are £400 single!


I think you will find its a bit cheaper than that, we [ the Picos trip] are paying about £550 with a cabin this coming 23rd to Santander and that's return [I'm paying a bit more cos I have the LWB T5] you save a shed load of fuel money and its a bit like a mini cruise [24 hours] and the weather in Spain along with the Spanish people are much better than the frogs....