Best route to Easteren Spain? (1 Viewer)

Nettie

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When we go to Spain we have been a few different routes. Which way do you think is the best, and/or the quickest.?
 
Jan 28, 2008
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best is a hard thing to define we like to amble down quickest is a choice of east or west route both from calais via paris to orleans then either clement ferand perpignon barca or pottiers biaritz zaragoza less than half hours diffence acording to via michelin did the calcs to benidorm
 
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Nettie

Nettie

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Yes, we were wondering which was the easiest/quickest seeing as it will be winter & not wanting to hang around in France.(shame).. But we are heading for a bit of warmth..

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Nettie

Nettie

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Landing in Calais, then going to Benidorm for Xmas for a few days before pottering southwards to Gibraltar..
 
Apr 14, 2008
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Probably get more response under continental touring than uk touring.

Could this be moved to continental touring please.

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Feb 9, 2008
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I have put 2 links in the resources section that will provide answers to your question and more.
This is one page from 'about france.com' which contains more information on routes, including toll and non toll.

►ALL ROADS SOUTH LEAD TO SPAIN ......
There are four main routes south through France, and all of them lead to Spain.
They all include long stretches of toll motorway, but three out of four also include long sections of road that are not toll roads.
While it is of course possible to find a route south through France from Calais to the Spanish border avoiding all tolls, this is generally a pointless exercise except for very slow-moving vehicles, as it would involve hundreds of kilometres on slow road with numerous towns and villages to negotiate.

Routes to Mediterranean Spain:
Destinations : Barcelona, Valencia, the Spanish Costas from the Costa Brava to the Costa del Sol.
The Spanish border crossing is at le Perthus, south of Perpignan
Recommended routes: Distances from Calais to the Spanish border at Le Perthus
  • a) All motorway, avoiding Paris. : Leave Calais on the A 26 following signs for Reims. Then follow down through Reims, Troyes, Dijon, Lyon, Valence, Montpellier and Perpignan, to the Spanish border at Le Perthus.
    Distance: 1238 km Map, showing motorway hotels - Calais, Reims, Dijon, Lyon route
  • b) All motorway, via Paris. Leave Calais on the A 26 following signs for Reims. Then follow down through Paris, Orleans, Clermont Ferrand, Beziers, Perpignan. Motorway free from Clermont Ferrand to Béziers, except for toll on Millau viaduct.
    Distance: 1174 km Map, showing motorway hotels - Calais, Rouen, Orleans route
  • c) Mostly motorway, avoiding Paris. Leave Calais on the A 16 following signs for Abbeville. Then follow down through Rouen, Evreux, Chartres, Orleans, Clermont Ferrand, Beziers, Perpignan. Motorways free from Abbeville to Rouen, and Clermont Ferrand to Béziers, except for toll on Millau viaduct.
    Distance: 1172 km Map with hotels
  • d) The fastest route without any tolls: see To the Mediterranean without tolls Distance, a little over 1200 km. But it will take about 3 to 4 hours more driving than any of the other routes
Routes to northern and western Spain,
via southwest France.
Destinations : San Sebastian, Bilbao, Madrid, Portugal, Asturias, La Coruña .
The border crossing is at Irun.
Recommended routes
  • a) Fastest route - all motorway or dual carriageway except through Rouen. Leave Calais on the A 16 following signs for Abbeville. Then follow down through Rouen, Alençon, Le Mans, Tours, (or Rouen, Chartres, Orleans, Tours) and the A10 to Bordeaux, Bayonne and the Spanish border. See tolls and details below
    ► Map, showing motorway hotels on these routes
  • b) The fastest route without any tolls: see Calais to Bayonne / Irun without tolls Distance, about 1100 km. But it will be over 3 hours more driving than the motorway route
  • c) Alternative good routes - See tolls and details below
► For quiet B&Bs near A10 or A20, check out the B-and-B in Francewebsite.
► For nice places to stay in northern Spain, check Small hotels in Northern Spain
Map, showing motorway hotels on these routes

Savings on tolls: for cars, 53 € difference between the fastest and the cheapest routes: for camper vans the difference is about 85 €, and for HGVs and trucks, about 170 €.
NB: The shortest route..... Since the savings on fuel and on distance make the shortest route an attractive proposition for HGVs (trucks), it is not necessarily a route that is recommended for cars on weekdays. But HGVs are banned from the roads on Sundays in France, and there are far less of them on Saturdays. Routes 3 & 4 are recommended as offering a good balance between speed and toll costs.
Other useful information

Return to About-France home page Full site index

To contact About-France.com, use the Broken Link Removed.
 

Brian_K

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Just working on it at the moment, trying to get a balance between low toll charges and reasonable progress. This is as far as I've got at the moment:
  1. Calais - Rouen - 133 miles
  2. Rouen - Chartres - 83 miles
  3. Chartres - Orleans - 50 miles
  4. Orleans - Clermont Ferrand - 186 miles
  5. Clement Ferrand - Beziers - 214 miles
If anyone sees a flaw in my plan, please speak up.

Brian

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Feb 9, 2008
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Brian[/QUOTE]
Just working on it at the moment, trying to get a balance between low toll charges and reasonable progress. This is as far as I've got at the moment:
  1. Calais - Rouen - 133 miles
  2. Rouen - Chartres - 83 miles
  3. Chartres - Orleans - 50 miles
  4. Orleans - Clermont Ferrand - 186 miles
  5. Clement Ferrand - Beziers - 214 miles
If anyone sees a flaw in my plan, please speak up.

Brian
Brian, you may find this of interest, taken from the about france.com link I have placed in resources.



► Option no tolls at all
This is not the most sensible option, since the few euros saved by not paying any tolls - even for motorhomes - will be offset by a longer route with more stress, and lots of stopping and starting as you go through built-up areas, rather than skirting round them.
For this reason, the details of the no tolls option are indicated below.

► Option minimal tolls
Paying a few euros in tolls on a 1000 km journey pays for itself in time saved and less stress. This route offers the best balance between speed and toll costs for driving from Calais to the Spanish border at Irun, near Bayonne.

About-France.com recommended toll-saving route: Calais > Abbeville > Rouen > Chartres > Tours > Poitiers > Angoulême > Bordeaux.

The tolls that are worth paying:
Calais to Abbeville on A16 : 8 Euros
South exit from Rouen on A 13 > A154 : 2.10 Euros
Motorway round Tours: 1.80 Euros ( 2 x 0.90 Euros)
The A63 - the tolled motorways south of Bordeaux avoiding the long built-up area around Bayonne and Biarritz. Cost 14.40 Euros (see A63)
Total recommended tolls (2015): about 27 Euros for a car, or about 40 €uros for a normal motorhome, RV or camping car.
Time saved by paying tolls: about 2 hours.

Route guide:

Leave Calais on the A16 / E402 motorway following signs for Boulogne, Amiens. The toll section starts just before Boulogne.
Just before Abbeville, take the free A28 / E402 motorway to Rouen.


Entering Rouen the A28 becomes the N28. Follow on down through the tunnel, then across the Seine.


After that, follow signs for Paris and Evreux then Evreux &Orleans . You will join the A13 motorway west of Rouen.
About 10 km south or Rouen, leave the A13 motorway for theA154 motorway. Toll gate at the intersection.
Then follow the A154 > N154 dual carriageway almost toDreux.At Dreux, follow signs for Chartres and Orleans.
After Dreux, the N154 is almost all modern dual-carriageway as far as Chartres.
From Chartres follow the N 10 to Chateaudun, Vendôme and Tours. This is mostly single carriageway for 130 km, but there are sections of dual carriageway, notably round Vendôme. Before reaching Tours, the N10 becomes the D 910.
On approaching Tours, follow signs for the A10 motorway, and join it at junction 19. Skirt round Tours on the toll motorway, then exit at junction 23, following the sign for D910to Montbazon
Follow the D 910 all the way to Poitiers, skirting round the city. After Poitiers, the D910 once more turns into the N 10 , which you now follow almost as far as Bordeaux. It is dual carriageway virtually all the way. Join the free A10 / E5 motorway shortly before Bordeaux, then follow signs for Bayonne.

The A63 south of Bordeaux
South of Bordeaux, follow the A63 toll motorway as far as the the Spanish border. The cost (2015) is 14.40€ for a car, about 50% more for a car plus caravan; but this will save about an hour in normal traffic conditions. The last 50 km of this toll motorway, southwest of Magescq (exit 11) , are particularly recommended, as the Bayonne area is built-up and busy. The A63 links directly at the border to Spain's Autopista A-8, and thereafter to the Spanish motorway network..
Note however that this motorway is not pay-on-exit; it is pay-at-toll-points, of which there are four. The two most northerly of these can be avoided by leaving the motorway between exits 18 and 17, and again between exits 12 and 11. Time lost: about a quarter of an hour. Tolls saved: 3.50 Euros saved twice (more than that if you have a camper van). This is not recommended for trucks, as they have to follow a longer alternative route.
To avoid tolls (southbound) :

Leave A63 at exit 18 "Le Muret". Turn south on D834 to Castelnau. Here turn right onto D410, then D10E which runs along the eastern side of the motorway. Rejoin motorway at Liposthey (exit 17).
At exit 12, follow D947 for 1 km towards Castets. Then left onto D378. When this starts running along the western side of the motorway, fork left onto D10E. Rejoin the motorway at Magesq (exit 11).
 
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Feb 9, 2008
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Whoops! wrong direction. Try this instead. Same link.

► Option no tolls at all
This is not the best, nor maybe even the cheapest option, since the odd euros saved by avoiding absolutely all tolls will mean a longer journey with more stress negotiating built-up areas, rather than avoiding them.
For this reason, the details of the no tolls at all route are indicated below.

►Option minimal tolls
Paying a few euros in tolls on a 1200 km journey is economical in time saved and less stress. The route proposed here provides the best balance between speed and toll costs for driving from Calais to the Mediterranean beaches of Languedoc and on into Spain towards the Costa Brava..

About-France.com recommended toll-saving route: Calais > Abbeville > Rouen > Chartres > Orleans > Briare > Nevers > Clermont-Ferrand > Millau > Béziers > Perpignan (> Girona >. Barcelona)
andCalais.... > Provence

The tolls that are worth paying:
Calais to Abbeville on A16 : 8.00 Euros
South exit from Rouen on A 13 > A154 : 2.10 Euros
Motorway Riom to Clermont Ferrand: 1.20 Euros
Millau Viaduct - Cost: 9.10 Euros in July / August, 7.30 rest of year.
Total recommended tolls (Jan 2015): 11.30 Euros for a car, or 18.60 if you take the Millau viaduct for the experience. 50% more for caravan / motorhome.
Time saved by paying tolls: at least 1 hour.

Route guide:

Leave Calais on the free A16 / E402 motorway in the direction of Boulogne, Amiens. The toll section starts just before Boulogne. We recommend using this short toll section as far as Abbeville.
Just before Abbeville, take the free A28 / E402 motorway to Rouen. Entering Rouen the A28 becomes theN28. Follow on down through the tunnel, then across the Seine. After that, follow signs for Paris and Evreux then Evreux & Orleans . You will join the A13 motorway west of Rouen: there will be a 2 € toll to pay (car rate).
About 10 km south or Rouen, leave the A13 motorway for the A154 motorway. Toll gate at the intersection.
Then follow the A154 > N154 dual carriageway / divided highway almost to Dreux. At Dreux, follow signs forChartres and Orleans. The N154 is almost all modern dual-carriageway from Dreux to Chartres.
At Allaines, do not follow signs for A10 motorway. Continue on D994 (old N154) to Artenay, where you join the D2020 (old N20) to Orleans.
At entrance to Orleans, pass under ring-road, then immediately right following green signs D2060 / E60 toMontargis. Follow dual-carriageway D2060 for 30 km, then exit on D952 marked Nevers in green. Follow D952 48 km, past Gien to reach the D2007 (former N7) by Briare. Keep following the green signs for Nevers.
Join the dual-carriageway D2007 (old N7). At Cosne sur Loire, join the A77 motorway, which is now free.
Now follow the A77 / N7 for 100 km, mostly dual carriageway, past Nevers and on until south of Moulins. Turn right onto N 79/ E62 for Montlucon. Then, 4.5 km later, turn right again onto D2009 following green signs forClermont Ferrand.
► For the Alps, continue on the N7 to Lyon, then follow green signs for Grenoble par RN: all Alpine motorways are expensive.
Follow D2009 almost to Clermont, but at Riom join the A71 motorway. There is a toll of 1.20 € for the last five miles of toll section, after that the motorway, which becomes the A75 at Clermont, is free for the next 300 kmas far as Beziers (except the toll at the Millau viaduct).
At Beziers, leave at jct. 63, and follow green signs forNarbonne then Perpignan.... or head for the beach at Sète .

Toll-free routes to Le Puy en Velay (skirt, or visit) then Aubenas, then Montelimar. From Montelimar, follow the N7 to Orange and Avignon and beyond. The roads are good, and the N102 is scenic, but there is little dual carriageway after leaving the A75 .

Important warning:
The A75 route across the Massif Central uplands is not recommended in winter or for cars towing heavy caravans. It is a mountain motorway that rises on 3 occasions to over 1100 metres and has several long and relatively steep gradients.

Click here for more information on Routes through France to Spain
 

Brian_K

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Thanks Phil, I think it is from your posting's that I'm sorting most of my route. Trying to tie that in with how far I want to travel each day (not forgetting 300+ miles to get to Folkestone) and where to stop on the way down.

Travelling on a weekend is favourite up to now - few wagons on a Saturday and non on a Sunday.

Unfortunately I'm not one of those people who can wing it (leave Calais, turn right). I need a plan, which may get modified on route, but still a plan. Part of the fun is in the planning.

Brian

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