savantuk
Free Member
Just been looking at our holiday log this year - 5000 miles, Scot's borders to Barcelona and return.
Importantly, we made a decision to stay OFF the Autoroutes to save money, and looking at last years figures, for a similar journey using Autoroutes all the way, four things were patently obvious:
1. We saved enough in not paying tolls, to just about cover our fuel costs for the entire trip.
2. Journey times were not significantly longer.
3. There are an awful lot of unnecessary roundabouts in France.
4. Breakast/lunch cost a lot less at roadside boulangerie than they do at Autoroute restaurants.
We also enjoyed the trip much more, seeing parts of France which had previously been passed at speed on the Autoroutes.
All in all, the experiment was a great success, and I would recommend trying it to anybody who is planning any long trips in France.
Importantly, we made a decision to stay OFF the Autoroutes to save money, and looking at last years figures, for a similar journey using Autoroutes all the way, four things were patently obvious:
1. We saved enough in not paying tolls, to just about cover our fuel costs for the entire trip.
2. Journey times were not significantly longer.
3. There are an awful lot of unnecessary roundabouts in France.
4. Breakast/lunch cost a lot less at roadside boulangerie than they do at Autoroute restaurants.
We also enjoyed the trip much more, seeing parts of France which had previously been passed at speed on the Autoroutes.
All in all, the experiment was a great success, and I would recommend trying it to anybody who is planning any long trips in France.