I'm coming round to the 'Drive thru France' to Spain idea..... (1 Viewer)

C

Chockswahay

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Having just checked the ferry prices for January I am beginning to think that going via Calais instead of Bilbao is not such a daft idea :rolleyes:

The saving once the cost of diesel is taken into account is approx £200 one way :eek:

Does the panel (hehe, I know you're all out there:whistle:) have any thoughts on the matter?

Cheers

:xgrin:
 
Jan 10, 2013
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Have just booked the ferry to Santander for the first time - am dreading it but hubby insists we try it. Think I may have to overdose on Sturgeron.

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R

Robert Clark

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image.jpeg


After our near death experience on the Hirtshals to Bergen ferry we vowed no more long ferry crossings

image.jpeg
 
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JJ

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I enjoy motorhoming... this includes driving slowly through new places, or meandering along familar roads, stopping off whenever or wherever the mood takes me.

I do not enjoy wallowing about on a sick inducing and expensive sea voyage.

Roads are for motorhomers... the seas are for sailors.

JJ :xcool:
 
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Judge Mental

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I live in the North East of England and Calais is my preferred route, did Plymouth - Santander one year, never again. :)


Once was enough for us as well many years ago......Much prefer to drive! Not as if you save any time. Chock's you can have a break on the way down in London at our place if you like..only 1.5 hrs from tunnel:)

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9526

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We're going mid January and will be driving through France.

Have yet to decide whether to go into Northern Spain (Somport) or drive down to Perpignan and go via Barcelona.

Definitely won't be doing Biscay :sicker::sicker:
 

Minxy

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I don't like ferry crossings much anyway, not even the relatively short English Channel ones as it is like being held captive (fortunately I don't get sea sick), so much prefer the tunnel. There's no way I'd go on a long crossing especially in winter with the high possibility of very rough seas/weather! Even in summer I wouldn't do it.

We went to Spain/Portugal earlier this year and drove down, taking our time and enjoyed the journey as part of our holiday, we could have done it much quicker but didn't feel the need. I can see the slight appeal of not having to drive and being able to slob around on a ferry for the day instead, but give me the driving, and scenery, anyday!

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Forestboy

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Done it once in the motorhome 8 years ago once in a 4x4 5 years ago and once on the motorbike one month ago. Every trip was horrible too long too expensive and bloody boring that's without a rough sea.
Will be doing it again in April on the motorbike but will probably never do it again in the motorhome really defeats the point of having a motorhome if you're gonna sit on a ferry.
 

Teuchter

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I have been caravanning for 32 years but in 2014 I have"gone over to the dark side"
We're going mid January and will be driving through France.

Have yet to decide whether to go into Northern Spain (Somport) or drive down to Perpignan and go via Barcelona.

Definitely won't be doing Biscay :sicker::sicker:


At that time of the year I would recommend the Narbonne/Perpignan route thus avoiding high altitude & snow :)
 

Teuchter

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I have been caravanning for 32 years but in 2014 I have"gone over to the dark side"
Having just checked the ferry prices for January I am beginning to think that going via Calais instead of Bilbao is not such a daft idea :rolleyes:

The saving once the cost of diesel is taken into account is approx £200 one way :eek:

Does the panel (hehe, I know you're all out there:whistle:) have any thoughts on the matter?

Cheers

:xgrin:


The only drawback with that is there are very few French sites open at this time of year - plenty of Aires though :)

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funflair

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Never done the long crossing and reading this does nothing to tempt me, we also live in the North East and will do the ferry from Hull or Newcastle and then drive down France done it twice so far and see no reason not to do it again.

Martin
 
9

9526

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At that time of the year I would recommend the Narbonne/Perpignan route thus avoiding high altitude & snow :)

Yes, I'm going to keep and eye on the weather. We've had some interesting trips down the A75 in winter (always been passable though), but the Perpignan - Le Boulou bit through to Barcelona has alway been ok.

Were thinking Limoges - Toulouse - Carcassonne as an alternative to the A75 this time. I'll be keeping em peeled after Chrimbo :xgrin:

Never done Somport - but will decide nearer time (beauty of MH'ing :))
 

moulin 87

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Yes, I'm going to keep and eye on the weather. We've had some interesting trips down the A75 in winter (always been passable though), but the Perpignan - Le Boulou bit through to Barcelona has alway been ok.

Were thinking Limoges - Toulouse - Carcassonne as an alternative to the A75 this time. I'll be keeping em peeled after Chrimbo :xgrin:

Never done Somport - but will decide nearer time (beauty of MH'ing :))

We would chose the Somport tunnel from Limoges via Bordeaux/Dax as a break from the motorway routes, check the forecast on route. It is kept open all year round, to be fair we only use it in winter.

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Dave and Ginny

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We did the Portsmouth to Bilbao route for the first time just a few weeks ago. We were expecting it to be pretty bad due to gales in the English Channel but we were pleasantly surprised by how comparatively smooth it was in the end.

We normally drive down through France taking our time and thoroughly enjoying the trip but I have to say that we were very pleased with this alternative when wanting to make a quicker journey with less driving. As for cost, I think works out about the same if you way it all up including the wear and tare on the vehicle. It cost us about £300 with outside cabin.

The toll road from Bilbao via Zaragozza is also excellent and cost about 38 euro to Benidorm in total.

So yes, we would do it again.
 

tonka

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I enjoy the driving, it's why I have a Motorhome ... Plus on a cost basis the drive via France always works out better for me. Ref time at most it's an extra 24 - 36 hours overall but time is not an issue for us so no problem there..
When the fuel goes up or euro exchange is bad you maybe have to re-calculate the costs..
Free aires and non toll roads all add for an interesting journey.
Weather is the main thing to watch for, had some horrible trips but also some very pleasant ones during Nov - Feb.
 
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We're off week on Thursday heading for Perpignan then meander along coast for three or four months love the trip enjoy driving.

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Popeye

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Well I love being at sea, rough or calm, but I have to agree with JJ on this one. If it is a smooth crossing you only have water to look at as opposed to beautiful countryside, stop and look at a new village or a different coffee shop.

If it is a foul crossing then there is no contest. Of course if time is vitally important then the longer sea voyage will save time overall but not for me thanks.
 
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The saving once the cost of diesel is taken into account is approx £200 one way :eek:

Does the panel (hehe, I know you're all out there:whistle:) have any thoughts on the matter?

As a tight northerner (now resident in Norfolk) I appreciate your concerns.

HOWEVER, my son decided to get engaged on 31st Dec 2008 but I needed to be in Marbella on 6th Jan 2009: I had to be there to support him. The thought of 1500 miles of driving (in a car), plus a Channel crossing, was not one that I relished.

I had to balance the costs of driving and staying in several hotels against the more expensive sea route and the possibilities of what the Bay of Biscay could throw at us. We opted for Portsmouth to Bilboa with P&O (no longer available), joining the ferry at teatime on 2nd Jan and disembarking at breakfast on 4th Jan, making the cruise part of the pleasure of travelling. We opted for a cabin upgrade and treated ourselves to lovely meals, with wine and no worries about the police. The crossing was as smooth as a millpond and we relaxed on board, reading, whale-watching and chatting with others, including several MHers.

As we rose from the coast the temp dropped below -3deg and we had a long hard haul through mist and spray to Madrid, then on to Jaen (470miles). We completed the journey to Marbella just after lunch on 6th, cresting the hills above Malaga and enjoying wonderful Mediterranean sunshine.

We are sure we made the right decision. Only you know your circumstances and the parameters in which you have to work.

Enjoy the journey, whatever you do - Gordon
 

Charlie

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Having just checked the ferry prices for January I am beginning to think that going via Calais instead of Bilbao is not such a daft idea :rolleyes:

The saving once the cost of diesel is taken into account is approx £200 one way :eek:

Does the panel (hehe, I know you're all out there:whistle:) have any thoughts on the matter?

Cheers

:xgrin:

I'm with you... It's not the cost saving influencing my decision though it's the possibility of a rough long crossing.
We will look at the weather just to make sure we have a reasonable chance of making it down to the ferry port and of course down through France the just pack up and drive....

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Oct 5, 2012
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Well personally I have decided I am not driving through France in winter, potentially driving on ice and snow and getting the van loaded with liquid salt and road crap and getting cold......so booked the ferry option.
Having looked at the displacement of the 'budget' ferry vs the 'cruise' ferry I paid the extra for the cruise and the extra tonnage and hopefully more modern stabilisers!!!
 
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PeteH

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upload_2015-12-8_19-54-39.png


Above is result of some calc`s recently done. SWMBO had suggested Flying to Spain for a break. (Benidorm actually) So I ran down some figures.

Interesting exercise in that you can have Twice as long for a lot less per day!.

Pete

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Oct 5, 2012
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View attachment 85512

Above is result of some calc`s recently done. SWMBO had suggested Flying to Spain for a break. (Benidorm actually) So I ran down some figures.

Interesting exercise in that you can have Twice as long for a lot less per day!.

Pete
If you add in the flexibility of a hire car that will make it more expensive ???
 

Judge Mental

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Yes, I'm going to keep and eye on the weather. We've had some interesting trips down the A75 in winter (always been passable though), but the Perpignan - Le Boulou bit through to Barcelona has alway been ok.

Were thinking Limoges - Toulouse - Carcassonne as an alternative to the A75 this time. I'll be keeping em peeled after Chrimbo :xgrin:

Never done Somport - but will decide nearer time (beauty of MH'ing :))

came back somport last spring..its a real good route IMO.... weather permitting obviously

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Dec 6, 2011
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long ferry Not an option for us..... If the ship sank it would be "a mercy killing"! as for as SWMBO is concerned
 
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Did the 2 night Portsmouth to Bilbao, arrived at 7am and at Villasol by 5.30. Great for us as we are less than 2 hours from Portsmouth. Will definitely do the same next year. There really is no one size fits all, if we lived near Dover then we would probably do the drive through France. If you are bad sailors then the long crossing would be hell and you might not be fit to drive. Read the different views and then decide what suits you.
 
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We would chose the Somport tunnel from Limoges via Bordeaux/Dax as a break from the motorway routes, check the forecast on route. It is kept open all year round, to be fair we only use it in winter.

Spring/summer on a sunny day on the French side is stunning.

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