Dover to the Spanish border....HOW MUCH????

[steve69]

Over the past few days I have taken my small motorhome from Dover to the Spanish border. Cost?.... ferry + fuel + tolls (only).....over £450. the cost of taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander at the same time was only £500?
it is 5 years since I last did that journey and I swear to God the prices have easily doubled since then whilst the ferry price seemed to remain the same. I'm sure there are more toll booths this time around too.
When I first started this campervanning lark - decades ago - it seemed such a lovely cheap way of seeing the country. Not anymore.
Although the journey was pleasant enough I'm afraid that France is off my touring list for the future. It's just too darned expensive.

P.S. in January I took a 2-week luxury cruise on the Mediterranean. Price?...£700. The financial world has been completely turned on its head.

 

[Reallyretired]

French tolls have always been expensive. I avoid when possible. They do save time but increase fuel costs due to 1. Often being longer 2. Higher speeds 3. Higher costs at services.
Being retired I have more time than money so avoid them. I like the little villages of France, even though most seem deserted.

 

[jumar]

Over the past few days I have taken my small motorhome from Dover to the Spanish border. Cost?.... ferry + fuel + tolls (only).....over £450. the cost of taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander at the same time was only £500?
it is 5 years since I last did that journey and I swear to God the prices have easily doubled since then whilst the ferry price seemed to remain the same. I'm sure there are more toll booths this time around too.
When I first started this campervanning lark - decades ago - it seemed such a lovely cheap way of seeing the country. Not anymore.
Although the journey was pleasant enough I'm afraid that France is off my touring list for the future. It's just too darned expensive.

P.S. in January I took a 2-week luxury cruise on the Mediterranean. Price?...£700. The financial world has been completely turned on its head.

If you use the Ferry to Spain you pay the ticket price....if you drive using a cheaper channel crossing, avoid Tolls and enjoy the trip you could save a Bob or Two...

 

[stevewagner]

Been motorhoming for 45 years and never considered it a cheap pastime. However I do consider it to be the most gratifying way to travel.

 

[Dutch 68]

I spend months in France last year and never spend a penny on tolls, the journey is so much nicer over little roads, my sat nav is always on avoid tolls and avoid motorways

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[chaser]

Try comparing tolls and free Aires with £30 to £50 sites here, not much difference.

 

[Odd job]

Now we are retired it will be different but in the past we only had 3 weeks on holiday in France so speed was more important than money, although on our last trip because we were over 3.5 tons the low speed limit on motorways did lead me to try the back roads, but a roundabout every 200 mt took the fun out of that too

 

[chaser]

Now we are retired it will be different but in the past we only had 3 weeks on holiday in France so speed was more important than money, although on our last trip because we were over 3.5 tons the low speed limit on motorways did lead me to try the back roads, but a roundabout every 200 mt took the fun out of that too

If we want to get somewhere fast we just use them , keep sticking the credit card in and don't look how much it's costing, but mostly Google is set to no tolls but Julie always has a map on her knee and if she sees we can save a lot of the same old roads and roundabouts by jumping on a toll road , we do.

 

[Brody]

Motorhoming is still a cheap way to travel for us, but there was 5 of us now 4 so the cost is divided per head.

As children are charged at adults wherever you go (package holiday) it's still a very cost effective option for our family.

 

[MikenPauline]

It’s the slowing down for roundabouts every few hundred metres plus traffic calming Road humps in every ( deserted) village that make non motorway routes so nackering. Best tactic I’ve found is to use toll roads to achieve some distance then use local roads once in the area you were aiming for.

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[chaser]

It's never going to be a cheap holiday, with fuel and tolls and Aires now charging, it all depends on what you like doing, you could probably get a all in holiday in benidorm for far less , you just take your choice, but cheap, them days are well gone.

 

[chaser]

It’s the slowing down for roundabouts every few hundred metres plus traffic calming Road humps in every ( deserted) village that make non motorway routes so nackering. Best tactic I’ve found is to use toll roads to achieve some distance then use local roads once in the area you were aiming for.

That's us.

 

[sgl5gjr]

I guess if the destination is more important than the journey.... French toll roads make sense.... In previous times I'd do Dover to Le mans for the 24hr in double quick time....now I'd take a wee bit more time with a stop going down and back in a chosen Aire off of the motorway ....but I'd still opt to cover my h of the trip by motorway.

 

[Kups]

Our latest experience of non toll roads in France was not good.
Roundabouts Roundabouts and more Roundabouts. 90,80,70,50,30 kph speed limits incessant change. Mobile speed camera cars looking for business. Francoise and Gisele out for a leisure drive and so on. Just upgraded my toll tag to Fulli Nomade Plus so you know how we'll be travelling.

 

[Lenny HB]

I don't know how you get those figures but for me ferry Newhaven/Dieppe £80, fuel 650 miles @ 24 mpg £180 so £260, I looked at taking the ferry from Portsmouth but it was £800 one way. Also we love the drive through France.

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[andyt21]

Haven’t used French crossing to get to Spain for around 20 years. The Spanish crossing is always between £850 and £1100 with Club Voyage discount depending on time of year. With fuel and toll increases I’m not surprised there’s not a lot of difference now. I enjoy the longer crossing.

 

[Grainger]

Our latest experience of non toll roads in France was not good.
Roundabouts Roundabouts and more Roundabouts. 90,80,70,50,30 kph speed limits incessant change. Mobile speed camera cars looking for business. Francoise and Gisele out for a leisure drive and so on. Just upgraded my toll tag to Fulli Nomade Plus so you know how we'll be travelling.

Hi, Not heard of this tag how does it work and do you add the toll costs on or are they reduced? sorry if this seems a silly question.

 

[Steve-N]

I avoid EU toll roads out of principal, pay enough for fuel, insurance and other taxes, so not paying more on top
Fuel is significantly cheaper at supermarkets and smaller towns, and you see so much more staying off the Motorways, with plenty of lovely places to stop, that's what a holiday is in my book, relax and enjoy.

I appreciate if you have a large 8 metre plus moho navigating small town roads and traffic is less fun if not quite hairy, but it's horses for courses as they say !

 

[Steve and Denise]

Kups
I think that the constantly changing speed limits were the most annoying part of France for me and our Mango tag not working now sorted hopefully!
If it was not for us having a dog it would most likely be by boat

 

[L' Hobo]

If we want to get somewhere fast we just use them , keep sticking the credit card in and don't look how much it's costing, but mostly Google is set to no tolls but Julie always has a map on her knee and if she sees we can save a lot of the same old roads and roundabouts by jumping on a toll road , we do.

Yes, before the Motorways, the old Route Nationals used to serve us fairly well. Unless it's changed drastically over the past 15yrs, the N roads were still pretty good.

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[MartinandBev]

Would love to get a price of £500 for Santander to Portsmouth or even the other way round, ucheapest with the dog we have ever been quoted is over £1k, so always opt for Dieppe Newhaven now and return as only a 90min drive up the coast to see the family

 

[Gaston aires]

I agree that France has become much more expensive. Last year we used more toll motorways because the French have blatantly installed roundabouts, chicanes, and those infernal lights that are always on red until you stop. Class two tolls are really expensive now. This year we are only going as far down as the Loire, mainly Brittany.
Phil

 

[ElliesBoss]

Yes, before the Motorways, the old Route Nationals used to serve us fairly well. Unless it's changed drastically over the past 15yrs, the N roads were still pretty good.

We even avoid RN's where possible but again we are retired and go where we please. Our holiday this year - booked crossing to Calais, return from Bilbao. Who knows where we may visit?

 

[gus-lopez]

Cost?.... ferry + fuel + tolls (only).....over £450.

1250kms from som port to Dunkerke @ 7,69 l/100kms =96 litre x 1,42€ =136,49€ ÷1,15 = £118 +£98 for ferry > dunkerke,

Non toll never use them

French toll roads make sense..

Paying anything never makes any sense.

 

[Lenny HB]

Been driving across & in France for 40 years so know which roads to avoid. Don't have a problem with speed limits changing as we are 4.5t we just keep to 80.

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[Kups]

Hi, Not heard of this tag how does it work and do you add the toll costs on or are they reduced? sorry if this seems a silly question.

Hi. It's a small gizmo that sticks to the windscreen by the mirror. It automatically charges your account the same price as when you stretch out of the window and pay by card. You are billed monthly in arrears and charged a couple of euros service charge. This is the website to get your tag. https://www.fulli.com/
You need to link to a bank account.
A simpler alternative is The Emovis tag who have a UK office. https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/

 

[Pusscat]

Looked at the Plymouth to Santander, shuddered at the price and booked the usual Roscoff crossing.

Driving through France is a nice pre-cursor to getting to Spain. Quaint villages where you don’t see a soul, restaurants closed and shuttered one minute past lunch time and lots of roundabouts With questionable sculptures…Don‘t get me wrong, I love it to bits but by God, when you cross the border into Spain, I t’s like a sweet release to freedom!!

usually it’s a mix of tolls and none-toll, aires or the odd municipal camping site if we want to stop and have a look around the area a day or so.

i think the Spanish ferries have been quite expensive for some time now and if you have time constraints, well it’s an option. I do like that few days of beginning to relax enroute though.

 

[L' Hobo]

those infernal lights that are always on red until you stop.

They must have changed then because, the last time I drove in France (before Covid) if you slowed right down as you approached, there was time for them to turn green.
I thought it was the French (very good) way of getting ones speed down to the local limit because, unless something else was approaching from another side road, and you were already at the local speed limit, they normally stayed on green?

 

[dawsey]

I’ve been more or less continually travelling in France in our camper looking to buy a campsite since October. We all know the Eurotunnel costs have dramatically increased since the pandemic, but there remain alternatives. Diesel costs in France have obviously increased but are still less than UK. It’s still very easy to find free aires, usually with free water and occasionally even with free electricity. I for one love the fact that the village aires are usually near the surviving boulanger - what’s not to love about a freshly cooked baguette 1st thing in the morning ?
Toll roads have always been expensive and while quick, convienient and generally devoid of much traffic (unlike UK), they can easily be avoided especially with sat nav. However, not all the major routes are toll roads (none in Brittany for example), and the many alternative A-roads (Nationales) can be glorious, miles and miles of arrow straight roads where good progress can be made. Other times it can be painful with relentless roundabouts and the most evil spreedbumps in christendom where anything much over 10mph risks damage.

As others have said, the roll through France can still be done relatively cheaply and the smaller routes permit you to see many of the pretty villages and towns and generally better scenery.

You just need time.

 

[L' Hobo]

We even avoid RN's where possible but again we are retired and go where we please. Our holiday this year - booked crossing to Calais, return from Bilbao. Who knows where we may visit?

Mine was often the other way round, start in sunny Spain and follow the heat North. To me, the journey was the holiday and, like you, I got side-tracked a lot!

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