Taking my first real trip sometime next week. I want the sun so I guess I’ll be heading to Spain/Portugal. Any advice appreciated, also Anyone along the way, would be great to have a beer with you.
Mickey
Mickey
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We will be leaving tomorrow for Spain by next week Will look out on hereTaking my first real trip sometime next week. I want the sun so I guess I’ll be heading to Spain/Portugal. Any advice appreciated, also Anyone along the way, would be great to have a beer with you.
Mickey
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You going on your own then?Thanks @Lenny HB , not sure how long I’m going for at the moment, depends how much I’m enjoying it. Going back in March with the missus, poor girls still working.
Mickey
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c
I just don’t want to bomb down there this time
Unless the weather bad
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Just printed it offYes @Gunner ,@Rob and Val pointed me to that early in this thread, I’ve downloaded it, might be better to print it off.
Mickey
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Your welcome! It looks to me you have your head screwed on for this trip. You're certainly heading to the right location for this time of the Year, with loads of free and cheap places to stop. Portugal is fantastic but not in the winter. End of March onwards is a good time to be there.
Loads of info there, I have printed it all off and will be taking it with meYou find this of value. Safe Journey.
Firstly, routes and route maps for France and Spain. This first link is for an award winning database about France. It’s big and with a host of information on best routes to many locations. I have selected the famous N10 route from Calais to Irun which is used by many motorhomes when travelling to Spain. It’s almost Toll free (more on that a little later) and almost all duel carriageway from start to finish with the exception of about 100 K. The whole route is great for motorhomes small, medium and large.
https://about-france.com/tourism/no-tolls-routes.htm
Tolls: We avoid the toll road from Calais to Abbeville and save 12.50 Euros. The non-toll route is quite scenic and fairly straight forward, between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Abbeville.
At Abbeville, join the A28 and cross the river Sein at Rouen. We take the second exit immediately after crossing the bridge (about 50 m past the first exit at the end of the bridge), swing down and under the bridge you have just crossed and continue on this road and join the A13 motorway until the N154 which takes you down to Evreux (Note: there are a number of different options for getting through Rouen and no doubt other members will have their own preferences. We find this very straight forward on both outward and return legs). Approaching Tours on the D910 join the A10 toll road at Jct. 19 and exit at Jct. 23. This will take you through the city via the toll road, (about 2.50 euros). At Jct. 23 take the exit lane for Montbazon which returns you to the D910. (Reverse for the return leg). That’s the last toll to pay until you hit the bottom of the A63 after Bordeaux.
To save toll fares on the A63 south of Bordeaux please read the route recommendations in the above link. Do not come off the A63 near the bottom as all roads will be heavily congested and it’s worth paying the last few tolls. (Fuel costs approx. €126.72. (Based on 1056 K @10K per Ltr. @€1.20 per ltr. 3.5T motorhome)). This route is also recommended during winter, due to its proximity to the Atlantic ocean, which means little to no problems with ice and or snow, unlike using the A75 to cross the Massif Central. Although the A75 is quickly cleared, it is advisable to have winter tyres fitted and there may be some small delays due to snow ploughs clearing this route.
If heading to the Mediterranean side of Spain, it’s worth taking the N121-A to Pamplona after crossing the Spanish boarder on the A63 at Irun. It’s clearly sign posted (Large white sign) about 300 m after passing through the last tollbooth and crossing the river. You will find more details in this link for the N121-A and how to navigate Spain toll free.
https://about-spain.net/travel/no-tolls.htm
If you decide to pay Tolls in order to save time getting to Spain, your best route options are in this link.
https://about-france.com/tourism/routes-to-spain.htm
Should you choose to plan your own routes anywhere in Europe and also establish Toll costs, use this link. Under route options, select caravan then select toll roads. Toll costs for a class 2 motorhome will be calculated for the whole journey. You can also choose Non toll routes and other options. This is currently one of the best online free route planers.
https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/
As for stop overs on routes, you can’t go wrong using the App below which is free but I would recommend getting the paid version for about £6.00 which you can then use off line. You will find numerous places to stop along the above route and I have deliberately not made any recommendations so drivers can make their own choices. This app is also brilliant for finding other places too and highly rated by many users.
https://www.campercontact.com/en/content/app
There is another popular app/website that is used which you may also find useful if you’re doing a lot of wilding and looking for free overnight stops. It too is used by many motor homers in Europe. Get the paid version to use off line for around £9.00
https://www.park4night.com/
Finally, probably the best off line maps ‘App’ and used by many. It also includes a sat-nav function which is quite good and can also be used off line. Again many motor homers use this, especially in Morocco.
Broken Link Removed
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I have 3 days to do Calais to PortugalLast time I went this way
Drove direct from Bordeaux to benidorm non stop. Killed me. Ha ha. Just kept saying another hour and I’ll stop Another hour
This time I might go honfluer. Which we always like
And want to have a look pamplona
But still haven’t decided my route
I went to Portugal in the van in January and only had 8 days for he trip in total including travel time so drove both ways non stop (Archaeology field visit rather than a holiday). Left Calais at 9pm and was parked up in Portugal early evening the following day. Obviously you don't want to do that by choice and I personally felt 3 days would have been perfect, stopping somewhere North of Bordeaux and again just past Burgos. The weather was only around 12 degrees, however, beautiful sunny days made it an absolute pleasure to be there.I have 3 days to do Calais to Portugal
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