How Long to Drive from Calais into Spain (1 Viewer)

[Lenny HB]

Bonus. We need to be up and driving
There were a few other vans there and of course someone parked right next to us

View attachment 561919

Don't be silly, we rarely set off before 10:30, that's an early start for us.

 

[jumar]

Also remember the a75 in Spain is free now

Where exactly is the A75...

 

[pagey]

should be ap7

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[Richard n Ann]

Where exactly is the A75...

Think it should read AP7

 

[pagey]

down to old age

 

[Ditcha]

Don't be silly, we rarely set off before 10:30, that's an early start for us.

I can remember waking you up once on a aire in the Moselle one morning

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[Lenny HB]

I can remember waking you up once on a aire in the Moselle one morning

Nope, you were gone when we woke up.

 

[BILL 875]

no A75 goes down the middle of france

 

[Fulham Dave]

Just arrived in Cabopino, near Marbella, left UK midday Friday. 1512 miles, 33 hours of driving spread over 4.5 days.

18 degrees, calm sea, blue skies and sunshine

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[Steve devon]

If I leave north devon 8 o’clock Saturday morning I am in Benicarlo 4 o’clock Monday afternoon , that is driving to the euro tunnel, first night in nonancourt, second night in Montreajeau, near st gourden.then over the Pyrenees going through vielha. Most of that route is toll free

 

[busby]

It's a car park, last time we stopped there we were woken up at 5am by loads of French oldies meeting for a coach trip, talking in very loud voices outside our van.

I would not have heard them,, I sleep through anything, Result of years of sleeping in lay byes in the truck.BUSBY.

 

[busby]

Three steady days to Spanish border but I don't spend as much time in restaurants as Lenny .BUSBY,,

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[Kozikot]

If I leave north devon 8 o’clock Saturday morning I am in Benicarlo 4 o’clock Monday afternoon , that is driving to the euro tunnel, first night in nonancourt, second night in Montreajeau, near st gourden.then over the Pyrenees going through vielha. Most of that route is toll free

I am leaving North Devon 3 o'clock Thursday Afternoon for the 2 Day sail to Santander, arrive 08.00 Sat drive to Aljucen for the Night, Arrive in Praia da Luz 13.00 Sunday...

 

[vzac]

Personally I would not get to Spain. To much to enjoy in france.
Coalville to figeac 2am start, stop south of Paris for lunch. 7pm in figeac. Did it 10 times per Yr for 5yrs. Always with 30 mins. Was in a car though. I keep of the Mediterranean route from calais south as I believe its the most expensive toll route south. We liked to go to caen, St malo way as its more duel carriageway than motorway.

 

[Odd job]

We have done Sete To Winchester in one go, apart from fuel stops the only down time was on the ferry to Dover, but these days we don't plan, we set off in the morning after breakfast and look to stop about 4pm.

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[Kenp]

Where exactly is the A75...

The A75 in Spain is on the route into northern Portugal and runs South for about 12 km from Queizas on the A52 to the border. AFAIK it has always been free.

 

[madroy]

Just wondering how long, in days, it takes others to drive (sensible speed and drive hours) from Calais into Spain. Want to plan a trip in new year, will have approx. 5 to 6 weeks.

Want to avoid toll motorways. Any thoughts on good routes and stopovers/ aires etc.

I always use Newhaven dieppe Ferry cuts alot of your drive,then head to bordeaux on back roads loads places to stop and view,4days plus might not even make Spain its that nice

 

[EuroTrotters]

Use the old “itineraries BIS” routes through France. They are not widely promoted these days. I know most of them from years of using them.

However, you can still buy maps off eBay.
Look for the green signs

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[gwyntaxi]

It's a car park, last time we stopped there we were woken up at 5am by loads of French oldies meeting for a coach trip, talking in very loud voices outside our van.

They are noisy people very early, they think everyone gets up at 6am. like most of the French campers so they can sneak off without paying.

 

[gwyntaxi]

You average 65mph?

65mph Average? Wow, you gotta be doing 75/80mph to average 65mph on non toll routes.

 

[2657]

65mph Average? Wow, you gotta be doing 75/80mph to average 65mph on non toll routes.

That's what I thought and probably more than that especially as 320 miles are to Folkestone/Dover.

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[cyberyacht]

I've done Alicante to Calais in two and a half days in a solo car but it's a right slog and you have to keep the needle around 75ish most of the time. More chore than pleasure.

 

[minesapint]

Just wondering how long, in days, it takes others to drive (sensible speed and drive hours) from Calais into Spain. Want to plan a trip in new year, will have approx. 5 to 6 weeks.

Want to avoid toll motorways. Any thoughts on good routes and stopovers/ aires etc.

Take the Ferry to Bilbao, much easier.

 

[cantonalegod]

We did North Devon to Rojales (near Torrevieja) again last week.
(Lovely and sunny here for the last few days ).

We ALWAYS avoid the toll roads, and enjoy the trip.

Day 1
Left around 9.30 for our 17.20 Eurotunnel crossing. 2 plus dog! It's about 265 miles, including the dreaded concrete section of the M25!
Overnight at Auchan Car Park, Boulogne.

Day 2
Tired, so opted for an easyish day.
Overnight at the aire at Nonancourt.
Plus had to stop in time to watch the footie!

Day 3
Another sensible drive, overnight at Vivonne.
We nearly always stop at this aire, it's a nice little town. Lovely baguette and croissants from the local shop.

Day 4
We normally stay at an aire just past Mont de Marsan. When we arrived it was closed. All the facilities had been removed. We decided to stay in the car park anyway, as it was getting dark, and I couldn't be bothered to go to our alternative location!
(We also managed to squeeze in a visit to Tesla Bordeaux, to have a first look at the Tesla Model Y).

Day 5
Through the Pyrennes via the Somport Tunnel, and down to Jaca to fill up with, finally, cheaper diesel.
Hammered down with snow for a while, but nothing compared to our trip back last time in March 2020, just before lockdown.
Then onwards to our stopover at Cariñena. Not a very exciting aire, but it has what you need, water, plus grey and cassette dumping.

Day 6
Last day, down "home" to Rojales via Zaragoza, Teruel and Valencia. A lot of the day's journey is at 3000 to 4000 feet above sea level, before dropping down to Valencia.

We have done this drive many, many times over the last 12 years, both in cars, and Motorhomes.

When still working we once did it in 31 hours, trying to maximise our holiday in Spain.

We are far to old for that now, so cruise down gently, maybe driving 4 to 6 hours a day, apart from day 1.

Door to door is a cool 1400 miles!

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[Kozikot]

We did North Devon to Rojales (near Torrevieja) again last week.
(Lovely and sunny here for the last few days ).

We ALWAYS avoid the toll roads, and enjoy the trip.

Day 1
Left around 9.30 for our 17.20 Eurotunnel crossing. 2 plus dog! It's about 265 miles, including the dreaded concrete section of the M25!
Overnight at Auchan Car Park, Boulogne.

Day 2
Tired, so opted for an easyish day.
Overnight at the aire at Nonancourt.
Plus had to stop in time to watch the footie!

Day 3
Another sensible drive, overnight at Vivonne.
We nearly always stop at this aire, it's a nice little town. Lovely baguette and croissants from the local shop.

Day 4
We normally stay at an aire just past Mont de Marsan. When we arrived it was closed. All the facilities had been removed. We decided to stay in the car park anyway, as it was getting dark, and I couldn't be bothered to go to our alternative location!
(We also managed to squeeze in a visit to Tesla Bordeaux, to have a first look at the Tesla Model Y).

Day 5
Through the Pyrennes via the Somport Tunnel, and down to Jaca to fill up with, finally, cheaper diesel.
Hammered down with snow for a while, but nothing compared to our trip back last time in March 2020, just before lockdown.
Then onwards to our stopover at Cariñena. Not a very exciting aire, but it has what you need, water, plus grey and cassette dumping.

Day 6
Last day, down "home" to Rojales via Zaragoza, Teruel and Valencia. A lot of the day's journey is at 3000 to 4000 feet above sea level, before dropping down to Valencia.

We have done this drive many, many times over the last 12 years, both in cars, and Motorhomes.

When still working we once did it in 31 hours, trying to maximise our holiday in Spain.

We are far to old for that now, so cruise down gently, maybe driving 4 to 6 hours a day.

Door to door is a cool 1400 miles!

Could do it in 1335 miles, if you went straight from Cariñena past Teruel

Ps.
You could be there Directly

 

[EuroTrotters]

Take the Ferry to Bilbao, much easier.

We did North Devon to Rojales (near Torrevieja) again last week.
(Lovely and sunny here for the last few days ).

We ALWAYS avoid the toll roads, and enjoy the trip.

Day 1
Left around 9.30 for our 17.20 Eurotunnel crossing. 2 plus dog! It's about 265 miles, including the dreaded concrete section of the M25!
Overnight at Auchan Car Park, Boulogne.

Day 2
Tired, so opted for an easyish day.
Overnight at the aire at Nonancourt.
Plus had to stop in time to watch the footie!

Day 3
Another sensible drive, overnight at Vivonne.
We nearly always stop at this aire, it's a nice little town. Lovely baguette and croissants from the local shop.

Day 4
We normally stay at an aire just past Mont de Marsan. When we arrived it was closed. All the facilities had been removed. We decided to stay in the car park anyway, as it was getting dark, and I couldn't be bothered to go to our alternative location!
(We also managed to squeeze in a visit to Tesla Bordeaux, to have a first look at the Tesla Model Y).

Day 5
Through the Pyrennes via the Somport Tunnel, and down to Jaca to fill up with, finally, cheaper diesel.
Hammered down with snow for a while, but nothing compared to our trip back last time in March 2020, just before lockdown.
Then onwards to our stopover at Cariñena. Not a very exciting aire, but it has what you need, water, plus grey and cassette dumping.

Day 6
Last day, down "home" to Rojales via Zaragoza, Teruel and Valencia. A lot of the day's journey is at 3000 to 4000 feet above sea level, before dropping down to Valencia.

We have done this drive many, many times over the last 12 years, both in cars, and Motorhomes.

When still working we once did it in 31 hours, trying to maximise our holiday in Spain.

We are far to old for that now, so cruise down gently, maybe driving 4 to 6 hours a day, apart from day 1.

Door to door is a cool 1400 miles!

Not one size suits all as detailed here.

I have / we have done both options.

Time constraints, Bilbao
All the time , Eurotunnel

 

[GeeCee]

Tolls: Avoid the toll road from Calais to Abbeville and save 13.20 Euros. The non-toll route is quite scenic and fairly straight forward, between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Abbeville.

On the other hand it's far quicker on the toll road and the non-toll road can be busy with slow moving traffic between Boulogne and Abbeville. We try to avoid the longer stretches of toll road but find this one makes the journey south that bit quicker and enjoyable. Although I agree the slower route is quite scenic.
Also don't know if anyone else has mentioned it but avoid Paris at all costs. It's an absolute nightmare driving on the periferique (Paris ring road). There's junction after junction of cars, motorbikes and scooters exiting and entering the motorway, all going too fast and doing a lot of lane swapping, so swerving in front of you from left and right. That's why you'll see people talking about Evreux and Rouen as that's the way to avoid Paris.
Like others we tend to take about 3 or 4 days to get to our first stop in Spain. In September when we go down and the weather is usually very good, we'll quite often take longer as we'll stop somewhere and realise we like it, so stay a couple of days. But that's unlikely at this time of year.
Good luck and hope you have a great journey.

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[Garry - June]

Take the Ferry to Bilbao, much easier.

Agreed....reading all these comments just reaffirms to me its the only way we will continue to go.. but each to their own..

 

[Terry Gill]

From North Yorkshire to Castellion in 4 days.

No toll roads, easy driving and about 5 hours driving a day.

You must have been driving round in circles