San Sebastian to Valencia (1 Viewer)

[filopastry]

Hi folks. On our way to Castellon de plana for the new year and researching routes. Has anyone made the run from San Sebastian to Valencia, from google it seems to be a very good route. Choices are from Bordeaux :

1. Via Toulouse, Perpignan and over night stop at Girona and onwards the next day. or
2. Biarritz, San Sebastian, Pamplona, Zaragoza, Overnight Campsite Lago resort (ACSI 2883) then onwards the next day.

Looking at then two routes and calculating the tolls it seems that 2 is 100+kms less and incurs approx 60e less tolls.

Am I missing something. This is our first sortie into Spain.

Ta very muchly for your learned advice to follow.

 

[adonisito]

I'd take route one, more overnight options in France. Equally, there are decent aires all down the med. coast, we stayed at Bellecaire de Emporda near Escala, Palamos and Peniscola among others on the way to Valencia , sounds like you have time, so you could ignore motorways.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Route 2 for me. Just done it but from santander

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[tonka]

Route 2 all the time.
With a start at San Sebastian why even consider no1. Seem's a way out route.

Once at Zaragozza it's a free dual carriage way, almost like a motorway down to Valencia.
Overnight at Carinenea where there is an aire or the truck stop car park. Always been safe there and a popular stopover.

 

[filopastry]

Tonka the start is just north of Bordeaux, difference in distance between 1&2 is 100km+- but route 2 shows 60e cheaper and route 2 (to me) seems prettier too. We are going with another couple in another camper, more seasoned than us but at the onset of the planning I mentioned I liked Argeles sur mer and that general area. Now I'm thinking that they may have suggested route 1 for that reason. We are having din dins together tonight to further plan the details, beer,wine,whisky and I suppose even tea, so thought I'd pick the collective brain of Motorhomers for views and personal experiences. Truck stops and Routiers in France I know very well but is there an equivilant in Spain and where will I find the info pretty please

 

[Clarky]

We will be doing the same route in a week ore two as we head down towards Totana and then who knows where.

My choice of route will be determined mainly by the weather at the time.
There are a few things to think about.
Do you have to use toll roads? They are expensive in France but less so in Spain. If, like us, you have plenty of time then keep off the tolls, save cash and see a bit more of the country.
The westerly route through France via Bordeaux is low altitude, close to the warmer Atlantic but the stretch south of Bordeaux is deadly boring.
After crossing into Spain the route via Pamplona is often high altitude so could be cold and snowy. The roads though are excellent.
My preferred route would be via Rouen, Chartres, Clermont-Ferrand and then down the spectacular A75, free from Clermont to Beziers apart from the Millau Viaduct. The A75 is over very high ground so could be extremely cold, one reason for checking the weather forecasts.
Lots of excellent aires on that route so plenty of choices for overnight stops. If the weather is good it might take us a week to get the the Spanish border.
We keep off the peage from Beziers until we join the motorway again just north of Perpignan (close to the airport) to take us over the border then down past Barcelona. The tolls for that stretch are not too extreme and it saves a lot of hassle.

Most importantly, enjoy your trip.

Richard.

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[Emmit]

For me, No.2 with some possible alterations.

On crossing the border from France, and if the weather isn't snowy, you could use the N121A from Irun to Pamplona. It's a good road.

Second deviation is when travelling on either the A68 from Tudela towards Zaragoza or the parallel motorway AP68. In the vicinity of Mallen you can turn off onto the A121 (coincidentally) to La Almunia de Dona Godina and then on to Carinena (where there is a free Aire, been, used and recommended). Carinena is beside the free motorway/dual carriageway down to Valencia.
That deviation saves a few miles and is neither narrow or hilly so is fuel efficient

 

[tonka]

I mixed up my santander with my san sebastian

I still like route 2.

Cant help with a truck stop list but this may help ref Spanish aires.


At the same village is a truckstop / cafe / hotel that I use a lot when going that way. Park around the back out the way of the trucks, Never had any issues and been a popular stopover for many funsters. Along the A23 to Valancia there are many service areas / truckstops and we have overnighted on some of those as needs required. Dinopolis at Teruel is another good free stopover, just a big car park.

Fingers crossed hope to be that way in January..

 

[PhilandMena]

Not exactly what you're looking for, I think. However, some useful information on route options and toll costs. You will probably find your Sat Nav will give you your best route option.
Firstly, routes and route maps for France and Spain. This first link is 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. This route is great for motorhomes small, medium and large. Note: (HGV’s are not allowed on French roads, Sunday’s, so plan your journey over a weekend if possible).

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 toll booth 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, (or toll free 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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