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[chalcroft]

Driving the mig down to benidorm in the summer. Anyone got any advice re:campsites to stop at in france on the way or places worth a visit. Plan is to spend 3days driving down. Week in spain and 3/4 days coming back. Also is it worth going on the toll roads? Any advice most welcome

[sexydaz]

Driving the mig down to benidorm in the summer. Anyone got any advice re:campsites to stop at in france on the way or places worth a visit. Plan is to spend 3days driving down. Week in spain and 3/4 days coming back. Also is it worth going on the toll roads? Any advice most welcome

last time i went down there must be 22yrs ago with my parents in caravan..depends how the roads are i know we hit traffic so my pappy said fook it and hit the toll roads and for what it cost we got there quicker,personally i would toll it there enjoy mi holiday and come back steady to drag mi holiday out

[Omegatoy]

toll roads are much quicker and better for fuel consumptoin!!!
go round Paris unless your a masochist camp sites are plentiful and cheap but so are hostels, w.h.smith sells a couple of good books with these listed and when they are open or closed, last time i did it, fuel was cheaper in the uk than france!!!

[TheBoy]

OmegaToy has done the trip several times, both with a pikey van, and just in car, so worth listening to his advice

(Omegatoy moved from Oxfordshire to Spain a couple of years back).

[Varche]

I would suggest doing a circular route. e.g. Down through France to the Med and then down into Spain.

For your return trip you could go back through Spain and into France at Irun.

There is lots to see depends on what you like. For example Monserat (near Barcelona) is just stunning even if you are not into religion.

You could try the recently (open fiveish years) Millau bridge in Southern France. Very high but probably best viewed from below!

If you haven't got it, cruise control is handy. Saves speeding tickets in France and also handy on the many long open roads you will experience.

[Lazydocker]

I would suggest doing a circular route. e.g. Down through France to the Med and then down into Spain.

For your return trip you could go back through Spain and into France at Irun.

There is lots to see depends on what you like. For example Monserat (near Barcelona) is just stunning even if you are not into religion.

You could try the recently (open fiveish years) Millau bridge in Southern France. Very high but probably best viewed from below!

If you haven't got it, cruise control is handy. Saves speeding tickets in France and also handy on the many long open roads you will experience.

Yes, yes, yes!! It's pretty spectacular to drive over too

My personal preference is to use the toll roads... The fuel economy is better and you seem to be getting somewhere! We're going to Southern Italy in September and planning to drive.

If you want to avoid Paris completely you can go Via Rouen and Orleans, although this way is quite a bit longer

[ScottieMV6]

We were thinking of doing this in the school summer holidays this year. Got family in Andalucia and can have free accomodation so was going to drive down and stay for 5 weeks but calculated the petrol for the 3300 mile return journey at roughly £700. Although that is still cheaper than flights and hire car you still have accomodation costs for all your stops on the way down. I have no idea how much these are?

[Dan1005]

I was just recently in France on a driving holiday, if you want to take the toll roads be prepared for the price. We drove from Paris to the German border (heading for Frankfurt) and in the 2 hours we were in France we paid over 26 euro in tolls.
It was about the same coming in from Switzerland the week before. This was more than fuel cost us for that part of the journey!!
Couldn't believe it personally..
Also try to avoid buying fuel in France if you can, the prices are absolutely extortionate!!

[Andy B]

.....
but calculated the petrol for the 3300 mile return journey at roughly £700.  ........

In the Mazda?  :-? Surely not! Will the 'silver car' be ready for Spain this year?       

[Lazydocker]

As said... Tolls aren't "cheap" but worth it IMHO.

Hotels are cheap enough if you go to Formule 1 or the like

[chalcroft]

Thanks for the prompt response and the advice from you all. Think i will take the toll roads on the way down and normal roads on the way back. Never in a rush to come back from a holiday!

[ScottieMV6]

.....
but calculated the petrol for the 3300 mile return journey at roughly £700.  ........

In the Mazda?  :-? Surely not! Will the 'silver car' be ready for Spain this year?       

Seriously..........the mazda does about 25 mpg (its a 1.6 auto Mazda 3). Been on a mazda forum and it seems that is standard!!! I get better MPG out of my MV6 which will be ready but not sure I trust it to do that sort of trip! :-/ :-/

[Jim]

I've just been on

http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/homepage.html

and the tolls in france for driving to spain from calais are Euro 70.60

[SWMBO]

.....
but calculated the petrol for the 3300 mile return journey at roughly £700.  ........

In the Mazda?  :-? Surely not! Will the 'silver car' be ready for Spain this year?       

Seriously..........the mazda does about 25 mpg (its a 1.6 auto Mazda 3). Been on a mazda forum and it seems that is standard!!! I get better MPG out of my MV6 which will be ready but not sure I trust it to do that sort of trip! :-/ :-/

Hmmm, lets not count our chickens on that one! It has been 'nearly ready' for a lot longer than it has been ready