LONG Trip Planned for June 2013

[Tofufi]

Good luck

I'm planning on taking mine down to the southwest of France and Spain in July this year. Ferries etc booked already

 

[yachty]

I drove Chester to Mallorca twice last year. Once in my 71 Westy, and once in my split crew cab. Overnight Ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre is my preference. 10 PM to 8AM. Get a cabin and you arrive in Le Havre all fresh and spangly. Hang a right before Paris heading for Le Mans and a more or less as the crow flies route towards Toulouse, mixture of tolls and back roads. One stopover just North of Toulouse and next day the over the hills near Andorra and drop down to Girona. Job Done I google mapped my route and the link is in my "Bluey" resto thread in the Gallery section if you are interested

What's all this breathalyser stuff? It's news to me!?

 

[creationblue]

Next on my (long) list is to get a voltmeter fitted - thats switchable between my leisure and main battery so I can see how much clares hair straighteners are draining it!! :lol:

TBH mate its not worth the effort, all it will show is the difference between 14 and 11volts which on a scale is a deflection of about 4mm :lol: so you wont even notice

You need either http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/smartgauge.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or http://www.mastervolt.com/marine/products/battery-monitoring-panels/masterlink-btm-iii-12-24v-dc/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But the price is prohibited for most of us just to see if your gonna run out of electric

Trip sounds awsome 8)

 

[Haveacamper]

Hi Stu,

Glad to see that you are going for an epic trip in the bus!!! On one hand I agree with what people are saying about getting ferry down to Bilbao, but I was deterred by the cost, and also the fact that the camper is for cruising around in and enjoying. The ferry seems a bit of a cheat 

Here is the trip that Liz and I did back last June...

Like you, I went for the epic trip and did it in 15days - Cardiff to Cardiff. Also like you we went in June... 14th June to be more precise. The good thing about going this year is that the campsites are still charging the cheaper rates for staying. Although a lot of the campsites operate a tiered pricing system rather than high and low season we estimated that we saved about 10EURO/night by not going in high season/school holidays. You do sacrifice the weather a little as it can be a bit more temperamental, and you may not get to see all of the sunflowers out at this time, but a saving of 150EUROS was definitely worth it.

So, opinions on your chosen route! . To give you a flavour of timings on the google map image, we travelled from P to R (just outside Lyon and I think it took about 7hrs. After a night in a random campsite we went from R to S which took about 9hrs. Both of these were pretty much Motorways. The Motorway, E11, is free with exception of paying to go over the Millau Bridge. I will advise you that is free as its very up and down and quite windy. It does however, take you over the Millau bridge, which on a clear day is amazing. There is a little pull over place where we stopped for lunch and a viewing point you can go and see the bridge from. I cant remember whether we actually drove around Paris went across to Rheims. I will check tonight when I get home .

What I would advise is to pay the toll roads to get down there as quick and easy as possible. This will mean that you won’t be going through quaint towns and villages but you can do all that on your way back. It took us the best part of 16-18hrs to drive from Sete (O on the Map) to Amiens (S on the map).

The N-Roads that usually run alongside the motorways (E-Roads) are generally free. You will have to leave motorway when you are looking or a place to camp and continue your journey on the N-Roads, looking out for campsites as Trikky2 said.

I would very much recommend going to Carcassonne. We stayed at the campsite that is right about 1mile walk along the stream to La Cite part of Carcassonne. As the closest campsite to Carcassonne I was expecting it to be out of our budget, but it was only 20-12Euro/night – and that was with electric hookup. The facilities were spotless and it had a pool. High season, it was 40Euros per night. If you want the address/name let me know and I will dig it out

i know i have a much different engine to yours but on motorways i travelled between 60-70mph
Total Distance: 2733 miles
Total Fuel used: 518 Litres
Average Fuel Economy: 23.75mpg

I was advised by Trikky2 not to use the petrol labelled 95-E10 and its 10% ethanol. what i did find, is that alot of the motorway fuel stations only have 95-E10 or 98. the 98 is super unleaded, but as this was the price that i had budgeted for i was happy to use it. plus, it did give me better mpg

finally Trikky lives near H on the map and there are plenty of chateaus and vineyards around there which we wish we had the time to visit.

NaFe

 

[who?1]

I wish you all the best with your trip - just remember that its all about the journey - don't push it too hard and you will enjoy it more.

I drove back from Alicante to Somerset last month in an air conditioned Volvo eeek. We had +26 deg to -2 deg in one day!!

We left Alicante 11.30am on Friday morning and stopped just South of the French border at 6.00pm ish for the night. The next morning we were on the road at 6.00am and had one stop for a pee and a coffee, one more stop for fuel just south of Paris and got to Calais at 7.00pm. Paris was fine on the peripherique in a RHD with Sat Nav but then City driving doesn't phase me. It is a long way so don't rush like we had to and make sure you have loads of different tunes to choose from!!

Best bit was crossing the Millau bridge see my thread....
http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=48395" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[who?1]

P.S Toll roads all the way - easier on the motor and you.....

Pull off when you need a break its easy.

 

[StuF]

Cheers for all the info guys - nathan, looks like you had an epic journey!

Hope the beatup run to Ninove goes well for us and we will be able to make some concrete plans for the "Long Trip" when we return on Monday.

 

[Bay-low71]

P.S Toll roads all the way - easier on the motor and you.....

Pull off when you need a break its easy.

Make sure you pull over before you pull off that will be difficult whilst driving.... Sorry lowering the tone!!!! Ha ha.

On a serious note done a trip from South Wales through France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium ok it was in my old T25 LLE 1.9 TDi and I will say the French have such good campsites the Germans and the Dutch go there for their holidays.
I'm sure you'll have a great time, I would agree with a longer ferry journey if you have a deadline and enjoy a chilled journey back.
It was by far the best holiday My partner and I have ever had, hopefully will repeat in the bay next year when completed. Ben

 

[who?1]

P.S Toll roads all the way - easier on the motor and you.....

Pull off when you need a break its easy.

Make sure you pull over before you pull off that will be difficult whilst driving.... Sorry lowering the tone!!!! Ha ha.

On a serious note done a trip from South Wales through France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium ok it was in my old T25 LLE 1.9 TDi and I will say the French have such good campsites the Germans and the Dutch go there for their holidays.
I'm sure you'll have a great time, I would agree with a longer ferry journey if you have a deadline and enjoy a chilled journey back.
It was by far the best holiday My partner and I have ever had, hopefully will repeat in the bay next year when completed. Ben

I knew someone would be downright dirty!!!

 

[Bay-low71]

P.S Toll roads all the way - easier on the motor and you.....

Pull off when you need a break its easy.

Make sure you pull over before you pull off that will be difficult whilst driving.... Sorry lowering the tone!!!! Ha ha.

On a serious note done a trip from South Wales through France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium ok it was in my old T25 LLE 1.9 TDi and I will say the French have such good campsites the Germans and the Dutch go there for their holidays.
I'm sure you'll have a great time, I would agree with a longer ferry journey if you have a deadline and enjoy a chilled journey back.
It was by far the best holiday My partner and I have ever had, hopefully will repeat in the bay next year when completed. Ben

I knew someone would be downright dirty!!!

I agree I shouldn't of mentioned a T25 on the EB forum..... ;-)

 

[Nugsy]

no where near the distance but we've got Disneyland Paris booked in July, Driving down to Dover on the Friday night, stay in the travel lodge, ferry sat morning and driving to the campsite, also take in the final stage of the tour de france in Paris on the sunday if I can. 7 days in campsite then driving to Normandy for a week, then back to Calais and home. It will be our first trip in France so watching this thread for any pointers

 

[Bay-low71]

If you can put together a good medication pack it will save a lot of searching for pharmacies, doctors, dentists etc things like eye drops, make you pooh, stop your pooh tablets, DIY dentist kit, i used one last week as my tooth crumbled on Friday afternoon it worked a treat spoke to my dentist and he said the kits are very good a prevent further pain & expense.
We chose to use the Eurotunnel rather than a ferry, and found it superb, easy to get to just have wander round the shops when your called jump in your bus board then wait in your bus til it gets light again. The carriages hold a few vehicles we had a family of 5 in a Late bay going to Belgium, the journey wasn't long at all. We had to catch a train 2 days early as my partner came down with an ear infection which made her face swell, with Kirsty also being pregnant my medical kit wasn't really cut out for that, so contacted the Euro and they just said make your way and jump on, it's number plate recognition at the gates it was just a simple stress free journey both ways.
One thing mention is security, don't think it's safe to leave anything to tempt a thief, we got rather relaxed at a lake Garda site after 5 days, fortunately he was caught with arm through my passenger window trying to lift the button to help himself. Nothing was taken luckily, you can buy guards for open windows which are a good, cannot speak about the quality of these items but I'm sure someone on here knows.
Oh definitely take a diary, I don't ever write in a diary but I did everynight and my partner and I love looking at the photos and reading about our journey as you forget, also used a paper map to mark all the points we visited... Here's some of the stuff I collected....

You'll have a get time, fact!!!!

 

[Tofufi]

On a serious note done a trip from South Wales through France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium ok it was in my old T25 LLE 1.9 TDi and I will say the French have such good campsites the Germans and the Dutch go there for their holidays.

Apologies for the minor hijack, but does anyone have any experience of the campsites in northern Spain? We're planning on spending a few days heading across the north of Spain, possibly including a day in Barcelona. It'd be good to know if the camping is as easy south of the French border

 

[Bay-low71]

There are a lot of Eurocamp sites along the Spanish med coast north of Barcelona...then into French territory

Here's a pic of a Euro camp map, I'm sure their website will give you more info, not sure on their price, probably on the higher budget, worth a look though...Ben

 

[yachty]

Apologies for the minor hijack, but does anyone have any experience of the campsites in northern Spain? We're planning on spending a few days heading across the north of Spain, possibly including a day in Barcelona. It'd be good to know if the camping is as easy south of the French border

This any good to you?

http://www.camping-spain.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Although I live here, to be honest I have no idea about campsites and camping in Spain...................except to say I suspect it will be hot and stuffy sleeping in a van during the summer months :lol:

Hopefully, once my Westy is on the road and we've been out and about a bit, I can be more help

 

[Tofufi]

Thanks both, and apologies for the slow reply - have spent a while looking and it doesn't seem like the coast is short of campsites. Not so many inland, but sure we'll find something, or perhaps wild camping for a night too.

Really looking forward to it now

 

[Clem]

no where near the distance but we've got Disneyland Paris booked in July, Driving down to Dover on the Friday night, stay in the travel lodge, ferry sat morning and driving to the campsite, also take in the final stage of the tour de france in Paris on the sunday if I can. 7 days in campsite then driving to Normandy for a week, then back to Calais and home. It will be our first trip in France so watching this thread for any pointers

We are going, albeit in the Golf, on that weekend, staying in the Thomas Cook Explorers Hotel at Disney, into the park on Saturday and then into Paris for the final stage on Sunday 8)

Its a good run from Calais to Paris (in a van), allow for one stop along the way. Last time in my van we left Paris after lunch and I drove pretty much straight back to Gloucester only really stopping as such when we were on the tunnel train .... that hurt :lol: