How far will you go?
Our eagerly anticipated first great adventure in the new motorhome just a few weeks away. We are booked on the overnight Portsmouth-Caen ferry, with the intention of heading south for to the Languedoc and Pyrenees.
My original thought was to drive as far as Le Mont Dore on the first day, which is 650Kms, using Autoroutes. I am used to diving distances, but as this will be the first big trip in the MH am I biting off more than can be chewed for day one?
What would you consider a comfortable day's passage for the start of a holiday? We will have had a 200M trip down to the ferry on the previous evening.
Comments
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Hi Stevsie, The last time we landed at Ouistreham we managed 5 miles along the coast and had lunch on the sea front at Luc sur Mer - the Villa de Luc restaurant - and then in the afternoon managed another 20 miles to see the Bayeux tapestry. Then started drinking.
But you are a motorhomer and motorhomers don't have days like that. Ever onward they cry
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Crickey Stevesie; are you on a marathon or a holiday! Of course 650ks (406 miles) is doable but do you really need to push yourselves. Going your route in a couple of weeks and we have allowed a couple of night stops to get to Languedoc; but we may take
much longer if we decide to stop en route for a couple of days - that's the joy of not booking and going out of season. We use the 3 x 2 hr driving rule and expect to be poping the cork at about 4 pm. Bear in mind that you may not sleep too well on the o'night
ferry so do not push yourselves too hard. Mont Dore area is lovely but take 2 days to get there. When we lived in Languedoc we would take 2 night stops to get to Calais- solo we would have 1 night stop - but we were not on holiday in those days. Use time
not distance when in France, it is a big country!0 -
One of the joys of touring overseas for me, is there is no definite destination and stopping off on route is part and parcel of the holiday, making it as short or as long as fancied. But if you must rush to where you want to be then plan on stopping for the night at 3-4 in the afternoon, probably after 200/250 miles. Time to wind down before the next day begins.
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If you can average 50 mph including breaks for a coffe, lunch, toilets etc then it would be an 8 hour stint, so if you set off at 9 you would arrive about 5. Averaging 50 means driving at 65-70 and stopping say for 20 minutes mid morning, 30 minutes for
luch and a couple of short (10-15 minutes) in the afternoon.0 -
If you can average 50 mph including breaks for a coffe, lunch, toilets etc then it would be an 8 hour stint, so if you set off at 9 you would arrive about 5. Averaging 50 means driving at 65-70 and stopping say for 20 minutes mid morning, 30 minutes for luch and a couple of short (10-15 minutes) in the afternoon.
You'll set off well before 9am, the overnight ferry to Oustreham gets in before 7am!
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We've done about 10k miles round Europe in the last 2 years and have decided that we find 220 - 230 miles is a comfortable moving day for us. We have travelled 270 miles a few times and this usually takes about 6 and a half hours with a half hour stop. We are towing but generally we are doing 60 wherever we can (often a little bit more) so I don't think it would be much different with a MH.
Personally I like Fysherman and Comeyras's advice - travel as far as you can get to by mid to late afternoon and then enjoy the rest of the day
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Thanks everybody, going "out of season" I haven't booked anything other than the ferry, so it is all flexible. I think we will probably have a night somewhere on the Loire. We like Amboise, so probably around there.
Having a day at work, driving 200m to the south coast in the evening, catching an overnight ferry and then tackling a near on 400 mile leg through France is one of those great ideas one has over a glass of two of wine! We know mid France well, but have
never visited the Languedoc and there is an eagerness to get to what is new, but better to arrive a day later, fresh and talking to each other!The comments about the night's sleep on the ferry are also valid, there have been nights when we have had a drink in the bar then slept like logs until morning and then others when pre-holiday excitement and the need to be up early have made for a less than
satisfactory kip.Common sense will prevail, I now await the "yer great wuss, I've driven to Australia and back without a nap " posts!
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We are firmly in the camp of 200 - 250 mls a day once we get off the ferry, that's when we are truely on holiday. Its not unknown for us to just cover 80 mls and decide to stop if it looks nice
Gone are the days when OH would finish work mid afternoon come home and pick me and the kids up then drive from near the old East/West German border back to Scotland with only a few hours on a ferry for a break.
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In Europe at the start of our holiday we usually do 250/270 miles max to get us into the are then we try to keep it to about 200 Miles between sites. This year we went down in to the heel of Italy towing a caravan. With a good tow car these mileages are
comfortable driving,0 -
It's all very well for the retirees to say no more than xxx miles in a day, you can say that when you don't have to be back in work a fortnight later, those still working want to get to the site to start their holiday. The last few times we've been to La
Rochelle area, we've driven to the tunnel from north Manchester one day, crossed into France and stayed over night at the bay de Somme services and then continued on our way. I have driven home in a one-er, other than the tunnel crossing though0 -
Over the past 12 years we've averaged 10,000 miles a year on the Continent. We have used motorways a lot to get where we've been going, but have stuck to to a 200 to 250 miles a day target with a few exceptions. It make sense to arrive in an area by mid afternoon when you're travelling on spec without a booking. In winter when fewer sites are open, it makes even more sense to arrive before dusk
Meanwhile, our radius of action is limited due to medical treatment, so we've travelled 30 miles from home to a delightful site in Rutland
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If it is on Motorways then I am comfortable with 300 miles if necessary, but more often we do 200 or less.
Would only do 300 if I had had a good sleep the night before.
Even while still working i never contemplated over-long tows, or feries at unsociable times. Better a day or 2 less at the destination.
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For those of us who still work for a living then maximising daily travel distance is an important consideration when holiday route planning. We are happy to drive the 400 miles to Inverness in a single day and similarly have travelled 400 miles plus in one
haul through Germany, albeit that was a bit tiring. Next weeks impending trip to Austria works out nicely in 3 days each under 300 miles.0 -
Longest I've towed in a day in the UK was 340 miles. I was additionally constrained by my wife's requirement to watch the Wimbledon men's final which I almost acheived. She missed the first two games which considering I had to hook up, level the van and
retune the TV wasn't bad.I have done similar mileages comfortably on the continent but generally try not to exceed 250'ish in this country. Retirement certainly gives you greater flexibility in covering distances.
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Years ago, when our children were young and we were both working, we regularly used to have a two week holiday in early season and then cram another week in using the August Bank Holiday as an extra day. Our plan was always to set off from our home in Yorkshire on Friday afternoon after work, book a short crossing to Dover, and sleep on a services, then head as far south as the 'sun'. Our first year took us down to Val de Cantobre, where we'd stayed several times before, and it was easy enough, even in a week. Rarely did we holiday anywhere else than the south of France, even when we just had a week.
On the way back we would leave it until late Sunday before setting off home - often after 6.00 pm - and head north, sleeping anywhere en-route (supermarket car parks, serviced aires, or similar), then a late afternoon ferry on Monday, and home around midnight!
I think, as we get older, we forget that we had more stamina when younger and that driving longer distances didn't seem to be a problem. These days we sometimes do as little as fifty kilometres between sites - and these days we would be more cautious and always find a campsite rather than sleeping elsewhere.
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Years ago, when our children were young and we were both working, we regularly used to have a two week holiday in early season and then cram another week in using the August Bank Holiday as an extra day. Our plan was always to set off from our home in Yorkshire on Friday afternoon after work, book a short crossing to Dover, and sleep on a services, then head as far south as the 'sun'. Our first year took us down to Val de Cantobre, where we'd stayed several times before, and it was easy enough, even in a week. Rarely did we holiday anywhere else than the south of France, even when we just had a week.
On the way back we would leave it until late Sunday before setting off home - often after 6.00 pm - and head north, sleeping anywhere en-route (supermarket car parks, serviced aires, or similar), then a late afternoon ferry on Monday, and home around midnight!
I think, as we get older, we forget that we had more stamina when younger and that driving longer distances didn't seem to be a problem. These days we sometimes do as little as fifty kilometres between sites - and these days we would be more cautious and always find a campsite rather than sleeping elsewhere.
This 60 year old brain certainly struggles to grasp the fact that its support mechanism isn't as capable as it was 30 years ago! Whether that be driving all night to maximise holiday time, or getting to grips with the fact that it takes two hours to run a half marathon.
The mile hunger is still borne of the want to get somewhere new as soon as possible. My good wife has taken early retirement from her teaching job, but I'm still stuck on the treadmill.
At least we can now go outside of the school holidays, which also means that I can "pinch" an extra half week off without clashing with others.
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Longest I've towed in a day in the UK was 340 miles. I was additionally constrained by my wife's requirement to watch the Wimbledon men's final which I almost acheived. She missed the first two games which considering I had to hook up, level the van and
retune the TV wasn't bad.I have done similar mileages comfortably on the continent but generally try not to exceed 250'ish in this country. Retirement certainly gives you greater flexibility in covering distances.
Selfish b####r! A loving husband would have jumped out of th car, wound one van leg down and got the telly going on 12v, before he tackled the other chores!
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we generally dont go far on any one day as we often dont know where we are going....
have a little bimble along, find a nice quiet spot for lunch, might look at the map and check the general direction, the evening spot comes usually when weve had enough driving or arrived at somewhere pretty....generally most everywhere in France
yes. sometimes we want to bat along to reach a particular place, but with plenty of time on pur hands and thousands of stopping places, whats the hurry....
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Stevesie. Where in Languedoc are you aiming for? There are many of us on this forum who know the area well. I used to live there and Val has property down there (I think!). We will be in our old stomping ground, near St Chinian, mid Sep for a couple of
weeks. I note that the lovely little site in St Chinian is now open until mid Nov, it used to close end Aug, but watch the boulders on the site!!!0 -
When travelling down to Spain in January, we leave home at Noon on Day 1 and travel 208 miles via Eurotunnel to the Baie de Somme Aire. On Day 2 we travel 286 miles to the free MH Aire at Chateauroux and then on Day 3 we make an earlyish start and travel 351 miles to Narbonne on the med. coast, arriving mid afternoon.
By following this route (via Toulouse) we avoid the risk of bad weather on the A75 Millau route and can be besides the Mediterranean in just over 48 hours from home.
I find the trip quite enjoyable as the cruise control set at 63 mph takes the strain out of it and the scenery en route is great.
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..... Better a day or 2 less at the destination.
I wonder if the kids sitting in the back crying ... are we there yet ..... would agree?
They may not agree, but limiting yourself to sensible distances is also for their safety.
Mainly ours just went to sleep when bored.
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Stevesie. Where in Languedoc are you aiming for? There are many of us on this forum who know the area well. I used to live there and Val has property down there (I think!). We will be in our old stomping ground, near St Chinian, mid Sep for a couple of
weeks. I note that the lovely little site in St Chinian is now open until mid Nov, it used to close end Aug, but watch the boulders on the site!!!Millau/Gorge du Tarn, then Carcassonne initially, from then on as the whim takes us. Maybe a few days at the coast and get a feel for the Pyrenees, before starting to head north. Just trying to get the mind set of not trying to have a four week tour in
two and a half!0
