A newbie travelling to Spain through France
A newbie to caravanning, so far we have ventured as far as Pembrokeshire for a week. Our ultimate goal is to travel down to Southern Spain for several weeks next month.
I'm hoping to take a steady drive (happy to do 5-6 hours driving a day) through France utilising the Aires and eventually crossing into Spain, near Malaga or surrounding areas.
I was wondering if anybody has done a similar journey and had any advice, routes, recommendations, suitable Aires and Sites along the way?
your help and experiences would be greatly appreciated.
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Welcome. You are listed as a caravanner so the Aires in towns and villages which motorhomers speak of will not be accessible to you. That leaves motorway Aires or service stations and campsites, and of those most caravanners would choose the campsites. Those campsites will not need reservations if you are travelling in March, but check carefully which ones will be open by then. If you would like to decide on your route then I am sure you will get suggestions of overnight stops along the way- but in March your route will not be over the top of the Pyrenees , so choose one end of the range or the other. I hope it goes well. Take care.
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That’s great stuff, thank you so much. Sorry we’re looking to drive down to Southern Spain and the final destination will be in around Malaga. Unless there is a better location you can recommend along that coastline?
I will be sitting down and planning this week.
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If you are planning to drive across central Spain in February, it will be pretty cold at night and possibly also during the day. Snow may also be encountered.
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Were looking at travelling mid to late February.
As were based in Kent the Eurotunnel is our preferred option. So our European start point will be Calais and looking to take a steady drive through France into Spain, with our final destination being Southern Spain for a few weeks before tracking back home around mid April.
Really appreciate everybody taking the time out with their advice and experience.
Can I also ask what would peoples preferred (least perilous) crossing into Spain be around this time of year?
Also, This may be an obvious question but I'm trying to route plan, overnight sites on the 5-6 hour driving rule, using rough speed/distance/time calculation. Is there an online planning tool that can for example roughly work out where in France I will be after driving 5-6 hours at a certain speed? So I can locate a nearby campsite in the vicinity.
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Day 1 .As early a start as you can through the tunnel then 250 miles to Camping Neuville on the north side of Le Mans. Phone ahead to check it is open in February.
Day 2 Another early start and 275 miles down the motorway to one of the two campsites at Bordeaux
Day 3 Onward into Spain. Another 275 miles from Bordeaux and you are at the Burgos campsite.
Day 4. Your choice.
Big fold out map on kitchen table needed plus a felt pen.
Good wishes,
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I use via Muchelney app on phone and ipad. You can input details of towbar, fuel consumption etc. Options include route preferences, and you can select whether you are towing. Timings are reasonably accurate I find.
Attached image from Calais to Poitiers as an example
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Here’s a few more suggestion for sites open in winter in france,we’ve used them in the past.
camping La Fontaine des Clercs, Montreuil
camping le Futuriste, St Georges les Baillargeaux (north of Poitiers)
camping Larrouleta, Urrugne (near spanish border)
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Can I also ask what would peoples preferred (least perilous) crossing into Spain be around this time of year?
Also, This may be an obvious question but I'm trying to route plan, overnight sites on the 5-6 hour driving rule, using rough speed/distance/time calculation. Is there an online planning tool that can for example roughly work out where in France I will be after driving 5-6 hours at a certain speed? So I can locate a nearby campsite in the vicinity.
In the winter you are best travelling down the west side of France and cross the boarder into Spain at Irun. My favoured route from my notes is:
Via Rouen - on the A16/A28 from the channel ports and just before crossing the River Seine at Rouen, we take the D6015 via Pont de l'arche to the A154/N154 to Evreux and Nonancourt. From here we take the N12 to Dreux taking the ring road to again pick up the N154 south to Chartres, then round the Chartres ring road and either stay on the N154 to join the A10 just north of Orleans to travel down central France using the same routes as though we had come via Paris. Alternatively instead of taking the N154 from the Chartres ring road, we take the N10 to join the A10 just before Tours, if we want to travel down the western side of France on the autoroutes to Bordeaux and beyond. We have used the western route on several occasions to and from north west Spain using the A63 and N10 from Bordeaux to Bayonne and the French border at Irun. This western route is probably the quickest route to Portugal and southern Spain. From the border at Irun, take the A8 to San Sebastian. Here you have a choice either to stay on the A8 for Bilbao where you join the A68 and A1 for Burgos or take the toll free N1 to Vitoria and Burgos. At Burgos either take the E5 to Madrid for southern Spain or the N620 to Valladolid, and Salamanca for Portugal. We last used these routes in 2002 travelling out to northern Portugal and returning from southern Spain via Madrid.
The best option for planning your route and timings is >via Michelin<
peedee
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Another winter route to avoid high ground across central Spain - why does everyone go that way?
Day 1 Calais to Troyes - Camping la Ferme des hauts frenes - 265 miles
Day 2 Troyes to Lyon - city campsite 210 miles
Day 3 Lyon to Narbonne - Camping Figurotta 245 miles
Days 4 and 5 Follow Spanish Mediterranean coast stopping when the sun shines.
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Although we've given up Winter trips to Spain (has beens), here's a clip from a similar thread a few years ago. We use to leave mid jan or early feb.
The weather in northern France is more or less the same as southern England. We've driven down the A26 from Calais behind a snowplough, and often in fog and frost! The autoroutes are kept open in all but the direst of conditions. The whole system is constantly monitored.
Following the snow plough
Once you're south of Lyons, snow is seldom a problem. Crossing the Pyrenees, you may have to wait for the snowploughs to open the road; however, in 12 years that's never happened to us ( touch wood).
We've posted this list several times on this site, but hope it's of interest to you in planning your expedition, but note that we have a motorhome which makes overnight stops simple.
We have a set route, mainly on the Peage (our modest motorhome is ‘classe 2’).
Here's our route from Calais:
1. Soissons - Camping Municipal du Mail -164 miles (Now closed in Winter)
2. Beaune - Camping les Bouleaux - 250 miles
3. Nimes - Camping Domaine de la Bastide - 272 miles
4. le Barcares - Camping Club Europa - 156 miles or Les Olivers at Le Boulou.
5.Hospitalet de L'infante ( south of Barcelona) - Camping Cala d'Oques - 200 miles. (not in ACSI, but they give a discount to card holders)
None of them bookable but open all year. Soissons was rumoured to have closed in winter, but ACSI and Ukcampsites both say it’s still open all year
Head for St Quentin,Soissions, Reims,Troyes,Dijon, Lyon (Rocade Est to Marseille), then Nimes, Montpellier, Narbonne, Perpignan. Barcelona then Valencia. Needless to say, don't enter any of these cities, just use them as indications of which routes to follow."
Hospitalet and pitch by the Med
eurortraveller replied on 27/10/2017 19:13
Member
eurortravellerfrom Cornwall
Posted on 27/10/2017 19:13
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ReportAnd on that route sites at Lyon, Avignon and Narbonne are also among the Open All Year
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As a motorhomer perhaps I shouldn't comment, but I believe that you must fit chains or socks to the Caravan as well. Without them, down hill braking could cause problems.
Our route is low-level for all but skirting the south east end of the pyrenees to Barcelona.
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If venturing into the mountains in Winter in France now, it is obligatory to have Winter tyres / snow chains / tyre socks - as per peedee's post upthread.
Pity, cos it rules out my favoured route via the Somport Tunnel unless I can fit snow chains to my twin rear wheels which I understand is not easy.
peedee
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For flexibility of site choice, download 'Archies Camping' which will give you all the sites within a radius of your location. You can just pick one with a pin when you've had enough for the day. For a one-nighter does the quality of any given site really matter?
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I was thinking along the same lines. Snow socks would definitely be easier to fit but they are not always acceptable in areas demanding chains. As you say it needs more research.
In all my winter trips, while I have encountered snow, the trunk roads have always been clear and never come close to needing chains.
peedee
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True but closed sites, although on the map, show as greyed out.
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