Best route and stop overs
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Another question my friends if I may. As we are travelling with our elderly dog, We have decided to take the shuttle to Calais in late March / early April. Then drive through France via toll roads to firstly Barcelona area, then after a week, on to south of Valencia, From advise we are hoping to drive around 300 miles per day. I would appreciate any advise on routes, stop overs and final destination sites. I am concerned over safe stop over places. I have seen a Huttopia site inland of Barcelona, which we really fancy to aim for. Our first road trip abroad, so lots of doubts and questions. thank you in advance
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Routes.. Personally I suggest going via Rouen to either Limoges or Clermont Ferrand and crossing the French border near Perpignan.
Stopovers… use ACSI book or app, plus Search for Sites. All their stopovers are safe.Why 300 miles a day? There is a lot you will miss.
Please don’t worry.
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@Wherenext Post #2 is the original post. #1 was blank. The OP is a new user and still getting to grip with the complexities of the forum.
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you can easily cover 300 miles in a day, and every summer we do more than this in a day with a caravan on non toll roads, but is that what you want for a "road trip".
I would get the map out, plot a route that you like the look of, then have a look on the via michelin website.
Route planner: route calculation, detailed journey cost - ViaMichelin
You can then fine tune your journey to stop off locations, not specific sites, as if out of season [use ACSI] you should usually be able to find space. If you tick the box for caravan you will have a good idea of your journey times and costs of any tolls you will come across.
I think I am one of the few who seem not to favour the toll roads and only take them when they really only are the sensible time/cost option, eg west from Calais towards Rouen. I find we can usually cover large distances at a 50mph average through wonderful countryside and enjoy the aires for our breaks and top up on fuel at supermarket prices.
Colin
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You don't say how long you are planning to be away. Calais to Barcelona is over 800 miles which is a fair trek without a rest day, although it can be done if time is short.
A route I have followed a number of times is shown below.
It economises on toll charges and gives you the opportunity to stop en route in the Loire valley and/or the Dordogne, both of which can have quite pleasant springtime weather.
Another favourite destination of mine is Camping Salatà at Roses on the Costa Brava; well worth considering as part of your trip if time permits.
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Thank you.
Never heard of it, but I have now downloaded the ACSI app. looks well worth the subscription fees.
I like the look of your suggested route, also suggested by another member.
Since we are planning 4 to 6 weeks, maybe you are bang on…. why rush, I now fancy spending a couple of days somewhere mid to lower France.
Appreciate the advise
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Thank you Colin. Some great advise coming from yourself and other members.
Love the ViaMichelin app
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Thank you Jim, This is exactly what I was hoping far, a proven route used by experienced travellers.
We are planning 4 to 6 weeks on our adventure, no commitments to rush back for… although babysitting days for grandkids will be stacking up…LOL. So really fancy the stop overs recommended.
will be looking into the recommended site too, are the pitches of a decent size… car, caravan and awning with room to sit outside. the first couple I looked at was so tight for space.
I was also advised on the Emovis tag…. is this neccesary on this given route ???
many thanks
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Ta for letting on… getting there😁
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@micknmijulie Pitches at Camping Salatà are a good size - they also have supersize serviced pitches (at a price).
An Emovis tag is useful as it enables you to use the drive through toll lanes without stopping. You also get a consolidated bill at the end of the month instead of having to pay each toll separately, although you could use a credit card to do the same provided it doesn't apply foreign currency charges. I also like the tag because it saves having to wind down the window to pay when the weather is below freezing on our winter trips.
If you fancy staying in central France, I would suggest stopping in the Loire valley on the way down to take advantage of its microclimate and in the Dordogne on the homeward journey.
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Once again….great advice Jim.
We will be looking into the camping Salata at Roses for a week stop.
Also we will surely be stopping at the much advised Loire valley, and the Dordogne, both ways….cannot wait. Although we are finding that many sites are closed until mid April.
I was looking into the Emovis Tag. But if I understand it correctly, I need to buy a seperate one for Spain, as we will be travelling down as far as Alicante, is this correct?
Also are the toll charges different for a solo car , to a car with caravan. I assume this information is declared at ordering stage via the caravan club.
thanks again for your input
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Yes, some sites in Loire Valley and Dordogne will be closed till mid April, but others will be open. Not a great problem.
A French motorway tag ( any brand) is clever enough to know whether to charge you at class1 (solo) or class 2 (towing). The Spanish motorway down the Med. Coast is toll free so you don’t need another tag. Not a problem at all.
Enjoy your tour.
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Smart motorway tags.. technology at it's best. Good to know though.
I did not realise that north Spain motorways are toll free. My mother lives near Torrevieja, Alicante, and they have a toll system. Also good to know. So worst scenerio is having a few toll charges once further down the coast. Will save on another tag then.
thank you
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Personally, I wouldn't bother with a motorway tag for Spain any more, as most routes are now toll-free. The only ones with a toll are marked in RED on the map below.
I am currently sitting in the sun at Tordesillas 100 miles northwest of Madrid and the only tolls I have paid are the ones levied for crossing the Pyrenees.
I also will not be bothering with a tag for Portugal (our next destination) as most of the tolls were abolished from 1st January 2025.
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great info again.. enjoy your tour Jim.
best regards
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Hi Guys. Does anyone know the best and most economical way to use mobile phones in France and Spain.
I need it to keep in touch with home in UK. plus to use locally.
For short holidays I usually pay the roaming chargers, But this time we are going to be away for 6 to 8 weeks.
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@micknmijulie I have just bought a pay as you go sim for £6 from Smarty, supposedly gives unlimited calls and text and 12Gbs of data while roaming in the EU. You can pause and top up usage as you like. Check it out at
peedee
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I never knew of the sort of package Peedee has described but I could always find free wi fi overseas somewhere - at cheap campsites, bars, motorway service stations, supermarkets, hotels, guest houses, airports, public libraries, tourist information places and the like - in 15 or 20 different countries - so the family only ever got free e mails and I-messages from me,
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Thanks for the reply, that's good to know.
So I can feel safe in not having to change sim cards or anything
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Thanks Peedee, at that price its certainly worth looking into
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I'm new to mobile phones and contracts, taking my first out last June. I'm a light user but wanted to plan for our French holidays. My contact with Lebara is £5 a month and gives me some useful and fairly comprehensive European cover, easiest to look here:-
5 GB Monthly Plan £5 | Best SIM Only Deals | Lebara Mobile UK
I top my internet access up a no contract Smarty SIM only card that gives me 12Gb for a month at £9.:-
I use this in a TP Link 4G router:-
TP-Link M7350 4G LTE Mobile Wi-Fi Router
Add in the free internet access available on most sites and most bases are covered.
Colin
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thank you Colin. I have a sim only contract with Sky.
But afraid of all the high roaming chargers for a 6 week tour.
will be looking into this Smarty sim.
do you use the smarty sim card to run the router, or your phone… or one in each
??
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Sky uses the O2 network and O2 doesn’t have roaming charges as far as I recall.
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As an alternative to a SMARTY sim (which my wife uses), I have a Lebara sim which provides 15GB of data, unlimited UK minutes and texts and 100 International minutes a month. The cost is £6.95 a month obtained via a USwitch on-line deal.
In addition to normal use, I also use this phone as a mobile hotspot when using my laptop and get reasonable speeds for downloads and uploads.
The 100 International minutes allowance also comes in very handy when phoning ahead to book a campsite.
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Just as an aside, might I suggest that you consider taking two phones on separate networks with you when abroad.
Just before the pandemic, Vodafone's network suffered a glitch and I couldn't use my mobile for 4 days. Fortunately, my wife's phone was with a different network so we weren't entirely cut off.
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I use the Smarty SIM in the router for my internet when I have ran out of Data on the Lebara SIM in my phone. The Lebara also gives me my phone minutes and texts.
I am a total Ludite when it comes to phones. I'm guessing there could be a way to add a second SIM card to some phones so you could mix and match your services, but this is beyond me and my basic £70 Motorola. I suppose another option would be to use the phone as a hot spot, but for that you may need to ask a teenager.
Colin
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Thanks for your info Colin. We seem to be on the same level when it comes to tech. As once smart people, we are quickly left behind in this rapidly advancing tech world. I was hesitant to ask such basic question, but the only dumb question.. is the one you don't ask. I have taken all info on board.
regards
Mick
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I fly to Spain every year for a week or two, and as a Sky customer, I am charged £2 per day roaming.
So I don't understand the link between Sky and O2.
I also have a friend on the O2 pay as you go, and they ,as you said do not get charged roaming. They just use their phone abroad as they do in the UK
But thanks anyway
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