Towing Caravan Caen to Valencia
Hi Fellow Members,
I am looking for advice on the roads from Bayonne across to Valencia.
I am taking the Portsmouth to Caen ferry at the end of August this year. It's the night crossing and then will be driving to Valencia area.
I have done the usual route many times from Calais to Perpignan via Clermont-Ferrand on the A75. This option is still open to me of course. However I thought I'd try the Western side from Caen to Lemans then working down to Bordeaux.
I just wondered if anyone has gone via Pamplona etc and (a) are the roads good and are they not too steep? ( b) any decent overnight stops for 1 night if needed?
I will be towing my Swift Elegance 580 with my 3200cc Vito so it's got a bit of power.
The A75 from Clermont-Ferrand to Beziers is quite inclined in parts...
Alternatively if the roads are very steep and hilly, I will go Bordeaux to Toulouse then into Spain via A9...
Thanks in advance.
Mark
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You should have no problem if you stick to the main roads via Irun and San Sebastian. It is less of a drag than the A75. Not many choices for night stops, most stop on the municiple campsite in Zaragoza before heading down tha A23 to Valencia
peedee
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Hi Mark, I would favour the western routes as well and there are some good alternatives to avoid tolls, such as the N10 South from Poitiers.
I would take a look at viaMichelin which will give you a good feel for the possible options and, just a few minutes now, shows that a toll free route is similar mileage, adds about 3 hours to the journey and saves around €150 in tolls.
We would be thinking about a very similar trip at the same time but currently waiting to hear if a UK rally we are booked on in September will still go ahead.
Have a great trip
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Hi Mark, doing portsmouth - caen 1st September, hopefully, morning ferry arriving early PM, then head to Camping Tours Les Acacias, if you book in advance they give you pin for barrier so if you are late arriving you can let yourself in.
Then onwards to Camping Larrouleta via A10 A63, it is toll most of way but you can do this in approx 6 hrs so dont mind paying the toll. From Larrouleta we normally then do a drive to Aranjuez which could be out of your way if you are going to Valencia.
Have done Pamplona etc, down to Zaragoza, municipal site at Zaragoza was not great and expensive but i believe they have tarted it up a bit and removed some of the long term campers. I tow a coachman Amara 550/5 with a Kia Sorento, never had a problem.
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Many years ago I did Le Havre to Alicante via Bayonne although that was solo and the Bayonne leg was done in a day so I'm unable to comment on sites. The route I used was:-
Bayonne A63/A8 San Sebastian
San Sebastian N1/ A15 Pamplona
Pamplona A15 Merge Motorway
Nr Tudela A68 Zaragoza
Zaragoza Local. sp Madrid Teruel Right at r'bout - Gran Via
Across next r'bout
N330
N234 Teruel
Teruel N330 Utiel
Utiel N330 Almansa
Almansa N330 AlicanteYou just need to peel off towards Valencia but the route was quiet with good roads.
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Camping les Capucines at Ranville - about 5 miles from the ferryport - is usually open all year. But we live in difficult times so please check nearer your date. Like most sites in France they tolerate dogs, but whether they are friendly to them I'm afraid I cannot say.
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tks for info, have found this one it is about 40 mins from ferry but looks good for either Cherbourg or Caen open 24x7x365 might be dodgy during winter months as looks to be mainly grass pitches, but have been in touch and they have been very helpful
Steve Davis <info@sous-les-etoiles.camp>
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Hi Mark
We do this route normally once a year returning in the Autumn & don't like driving too far in a day so have plenty of stops. As we are over the 3.5t we tend to avoid the tolls in France as much as possible but would use them to bypass the city centres if necessary. I am in a motorhome but cannot think of any problems you may have towing a caravan. We stop at some of the sites mentioned above but our route is free motorway & N Roads all the way. The only place I think I would prefer to join the toll motorway towing a caravan would be just north of Tours rather than the free section, almost at the centre, as the last bit of the N road is quite busy with traffic, narrow lanes and some small roundabouts before you get onto the now free section of the motorway. So we go Belgium, Boulogne, Rouen & stop. Then Evreux, Dreux, Chartres, Vendome, Tours, Poitiers and stop. Angouleme, Bordeaux and either stop around there just to the south or if on a good day would push on and stop at Dax. If not we would stop at Lauretta mentioned above by David. An alternative route we like to use is after Angouleme we head for Pau and the Somport Tunnel then Zaragoza but I'm not sure how good crossing the Pyrenees on the French side is for a caravan, I recall the road up to the tunnel has quite narrow roads in places but big lorries use them so I guess it should be fine. Then into Spain, outskirts of Pamplona and Zaragoza where we stop at the municipal. A little bit expensive but literally nowhere else to stay & the city is great for a visit. Then Valencia the next day and we normally travel south from there. We come back the same way but have different stops, like Tours at Camping Acacia mentioned above. Valencia is nice to visit & we have stopped at a couple of places on the outskirts and travelled in on the train or bus. If you look at 'My Stories' section on CT you will find stories for many of the places on this route. I don't write them any more but you will see me in the top 5 authors & if you click on me you will get them all. I think one for Zaragoza is one of the last I posted. Hope this helps
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