cw42

iTrader: (1)

My mother and step father have owned a static caravan in Antequera, near Malaga for about 1.5 years now. In september, they intend to move down for at least a years stay. He will be driving, and taking loads of stuff in the car with them.
What is the best route to take? ie: is it better to go over the channel at dover and drive down through france, or go to portsmouth and get a ship all the way around? (he hates the french though, so he's looking for alternatives, don't ask )
We are going to check autoroute later on in the week, but I'm sure one of your worldly wise guys will know the best way to go

cheers,
chris.

greg.g

I think there is a Plymouth - Santander ferry.
It would still be a long drive across spain to malaga though.

cw42

iTrader: (1)

cheers greg.g, anymore suggestions?
chris.

Faire D'Income

You've got several options:

Plymouth - Santander, crossing takes around 18 hours now and allows pets.

Portsmouth - Bilbao, crossing takes around 25 hours and doesn't allow pets.

Dover - Calais, I did the trip down to Malaga in 21 hours when I was young and mad - now I'd take a day and half to do it so depending on time of year, cruising around the tonne mark.

I usually find that getting across Spain isn't so bad but when you're faced with the length of France on top it gets very tiring.

camk

that is a long long journey, will feel much longer on the way back. I drive a lot in Europe and find anything more than 700KM per day is very tiring. You can average around 100kmph on a journey of any size. Trying to get more than that will wear you out. Once did Frankfurt to Cannes in 13 hours, never again. I'd seriously look at the ferry option.

JackClark

I'd take the ferry, have done the Portsmouth - Bilbao before and it was good fun. Drove back from Portugal to Aylesbury on my own in 19 hours earlier this year and it was nothing near to being fun.

Brendan Hughes

Jack, could you briefly outline your route, car, speed trap detectors, and illegal stimulants used?

Seriously, I wouldn't believe that was possible, but I'd be curious to know how you did it.

2000TLondon

I rode a mountain bike with friends from Santander to Alicante when I was 18... I was much fitter then and we did get the train through the biggest mountains!!! Which were very big!

I would reccomend the ferry Plymouth to Santander. It is a 24 hour crossing and it isn't cheap, but you can at least relax for the most part (depending on the weather of the Bay of Biscay - can be very rough if they get sea sick)

Then I would take a leisurely route down from Santander. There are some great places and getting off the toursit track up in northern and central spain is well recommended. Would they be in an hurry?

This would probably be longer than driving across France, but less exhausting....

JackClark

Sure, Monte Gordo to Bordeaux via Madrid - 12 hours, Bordeaux to Aylesbury via Paris - 7 hours. I did sleep for a few hours after the 12 hour stint. Around 4500rpm all the way.

Patt@firstime

south

Brendan Hughes

Thx Jack. My son's schoolmate boasted that his dad did it in a day (Lisbon to somewhere in UK) in his RS6, we didn't believe him.

camk

I do 400-500 km journeys 2 or 3 times a month and get an average of just over 100kmph, thats across Germany and Benelux region. The other traffic and roadworks are the biggest issues, the car you drive affects it much less. I've found the difference between 320 Diesel and 996 C4 is only about 8-10kmph and you need to stop more in the C4 for fuel. I could be faster but its hard to keep a high pace up for a 4 or 5 hour journey.

JackClark

No worries, you definately need a day *and* a night. I didn't hang around through Spain only stopping for petrol, drove over the pyrenees in awful conditions, slept once into France a fair way, woke up freezing -7 outside, got stuck in Paris when the roads turned into skating rings - good fun - used my compass to get out of the place - made the ferry bang on time, had to go the wrong'ish way around the M25 because I was out of cash, then sat dazed for a few days. Was a good drive 4,500miles in total but I won't be doing it again in a hurry.

Andy Hall

Time Mile Instruction For Toward
Summary: 1576.6 miles (2 days, 7 hours, 51 minutes)
DAY 1
09:00 0.0 Depart Stockport on Hardman Street (North) 76 yds
09:00 0.1 Turn RIGHT (East) onto A560 [Chestergate] 174 yds
09:01 0.1 Bear LEFT (East) onto Local road(s) 32 yds
09:02 0.2 Bear LEFT (North) onto A560 [King Street West] 131 yds
09:02 0.2 At roundabout, take the SECOND exit 65 yds
09:02 0.3 Exit roundabout onto A5145 [Travis Brow] 0.3 mi
09:02 0.6 At roundabout, take the THIRD exit 0.1 mi
09:03 0.7 Exit roundabout onto Ramp 0.2 mi M60 / M61 / M56 / Preston / Warrington / Chester
09:03 0.9 Continue (West) on M60 2.3 mi
09:05 3.2 At M60 Exit 4, continue (West) on Ramp 0.2 mi M56 / M6 / Chester / Warrington / M'CR Airport / B'ham
09:05 3.3 Continue (West) on M56 1.4 mi
09:06 4.7 Continue (West) on Ramp 0.4 mi
09:07 5.1 Bear LEFT (South) onto M56 1.2 mi
09:08 6.3 At M56 Exit 5, stay on M56 (West) 4.4 mi M56 / M6 / Warrington / Chester / Birmingham
09:11 10.7 At M56 Exit 7, bear LEFT (West) onto Ramp 1.1 mi A556 / A56 / M6 / Northwich / Birmingham / Lymm
09:13 11.8 Bear LEFT (South) onto A556 [Chester Road] 4.1 mi
09:19 15.9 At roundabout, take the FIRST exit 109 yds
09:19 15.9 Exit roundabout onto Ramp 0.2 mi M6 / Birmingham
09:20 16.2 Continue (South-East) on M6 71.5 mi
10:17 87.7 At M6 Exit 4A, stay on M6 (South-East) 25.9 mi M6 / M1 / London / Coventry
10:37 113.6 Continue (East) on Ramp 1.2 mi M1 / London / Northampton
10:39 114.7 Bear LEFT (South) onto M1 59.4 mi
11:26 174.1 At M1 Exit 7, stay on M1 (South-East) 1.8 mi M1 / London / Watford
11:28 175.9 At M1 Exit 6A, continue (South) on Ramp 0.3 mi M25 / M23 / M11 / M20 / M4 / Harlow / Dartford Tnl. / Heathrow Airport
11:28 176.2 Stay on Ramp (South-East) 0.6 mi M25 / M11 / M20 / Harlow / Dartford Tnl.
11:29 176.8 Continue (East) on M25 15.0 mi
11:41 191.9 At M25 Exit 25, stay on M25 (East) 7.9 mi M25 / M11 / Stansted Airport / Dartford Tunnel
11:48 199.7 At M25 Exit 27, stay on M25 (East) 16.9 mi M25 / M23 / Chelmsford / Dartford Tunnel / M20 / Gatwick Airport
12:01 216.6 *Toll road* Continue (South) on A282 4.2 mi
12:05 220.8 At A282 Exit 2, continue (South) on M25 3.8 mi M25 / M23 / M20 / Gatwick Airport / Channel Tnl / Dover
12:08 224.6 At M25 Exit 3, bear LEFT (South) onto Ramp 0.1 mi A20 / London SE / Swanley
12:08 224.8 At roundabout, take the FIRST exit 32 yds
12:08 224.8 Exit roundabout onto Ramp 0.3 mi M20 / Maidstone / Channel Tunnel / Dover
12:09 225.1 Bear LEFT (East) onto M20 47.0 mi
12:46 272.1 At M20 Exit 11A, bear LEFT (East) onto Ramp 0.4 mi Channel Tunnel
12:47 272.5 Continue (East) on Local road(s) 0.9 mi
12:49 273.4 *Check timetable* Take Channel Tunnel/Tunnel Sous la Manche (East)
13:11 273.4 Entering France
13:25 273.4 Take Local road(s) (West) 164 yds
13:25 273.5 Turn RIGHT (North) onto Local road(s) 0.7 mi
13:26 274.2 Continue (North) on Avenue de France 0.6 mi
13:27 274.8 Bear RIGHT (North) onto Ramp 0.2 mi A16 / E402 / A26 / E15 / Calais / Lille / Reims Paris / Bruxelles
13:27 275.0 Bear RIGHT (East) onto A16 [E402] 3.5 mi
13:30 278.5 Bear RIGHT (East) onto Ramp 0.5 mi A26 / E15 / St Omer / Lens / Arras / Lille Par Lens / Reims-Paris
13:30 279.0 Continue (South) on A26 [E15] 10.6 mi
13:39 289.6 *Toll road* At A26 Exit 2, stay on A26 [E15] (South-East) 54.1 mi
14:22 343.7 Continue (East) on Ramp 0.4 mi A1 / E15 / E17 / Arras-Est / Lille / Paris
14:23 344.1 Stay on Ramp (South) 0.3 mi A1 / E15 / Arras-Est / Paris
14:23 344.4 *Toll road* Continue (South) on A1 [E15] 78.8 mi
15:26 423.2 At A1 Exit 8, stay on A1 [Autoroute du Nord] (South-West) 7.5 mi
15:32 430.7 *Toll road* Stay on A1 [Autoroute du Nord] (South) 0.3 mi
15:32 431.0 Stay on A1 [Autoroute du Nord] (South) 0.5 mi
15:33 431.6 *Toll road* Stay on A1 [Autoroute du Nord] (South) 7.3 mi
15:39 438.9 Stay on A1 [E15] (South) 1.7 mi
15:40 440.6 Continue (South-West) on Ramp 1.0 mi A3 / E15 / A104 / Bordeaux / Nantes-Lyon / Marne la Vallée / Sarcelles / Paris-Est
15:41 441.5 Stay on Ramp (South-West) 0.9 mi A3 / Ctre Commercial Ral / Nantes / Paris-Est / Bobigny / Garonor
15:43 442.5 Continue (South-West) on A3 [E15] 1.0 mi A3 / Bordeaux / Nantes / Bobigny / Paris-Est / Ctre Commercial Ral
15:44 443.5 Stay on A3 [E15] (South) 4.7 mi A3 / Paris / Nantes / Aulnay / Drancy / Bobigny
15:47 448.2 Bear RIGHT (South) onto Ramp 0.4 mi A86 / Fontenay S/S Bois / Créteil / Rosny S/S Bois
15:48 448.6 Stay on Ramp (South-West) 0.2 mi A86 / Fontenay S/S Bois / Créteil / Rosny S/S Bois
15:48 448.8 Continue (East) on A86 3.5 mi
15:51 452.3 Stay on A86 (South) 0.7 mi Saint Maur / Créteil-Paris / Bordeaux-Nantes / Lyon / Joinville
15:52 453.0 Bear RIGHT (West) onto A4 [A86] 1.4 mi
15:53 454.4 Continue (West) on A86 [E50] 1.3 mi A86 / Bordeaux-Nantes-Lyon / Maisons-Alfort / Créteil / Versailles
15:54 455.7 Stay on A86 (South) 0.7 mi A86 / Bordeaux-Nantes-Lyon / Versailles / Melun-Sénart / Troyes / Créteil-Centre
15:54 456.3 Stay on A86 (South) 0.8 mi A86 / Bordeaux-Nantes-Lyon / Versailles / Melun-Sénart / Troyes / Créteil Foch-Marais
15:55 457.1 At A86 Exit 23, stay on A86 (South) 6.4 mi A86 / Choisy le Roi / Nantes-Lyon / Vitry S/Seine / Rungis-Aéroport Orly / Versailles
16:00 463.5 Bear RIGHT (North-West) onto Ramp 1.1 mi A6 / A10 / Bordeaux-Nantes / Lyon / Évry / Palaiseau
16:02 464.5 Continue (South) on A6 B [E15] 0.7 mi
16:02 465.2 Continue (South-West) on Ramp 0.3 mi A10 / Palaiseau / Étampes / Bordeaux-Nantes / Antony-Z.a. / Massy
16:03 465.5 Bear LEFT (South) onto A10 [E5] 1.8 mi
16:04 467.4 Stay on A10 [E50] (South-West) 1.2 mi A10 / E50 / E05 / Étampes / Orléans / Palaiseau
16:05 468.5 Stay on A10 [E5] (West) 0.4 mi A10 / E05 / E50 / Orléans / Nantes / Bordeaux / Chartres / Orsay
16:05 469.0 Stay on A10 [E5] (North-West) 5.1 mi A10 / E05 / E50 / Orléans / Nantes / Bordeaux / Chartres / Orsay
16:09 474.1 *Toll road* Stay on A10 [E5] (South) 15.9 mi
16:22 490.0 *Toll road* Stay on A10 [E5] (South-West) 46.8 mi A10 / E5 / Allainville / Orléans / Bordeaux / Clermont-Ferrand
17:00 536.8 End of day
DAY 2
09:00 536.8 *Toll road* Stay on A10 [E5] 264.6 mi
12:31 801.4 At A10 Exit 39B, stay on A10 [E5] (South) 10.1 mi
12:39 811.5 At A10 Exit 1, bear RIGHT (West) onto A630 [E5] 14.8 mi
12:51 826.3 At A630 Exit 15, continue (East) on Ramp 0.4 mi A63 / E05 / E70 / Cestas / Mt de Marsan / Bayonne / St Sébastien / Canéjan
12:51 826.6 Bear RIGHT (South) onto A63 [E5] 29.0 mi
13:14 855.7 Bear RIGHT (South) onto N10 [E5] 45.2 mi
14:23 900.9 Stay on N10 [E5] (South-West) 12.2 mi Bayonne
14:41 913.1 Continue (South) on A63 [E5] 10.1 mi A63 / Benesse Maremne / Capbreton / Hossegor / Bayonne / St Sebastien
14:49 923.2 *Toll road* At A63 Exit 7, stay on A63 [E5] (South-West) 31.2 mi
15:14 954.4 Entering Spain
15:14 954.4 Bear LEFT (West) onto A-8 [E-80] 10.5 mi
15:22 964.9 Stay on A-8 [E-80] (North-West) 1.5 mi E-5 / E-70 / E-80 / A-8 / N-I / Pasaia / S. Sebastian / Vitoria / Gasteiz / Bilbao
15:23 966.4 At A-8 Exit 7, stay on A-8 [E-80] (South-West) 2.3 mi E-5 / E-70 / E-80 / A-8 / N-I / Vitoria / Gasteiz / Bilbao
15:25 968.7 Stay on A-8 [E-80] (West) 54.0 mi A-8 / E-5 / E-70 / E-80 / Bilbao / Vitoria / Gasteiz / Burgos
16:08 1022.6 Continue (West) on Ramp 109 yds Basauri
16:08 1022.7 Stay on Ramp (West) 164 yds E-5 / BI-625 / Burgos / Bilbao
16:09 1022.8 Stay on Ramp (West) 0.2 mi BI-625 / E-5 / A-68 / Vitoria / Gasteiz / Burgos
16:09 1023.0 Continue (South) on Bi-625 2.4 mi
16:13 1025.4 Bear RIGHT (West) onto Ramp 0.2 mi E-5 / A-68 / Bilbao / Vitoria / Gasteiz / Burgos
16:14 1025.6 Stay on Ramp (West) 0.3 mi Vitoria / Burgos
16:14 1025.9 Continue (South) on A-68 [E-80] 19.1 mi
16:29 1045.0 At A-68 Exit 5, stay on A-68 [E-80] (East) 20.1 mi E-5 / A-68 / Logroño / Burgos
16:45 1065.1 At A-68 Exit 7, bear RIGHT (South) onto Ramp 0.5 mi E-5 / A-1 / Burgos / Vitoria / Gasteiz
16:46 1065.5 Stay on Ramp (South-West) 0.2 mi A-1 / E-5 / E-80 / Burgos / Madrid
16:46 1065.8 Continue (West) on A-1 [E-80] 16.3 mi
17:00 1082.1 End of day
DAY 3
09:00 1082.1 Stay on A-1 [E-80] 31.3 mi
09:24 1113.4 At A-1 Exit 1, continue (West) on E-80 [E-5] 4.1 mi
09:28 1117.5 Continue (South-West) on A-1 [E-80] 0.3 mi
09:29 1117.7 At N-I Exit 236, continue (West) on E-80 [N-620] 76 yds N-I / E-80 / N-620 / Madrid / Palencia / Valladolid
09:29 1117.8 Continue (West) on Ramp 0.4 mi
09:29 1118.1 Continue (South) on E-5 [N-I] 138.5 mi
11:43 1256.6 Continue (South-West) on N-I [Calle de Burgos] 2.6 mi
11:45 1259.2 Continue (South) on M-30 [Avenida de la Paz] 0.9 mi
11:46 1260.1 Stay on M-30 [Avenida de la Paz] (South) 6.6 mi M-30 / E-901 / N-IV / A-3 / N-V / N-401 / Valencia
11:53 1266.7 At Avenida de la Paz Exit 12A, bear LEFT (West) onto Ramp [Nudo Sur] 0.1 mi N-IV / E-5 / M-40 / Córdoba
11:53 1266.8 Continue (South) on Nudo Sur 0.5 mi
11:54 1267.3 Bear RIGHT (South) onto E-5 [N-IV] 36.0 mi
12:28 1303.3 Stay on E-5 [N-IV] (East) 97.5 mi E-5 / N-IV / Bailén
14:02 1400.7 Stay on E-5 [N-IV] (South) 43.3 mi Bailén
14:44 1444.1 At E-5 Exit 292, bear RIGHT (South-West) onto Ramp 0.7 mi E-902 / N-323 / Jaén / Granada / Málaga / Almería
14:45 1444.8 Continue (South-East) on E-902 [N-323] 73.5 mi
15:56 1518.3 Continue (South) on Ramp 109 yds
15:57 1518.4 Stay on Ramp (South) 0.2 mi A-92 / N-342 / N-432 / Málaga / Córdoba / Sevilla / Aeropuerto
15:57 1518.6 Bear RIGHT (South-West) onto A-92 [N-342] 49.6 mi
16:36 1568.2 At A-92 Exit 160, bear RIGHT (West) onto Ramp 0.3 mi Antequera
16:37 1568.5 Turn LEFT (South) onto Local road(s) 4.6 mi
16:44 1573.1 Bear RIGHT (West) onto Local road(s) 164 yds
16:44 1573.2 Bear RIGHT (West) onto Local road(s) 1.1 mi
16:46 1574.3 Bear RIGHT (West) onto Local road(s) 43 yds
16:46 1574.3 Bear LEFT (South-West) onto Local road(s) 0.7 mi
16:47 1575.0 Bear LEFT (South) onto Local road(s) 1.1 mi
16:50 1576.2 Bear LEFT (South-West) onto Local road(s) 0.2 mi
16:50 1576.4 Turn RIGHT (North) onto Local road(s) 0.1 mi
16:51 1576.5 Bear LEFT (West) onto Local road(s) 153 yds
16:51 1576.6 Turn LEFT (South) onto Local road(s) 43 yds
16:51 1576.6 Arrive Antequera

SUMMARY
Driving distance: 1576.6 miles
Trip duration: 2 days, 7 hours, 51 minutes
Driving time: 23 hours, 15 minutes
Cost: £189.09

cw42

iTrader: (1)

thanks for all you input guys, except pat@firsttime
I'll pass the info on, and when he makes a decision, post it up.
They wont want to hang around as they are not sightseeing, just travelling to a new home for over a year
Thanks again,
chris.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Santander aint cheap. (well it wasn't for a LWB merc sprinter)

I know that it worked out slightly cheaper to ferry it to france and drive it. Took about 20 hours in the Sprinter - so it won't be much slower for a car

...well, plus 3 hours when we couldn't find the destination, and gave up and spent an few hours so in a cafe eating and waiting for someone to show up to take us where we needed to go