Nimbus

First time I've driven to the south of France, and although I've driven around the north-eastern area before (from Reims) I'm not really sure what how long it's likely to take all the to the south. Can anyone who's done the trip before offer any advice? I was planning to take 2-3 days to get down there with a stop in the Champagne region for a night or two. Does this sound do-able, bearing in mind I have the wife and one 5 year old* in the car?

*planning to buy a cheap in-car/portable DVD player to help with this, so any recommendations for this appreciated..

Cheers

scoob_babe

Mum and Dad used to take it in turns to drive down when we were kids aged 6 & 8. We used to get one of the first hovercrafts to Calais, probably around 7am and stop south east of Paris for the night (started from Grimsby at 3 am!!), then get to St Tropez area around 6pm. This was about 25 yrs ago though and with two of us to wind them up!
The main motorway is good albeit pricey by the time you've done a return trip

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Easily do-able, taking two overnight stops. Plenty of rest stops for the little one.

By all means invest in a DVD player, but books on CD/tape, children's stories, children's short stories, nursery rhymes etc helped when we took our two down France with a caravan on the back. The kids' stories are surprisingly interesting to listen to for adfults too, although after the twenty third time, they do get a LITTLE wearing

Also try making up games with him/her, as kids that age bore easily.

If you're using motorway most/all of the way, rest stops aren't a problem, plenty of Aires with children's play areas, toilets, some with shops etc.

Also, if you are using motorways, I recommend a visit to the SANEF website, and invest in a Telepeage transponder. They'll send it to a UK address within about ten days. Or you can pick one up at the first big toll in France. Link it to a credit card, pay the €2 a month surcharge to use it, and SAIL through all peages via the orange signed Telepeage route. Saves LOADS of time at tolls, saves fumbling for change, reaching for a ticket etc etc. The transponder sticks to the inside of the car's screen just behind the mirror, which also helps block out the annoying sun that comes through there, (on mine, at least ).
Oh, forgot, if you are using a roofrack, don't bother, there's a height restriction on all Telepeages.

For any advice about driving in france, post again, I've been going since 1973.

Alcazar

Forgot to say: our library loans out books on CD, including children's stories, 85p per book per three weeks.

Flatcapdriver

What's the height restriction on telepeages?

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

two nights no worries. stick to the pay motorways and you'll fly through french roads are a lot better than ours.

We made it right down to switzerland in one afternoon off the ferry.

5t.

KiwiGTI

If you stop in the Champagne region I'd recommend going to Pommery in Reims and Moet et Chandon in Epernay. They are the two best tours and both are very child friendly.

Quite nice to do Reims Cathedral and Pommery in the morning, have a nice drive to Epernay and have lunch before doing the Moet one.

Snazy

Yup a friend did it in a Citeron C3 lol

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Two metres. SOME toll booths also have transponder fitted, but then you lose the queue-busting bit.

I LOVE approaching telepeages in our diesel Xantia, overtaking all the posher cars that overtook me on the last ten km

Alcazar

Petem95

French motorways are excellent (guess they should be as they are toll roads!), but you can do Calais to San Tropez in less than a day and a half easy.

Day one would be Calais to say Lyon, overnight stay in Lyon then on to San Tropez for lunch the next day.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Of course YOU can.........but can a 5-year old stand it? And can the kid's parents stand the kid when he/she is tired, bored, hungry, thirsty etc etc?

I regularly do Scunny to Limoges in one go, including the ferry, do all the driving myself, and around 100 miles in france is off motorways. Total is 800 miles give or take a few. Not that enjoyable for an adult, but do-able? Yep.

When our kids were small and went with us, we used up a couple of days minimum on the journey and made it an adventure for them, so much so that BOTH of my lads are now keen to do their own "road-trip"

Not being funny with you, Petem95, just pointing out that kids plus long car journey CAN = nightmare for all.

Alcazar

Lee247

We drive to Languedoc, every year from Newcstle. We set off early, book a hotel in France, usually South of Paris to split up the journey. Then get there the next day about tea time
The other half doesn't hang about, either

Petem95

Yeah point well made Alcazar! I am basing that trip on having done it a couple of times with 20-somethings in sports cars, so I guess its likely to take a while longer with a nipper on board!

Maybe factoring in two overnight stops is more realistic then.

Nimbus

Thanks for the very useful advice chaps. We have got to get down to Dover from Leicestershire, so with an early start I think we can make a morning crossing. I'll do some planning on autoroute and see how far is comfortable for each day. While adults can mange a long car journey, I need to make sure the child does not spend too long in the car in one go, so I think we'll try and plan two days.

I actually visited Riems cathedral a few weeks ago when I went to a classic car show at Laon (in my brothers Caterham - much fun ). This area may end up being our first stopping point I think, with perhaps another between Dijon and Lyon.

CD stories are a good idea. We have a few already converted to MP3 for the car, but I think a few new ones would be a good to bring out in an emergency.

Cheers

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Nimbus: your kiddy will make, or break this holiday. Just ensure it's the former. Do all you can to ease it for him/her, and rest assured that YOU and your wife/partner will enjoy it all the more for having a HAPPY littl;e one with you.

God, the times I've listened to Rumpelstiltskin on a very worn audio cassette

BTW: I can do it to Dover from here, 249 miles, in around 4.5 hours. Factor in a wait at the ferry/chunnel, then around another 4-5 hours on the other side. Going my way, that gets me to Chartres, around 240 miles again. We book overnight accomodation if needed via the web, Campanile, Ibis, Climat, Comfort and many others. Better to have a place to aim at and know when the stop will be, rather than looking for somewhere that might, or might not have rooms when all are tired. Most of the above do double rooms with a pull-out bed for no extra, around €50 the night for the room. Meals at the hotel, or nearby for burgers, (Quick, Flunch, even MacDo). Breakfast the next morning around €7 each, as much as you can eat

Alcazar

stevem2k

I did surrey > rodez ( just before the Millau bridge ) in one hit. Lost the will to live a few hours before arrival though.

Avoid Paris around rush hour at all costs - the suggestion to curve round through reims and stopping in epernay is a good one.

Do any of the low cost airlines fly in close ? That's what we do with the nipper ... I drive down ( blessed peace with only the satnav to argue with ) and wife+child arrive the next day and I pick them up from the airport rested and refreshed....

Steve

fast bloke

We've done this a few times (in a motorhome though) - If you can both drive, get a decent kiddy car seat that reclines and try to plan a 10/12 hour drive during the night. Drive for 2 hours and kip for 2 hours you wont get too tired. We managed Beflast to Monaco in one go, only stopping for boats, diesel and to change drivers. Left Cairnryan at 4.00 PM on a Friday. Kids watched a couple of hours DVD then fell asleep. Got them up at midnight for Dover-Calais crossing and then back to sleep soon after we left Calais. Fortunately this upset their sleep pattern and they slept on until about 10.00 on Saturday, when we arrived in Lyon. They then moaned an whinged for about 4 or 5 hours while we finished the trip. At ages 8 and 6, anything more than 3 hours even with DVD's stories, tapes and games becomes boring, so if you are planning a happy holiday, either drive at night or break it up into a series of 2 hour chunks

RRH

I tried to get all the way from St Tropez to Calais in one go a couple of years ago, just stopping for fuel.

Stupid idea. Got as far as Reims and had to hit the hard shoulder I was that knackered, then crawl to a rest area.

Young and stupid, and I wouldn't recommend it.

Now we do Liverpool to Lyon, then Lyon to St Trop the next day. Or fly, which takes about 90 minutes from Liverpool and costs about £30 if you time it right...

KiwiGTI

Friend of mine goes every year and gets some moto-rail train, just load the car up and go to sleep, wake up in Southern France.

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

Done it once 4 Adults 3 kids and all the luggage in my Vauxhall Carlton we left Bedfordshie Midday Friday got to the campsite midday Saturday, got to Toddington services and we had to pull in and take the rear mud flaps off as they were scrapping the ground
Cheers
Colin

SJ_Skyline

Nimbus,

One thing to consider is getting French roadmaps for your satnav. We got them for our TomTom a couple of years ago and they saved many a heated arguement - apart from the one time it tried to send me the wrong way down a one-way street

jcullen

have done calais to St Tropez in 9 hours a couple of times just stopping for fuel, but no way with youngsters. Taking the motorail this year, load at 6pm and off at about 9am the next day, easy peasy

Nimbus

I don't have a satnav. Was planning to use a road map and my (fairly good) sense on direction and navigating skills...

Thanks for everyone's comments. Some useful stuff here. I think we will plan it for 3 days/2 nights and not try do do too much each day. A stop near Laon / Reims day 1 and another near Lyon day 2. With frequent stops each day I think this will break the journey up nicely.

Spotted a 7" DVD player for under £100, so may get one if we can not borrow one from a friend.

Cheers

fast bloke

I would get the satnav. When you are hoofing along a 6 lane motorway that splits 3 ways, Tomtom will tell you what lane to be in. If you get it wrong you might be adding an extra 50 miles to get back on track. You only know you have got it wrong when you can't see any more signs for your destination. By the time you have covered the 50 miles you will be heading for divorce courts. You can download POI files that will tell you everything from petrol stationsa and supermarkets to the nearest McDonalds

KiwiGTI

France is actually quite hard to get lost in when on the autoroutes, Germany is a lot worse and that's where you get the 50km detours because you missed an exit.

The main route south is very well sign-posted, I think almost impossible to get lost on - akin to staying on the M1. Where I've found satnav invaluable is once you are off the motorways - that's when the arguments start as you try to find a small hotel without a map in a rather large town/city. 3 hours it took us once in Munich.

Bakerman

I do that exact route 2 or 3 times a year, leave Calais at 9pm and in St Tropez for breakfast (usually around 8am - my best time is just over 8hours but nowadays is a bit risky). If you are in a hurry the autoroute is superb otherwise pick the area you want to get to and use the RN rouds (or even lesser roads) as the road network is fantastic.

As a rough guide if my memory is correct

Calais to Paris (I prefer going round Paris as the Reims route is a bit boring with no real sense of getting anywhere) takes 2 hours.
Paris to Lyon takes around 4hours.
Lyon to Aix takes 2 hours
Aix to St Tropex takes 2 hours.

Not good for kids but Calais to Reims is easy and you could easily push on more than that. Plenty of decent cheap hotels near the autoroutes (I have used IBIS hotels a lot in France and very good value for money).

Flatcapdriver

Nothing could persuade me to circumnavigate the Peripherique again - nothing!

I'm going to do part of this trip next week and hopefully the Reims route to Poitiers will work out. Plan is to hit Poitiers by early evening and find somewhere that will allow the hound to stay and then push on for Spain the next morning.

I didn't even know there was a motorway from Reims, Tours to Poitier until last week. Does anyone have any experience of it?

Bakerman

The Peripherique is the best bit, absolutely love it (and driving in Paris). Much better attitudes than over here, my advice is if you are going to do something do it and do it quickly, they hate people hesitating .......

Flatcapdriver

They didn't appreciate my last trip through there when I was in 'London Driving' mode.

It doesn't work for me this time with a 4x4 (fully loaded) plus a trailer/car combo particularly during Friday night rush hour.

I need to keep the heat off my transfer 'box so a nice relaxed cruise along motorways for me.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Most folk I know who go via Paris, no longer use the peripherique, but the "Francillienne" which goes around Paris to the east, a bit like half an M25, although a bit more complicated than that.

Going south, look for signs for Lyon, or aeroport Orly, going north, look for signs for Lille or aeroport Charles de Gaulle. You can't really go wrong.

You can even skirt Lyon now, avoiding the tunnel bottleneck, going via the A46, and the A39 via Dole and Bourg-en-Bresse is a good alternative to the A6.

My route would be:
A26 to Troyes.
A5 towards Langres, meeting the
A31 towards Dijon, joining the
A39 via Dole, Bourg-en-Bress, then
A46 skirting Lyon, joining the
A7 to Orange, Aixe-en-Provence and St Tropez.

The only crowded bit will be the A7, and a telepeage doofer will see to all but the worst of those queues.

Alcazar

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Reims is on the east side, and Tours/Poitier the west, so not sure what you mean there? You COULD do A4 reims towards south of Paris, then A10, and A71 towards Orleans?

If I was going towards Tours from Calais now, I'd do:

A16 to Abbeville, joining the
A28 to Rouen.
At Rouen drive through, following signs for Caen, (takes around 20 mins), then join the
A13 towards Caen, turning off onto the
A28 to Alencon, Le Mans and Tours, joining the
A10 to Poitiers.