Steve Williams

This should probably be in non-scooby.... but I am driving in a scoob



Going to go through the tunnel, already got Hotels sorted in France for 2 nights, and a couple of nights sorted in Granada.


Just wondered if any of you have done a similar run.....



Travelling to Andalucia (southern Spain)......

Just me and the wife.


Anything to see/be aware of/be cautious of/enjoy......etc....


BTW got all the guide books, got a route sorted (basically) just looking to fine tune things.

If there are any good suggestions, places we must go/places to avoid then we can adapt our route.

JJay

Andorra, duty free principality, fuel (diesel when i went, but petrol also cheaper) 30pence per litre.

rjs1000

Just got back from a holiday in spain. Drove both ways in my 172, with the wife. Was alright went to andorra as well - wouldnt go to again though especially at the weekend - bloody traffics amazing long queues. Besides a litre of fuel is only about 15 cents more in Spain. I stopped at chateroux (excuse the spelling?), then Soldeu Andorra, then near alicante.

Tolls seem to be more expensive than they use to be... They must of cost us - approx £50 each way... expect a big fuel bill - I did 37mpg (driving about 10mph above the speed limits) so if you scooby does - 30? 27mpg? over 3000 miles or more - hope you got deep pockets... Fuel in france is about 1.10 euros (i.e. same as here). Only good this is 98ron is only a few cents more. In spain fuels about 0.88 for 98ron.

Anything else you need to know?

scooby_si

My advice is jodete (j pronounced h) means F off i failed spanish at GCSE believe it or not but i'm gr8full 4 me teacher tellin us all the norty words even if it was 2 try & get us 2 pronounce 'em properly. Sadly when the question in the exam is what did the little old lady have in her bag & all u can do is say bite me big boy i wana %~~**£$! it dont help
Si

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

So what's your route? Are you going to motorway all the way, or route nationale?
A good motorway is the A75 from Clermont ferrand towards Montpellier/ Beziers, where you can join the A9, good because it's free! and very scenic.
I would look seriously at A16, A28, N154 towards Orleans, skirting Dreux, Evreux and Chartres, A10, A75, A9. axcept for the A9, quick, reasonably cheap, and empty! If you do this route, don't forget to look back over the town as you climb out of Millau!
DO be careful of speed traps, they're instant fines at a MUCH higher level than over here, and the temptation to really let it rip on an empty motorway is incredible! Have fun, Alcazar

STi-Frenchie

Steve, in the south of France it would probably be as well to avoid the following departments: Herault, Gard, and Vaucluse as these have been subject to very, very, heavy flooding (as you'll have seen in Germany and the Czech Republic) - 23 dead and several more missing. If you're not familiar with these departments, then the cities to avoid are Montpelier, Nimes and Orange.

Roads have collapsed and the whole area is in a mess. It's a pity, not just for the obvious reasons, but it's a wonderful region to go touring and perfect for a scooby.

I'll be down in that area again around Christmas when hopefully things will have been cleared up again.

In France, be very careful with your speed (assuming you'll take the motorway) - the French police have cracked down really hard this year on speeding. Limits (as I'm sure you already know) are 130kmh in good weather, 110kmh when it's raining.

Hope this helps.

[Edited by STi-Frenchie - 9/15/2002 2:38:42 PM]

DJFish

Tip a bit out of a bottle of mineral water then freeze it in your hotel minibar or ask the nice hotelier to do it for you, instant cold drinkies whenever you want that last all day, lovely in a traffic jam. Either that or a powered coolbox if you have an aux. 12v socket.
Also take some wet wipe type things for personal refreshment/little accidents.
Get a sun visor for your windscreen.
Dont just sit on the auto routes, go exploring!
And don't be afraid to share the driving, it gives your co-driver something to do and you get to take in the scenery (ie, find out where the bloody hell you are on the map without it getting stressful!)
Take a map.

good luck
Dave

Disco Boy

Driven Cherbourg/St Malo/Le Havre - Bilbao (Northern Spain) numerous times (wife's family live there). Journey takes 15 hours, 12 of which driving, three of which breaks.

Driven Bilbao - Granada/South coast a couple of times, takes about eight hours.

By the way, f**K is Joder.

Maddriver

Just read an article in (I think) the Mail on Sunday, saying the French police seem to be targeting British motorists going even a small amount over the speed limit.

So watch your speed, be mindfull of speed cameras, and don't forget on toll roads the ticket you get states the time yoiu went through - they only need a few of these and they can work out your speed between two toll booths.

Also IIRC radar dectectors are illegal in certain European countries, if you use one you might wanna make sure it legal everywhere your gonna pass through.

scooby-si

best routes r what disco boy has put

i use to due that run every 9 days

bilbao,vitoria,burgos,madrid,granada

a nicer run if u r coming from france is up and over the mountains to pamplona,zaragoza then madrid

give them spainish drivers hell

have a good holiday

ps if u go pompie/bilbao u can have a few beers

RESSE

iTrader: (1)

I am not sure whether it is a requirement, but a "Green Card" and "Bail Bond" may be needed in Spain - speak to your insurance company/broker.

Richard

broom5

slow down in france for anything at all you see on the hard shoulder.
the police have a habit of using crappy cars parked on the hard shoulder as speed traps, with two motorbike police hidden further on.
the plus side is its a fine but no points. (yet)
safe driving
dave

106rallye

Watch out in France as the police can get your average speed by the time taken between two toll booths. So if you give it a bit of welly for too long stop at the services to get your average time down!

Granada is supposed to be lovely but I have never been there. There is a town called Mojacar a few hours away which is nice and an amazing village in the Sierra Cabrera mountain range Called Cabrera.

The border with Gibratar can be a bit of a problem sometimes as it can take ages with a car so might be better to cross on foot if you consider going there.

Don't forget you can get a ferry to Morocco if you feel adventurous but I would leave the scooby behind if I were you!! Fes and Marracech are supposed to be worth a visit.

In Provence Orange, Gordes and Ils Sur La Sourge are all great but as somone has already mentioned Orange should be avoided, I am not sure about the others though.

Have a good holiday!

Andy



[Edited by 106rallye - 9/16/2002 1:25:57 PM]

scooby-si

if u go to gib u want the queens hotel nice and cheap for gib anyway