Driving from UK to Spain

You do know driving through France on their motor ways - which are very good - is very expensive - with the road tolls and petrol costs?

I know it’s not what you asked, but can you be flexible on dates/airports? One of my dc and I flew to Valencia for a week’s holiday in June. Total flight costs for the two of us was £120 out of Bristol. £2k sounds like an awful lot! We didn’t spend that much on our entire holiday!

As a child we used to holiday in the south of France. My dad would drive the whole way, with an overnight stop. From where we used to stay to valencia it's another 5 and a half hour drive. I'm sure it's possible but it might mean 3 long days of driving each way!

Looked it up after posting, from my home city to where we stayed Google maps says its a nearly 16 hour drive! That sounds so long, but I suppose it did tend to be a full day of driving no sightseeing

We did it earlier this year with our dog. We stayed for three months so was worth it for us.

On the way down we to Le Shuttle and drove to Bordeaux.
The next day we drove down to Zaragoza then down to Murcia.

For us we didn't enjoy Bordeaux so couldn't wait to get on the road the next day.
Zaragoza was beautiful and it's somewhere we'll visit again.

On the way back we had DD2 with us and she wanted to go to Barcelona so we stopped there.
For us it wasn't a pleasurable experience because our dog HATES scooters/motorbikes, and believe me when I tell you there are more scooters than people!!!

Then we stopped in Limoges in France.

It was certainly an experience and if we didn't have the dog we'd have probably done it over four days.

It can't have been that bad because we're doing it again next year.

Just make sure you do your plannning. And check out the clean air zones and make sure you have your CritAir sticker for France and register your car for areas of Spain that require it.

Good luck!

Here's the link to buy your Crit Air sticker :
https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/certificat

Not everyone enjoys long days spent driving. And the day you save you likely lose to recovering.

12hrs driving in one day is bonkers. And dangerous unless you're splitting it and the non-driver can get some meaningful rest on the road. Surely it's supposed to be a holiday?

Not route related but...

• Get your Crit Air ordered in plenty of time if you plan on taking detours (or going via Rouen).
• Remember that cross-channel services may have EES implementation delays in Nov/Dec if you're travelling this winter.

DB just did that journey in 2 days stopping overnight at Clermont Ferrand. I do a lot of driving to south of France and would suggest going on the motorway, blasting the majority of the way. You could then have a couple of stops and spend some time in an interesting place or 2. Millau should be one of them. Enjoy.

One poster suggested first stop at Tours. If you are into history, Fontevraud Abbay is a medieval village close by. The Abbay is where Eleanor of Aquitaine lived for much of her life. There is a lovely 16th century hotel called Hotel La Croix, or if you want to push the boat out there is a 5* hotel with a Michelin starred restaurant next to the Abbey. You probably won't have time to visit the Abbey, but it is worth a visit if you do. Richard the Lionheart, Henry 2nd and Eleanor's tombs are in the Abbey.

I would also recommend checking ferry one way rather than driving both ways. Just back from the south of France which was also a long drive that we did in 2 days. Also recommend the motorway tag.

We always get a very early Eurotunnel - about 7, so no traffic on the way there and no delays once at the terminal. It does mean leaning at 4 in the morning though.

We often drive on as far as Burgundy on our first day, which would be about half way for you. We do recommend the roll roads though. They're fast and empty and straight and we can use cruise control which makes driving a doddle.

Beaune or any of the villages around there would be a lovely stop for a couple of nights.

And unlike the others, I recommend the ferry to Calais. I've found the tunnel too expensive and the delays and poor set up means it often takes longer than the ferry. It breaks the journey nicely to be able to get out of the car and stretch your legs, use the loo, etc. And they always stick you on the next ferry if you arrive early so much less waiting around.

I've driven to Seville, it's not much fun but you're taking longer over this than I did. I suggest NOT taking French motorways unless they're free. It saves a lot of money, only takes and extra couple of hours and you get to see a bit of the country and find lovely little places to stop for lunch. We have seen so many castles and mediaeval villages we would have missed if we'd been on the motorway all day.

Go through Andorra for cheap drinks and tobacco if you smoke or know anyone who does, the views are amazing. Last time I was there a family of mountain goats climbed onto the road and stared at me bemused for a bit before going on their way. You can also look up where in the Pyrenees (and Auvergne) to find safe, free, hot springs, or just go to the paid ones!

We do it every autumn but we're away for weeks and spend 4 or 5 days getting down to Andalucia and 3 days coming back, treating the journey as part of the holiday stopping at different places each time. We have done it in one hit from Santander and two via France but it's not a particularly pleasant experience. We no longer take the ferry to northern Spain, we've had one too many terrible crossings regardless of tge time of year.
It would also depend on the time of year you were taking the trip, likely weather and the amount of traffic.

Why would you need 3 day to drive 15 hours?

At most it should only take 2 8 hour days. I’m going on my annual trip in a few weeks. It will be 12 hours on the first day and 8 on the second. Fair enough if the drive will be part of the fun with sightseeing on the way.

We used to drive to the Costa Blanca from Manchester regularly because we had DDog. Most French roads are well surfaced and much quieter than here.

We went via the Tunnel because of the flexibility. If you arrive early you can usually get an earlier train.

You pick whether to drive via Paris or Rouen. We preferred Rouen having had a nightmare on the peripherique once. However Rouen was a bottleneck.

We stopped 2-3 nights each way, nicer if 3 nights. First stop was after Rouen; last stop the Pyrenees. The Loire Valley and Dordogne are nice stops too.

There are many routes that you can take. Try the Via Michelin App which gives different options and places to stop en route, and also gives toll costs if applicable.

We preferred the main roads rather than the motorway; you see a bit more of France that way. It was nice to see the produce stalls at the side of the road change as you go further South.

Check because you may need to register your car for low emissions areas nowadays.

We’ve driven Calais to Valencia several times. It takes four or five days for us but we don’t use the toll roads. If you want to do it quicker, use the tolls but it will cost you.

We did it to 100 miles south of Barcelona with kids (16 and 14) about 5 years ago. We did the drive there in one go sharing the driving, and back the same and had a two week stay at our location. It was a long slog but totally doable. I remember my husband waking the kids to point out the Millau Bridge and he got short shrift. On the way there we set off from kent at 7 in the evening and arrived at our destination by 4pm the next day using the Eurotunnel for crossing.

So if you have a week to go and return you can absolutely have a little sightseeing on the way. We don't mind a road trip in our family but to be fair this was a bit much in one go. If you can break it up, it sounds like fun. Enjoy!

If you're going via Rouen then getting the overnight ferry from Newhaven (to Dieppe) would cut down the driving in France. And the motorway is toll-free until you get South of Rouen..... Going that way Le Mans, Tours, Poitiers, Saintes are all interesting. Don't try to get round Bordeaux in the rush hour or on a Friday night! Keep on the A63 and into Spain via Biarritz and San Sébastien, but again, avoid both of those in the rush hour. Then it's Pampelune, Saragosse, Teruel and into Valencia.
Selldonaterecycle seems to have plotted a zig-zag course...... I can't see either Caen or St Jean de Monts as being on a route from Calais to Spain without a massive detour, and I've been driving through France for a very long time.
Definitely get the automatic toll payement gadget : then you can use the lanes marked 30 at the toll booths..
That's the speed you can go through on....you'll hear a beep that tells you that your machine has been read so the barrier will open.
Check out Le Bison Futé ..... The French traffic website which will warn you if there is likely to be signifiant motorway traffic on the days you intend to travel.
Alternatively, check out flights to Alicante.... It's closer than Barcelona and the low cost airlines fly there. Trains link Alicante to Valencia.

We've driven down to the Costa Brava a few times, spending a few days driving down through France. Then a week in a villa and 3 days driving back to catch the ferry from Santander. The ferry home was great and would thoroughly recommend.

If you decide to do it by car you will probably want to use toll roads, as they are much faster. We did this earlier in the year and got a toll road tag that you stick to the windscreen and it lets you drive through the quick lanes at the toll stations and just auto charges you - no faffing with cash/card and much quicker and less stressful. We used this one www.emovis-tag.co.uk/, but I think there are other options if you google. Enjoy, it's a lovely trip 🙂

DH and I did similar to this a few years ago. We drove down to Tarragona and back in two weeks and we spent a whole week in Tarragona. It was incredible!
We got ferry from Dover to Calais and spent three days driving down through France.
Our route was:
Dover - Calais - Caen (overnight) - Poitier (overnight) - Montpellier (overnight) - Tarragona
then going back our route was:
Tarragona - Bergerac (overnight) - Saint-Jean-du-Monts (overnight) - Fecamp (overnight) - Calais

The most incredible part was starting in northern France and watching all of the green farms and fields then as you travel down it's the Alps and then into southern France and it's the Mediterranean villas and houses. We had the best time but it's definitely not a cheap holiday. Tolls are very expensive through France.

We've driven to north of Barcelona in a day. Early Chunnel, then autoroutes for 14 hours - it’s important you both drive and swap regularly. With three days you have time for some sight seeing. You also need entertainment for the children!

I think it's too far for a week but route wise would avoid Paris as far as possible (we usually cut through Rouen and across to Orleans via Chartres) Go right down the middle of France on the A71/A75 stopping at Clermont Ferrand for a side trip up the Puy de Dome. The motorway from Clermont Ferrand down to the coast is really scenic and you cross the Millau Viaduct which is something to behold (there is a viewing platform as you approach the bridge which is worth a stop). Onto A9 past Perpignan and into Spain. Never crossed into Spain so can't advise on that bit. I think you might need an international driving licence for Spain (you don't for France). Would recommend a toll tag for the French motorways. If you plot your route using viamichelin it will tell you how much the tolls and fuel are likely to be.