What's the longest car journey you can manage?

[blinkboo]

Sorry if this is a boring question!

I hate car journeys with a passion and pretty much refuse to do anything over five hours without breaking it overnight.

Am I alone in this? My DH thinks so and I have noticed that others seem more tolerant. Should I get over it?

However long is needed I suppose. I don't like being a passenger so am always the driver. If i get a stop every 4 hours or so for a wee and a snack I'm fine to keep going until bedtime!

We drove calais nearly Milan in just over 12hrs taking turns driving.

Tiring but really enjoyed the glass of wine when we arrived!

If I'm driving, around 3 hours and then I need a decent break before carrying on. As a passenger 5 would be my limit too, and that's with stopping halfway as I'd need a wee! I'd much rather travel by train if possible so can get up and walk around if needed.

We did 10 hours from Frejus to Troyes on our way back from holiday once on a Saturday in August along with the rest of France.

We'd had a leisurely trip down stopping at Troyes and then Lyon for a few nights but home was with only one stop.

We also made the mistake of staying at an F1 hotel in Troyes which was really grim so not even the thought of a lovely hotel at the end of the drive. We got there and went straight to bed before setting off early the next morning for Calais.

I've just remembered the year we did St Gilles Croix de Vie back home in one go, and the Channel Tunnel was closed so the queue for the ferry was miles back with migrants trying to get in lorries that were stationary. We got the ferry about 5 hours after we should have done and got home at 3am after leaving our accommodation at 10am. We'd had a stop at Calais Cite Europe for essentials and something to eat.

5-6 if i'm driving, 8-10 if DH is

We did 11 hours 14 days ago. From Folkestone to South of France. Because we moved here.

We have done the trip down and back again, did 13 hours in one stint once. But that was because I really really wanted to push on and get there. We could have stopped and stayed over but I wanted my bed.

I don't mind driving too much as long as the weather or traffic isn't horrendous. Happily done 7 h as a sole adult a few times with young dc. Try to power through and stop as little as possible (1/2 times)

The longest I’ve driven in one day is 9 hours (south of France to Calais).

Never again!

If I was doing all the driving, 7 would be enough (with a decent break halfway).

Once drove from England to Portugal!! Took a week and camped en route!!
With multiple dc...

Yeah four hours max with stops and breaks but I get very car sick and it’s debilitating whilst I’m in the car, I can’t even talk to the children I’ve just got my head in a bag usually. No fun for anybody

Dh is 2.5 hours in one day. So all
My ideas of gorgeous UK hols is his totally fucked by this rule. That's with him with not driving or being a back up driver.

I would go anywhere as long as I can share driving.

We did 9 hours - Inverness to Reading once with three breaks. I won't do more that 3 (preferably 2) hours without a break.

We did the Isle of Skye to the Midlands once - traffic was terrible, it took us about 10.5 hours! Never again. Now when we drive to or from Scotland (from the south coast) we always break the journey overnight.

For me, the biggest issue is that I'm a very active person so I can't bear to sit still and be inactive for too long.

I like American road trips but don't want to do more than 8 hours in day.
DH and I swap over every 2.5 hours or so and get a chance to stretch our legs, use the loo and fill the car up.

When driving in France or Spain it's far less stressful than in the UK as less traffic. Single driver we usually manage 7 hours with a coffee stop but prefer about 5 hrs. Our usual trip takes about 12 hours from ferry port to resort so stop once or more if there is somewhere we want to see a bit more of.

It once took me 12 hours to get from the Highlands to Norfolk, a truly grim journey.

I’d drive six or seven hours with a stop in the middle but I try not to tbh.

It does depend on the children and how you manage things together

We did a road trip across the US for our honeymoon but capped the longest day drives at 8 hours - swapping drivers every 2 hours with a decent stop at the midway point.

I’ve also done 10 hours solo which was heavy going but London to Fife with appalling traffic.

Now we have DC we briefly spoke about driving London to Edinburgh for a wedding next year before I said I didn’t think I could handle it. It might be 7 hours driving versus 7 hours going through an airport but the idea of driving that far with a baby and a toddler horrifies me. At least flying we’re only strapped in for the actual flight and taxis to and from the airport.

If we didn’t have kids and we had two drivers I’d probably do it in a day though.

Manage?

Depends on the reason.

As part of a holiday - planned or to pick up a stranded 19 year old froma far city on christmas eve because of a cancelled train.

All relative. If life depended on it I could drive 10 hours a day for a week. If for fun 3 hours would be pushing it.
We drive to France on holiday once- 1600 miles and took two days.
Never again.

I mean - if you all enjoy the same mystery story / music / eye spy … all good but if someone won’t cooperate

I hate driving but have to do it for holidays . 6-7 hours each way go by if it’s in your control to keep everyone happy . I don’t feel pressured to get back and put everyone to bed early for school or work the next day. We have added half an hour to go off route to have a meal that was special / feed the ducks by the pond / play in a cool
Playpark and all that is good. And makes it feel like an adventure.

Last time we listened to “the uncanny” a bbc exposition on the paranormal. Freaky as hell driving through highland forests on dark winding roads not a house or a human or a streetlight for miles … just the moon between the clouds . Kids will t evert forget it I am sure

12-14hrs as a sole driver. Unlimited with 2 drivers.

In other words - it can be made to be fun on your terms, then a longer journey can be fine
If you’re on someone else’s timetable and stop schedule … not so much … and with kids who are committing etc … terrible

Depends how long I'm going for. But, I'm not a lover of anything over 4 hours - although that's because most places we go involves some of the busiest roads in the UK - M4, M5, M6.

If I had miles of flat open country and good roads, I'd be far more amenable to longer drives.

2 drivers, swapping as required and one big break maybe 2. 8 hours (450ish miles) then done 5 hours of more driving the next day

On my own 4.5 hours taking 3 breaks 250ish miles. I would have maybe felt able to do a couple more hours. But that was in the summer when the weather is good and daylight isn't an issue

Entirely on my own: about 6 or 7 hours, stopping for a decent break (e.g. lunch) in the middle

With DH or someone else who can also drive but not with the children: about 10-12 hours

With DH and the children (a preschooler and baby): we did a 5 hour each way journey to Dorset this year and it was just about ok but I wouldn't have wanted to go any further

On my own with the children: two hours, absolute max