Driving on the continent!

[NopeNopetyNope]

Hello, I'm looking for any tips or advice/guidance from people who've driven through France and Spain. Or any words of reassurance!

OH has just surprised us all with a camping trip in Spain. He has booked the time off work, sorted car and health insurance and come home today with a brand new tent and a load of other camping gear. He's also told the children who are beside themselves with excitement!! I know that lots of people would just pop in the car and go for it and I don't want my children to miss out on an adventure because of me but I suffer terribly with anxiety! Realistically it will be me doing the driving as OH won't be able to do much due to health reasons.

I don't even speak the languages, what about road signs?! Maybe if we were driving in Germany I'd mange to read the road signs but I don't even have a base knowledge of French or Spanish. Road signage is really worrying me. I'm also worried about not knowing which types of roads I'll be driving on (eg highways or narrow country lanes), refuelling (not sure what worries me about this but it does), overnight stops or rest stops, interacting with people! I have social anxiety and struggle interacting with people who speak the same languages as me, I will need to use my phone translator but what if people get impatient with me or think I'm ignorant for not knowing the language? Oh and the ferry, I've never driven onto one before and have no idea how it works.

I wish I was carefree and just went with the flow, enjoyed the adventure of exploring new places and I want my children to experience that without me ruining it so please, any guidance or reassurance (as much reassurance as you can muster) will be so much appreciated!

And thank you of you read all of that, apologies if I've rambled.

France is fine and the roads are quieter than the UK - you don't need French to drive on the motorways just follow your sat nav. - tolls I can't remember if they have English or not but it's fairly obvious which way to go and how to pay I never had a problem - but you OH will need to get the ticket and pay as the tolls are on the left hand side of the car. The French drivers can be a bit aggressive and drive up close to you if you're in the fast lane overtaking a lorry but hold you nerve, they can wait!

It will be ok - if you go off motorway just remember to drive on the right.

I don't know about Spain so hopefully someone else can advise.

Two things.

a. I'm sure that you'll be absolutely fine, past the initial mild terror! It will pass though and you can then pat yourself on the back for doing it.
b. If my DH did this to me without asking and yet knowing that he wouldn't be doing the driving, I'd be utterly livid.

He is totally being unreasonable knowing that you have anxiety and he won't be driving.

However, you will be absolutely fine. When you get to the ferry tell them you are nervous. They will tell you where to go and what to do.

Driving in France is pretty easy as the roads are much quieter than the UK.

Make sure your sat nav is up to date, or use Waze.

Where are you going in Spain?

We drive to Switzerland every year. Driving in France is LOVELY. Much nicer than driving in the UK. We use the toll roads, so have a bleepy toll tag thing that fixes to our windscreen so we don't have to stop and pay. The Aires (service stations) are much more frequent than ours. Most of the important signs have pictures, so don't panic. Oh, and always drive in the slow lane unless overtaking.

I can't comment on Spain.

Driving in France and Spain is easier than in the UK, once you get used to it. Nothing like as busy.
Do you have a satnav? Ours works overseas and makes life much easier. Google maps works well too.
There are extra items you are obliged to carry in the car whilst driving in France, have a quick Google. (Yellow jacket for e.g.)
You can buy a bipper for the tolls but it's easy for the passenger to just tap a card too, and cheaper.
Have you planned the journey / overnight stops? It's a long way.

France is easy to drive through. Stick to toll roads as they will be quieter, have lots of service stations/rest stops. Avoid Paris completely. If you do end up getting lost follow the sign for Toutes Directions (all directions).

1. Make sure you are continent compliant... insurance, your UK sticker (including covering up any GB stickers), emergency kit etc. Also children's need to be in car seats until 150cm, not 135cm. (Or 12).

1. Tolls, car park machines will ge on the left not right!

1. I'm more used to Germany than France, but getting onto the motorway can be tricky. Look over your shoulder, and just slot between the lorries.

1. Speed limits and distances are in KM not miles!

1. Petrol... again more experienced with Germany and Netherlands... but sometimes on the motorway you pay before you top up, not after.

1. Toilets... you may need to pay. About 50c.

Easy and far more enjoyable than driving in the UK!

What port are you using in France & are far into Spain are you going. We can do the drive to the South if France in a day but I’ve been doing that journey for decades. You will need a night to stop over, lots of reasonable motels though.

Ensure car insurance is extended to EU (used to be called Green Card Insurance)
Get European Breakdown cover
Apply for a GHIC card (free from the NHS) for health cover on the EU, one fir each person
Get Health Insurance too (in case you need to be repatriated).

Thank you so much for the replies! These tips and all the reassurance is genuinely helping to settle my nerves.

Yes I'm upset with OH for booking without talking to me but then he got upset and said I was ungrateful and asked me not to ruin it for the children which I don't want to do.

The other thing that's worrying me is that he hasn't booked the ferry or planned any routes and he's leaving that to me because he'll be working till we leave. I don't know anything about ports and European travel. Or where to book motels as I don't know where we'll be in advance. I probably sound like such an idiot but I've never planned a long journey before and it's been sprung on me with very little time to plan!

I will try and gather the car kits and stickers that are required tomorrow, I'm guessing Halfords will be a good place to go.

And I will definitely look into this bipper! Do you buy them online?

Oh yes, I'd never go abroad without health insurance! Last time I went to Spain was with my parents and my mum died suddenly while we were there. OH says he's done that as well as car insurance and European breakdown cover

Honestly I think this was a pretty awful thing to do if a) he knows you are anxious about driving and b) he cannot help with the driving in any way.

Some points.

i) It will be a long way down. Hopefully the kids will be Ok cooped up in the car for hours and hours. You will need to stop at least once on the way down.

ii) Driving on the peage (french toll roads) is relatively easy as they are good and quite empty. You will probably get used to it quickly once you have managed to navigate your first roundabout. Driving in the cities much less so. I would recommend you go into the cities at quiet times if possible to get used to the traffic and the change in rules.

iii) Make sure you get good breakdown cover. Getting a car back from Spain to the UK is no joke.

iv) Make sure you are compliant with all the rules. The French ones seem to change a lot. So check on line. I think you might need hi viz etc, but there will be driving sites that help. Remember that they can time you between toll booths if you fancy going fast (stopping can be a good way around this).

v) You will need stuff to keep the kids amused as it will take hours and hours.

I doubt this will be much of a holiday for you especially if you are only going for a week or so because by the time you have probably recovered from the tiredness of driving you will have to come back.

Other thing not mentioned is you need a crit air sticker in France for many cities/ areas.
Give it a chick google and if you are likely to be in thise areas, you need to apply for one online. It is cheap ( about £5) and if it doesn’t come in time you can just use the confirmation email as proof.

And finally...

Maybe you could cheat and miss a lot of the driving by getting a ferry from the South Coast to somewhere in Spain ...

Change your sat nav to km because that's what the road signs are in.

If you're going on toll roads it may be an idea to buy a toll tag for your windscreen so you don't have to pay for tolls as you pass through them. You'll get a bill a month later.

Research "priorite a droite" for driving through France. In some areas side roads have priority over main roads and if you're not aware of it you could have someone pulling out on you.

Carry a hi viz for everyone in the car, spare bulbs, first aid kit and warning triangle. The hi viz jackets need to be in the car and you need to have them on before you get out. Don't keep them in the boot.

France is very easy to drive through. You'll go on the toll roads, I expect, and they can all be paid using a card now. The word for toll in French is 'Péage' so when you see that sign it means that you'll either be collecting a ticket (if you've just joined the road), or paying a toll if you've already got your ticket (which you hand to the person in the booth). Either way, if you're driving a British car, your DH will have to deal with all that, because he'll be sitting on the driver's side for France!

As for the petrol stations - they're just on the side of the road so you pull in when your fuel is getting low and fill up like you would here. There are usually toilets and a restaurant and a shop and some have picnic sites. They're well signposted and tell you how many km it is to the next one and the signs have pictures on to show you what facilities are there.

When it comes to stopping for the night, will you be camping or staying in a hotel? There are chains of inexpensive hotels like Formule 1, Ibis Budget, etc that are close to the main toll roads and you can book those online before you travel - just figure out a suitable mileage per day and book a hotel at around that distance each time. Lots of people who drive over to the continent don't speak the language and they get by. Google translate can help, but most people in petrol stations and hotels will have a few words and phrases in English, so try not to worry.

The French roads are good, if you pay for the toll ones, very easy to navigate. Spanish roads too.

What?! So he's literally booked a campsite in Spain and bought a tent? Leaving you to do all the difficult parts of the planning and all the work?

I think living with your husband would give me anxiety too? You are well within your rights to be pissed off with him, don't let him guilt trip you into silence by using the children.

Can you just fly and make him pay for extra luggage for the camping bits and car hire? Or if not, take the ferry direct to Spain? The kids will probably love sleeping in the cabins

Has he booked a campsite? If he hasn't then it might be worth looking at staying in France instead. If he booked somewhere in the south of Spain then realistically you are looking at 3/4 days driving each way. How are the finances because its going to be expensive in fuel and tolls.

This is a rubbish thing for him to have done if he won’t be driving. And especially if he hasn’t sorted out how you are getting there.

we’ve done ferry from Portsmouth to Santander and it also goes from Plymouth. But it’s a long crossing (2 nights outward) and expensive. Also books up early.

Whereabouts in Spain? Driving from France you will need a couple of overnight stops there and back.

I would be furious in your place.

This, you must get it! Check which cities you will be driving through.

We drive regularly in France and the roads are generally much better than the UK. If you’re going to use the autoroutes, get an Emovis tag as it will save time and hassle at the péage (toll gates). Lane discipline is better there, don’t hog a lane. French drivers will come up behind you and either indicate or flash their lights to get you to move over but it’s not an aggressive thing the way it is it the UK.

Make sure you have European breakdown cover and insurance.

It is much easier to drive in France than the UK, the roads are nowhere near as busy as long as you don't accidentally end up in the centre of Paris.

When you're joining a motorway or dual carriageway you won't be able to see properly so your passenger needs to be checking your blind spot before you join.

Road signs - generally you're looking for town names etc, so it doesn't really matter what language they are in. Speed limits are km/h.

Tunnel is the cheapest but Calais is a LONG way from Spain. Ideally you'll get a ferry to Bilbao or Santander but they're probably all fully booked by now and cost the equivalent of a mortgage anyway.

Invest in audiobooks for the kids eg harrypotrer, each book is 8 hours long, then listen to them either as a family or buy a travel yoto minispeaker plus headphones for kids
Invest in a big bag of lollipops, every hour the children can have one to give you 5 mins of blessed silence.

We did Plymouth to santander ferry in northern Spain at Easter and it was fab, maybe look jnto that instead of driving through france? We have done both and it's swings and roundabouts really.

One thing to b aware of in Spain is they eat really late, think 2-4pm lunch, 9-12midnight evening meal, so if u want to eat out young kids will need an afternoon nap.

Oh, also they have speed traps on the autoroutes, note that the speed limit can change depending on the conditions. It’s not a major issue, just be observant.