How long to drive to South France with 3 month old? And any tips?

[PlinkertyPlonk]

There will also be 3 under-12s in the car.

I know, we're mad even considering it. I've looked at other options, including flying the under-12s as unaccompanied minors, but we can't do that from any of our local airports so we're back to driving.

Although we will have an overnight stop in Paris, it feels like it would take a week to get there if we have to stop every couple of hours for feeding and giving LO a break from the car-seat.

It's a massive culture shock for me because I'm used to hoofing it flat out to the Alps, child-free but car crammed with friends and ski-kit, with few stops meaning we get there by tea-time.

So, how long does it take? And any top tips?

It depends on where you are going in the alps, but the via michelin site puts Paris-chamonix at 5h40mins. So even with stops every couple of hours it is entirely do-able.

My tip would be to leave Paris as early as you can, then stop for breakfast after a couple of hours. DVD players in the car of course :)

Thanks frenchfancy, you've given me a bit of confidence that it is possible. We're actually heading to the Auvergne and it will be the summer, so at least we won't have ski-kit to contend with!

We learnt our lesson with the DVDs on the last trip to Paris. Huge success on the way over, but unfortunately they broke just as we left for the trip home . Not fun!

Dp, dd (six months at time) and I travelled via car to southern Germany last year. Perfectly doable. Dvd player a god send with variety of appropriate dvd. List of brief stops may be needed but not always for long. Snacks, toys etc and plenty of them although I'd b tempted to avoid anything sugary to not have hypractive kids at back of car. The earlier you leave the better, kids can sleep. :)

Bump so I can find this on my lap top

Yes, I thought kids sleep too, but it seems that the 3 under-12s only sleep if separated so they are out of physical punching range of each other.

Good tip about the low sugar food. And at least there are plenty of stops on the autoroute, even if many of the bogs are revoltingly filthy.

We've travelled from Wiltshire to Bordeaux with 2 kids in the car and I must admit it was a nightmare. Everyone on Mumsnet said it was doable and it was, but at the cost of our sanity.

I recommend DVD in-car players as a must. Beg, borrow or steal to get those. I wish I had done.
Medised for travel sickness.
Lots of snacks (just be aware that the back of the car will look like a rubbish tip, there's nowt you can do about that)
Don't be tempted to skip the toll motorways for the toll-free roads, it's really not worth an extra hour of misery added onto your journey as you stop in every single little town following a 2CV as it tootles along.
Drinks, you must have drinks or as soon as they get in the car they will announce they are thirsty.
Make a note of every single services on your route so you know exactly how far to the next one in case you need to stop - not the outdoor picnic ones but the proper indoor services for changing facilities etc.
Personal CD players for the kids with lots of story telling CDs and music for them to listen to.
Travel cushions for when they fall asleep (if you're lucky).
Buy some pocket money toys to give them when you set off, but don't give them all, just one at a time and save some for the return journey.

If I were you, I would travel at night when they are asleep. OK, one of you will have to do the night driving, but it will half your journey and the kids will hardly notice you've even been out. It is SOOOO worth it.

We drove to Port Grimaud last year with 1 6 year old and 2 year old twins.

We got an early morning tunnel (after staying in felixstowe the night before) and then drove all day and stopped at Valence overnight (10 hour drive, should have been 8 hours but got lost in paris cos we listened to the sat nav rather than going by the map!) Then drove another 4 hours the next day to the caravan site.

We made it part of the holiday and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

We did have a dvd player, but found that sometimes it stopped the kids going to sleep. Huggle buddy thingys and blankets were also necessary in order to make the kids feel more comfortable and ready for sleep.

With regard to the toilets, we normally stopped in proper services rather than the picnicy ones and the toilets were fine!
(I never got the hang on swatting )

I would love to do it again this year, but can't afford a holiday

Have you looked into Eurostar and the TGV train services instead?.

We drove with DD to Berne when she was 7 months old. We would drive for a couple of hours and then have a stop/feed/stretch - you don't have to stop for ages: even 10-20 mins will be enough. On the way there we stopped overnight at Reims but on the way back we drove all the way from Berne to Calais - I think this took about 7/8 hours (was 6.5 years ago so memory a bit sketchy). On the drive from Reims to Berne, we went to the supermarche by the hotel on the morning and bought fresh bread, fruit and brie and just munched on that during our stops, rather than stopping for a proper meal.

When she was 4 we drove to La Plagne (it was April so the weather and roads were fine). We had the DVD player this time and she was no problem at all.

For clean toilets on the autoroutes you need to stop at the services with a petrol station. Those without tend to be filthy, but those with are normally very clean.

Good tips on here. Was looking as we planning to drive from Scotland to Carcassonne area with kids and was scared!

Also planning early morning tunnel/ferry. Any recommendations for good places to stop/stay in France to break journey?

lost we drove from Ayrshire to the Languedoc last year, quite near Carcassone actually, where are you staying?

We leave about 4 am and stay overnight in the Holiday Inn Express in Folkestone, which is only about 5 minutes from the tunnel, get an early train and are in France for 8. We then drive down France and do the journey in a day - last year we got there about half 8 at night including all stops for breakfast, lunch, toilet stops, petrol etc.

There is a 24 hour Tesco in Folkestone near the hotel so we buy croissants (I know taking croissants to France ), rolls, jam and fruit juice and that means we dont need to worry about breakfast, there are lots of picnic type areas along the motorways to stop at.

MY DSs are 4 and 9 and as long as they have DVDs, pens and paper, food and drink theyre happy

Having done the journey to the Dordogne with a 6mo my tips for travelling with the baby would be:

• stick to the toll motorway. The time saved is well worth the cost
• French motorway services suddenly changed my opinion of English ones! They will be ridiculously busy, have filthy loos & changing facilities & no food. We now travel down with all of our own picnic food (bought from massive Tesco just by the tunnel entrance in Dover) and take knife, chopping board etc

- take a rug so you can stop at the picnic services and get the baby out for a good roll around - on long journeys, I used to take a relaxed attitude to the only 2 hours in the car seat rule. If DD was asleep, we pushed on. Generally, she spent little time in the car seat & I really didn't see how the occasional 3 or 4 hour sess was going to give her spine problems for life.

Have you got one of those activity things which attach to the back of the back seat for your 3mo to play with? Taf toys do one (and I'm sure other people do too). That should give her a bit of entertainment.

Thanks for the top tips everyone.

It is sounding more feasible with some careful preparation. I think we will use a mix of service station and the picnic stops, simply because the picnic stops tend to have more space for the under-12s to run riot for a bit.

We will definitely be using tolls, I'm too impatient not too! TGV not an option unfortunately as we need the car once we arrive, and I don't think they do motorail any longer.

Blankets and pillows are an excellent idea (hmm, I feel the need for a roof box coming on )

Lost - once in France, there are plenty of Campaniles (usually pretty good quality, if basic), Formula1 (very, very basic, breakfast from a vending machine, but they do the job) etc en route, if you don't want to stray far from the autoroute. You will need your PIN number working on your credit card though if you arrive late and they've locked the gates.

Murtette - will look to get an activity thingy for the 3mo. Do they make them for 7-12 year olds?! Wish they did, oh, hang on, yes, that will be DVD players! Must remember to pack enough CDs/DVDs this time.

I'm awestruck by those of you travelling down from Scotland to do the trip. The UK part must be the worst bit; at least the French roads tend to be fast moving. Watch out for pesky gendarmes from about 20 miles out of Calais though. They love just waiting for the Brits that are late for their ferries!

Thanks duckdodgers sounds good plan. We quite near you and kids similar ages, so am bit cheered by that We going to place around 1 hour from Carcassone. Been before but never driven, hence the fear.

Thanks op too- good to know this stuff!

would advise leaving in the evening, letting them watch a movie then blankets and pillows and let them sleep through the night. hubby and i turns for naps and driving lots of coke and coffee!!

plinkerty I forgot the most essential - a decent working Satnav!

Unfortunately this was something we didnt possess the first time 3 years ago we decided to do this trip, but we didnt know this until we were actually in France We knew it needed updated but reckoned we would be allright - how wrong were we!

Put it this way it took about 16 hours to drive from Calais to the Alps (we were staying near Briancon), at 1 point it stopped working altogether, Im surprised we made it at all! It also sent us into Italy before taking us back to France

DS3 was only 1 and DS2 was 6......DS1 who was 15 at the time was with us has swore never to come on holiday with us in the car ever again and now that hes 18 is off to Crete with his mates!

And youre right about the UK - generally it gets busy around Manchester and then really busy around Birmingham.

And yes we have now invested in a top of the range Tom Tom

Have you considered travelling by eurostar direct from st pancras to Avignon. It takes just over 5.5 hours. We have driven but the dc drove me mad being captive in the car for so long.

I find the Eurostar efficient and in standard premier all the food and drinks are free. You can pick up the hire car at Avignon station.

Duck, you are so right about the satnav!

uggmum - I'd no idea Eurostar was so fast. Looks like it only runs on Saturdays though. It's tempting, however with 4 under-12s to herd and all their belongings, the cost, plus we're stopping off to visit family in Paris, I don't think it's the option for us.

It does only run on Saturdays. They have extra space for luggage but it does take serious planning. With a Paris stop over it would be complicated.

If we could stow the kids in the luggage compartment, it would make it a very appealing option!

I have booked for August. I may consider that option. What a peaceful journey it would be.

TheRhubarb -

Wiltshire to Bordeaux - did you clock the approx cost of that journey??

My only tip is NEVER STAY at a FORMULA 1 "hotel". Do not be tempted by the dirt cheap prices - there is a very good reason for them.

Driving in France is a relative pleasure compared to the UK - and there are lots of roadside "Aires" to stop at - some literally just a loo and a car park, others more swish. We went to Nice via Eurostar with 4 DCs (a lot older) with one overnight - was fine.