First driving holiday to France....

[Peppaagain]

with 3 year old and 18 month old. Any advice on things to take etc etc. driving from Caen to Ili de Re.

Make sure you have change of clothes/plastic bags/wipes to hand in the car in case of accidents of any variety. If 3yo is toilet trained, you might still want to take a potty with you as some toilet facilities at the roadside rest stops are, shall we say, a bit rural? 2 footrests and a hole - wouldn't fancy dangling a tot over those! (Fine if you go into service stations, but there are a lot of WC signs by the roadside picnic areas and some are old-fashioned)

Take the cleanest snacks you can - my kids tended to eat or sleep on the journey. Things you can easily pass back to them, not too fiddly. (And not bananas, you don't want to find the half eaten bit of banana that rolled under the seat)

If you are desperately brand loyal you may want to take your own nappies - personally I just took one pack to be getting along with then used a supermarket brand, I think Pampers/Huggies were v expensive.

Presumably you are past formula stage if you used it? Nestle is the big brand over there, didn't see any SMA (and can't remember what other brands).

Depending on what facilities you have in your holiday place (beach/pool/playgrounds etc) you can manage on far fewer toys than you think! Try to watch what they play with the most - things like a bag of Little People/Happy land and some cars maybe - not the sets that go with them, just the little characters.

Dont forget all the legal things you are required to carry. Halfords have a list up in their shops, probably on their website as well. Do get Hi Vis jackets for the whole family (get these from Amazon here they are a lot cheaper). In the event of breaking down you want to be a big dayglo blob! Also, anyone getting out of the car on the motorway must be wearing the jacket before they get out so the jackets have to be kept in the car and be accessible.

Make sure you have your EHICs and travel insurance. Do have recovery cover for your car.

Research your route and take good maps. Dont just rely on satnav.

Dont worry about the price of fuel on motorways, you will spend more money looking for somewhere cheaper!

When driving on the motorway dont try to keep up with the mercs etc. Find your own speed and stick to that.

Take lots of breaks and enjoy the scenery. Have a lovely time and enjoy your holiday.

Thanks both! This is great advice!

You definitely need to check about what car related things you need to take with you - I'm pretty sure that spare bulbs are included. The HiVis jackets need to be in the car as it is illegal to get out on the motorway without wearing them. I am pretty certain that you need to watch your speed on the motorways as you must not exceed the average speed, if you see what I mean.

I have been reading in the newspapers recently that it is now illegal not to carry a breathalyser (sp?) in the car with you - and also that sat navs which show the position of speed cameras are illegal. There has been articles in the Saturday "Daily Telegraph" recently, so I would have a look on their website.

Good luck, you'll have a wonderful time. Oh, and don't forget to alter the position of your headlights so they don't dazzle oncoming traffic! I think that's illegal, too.

I think driving in France is easier than the uk motorways - as it is very quick and easy to pull of the motorway nip to the loo and then drive back on. There is none of this driving half way around a car park and then half way back again to stop, then walking half a mile to the loo. You stop and the loo is there in front of you. my youngest dd refused to use the loo as she didn't like the gushing sound of the water as you step on the loo. So as other poster say take a potty or in my dd's case she went behind a bush.

There are often towns you will be driving through so you can stop and get bread and if you have provisions you can have a picnic.

I drove a lot in france on my own with my two dd's and would stop often to let them use the loo but it also stops them getting board. I would usually stop every hour to hour and a half for the loo - just 5 minutes and it makes the world of difference.

At a guess you have a 5-6 hour journey on the french side and you can either pay to use the motorway or drive on a roads. Taking the a84 route keeping to the roads on the west will be cheaperm as less toll and the difference is not really worth worrying aout as it is minutes rather than either an hour.

As for speeding - they know what time you got on the motor way and you will have to pay at the end when you get off and again they will have the time - if you travel to fast you will get their to soon!

Have a great time it is the sunniest place in france

I'm driving through France in a couple of weeks time and you will need the following:
HiVis Jackets
Breathalisyers x 2 if you look on google it brings lots up but there is only one company in the UK that also make European Ones. These are different to a UK Breathalisyers and will not count.
Spare Bulbs for all the lights or a basic light kit from halfords
GB Sticker on car
Light stickers on headlights - not all cars are dim enough for France.
All of these carry an on the spot fine of 12 euros and upwards.

I've got a 5 and 7 yr old and we're doing half the journey at night so they can sleep and the other half we've packed some wipe clean cards from Usborne, wet wipes, snacks, water, some CD's with children's stories on and music to sing along to.

Change of clothes, pillow, blanket and toy to cuddle.

French law states that no children can sit in the front of the car unless all the other seats in the car are full of younger children.

If I think of anything else I'll post again.
Good Luck

Have money ready for the toll charges! They are not bad but you don't want to come accross one and then start panicking that your wallet with the Euros in is in your handbag behind the passenger seat! (not that I have ever done that !)

Oh you need 2 breathalisyers because if you get stopped and use one you'll need the other to have as you're driving away in case you get stopped again. They normally come in packs of 2 anyway. alcosense

You can pay for tolls with your credit card - the queue for this is always far shorter than the cash queues.

Beam benders are another of the things which are far cheaper from amazon that Halfords - top tips for these:

• put them on as soon as you come off the ferry in France
• carry glasses cleaning wipes to clean your headlights before trying to stick them on
• have more than one set of beam benders in case one comes off

Have just got back from my first driving holiday abroad in France. I loved it. So much quieter and more civilised than the m6. I agree with all advice so far but would suggest you should look into getting a Liber t tag for the toll roads. Check out the uk based web site. You just cruise through the toll booths and get the invoice 6 wks later. There is a smallish admin charge but well worth it for the convenience and extra cash to spend on tat.

Checking speed using the toll tickets is an urban myth. However the gendarmes are often doing speed checks.

Speed limit on motorways is 130km/hr UNLESS it is raining when it drops to 110km/hr

Watch the section between Rennes and Nantes as this is not motorway but dual carriageway so the limit is 110 km/hr. The gendarmes are often on this stretch and will give you an on the spot fine; If you can't pay it they will compound your car.

Going A84 towards Rennes and then down will save 24? each way in tolls.

Apparently there's a grace period on the breathalysers until the autumn for non-residents, but I'm going to be getting some anyway (going in August).

We drive to Italy via France once or twice a year so agree with all of the above. For your 3 year old, my Mum found a fab etch-a-sketch type thing (£5) in John Lewis, which was a thin card version so took up no room and DS loved it - he had a couple of bored moments. The toll roads are great and the services have a separate room for changing babies that also have two small toilets for younger children. Once you've done it, you'll have no qualms about doing it again. Have a great holiday!

Thank you all! Tis is fab and so much more than i got with my random google on what to take!

Sanef in the uk do the liber t tags go to Sanef tolling website (sorry rubbish at links!)

This is the link for the telepeage thingy!

telepeage

We ordered ours from there and it turned up within a few days. We have used them before and they do make the motorway experience more enjoyable. The looks and shouts of horror from people thinking you heading for the wrong barrier ar part of the fun!

GnomeDePlume didn't know about this, we are driving down at Christmas so would love this! Great link, thanks.

Glad to be of service Capuccino!

I second (or fourth or whatever) the Liber t tag, ours was fab.
For the dc, usborne sticker books, wipe clean cards, lots of baby wipes.
Make sure you've got decent sunshades on the children's windows as the glare is very strong (we drove down to the south in early June and was very glad we had them).
Be aware that not all rest areas have petrol stations and cafes (the 2 types are distinguished on the Michelin maps).
ViaMichelin is good for route planning and calculating toll costs.