Driving alone from UK to Provence, alone with DC, advice needed

[lavenderhoney]

I plan to drive to Provence with the DC ( 8 and 6) and have never attempted such an epic journey. I dont know where to start. I'm going to cheek my car insurance to make sure I'm covered and my breakdown cover. I've driven in France before but always flown. This time, I thought it would be fun to drive.

I don't know whether to get a ferry or tunnel. I plan to stop overnight on the way down, somewhere in France. I saw on another thread about getting an automated thing for the tolls which would be great.

I'm a complete novice and I haven't even thought about how to amuse the DC. im worried about making it down there without too much stress and I am hoping posters who are seasoned drivers across France will have some advice for a rookie:)

You will find it v tiring.

But give them the money to pay the tolls. One of them will be on the correct side of the car to do so. And if they are taught/know the French, the toll people will be amazed and delighted. DS did this rising 7 and loved doing it.

And yes, we had stories and songs to keep us going. Lots of water as it gets increasingly hot and you don't want sticky fluids around. Black bin bag fresh each day for rubbish, no bananas or oranges ( stink the place out ) book your hotels ahead and thank heaven the French are sensible and have family rooms.

The service stations are great but queues can be long. We tended to use them for loos, coffee and ice cream. We picnicked at the aires with limited facilities.

Do think about taking a thermos you can fill up with coffee for you.

Some of my happiest childhood memories are looooong drives through European countries with my mum and brother. You'll have a great time. She would put a cool box full of food between us in the back seat. Audiobooks are brilliant because you can all listen together and then talk about them.

My in laws used to do an 8 hour journey regularly. My mil sewed activity bags for the kids that went on he back of the front seats and had 8 pockets, with a different snack or treat to be opened each hour. She's an over achiever though!

Lavender, I've only last night read your other thread and seeing this pop up in active threads is such a coincidence. You've clearly come a long way - well done.

French driving is our thing but the furthest we've attempted is the Dordogne with similar aged DC. We're also driving to Provence in 5 weeks. Everyone's tips so far are spot on. Here are my two penneth worth:

GPS
Definitely DVD player - a screen for each seat so no one is twisting necks to see. Invest in comfy kiddie headphones (Amazon) for you to have some peace for a little while. Not the earplug type though small ears impatient hands I learnt the hard way

YY to the audio CD's. I've just bought some at amazing prices from the online BookPeople. Roald Dahl's entire collection on audio was just £20 instead of £100. There's a discount of 10% on certain items ending tonight so grab a look.

I'm also toying with the idea of cheap MP3 players to download stories - my two have different tastes and there's only so much Famous Five my youngest will put up with!

Plastic bags for rubbish. Sick bags for emergencies (again, Amazon is your friend), wet wipes and loo roll just in case.

Maybe I'm over indulgent, but last trip I bought packs of stickers, crayons, felts and pencils and wrapped them all separately in thin tissue so after settling into the long drive I handed them a goodie bag each for them to unwrap. I included a Clip board each (99p Tesco) and a ream of paper (I pop the paper into a cheapo A4 plastic box). It keeps them enthralled for another wee while just unwrapping. I also print off a load of little math challenges and word games and they don't see them as homework. Loads of free resources online.

Google car games for little quizzes, and stuff you can play (eye spy etc).

Electric cool box that you can plug in to your car to keep drinks cool and fruit fresh. I invest in a load of chilled coffees that come with a straw - I do all the driving myself so caffeine is my friend.

Audible.com for audio stories for you too. I play myself some novels while DC are on headphones listening to a DVD. There's only so much music I can bare! Pod casts are great too (and free - Radio 4 Woman's hour have some pretty outstanding articles). Even better if you can route your device through your speakers.

Fab thread Lavender. I'm picking up tips for my journey too.

We are going to the vendee this year with a caravan for the first time and with a 1 and 3 yo for the second time.

Not quite as far as you but starting in Birmingham - where are you starting?

Def agree the shuttle is best, IMO it is better to get across the sea and then stay over night in France. We stay laon or Rouen depending on which way we go - both just short of 2h but you could do less. Then you are "on holiday" the first day and psychologically already en route.

What is your accommodation like? IE is there set up or it is going to be easy to arrive and flop/eat/swim? If relatively easy I'd try to get there.

France roads are lovely to drive, I'm excited for you and us just thinking about it.

I had no idea you could buy a DVD player for in car use and screens -my last car had them fitted already and they were great. I am so grateful! I thought they had to be bought fitted into the car.

I need something easy to fit for a complete amateur. And cheap!

I'm leaving as soon as school is finished and i haven't done anything yet. I must get my car serviced and I have just found that my car insurance covers me for my travel times but I'm going to check fully comp.

I'm going to spend today organising and costing it all out then booking it. I also have a long car journey the weekend before which I'm dithering about as although I don't mind it might be a bit too much for the DC.

Hex, that was a co incidence:) this trip isn't a holiday for me though. I shall be working whist ex dh sees the DC. But the DC and I are not staying with him, about 15 mins away.

I need to cost out diesel as well, I'm going to rummage on Google and see if there is a handy site.

If you have any Tesco points you can use them for the shuttle.

Shuttle is s good option but if you can afford the tickets that allow lounge use and priority boarding, it is worth it in the summer, as the queues can be really long and sometimes you get bumped and bumped waiting to board. With priority boarding you just get waved through. In the lounge you can feed the tribe easily, use the loos, and pick up magazines for on the way. It is possible to upgrade a Tesco voucher booking to get priority boarding by paying extra.

I always have lots of cleanup things in the car after a couple of truly memorable vomit-related incidents, including the 2007 Aldeburgh explosion and the 2011 Brussels norovirus moment, not to mention the 2004 Centre Parcs queue diarrhoea spectacular. There are professional-standard sick bag kits with wipes and absorbent pads, things that look like bin bags that you put clothes into and then you put the whole thing with the bag into the washing machine, lollies that kids can suck that help get rid of nausea, and little packs with toilet paper and a soap leaf suitable for French service stations where there aren't things like that available. Try these people:

Purple Turtle

I also put water bottles in every door, along with a pack of tissues.

I prepare a travel kit for each child with a juice carton, packet of raisins, colouring book, coloured pencils, magnetic puzzle, little games, child-friendly map of the route, etc. They also all have a travel pillow and a little blanket. I have spare clothes for each child handy in a special bag, along with a jumper/cardigan.

I also like to stop every two hours and let the kids stretch their legs, as this reduces restlessness and whinging by about 50%. Epernay is a good place to stay overnight and less busy than Reims. I have stayed in this hotel and it was economical and comfortable with a nice bar. Ibis Epernay Centre

The French aires can get busy in August and if there is a service station there the queues for coffee can be crazy, so I try to have a flask with me for a quick fix if necessary.

Finally we always have a pretty well stocked first aid kit permanently in the car with things like: ibuprofen, calpol, Solpadeine, insect cream, ibuleve gel, antiseptic cream, dressings, crepe bandage, nit comb, threadworm tablets, antihistamine tablets, ammonium, decongenstant tablets, rehydration solution, etc. It's like Breaking Bad in our car but it saves driving around looking for pharmacies when you would rather be doing something else.

PS John Lewis fully comprehensive car insurance is apparently automatically valid in Europe on short trips - you don't have to ring them up. RAC European cover is well worth having too.

RAC

Finally remember that you need things like a UK sticker, warning triangle, first aid kit, spare bulbs, and so on, to meet legal requirements overseas. Legally you also need stick on things for your headlights to change the beam direction, and in addition I always travel with a car fire extinguisher, head torch, cross brace to help get wheels off if I am on my own (factory fitted nuts are often too difficult to do alone) and a can of that emergency stuff you spray in tyres when you have a puncture so you don't necessarily need to change the wheel. Absolutely remember to take the device to remove your locking nuts or you are doomed if anything happens.

The French expect the adults to have access to a high-visibility jacket in the car as well, and they were insisting on everyone carrying breathalyser kits although I think they have backed off on that (you would have to check).

Personally speaking I would want everything in this plus cross brace.

European driving and breakdown kit

These might be good travel packs for the DC.

[[http://www.racshop.co.uk/travel-touring/driving-in-europe/travel-accessories/product/disney-princess-travel-set.html Princess kit

Cars kit

These maps can be very good (don't exclusively rely on SatNav)

Michelin Europe

We got an electric cool box a few years back and it has been brilliant as an extra gadget for long trips.

Electric cool box

Lots of great tips here!

I'd also recommend story tapes/CDs - they're old enough to listen to the kind of stories that will keep you entertained too. Harry Potter was a perennial favourite with ours, but also the Alex Rider stories (like James Bond but a 14 year old hero)

I'd definitely stop en route - at least once, probably twice. Make the stops part of the journey. And personally we prefer to avoid the chain hotels, because they're so formulaic. French hotels aren't always that expensive, particularly if you choose a family-run/independent one (of which there are loads). Find a nice town to stop and then Google for hotels locally.

And ispy books are always brilliant for kids

Don't forget to check that your MOT is up to date, very costly mistake on my part last year

I can recommend the Novotel Dijon Sud as an overnight if you're maybe only stopping once. It has a restaurant and little bar area, outside seating if the weather's nice and also a pool so the kids already feel like they're on holiday. Rooms are a good size too.

In car DVD players are very easy to fir, they just strap onto the front seat head rests, with one wire connecting the two screens and the primary screen plugs into the cigarette lighter. Marvellous invention!

Also, whilst there might be long queues at the service stations, they've usually got loads of coffee/drink vending machines which are relatively good value and make it very quick to grab a quick hit of caffeine. We go for coffee and the kids love the hot chocolates.

Avoid driving trough Paris. Use a good satnav.

Use viamichelin.co.uk to cost the journey, you can put in all the details about what type of car you have and it will cost the journey for you. Have used it for all our French trips over the last few years, and it' pretty accurate. It will also tell you the prices of the tolls, which have always been exact, so I have a little money bag tucked away in one of the compartments in the front of the car, which has enough euros in it to cover the tolls on the way down an back again...this money does not get touched for any other reason so I always know the toll money is covered.

Following on from that, I'd second getting the kids to do the toll booths, as (a) you will know how much it will be in advance, (b) the money will already be to hand and (c) the amount comes up on a little screen anyway. Not all toll booths are manned these days, so they might only need to put the ticket in and then put the money in anyway.

Finally...enjoy. Most French motorways are much more fun to drive on than English ones!

poocatcher what is Laon like? Am planning our journey and need an overnight somewhere 2-3 hours from Calais. Would aim to arrive at 5-6pm so want somewhere we can have a look around and a nice dinner.

Sorry for hijack OP.

Is that 670 miles?

How much fuel?

gitelink.com/provence/travel-to-provence.htm

about-france.com/mobi/A26-route-map-mobi.htm

Laon is a nice little ish town. Dh says it isn't an ibis but we can't remember what it was - breakfast was good though! It was on the same estate as a buffalo grill if that helps googling.

We didn't make it to the town but itvwas accessible and I've heard nice. It was good enough that we stopped there on the way back too.

You DO NOT have to carry breathalyser in the car
You MUST Have high vis jackets INSIDE THE CAR enough for all passengers to put on BEFORE getting out of the broken down car. Not in the boot.(Very sensible law)

YOU DO have to carry a breathalyser in the car it's just that there isn't a fine for not having one, unlike the other stuff you're supposed to have.

That is a lot of extra expense and WTF are headlamp converters?

Headlamp converters are bits of plastic film you pop on your headlights to deflect the glare if you can't do it manually in your car. In the UK your lights dip to the left..so , when you drive on the right, that blinds drivers in most of Europe.

We are lucky to still have a decent public library 9which has access to other libraries' collections). We've borrowed loads of talking books (we pop them on an MPV - possibly naughty) and it has aided many a journey.

I admit we live in a town where we rarely need to drive, but have you costed up the relative merits (to your sanity and wellbeing) of driving versus flying to somewhere nearby? Something you posted earlier makes me think you have a few hours of travelling before you get anywhere near Dover/Folkestone?

Solesource - it's been a legal requirement for years that you have to have headlamp converters when you drive on the continent. It means that our lamp beams, which are set for driving on the left, don't dazzle drivers who are driving on the right.

I've done a few thousand miles across France and Spain with two children on my own. My longest journey in one go was from the other side of Lyon to b/ham. This journey I did use payage, but a lot of driving on a roads as I found it easier with dc as I could stop and get food etc.

It isn't cheap on the payage so do allow for well over £100 for a round trip, this was another reason I didn't use them the expense.

I have never driven around Paris either ( I have navigated that one)

I would plan your route from the tunnel or ferry, often the signage maybe for Paris at first, even though you don't want to go to Paris and you turn off after a few miles iyswim

Other thoughts are, I usually get a morning ferry, set of early from home, about 200 miles and then get a fair way through France before stopping.

The dc always used to sleep in the car so an early start was good for me as they slept and I listen to music and there was little traffic to delay me from catching ferry, I would then of course have an early night the first night in France and go to bed the same time as dc. Meaning I was ready for another early start the next day when there is less traffic.

Dc had to navigate, or use satnav aka Fred. Fred is wonderful as he tells me every day to drive on the left, otherwise get the dc to tell you every day to drive on the wrong side mum.

Enjoy the freedom, allow lots of pit stops, its am adventure not an endurance excersise.