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:)

My plan is to drive down, stay at Folkestone somewhere and get the shuttle early, drive down slowly arriving late afternoon/ early evening allowing for loads of stops. This may be too ambitious. Perhaps if I leave early morning and get down to Dijon or something, I can stay and do the last few hours the next day.

My mot is ok, my next task is get the car serviced.

I left the other side of Lyon at 9am and it was 700 miles home to B/ham. We got home at midnight, though add on an hour. We stopped every hour to hour and s half just for s quick stop for a week ( dd2 was 4)

It's s good motor way and easy driving Reims, Dijon that way....you will be fine.

poo thanks. Will consider it.

Sounds like a plan OP. The main thing is to not try and drive for too long. It really can be very tiring. Concentrating for so long is hard.

it's very exciting preparing for a trip like this. Make lists. It helps :)

The headlamp stickers are not too pricey, I order from Amazon, or Halfords. Ditto the breathalysers - it's about £4. You do have to have them in your car, available in case you are stopped by the police. The confusion is that they aren't actcually prosecuting in case you don't have one. Better safe than sorry.

Another tip: make sure that speed camera detecting devices are switched OFF on ALL your navigation services. Whether that's in-car, Co-pilot on your phone/tablet, or your Tom tom. You can get fined for having the warning.

Like i said : lists ;)

with kids in the car, driving on the wrong side of the road, different road rules and no second driver, I think more than four hours driving a day is unsafe.

so split it accordingly.

I recommend audiobooks - we find that all of us enjoy listening to them - The Water Horse is good, Roald Dahl books, Michael Morpurgo. (Alleviate boredom for the driver too)

Post it note on the dashboard is helpful in reminding you which side to drive on.

The stuff in the RAC kits meets the legal requirements of driving in France. This stuff is not optional, as people have said. You used to be able to hire the kits - don't know if they still do that.

Most of the 'kit' required is available quite cheaply.

A triangle, spare bulb kit, hi -vis vest/s etc can all be bought from Amazon and the like. I've seen them for £7 as a bundle.

The headlamp deflectors (DH's car has a switch which means he can alter the direction of his headlamps for driving on the other side of the road - BMW, mine doesn't however so use the stickers ) and breathalysers are just a couple of quid each.

Best to get your list together and order all at once to save on postage.

This looks to have a lot in for the price kit

Ref cost of motorway toll.
I last made a trip to the South of France in March this year.
I live in Luxembourg so the cost is less than you driving from Calais.
Luxembourg to Le Muy (Sainte Tropez exit) €53.33 for 764 kilometres. I am guessing it will cost you about €75 each way.
I allow about an hour per 100 kilometres. My 950 kilometre journey from Luxembourg to Saint Maxime takes about 9 hours. We probably stop for a total of between 45 and 60 minutes. You will have to factor in the time change.
Much of the on board "extras" that are required by French and most if not all other European country's are just common sense. I have them (except Breatherliser and headlight stickers) as they are useful even when I drive in the UK.

Jump leads and a tow rope can save hours of faffing about, frankly.

I now have a massive list and a headache:) thank you all so much!

I'm used to driving on the other side of the road, ( not Europe) spent years doing it alone and also the kids are older now so it's not as tricky:) plus I'm not a crazy person, if I'm tired I'll stop.

All Insurance and roadside is done, pets have someone in to check them and water the pots, car service is booked, just going to buy the kit and boost my tesco points to buy the shuttle tickets and hotels. And see if I can find a friend to travel with me or join me there - surprisingly tricky to find someone free and without kids in tow- mine will be out all day and I'll be working so I'm a bit restricted.

I was going to see relatives the weekend before but it's a 2 hour drive there and back, so I'll have to postpone - I think I'll need the time to get ready.

I don't know where in Provence you're going, but Calais to Avignon is about 8 hours drive.

The best cheap travel hotel is Campanile - decent beds, decent food.

We've got Phillips DVD players which last for about 3.5 hours on a charge. The children also have headphones so I can then listen to the radio rather than Peppa Pig & Frozen.
As well as giving DC1 some bits that she can reach, I also have a bag on the front passenger seat that I strap in with stuff I can grab & throw at the DC if necessary (mainly snacks).

PS you're not doing the journey on a Saturday are you? If at all possible, avoid them. The roads will be horrendous as will the Aires, queues to get into them & sold out of food other than sweets, chocolate etc was our experience one year in the last weekend of August. We then tried going on the N routes which were quieter but, until we went into a decent size town, we'd failed to get any food as all of the shops shut on a Saturday afternoon.

Well, the first and last weekends of August are by tradition terrible, because it's when the French go and return. So avoid at all costs.