driving to Portugal from UK with kids in tow... anyone ever done it?

[sammyjayneex]

It's all in the title really. Just wondering if anyone has ever done it. DH has been invited to a family wedding In Portugal (Lisbon) and wants us all to go. He doesn't want to fly because of all the fiasco that comes with flying for example... Luggage allowance and all the extra costs, the flight tickets cost so much for 4 children and 2 adults and trying to keep children quiet and occupied on a plane ect and also because it's just after Christmas and the wedding was announced last minute it's going to be difficult to get flights at short notice. Also he said it's an experience because kids will get to see parts of France and we will spend the day in Spain on the way back and sleep over there. He also wants to do something special as it's our daughters 5th birthday on the 29th December.

Now I'm worried about it all. He's said he's thought it through and has every bit of the trip planned. I don't want to say no because I never went on any trips and never went abroad when I was a kid and I want my kids to experience things. He said we will be getting the ferry at Dover and we will sleep over in small hotels on the way and one of them will be in France. On the way back we will stay in a hotel in Spain too. Accommodation in Portugal is being sorted out by his family.

It's a long journey but I'm prepared to do it for my kids and we will make lots of preparations and make regular stops. He doesn't mind driving and has drove to London and back on the same day ( picking his family up at airport). Has anyone ever done it and how was it?

We have had a lot of problems recently and I'm actually surprised he's suggested us all to go.

Is it a stupid thing to do?

I told my mum and she said its sounds exciting and will be fun for the kids if planned properly and their dad has said she's welcome to come along ( if she can contribute to her hotel costs ect). if she can get time off work and it's extra help for us with kids. ( he has a 7 seater car)
She likes the idea of coming too.

It's actually cheaper adding it all up than going by flight and with us sharing the cost too.

So has anyone got any tips or ideas I would be grateful.

Lots

3 adults and 4 kids can fly to Almeira on Xmas day for £718 @ 06:25 from Manchester. Do that and have a Xmas dinner in Spain. Then hire a car to drive to Spanish border or Seville (lovely) and get a train to Lisbon. Bet you could do that for less than driving. Only 8-9 drive.

Is there a good train route to Lisbon, I wonder?

OP, it's great that your DH is working hard and doing overtime, and wants his family with him for this wedding . And doesn't want to miss your DD's b'day. I also understand why you want to go and for the kids to have that experience .

But for this trip, people are posting from experience. It does sound daunting, and it is a lot of ££ and many days in the car for a very little time spent seeing Lisbon, and family.

I understand what you are saying about your cash flow and not having the money for flights now. Is there any chance you could put them on a credit card, or your Mum would be able to give you a short term loan?

It just seems as if you could get more VALUE out of the trip by spending a bit more on flights . More time to relax , kids get to know family, have a proper holiday in Lisbon: more fun than sitting in the car.

But you know your kids best. If they will be happy to do that 10 hour journey 3 days in a row, and then do the same thing again 2 days later , then go for it.

Manchester to Dover is a long enough drive. Do you drive, too ? When will your DH sleep if you leave at midnight? Is no drinking on Christmas Day ok? I imagine your DH is Portuguese so familiar with driving on the right? That can make it a little more tiring to begin with if you are not used to it.

If you can fly you really shouldn't need more than 2 checked bags plus hand luggage between you.

Good luck with whatever you decide, OP.

OP, don't get angry because you didn't get the responses you wanted.

We are a very adventurous family, and wouldn't do it. Believe me I have driven loads of miles since I had dc, across the continent. Even in winter. But what you are planning will not be a fun adventure trip.

The weather is a big problem, everything is easier when you can just get out of the car and sit in the sunshine.

For me, food etc is not the issue, after all, you could pack your supplies in the roof box and it would stay chilled.

It's the relentless long drive to only stay for a couple of days. It will be exhausting, beyond belief.

I drove to Greece on my own with the dc this summer, we planned 6 days for the drive and I only drove 5 hours a day. That was manageable, and still fun for the dc and a holiday for me.

Driving for days without proper chill out time at a nice (!) hotel sounds just like a recioe for disaster. Sorry.

recipe even

"Yes we was planning to set off at midnight so they sleep most of that drive"

But what about yourselves?. How long will you have been awake by that point; tiredness and cars can be a lethal combination. Its too all easy to drop off at the wheel.

This driving distance is over 1500 miles (that is from Manchester to Lisbon one way). What you are proposing is further than driving from London to John O'Groats - and back.

KLM are doing flights from Manchester to Lisbon; I would seriously be looking at flying there, it will likely cost less as well emotionally as well as financially.

TAPPortugal flies Manchester - Lisbon. Prices are cheaper on Christmas day. You do have to check on sites like Expedia that it is a short flight (about 2.5 hours) , not one with lengthy stop overs etc. Some airlines include checked baggage.

Apparently airline prices are due to rise 55% over the next week or so - unless that is a marketing ploy.

But if you can fly on Christmas day, and be flexible by a day or so for a return flight you can get decentish prices. Still expensive, but it would mean you would have a good length of time to enjoy Lisbon and family.

Easier to say, than come by money - but not sure why you would spend a ton of hard-come-by money to sit in the car for days.

If you go for it - good luck, and hope you prove us all wrong!

Airport taxes in Lisbon have just gone up today in Lisbon and Porto.

I don't know if it will affect prices for flights this month.

Its too all easy to drop off at the wheel.

That is a factor to consider. All too often Portuguese expats die in Spanish and French roads when returning on holiday. Although they tend to do the trip from France in one day.

Sorry don't talk about dying here
Not necessary and rather extreme

Actually, it's wholly necessary, there are fatal accidents on Portuguese roads all the time - it's a big problem

If you start this journey at midnight how much sleep would you have both had in the previous 24 hours?. You have not addressed that particular question at all.

Actually driving whilst overtired is as dangerous as driving whilst intoxicated. Its not unnecessary nor too extreme to actually write about.

When we drive to the south of france DH and I swap around. However, I am hopeless driving at night or in the dark - my eyesight is ropey. We usually leave London at 4.30am and drive it in one go (about 9 hours drive plus stops). That is a long haul - takes about 15-18 hours altogether.

I will never forget once, some 10+ years ago, arriving at Le Havre after a night drive to the Channel. A bloke was in the car in front - with wife and 2 kids. On the ferry he collapsed in front of me, and I had to go to the reception to find a Dr and the wife. He looked like a fit slim bloke in his 40s. He'd driven all night, existing on coffee and mars bars, and had a heart attack. The wife was distraught.

I'm all for maximizing holidays, but some things aren't worth it. We no longer drive over night.

We would sleep very early in the previous day up until the midnight we are setting off so we would have sleep beforehand. Then by the Tim we reach our hotel on the way there we will have more sleep so it is doable safely

Don't see the need for horror stories
People then trying to relate to my trip and make it sound like its definitely going to happen to us

We have looked at a different route
Cuts 2 hours driving off the journey of we decide to drive

You've had plenty of advice from people who have some experience of driving long distances on the continent. You don't appear to be taking much of it on board, which is your prerogative.

I think it sounds like a hellish trip and wouldn't do it. And a lot of my friends think I am mad driving 3x a year on average to the south of france, a much shorter journey.

If you go for it, please do come back and tell us how it went.

What are your actual dates OP? Can you be flexible about going for Christmas?

You could fly Liverpool - Faro from 26-30th or £1100 on Easyjet (hand baggage). Any good?

I couldn't contemplate that drive for all the reasons everyone's mentioned, but we are a car (and ferry) sick family...

with four kids and having to stop frequently you cant rely on gaining two hours here and there.

be realistic and add several hours on to whatever the estimated time is for each days driving - if you get to hotel early then great!

if your first day is going to be a midnight start then you will be extremely tired by day two or three of the journey.

will you have the change to rest there in lisbon? or will it be full on parties/family/wedding?

In fact if you're prepared to go for Xmas you could travel on the 23rd-30t direct from Liverpool to Faro for £887 for the whole family?

www.skyscanner.net/transport/flights/lpl/fao/151223/151230/airfares-from-liverpool-to-faro-in-december-2015.html?adults=2&children=4&infants=0&cabinclass=economy&rtn=1&preferdirects=true&outboundaltsenabled=true&inboundaltsenabled=true#results

if you plan this route www.distancesfrom.com/gb/distance-from-Liverpool-to-Lisbon-Portugal/DistanceHistory/20118604.aspx

bear in mind the middle of Spain will be very cold espec at night after dark eg around Vitoria, Salamanca and maybe snow storms that time of year. I've been stuck on motorway in norther in spain in snow that time of year

you cant really count on shaving off two hours - that's really nothing on a 23-24 hour drive.....

you need to plan contingency for snow/storms/wind/rain and it taking much longer.

Don't see the need for horror stories
People then trying to relate to my trip and make it sound like its definitely going to happen to us

Precisely no-one has said it's definitely going to happen to you

You seem to be taking this all very personally, and that's not what people are trying to do. Most people on the thread are talking from experience, and trying to give you a realistic impression of what driving some 3200 miles, and 48 hours of driving (minimum) with small kids would be like. I

We regularly drive to the south of france, and further, with kids and have done since they were tiny. Driving 1600 miles is a 3 day journey - thats 8 hours of driving a day minimum, plus stops (before the Christmas/New year traffic delays, plus chunnel delays that time of year - last year there were 3 hour delays at the chunnel going back just after New Year) because you are going to have to stop lots on the way to eat, wee, and if you don't stop and look at things what is the point? That's a minimum of 4 nights accommodation and 6 days of meals on the road altogether. Then 2 days at the wedding and home again!

You and the kids just aren't going to get anything out of the experience; I see that you want to give your kids an adventure, to see things you didn't, but this experience isn't going to get them that. It's going to to get them the inside of a car for 50+ hours, a few manky service stations (no-one's mentioned the vileness of many french aire toilets yet...) and some cheap hotels by the side of the motorway. For a 2 week holiday at the end - maybe. For a party and 2 nights respite before doing it all again - No.

The safety stuff is real, OP. In the EU professional lorry drivers are only allowed to drive for 9 hours a day, with exceptions with stipulated breaks for 10 hours on a maximum of two days within a week.

You would be at the absolute limit of this if you have such a short turn around in Lisbon. And this is for the purposes of safety amongst experienced drivers who know the roads and do not have 4 kids arguing singing and joking in the back seats.

Sorry this thread is not giving you the encouragement you hoped for - people are on your side and pointing out the practicalities so that you can think them over - forewarned is forearmed and all that.

Everyone understands how lovely it would be to see all the family, visit a new country and enjoy a holiday. But whereas you have done a list of the 'cons' of flying, this is a list of the cons of driving.

I have took on board what everyone had said. I know it's not going to be easy but it might not be totally dreadful either. I think people are making it sound worse. They are making the journey sound longer than it is. We have sat down and looked at the route. Roughly altogether the trip will be 10 days. It will in no way the uS 4 days to get there and 4 days back only leaving 2 days in Lisbon. I think people gave massively over exaggerated on that. We have looked at it and it we will be able to spend at least 7 days in Lisbon. My husband knows the route and has sat down and planned it by the hour and it doesn't take 4 days to get there at all. The wedding is on the 29th December and we are aiming to get there on the 28th which will be in the evening. That's way we will have some resting time before anything happens. I know the weather won't be great and the driving will be a lot. We have looked into flying too and that's a possibility (depending on whether we can get the funds on time as we don't have a credit card and can't get one and my mum can't lend is any )
Also when you drive through these counties they accept expired passports if they are less than 5 years expired. Now me and my husband have passports that are up to date. We have just had to apply for my youngest two passports because they didn't have one at all. And my older two have a passport but they expired July this year so of we was to fly we would have to renew this costing another £92. If we was to drive these expired passports are useable ( before anyone says we have rung be appropriate places and checked of this is ok and they have said it's perfectly fine as long as we are Driving and not flying and as long as you actually have a passport at least.)
So that's where flying becomes difficult