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Original poster

Tips for surviving car/ferry/car to France?

54 replies

hiveofactivity · 03/07/2017 12:24

We've never done this sort of trip before - 2 hr drive then 6 hr ferry then a 200 mile drive in France to a campsite.
We didn't really think it through and probably should have flown but too late now...

Dp will have to do all the driving (I can't drive). Oh and dd (5) will be sitting in the front as she gets badly car sick (even when dosed up on the drugs).

Any tips for saving our sanity?

OP posts:

frenchfancy · 03/07/2017 13:35

It'll be fine. If the ferry is during the day get yourself a cabin. They don't cost much on day crossing and it gives you a base and your own loo. Get DH to have a nap if he's doing the driving. 200 miles on French roads should be easy (unless it is one of the busy summer Saturdays)

namechange20050 · 03/07/2017 13:39

You'll be fine! 200 miles on French roads is a doddle. So much easier driving over there. I've just done a round trip to the French Riviera (1400 miles) with a toddler and it was quite fun!

Palomb · 03/07/2017 13:46

French roads are so much easier than uk roads so you'll be there in no time. When my kids were younger I used to make them a bag of little bits and pieces to keep them busy. The eye spy books do one for driving in France.

Nowerdays we just take the iPads and chargers. You can download stuff from BBC iplayer and Netflix I think too.

theflickyones · 03/07/2017 13:48

We used to do this trip as kids. Scotland to the Alps.
One year my aunt made us goody bags. Full of little things to keep us entertained but we had to do a 'task' first. So find 5 red cars then take out an item etc. It was fun.

CryingShame · 03/07/2017 13:49

Just to warn you that children can't sit in the front of the car in France. We looked at driving to Holland and that was our struggle as DS is also a poor traveller.

Will you be doing the France driving at night so your DD is asleep and less likely to throw up in the back.

Original poster

hiveofactivity · 03/07/2017 13:50

Thanks all - we've got a cabin with a bed on the ferry and plan is for dp to rest while dd and I explore the ferry.

ipads, books etc are a no-no in the car as they make dd sick. We've got audiobooks and am hoping combination of travel sickness pills and early start will mean she sleeps for a bit a least.

Any recs for best in-car breakfast snacks and easiest dinner to have when we get to the campsite? It will be circa 8pm so don't know what will be open...
Need something resilient to hours in a hot car!

OP posts:

Palomb · 03/07/2017 13:51

Have you tried sea bands for the travel sickness op? They worked brilliant for us on the long Bilbao -Portsmouth crossing last year in choppy weather. They are magic things!

SkiBike007 · 03/07/2017 13:53

Sticker books, colouring, trumps card games, look n find stuff, talking books or music they like, big pillows in car to rest/sleep on, cuddle toy, lots snacks that don't crumble too much, treat it as a big adventure the journey is part of the holiday - how many x & x can you count type stuff. Pack swim kit on the top so if need be it's a "if you behave we will go swimming the moment we get there " type reward/encouragement enjoy

SkiBike007 · 03/07/2017 13:56

Lying down in the cabin with sea bands worked for me. Take peppermint tea, suck Mint sweets, and ate ginger nuts biscuits. we did Plymouth-roscoff crossing a few times and I get sick sea feeling as does my oldest DD but stay lying down was fine. We had a kettle so made breakfast Of instant porridge and cuppaT tea.

Cric · 03/07/2017 13:56

We just did this! Left at 10am and arrived at midnight. Disney audio cd was her entertainment and she was quite happy. Stopped every couple of hours for a stretch. Good luck!

SkiBike007 · 03/07/2017 13:56

Arrh auto correct!

Babbaganush · 03/07/2017 14:04

If you have room in the car take stuff with you, squash is expensive and not easy to come by, cereals, small amounts of herbs / spices / seasoning. Packet seasoning mixes can be handy to add to fresh meat, baked beans, small amount of washing powder etc to save on buying a big one.

Something quick to eat - take a bag of pasta and a jar of sauce.

If you are travelling on a Saturday then you need to factor in possible long delays around large towns / road intersections. Make sure you have plenty of drinks in the car, we have a cold box that plugs into the car socket, it is fantastic for long trips, keeps everything cold and we just pull over and picnic. I load it up with food and take a couple of plates, a knife and a packet of wipes, we keep bread / crisps in the car - we make up sandwiches as we go!

Original poster

hiveofactivity · 03/07/2017 14:10

CryingShame

We looked into this and thought we could put dd in the front, provided we used a proper car seat (which we have) rather than a booster seat.

www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/country/france/
says "Children under the age of 10 are not allowed to travel on the front seats of vehicles without using a special child restraint, unless there is no rear seat in the vehicle, or the rear seat is already occupied with children under 10, or there are no seat belts."

It then lists the type of car seats by weight - dd would require her proper child car seat.

If we've got this wrong I think I'm going to book flights and swallow the cost as I can't put her through 3 hours of throwing up every 20 mins....

OP posts:

chantilly70 · 03/07/2017 14:10

If you are going on Brittany Ferries the time will fly by as they organise children's entertainment during school holidays and there is also an onboard cinema. We usually eat in the restaurant and when our children were younger they used to like the goody bags they were given. Although if your dd is travel sick it might be riskier eating on board. We tend to book a day cabin as if we've got up at crack of dawn it is nice to take it in turns to have a rest.

It will be no problem for your OH to do all the driving for that distance. The speed limit is 80mph in France and generally speaking there are fewer traffic jams so it is easier to cover a long distance in a short time. Nevertheless the roads can get busy in the middle of the day on peak summer Saturdays.

I would recommend learning to drive in the future.

Daffydil · 03/07/2017 14:11

Car snacks - no chocolate. Packs of mini party rings/mini Jammy dodgers/soreen bars/brioches.

Dinner on the first night - chilli or bolognese or similar. Frozen and put in the cool box with lunch. Freeze bottles of water to drink on the way down too. Keep frozen dinner at bottom of the cool box with a few layers of newspaper between it and the rest of the cool box contents.

200 miles in France will be the easiest bit. Look at sanef toll thingies for the car.

Babbaganush · 03/07/2017 14:22

Sorry but your dd can't sit in the front - it is only allowed if there are no rear seats, if those seats are occupied by under 10s or if there are no rear seat belts.

snowgirl1 · 03/07/2017 14:24

Ooh, watching this thread as we're also going on our first driving hol in France.

Picked up the suggestion from another thread about getting a Sanef thing that PP mentioned - at the toll booths it apparently allows you to go through the auto pay lanes (shorter/no queues) but there is a charge for it, so depends whether you'll ever do a driving hol in France again www.saneftolling.co.uk/subscription

Babbaganush · 03/07/2017 14:40

We hired our TAG via this site. We collected it at Folkstone services before getting Eurotunnel and dropped it off on the way back, can also be posted.

www.tolltickets.com/default.aspx?lang=en-GB&mnu=c

Original poster

hiveofactivity · 03/07/2017 16:06

Babba - I posted about this earlier, the RAC site says:
"Children under the age of 10 are not allowed to travel on the front seats of vehicles without using a special child restraint, unless there is no rear seat in the vehicle, or the rear seat is already occupied with children under 10, or there are no seat belts."

Which I thought meant they can travel in the front with a special child restraint (ie proper child car seat)?

OP posts:

WhatHaveIFound · 03/07/2017 16:14

Unfortunately not, your DD will have to sit in the back since your car has rear seats.

If she's likely to be sick you may be best sitting in the back with her.

Jinglebells99 · 03/07/2017 16:16

driving-france.co.uk/driving-in-france-with-children/

Original poster

hiveofactivity · 03/07/2017 16:38

Aaaagh!!! I always sit in the back if dd is in the back but the car sickness has become so bad, the GP had suggested putting her in the front for longer journeys.

I'm on the verge of booking flights.

OP posts:

SwiftAnchor · 03/07/2017 16:43

Have you tried Phergan, i think it is prescription only, but was great for DD when she suffered bad car sickness when she was young?

SwiftAnchor · 03/07/2017 16:44

Phenergan sorry!

namechangingagainagain · 03/07/2017 16:45

you can buy sick bags on amazon?

Also if you can get her to sit in the middle seat ( if seat belts fit) she will at least have a decent view out of the front despite being in the back which should help. Lots of fresh air an open window helps a lot with my lot too. Spend as much time as possible out on deck on the ferry.

The french main roads are generally quite straight and dull- you'll cover ground quickly and not as vom inducing as most uk roads.

Where are you going? even with flights you still have a journey either end.... and you wont have a car with you there.

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