Driving in France without a navigator - any tips?

[INeedNewShoes]

DD and I are off on our first holiday abroad together. She is only 16m so although I'm sure she'd be delighted to sit in the front and chew the map, I'm not going to let her navigate.

I have driven in France a few times so I'm not fazed by the actual driving but in the past I have always gone with a friend and we have shared the driving, navigated for each other and been each other's second pair of eyes on the road.

The drive is coming out at 4.5 hours on the route planners. I have printed out a route planner for the journey from ViaMichelin. Looking at this I'm 90% sure no toll roads are involved so at least I don't have to worry about dealing with toll booths. I will write the key junctions on a post-it and stick it on the dashboard.

Does anyone have any tips on managing the drive on my own?

I'm torn as to whether to use Googlemaps or not. I use it in the UK to navigate around traffic but traffic shouldn't be an issue out of season in France.

I too am in France.
You need to keep your eyes peeled for the little yellow road numbers particularly when you are off the main routes.
The speed limit is now 80Kph (50Mph) on all 'single carriageway' roads, it used to be 90.
As said I don't think there are 'peage' (toll) roads where you are going but you can select 'no toll roads' in Google maps. This can be 'entertaining' when you get diverted off a dual carriageway through tiny villages and then on to another dual carriageway to avoid a peage.
Take it easy and enjoy your trip!

Thanks for all the advice and sorry I didn't get back to the thread sooner; wrapping up work and then packing was a major task!

I have printed route planners and bought a road atlas as a back up just in case I have any issues with my phone. I've also tried to remember the major towns en route as suggested so that I can use the road signs as much as possible.

On the off chance one of you sees this and can respond before lunchtime tomorrow, I have a couple of questions...

On the ferry, will I be able to find and use a lift to get DD and I up from the car deck to the passenger decks? And will I manage to push our pushchair from the car to the lift? I've done loads of ferry journeys but never noticed the lifts and it always feels like you're weaving between cars to get to the doors... Is trying to use the pushchair a silly idea?

And, Regarding the reduced speed limit on the smaller roads, are there signs to remind you as you join those roads or do I just need to know what sort of road I'm on and the related speed limit?

In answer: yes there are lifts. Also lots of helpful staff to show you where they are. If you are traveling with Brittany Ferries, a staff member will give you a card with the number of the deck and door you need (deck 5, door c sort of thing).
Allow time to wait for the lift and get back to your car when docking. It took DD a while last year.

@INeedNewShoes When you get to the port let them know when you check in that you need the lift and they will put you in a separate line and park you near the lift.

For the speed limits, once you are off the dual carriage way the speed limit is 80 out of towns and 50 as soon as you enter a village or town.

What frenchfancy says. I used to be an interantional coach driver. This was always what we did on the ferry if we had older passengers/passengers with mobility issues/young families. It's totally standard and they are happy to help.

Well done on having maps! I drive for 10 years, during the period that SatNav first appeared. Although it's undeniably a useful tool, it is no substitute for having an up-to-date atlas, a plan in your head of where you're going and the ability to notice road signs.

You sound very sensible, confident and well organised so I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck and enjoy!!

Just as a word of warning - children under 10 cannot sit up the front in France, it is illegal!

An update... It all went very smoothly. Thank you for the suggestion to ask Brittany ferries to be near the lift. They were great about it and did exactly that and once properly on board the staff were brilliant and helpful with things like carrying our tray over to a table in the café etc. It was a very positive customer service experience!

The children's play areas were a bit crap but as we had a cabin DD had the chance to play in there anyway with some toys we took with us so that didn't matter.

Both drives went very smoothly and took the exact amount of time that my ViaMichelin route planner had said. On the way there I only needed the SatNav for the smaller roads near our destination as the road signs to Rennes/St Nazaire were very clear.

It was a really lovely holiday and the traveling was a nice surprise being non-stressful so now I'm looking forward to next year!

@Ineednewshoes - Using googlemaps shouldn't use up any data but if you are worried then you can get the route up on googlemaps and then turn your phone onto airplane mode and it will still work.
We did this many times during a long roadtrip holiday in America as I was paranoid about data charges. As long as you've got Wi-Fi or signal when you press 'start' then you can carry on without the phone using data.

Try it on a journey in the UK first if you want to double check it works

Cross post fail! Glad you had a good time!