Talk to me about driving to the south of France?

[Travelmaama]

We're planning a trip to Toulouse this summer, and we are considering driving over rather than flying and hiring a car on arrival.

The positive part of my brain is saying this will be a lovely adventure, we can stay over night somewhere along the way and see the country as we go.

The other part of me is saying don't be crazy 😂

Any tips on somewhere nice to stay as a stop off? How to time the journey?

Me, DH, DS12 and DD2.

@Menomeno

"From memory you have to carry a high vis vest, warning triangle, breathalysers, spare bulbs and all your documents (insurance and ownership papers)."

(my emphasis in the above )

For info breathalysers are not required......that rule lasted about 5 minutes....

The ferry option seems great. It’s a part of holiday teen and toddler can experience, and 7.5 hrs is then much better drive. Depending on ferry arrival time at Caen, you could then easily do say a 3hr drive, stop, 2hr drive. Stay overnight just one location. And finish the final 2.5-3hr the next day. Ferry and overnight breaks it up for everyone

The previous discussion over kit needed prompted me to go and have a look at the official rules for the first time in a long time 😬 and it looks like carrying spare bulbs is no longer a requirement either..

https://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/reglementation-liee-aux-modes-de-deplacements/en-voiture/equipements-obligatoires-en-voiture

Our local flunch closed down . We used to laugh that it sounded like 'Flinch'. Another favourite is the 'Courtepaille' chain which translates as 'Short straw'. A winning marketing slogan for an eaterie.

Definitely get this. We drove straight past the queues at the tolls with it.

Lots of good advice here, you just have to choose which way suits your family.

The ferry is a great idea, but can be expensive.

If you don't do that, I personally do like the idea of a very early start, as the kids will often then sleep for the drive to the shuttle. I wouldn't stop overnight there, or stop in Calais. The kids can walk about a little bit/use the toilets while you're queuing at Folkestone, and on the train. Then you can get a few hours driving under your belt before lunch.

Stop at one of the big Aires with an nice restaurant and have a leisurely lunch. Then you can do a long drive through the afternoon (with stops as necessary) to arrive at your overnight destination with plenty of time to relax for the evening, so that you all sleep well. From experience, I wouldn't stop at a motorway hotel a long way from facilities, as there's not much to do, but find somewhere in a not too big town where there interesting places to walk to and a choice of restaurants.

Then the following day, set off comfortably in the morning, stop for breakfast, stop for lunch, and then you're there.

But you probably will need the Crit'air sticker, but they are easy to apply for, and only take a couple of weeks for the sticker to come through.

https://certificat-air.gouv.fr/

I have taken the overnight ferry to Bilbao and from there it is only 3 to 4 hours to get to most places in South West France. Thr boat was actually very nice, decent food and comfy cabins. You are not saving any time or money as such but you arrive not absolutely shattered.

I live down here between Bordeaux and Toulouse!
We've done the drive several times and we have 3 kids under 6.
It's easy enough and there's plenty of services to stop at for wees and snacks.
I'd recommend the Chateau D'Ige for a stopover!

www.chateaudige.com/en/

Yes definitely- worth the money

And you get to play chicken with the barriers by hoping they raise before you hit them.

Lovely part of the world, I have spent plenty of time rowing on the river Lot on various training camps.

We have used the Bilbao or Santander ferry to get to south west France as we regard the crossing as apart of the holiday and enjoy the onboard entertainment and dolphin spotting. However it is probably at least £1200 return on the Spanish routes so that is why I suggested the Caen crossing which is cheaper. DFDS Newhaven to Dieppe is also worth considering as cheaper than Brittany Ferries but I wouldn’t do the overnight crossing on this route as you’d hardly have time to get to sleep.

For travel check out…https://www.bison-fute.gouv.fr/webapp/tabs/traffic?view=map&vh=true
it will tell you days to avoid. Also use Waze… if there are hold ups it may help. Motorway petrol is pricey… easy to find cheap petrol a few km off the motorway. Better to have a picnic and stop in the small motorway aires without petrol/service station. Many have play areas. Have fun / we’ve done it lots with small kids. And Toulouse is fabulous!

We used to drive to the Costa Blanca from Manchester regularly when we had a dog.

DD was 5 when we started driving and to be honest DC didn't see much because they were plugged in to the in car DVDs at the time. They were word perfect with Outnumbered and Doc Martin when we got back. However for us it was lovely.

We avoided the motorway and drove down the A roads, it only adds an hour or two to the total journey (I second using the Via Michelin App). You can see the change in region by whatever is for sale along the side of the road.

We were belting down so only stopped twice en route, somewhere north of Rouen and somewhere near the Pyrenees. In your shoes I wouldn't stop in Dover, I'd cross the Channel then stop somewhere more interesting in Picardy. If you want a second stop the Loire Valley is beautiful.

I'd also avoid Paris and go via Rouen and Tours instead.

We were regular drivers down to Italy when the DD's were young. I think there are two ways to do it. Meander or race. We were the racers! Caught an early train, 7ish, stop at Beaune/Dijon by 3pm. Only a couple of quick stops along the way, so you get a long relaxed afternoon/evening. Same second day, through Mount Blanc and at the Adriatic by mid afternoon. We also did the German route a couple of times, over the alps and down through the lakes. Magical.

I'd agree with this as someone who lives between the UK and France. Travelling via Ouistreham is a good way to get further South easily, plus the scenery is so much better if you avoid having to drive down from Calais. If you travel during the day it's very civilised and there's a play area on the ship. Or you can travel overnight if that suits better.

If you're going to travel to France again another time, it might be worth joining Brittany Ferries club voyage scheme. It gives you up to 35% discount, and discounted/free cabins, plus money off food etc.

Another benefit is that industrial action (common) tends to impact Calais rather more than other ports.

I'd agree about getting a tag for the tolls, you'll be glad you did when you see people who can't reach thebmachine to pay, or can't find their card, or have to get out as the machine is on the other side. Some péages will have a 30km sign, which means you don't even have to stop and wait for the beep, just keep driving at 30km/hr and the barrier opens as you approach.

No way do tolls cost you €150! I drive it every summer from Belgium to further south than Toulouse, and it costs around €45 each way (as long as you don't get caught on one of the many French speed cameras that they put up every summer!). Remember that to drive around big French cities now you will need to buy a sticker to display on your windscreen to show the emissions rating of your car. I would definitely try and avoid driving on a Saturday if you can - the roads are crazy busy as it's the handover day for many rental properties. We always leave on a Friday or Sunday and do a stopover somewhere en route. The French have a great network of cheap hotels near the main motorways where you can stay for €100 or so for a night, and there are usually restaurants etc in the same area. We often use B&B Hotels as they have great family rooms.
Taking out the Belgian part of our journey, it probably takes us around 8 hours to drive from the Eastern edge of Paris to about 50km south of Toulouse (avoiding Saturdays). It's a pretty straightforward journey, and French service stations are a million times better (and more frequent!) than UK ones, so you can make as many stops en route as you want.

I haven’t done it for years, but did many times with very young kids/toddlers and we loved it! We stayed overnight at the premier inn in Dover, kids eat free, and the kids really felt like the holiday had begun from that point. Also meant that we could get further into France on the first day without being knackered. A family room at a Premier inn if booked in advance can be as low as £40.

The services along the route (again sorry can’t remember exact details) loads had really good food and picnic areas etc etc and we always had things like bat and ball etc in the car and again benefits of having taken your own car from home you take things like a big cool bag and games and wot not. The French supermarket stock ups are amazing, and their snackage is top tier so car journeys with plenty of stops for French chocolatey snacks, baguettes and ham and cheese become part of the adventure. My eldest still talks about our ham/cheese/pickle picnics by the side of the road in France.

Again it was a good while back, but if any of you has a disability/blue badge have a check if that gives you a reduction or free tolls and also entry into low traffic zones - I know it does somewhere in Europe but might be getting mixed up with Italy (also driven there from UK!)

I hate dealing with hire cars, and hate airports, and find the convenience of having my own car and all my bits and bobs with me outweighs the long drives. I don’t really mind driving so I don’t see it as some kind of stressful thing, quite the opposite. I’d take my car everywhere if I could!

@whiteroseredrose

We avoided the motorway and drove down the A roads, it only adds an hour or two to the total journey

I think care might need to be taken with terminology here because a lot of the A roads, the major autoroutes, are now motorways.

There are going to be differing ideas on this but IMHO getting from the north down to Toulouse one of your best bets (having negotiated/avoided Paris) is to pick up the A20..That's an autoroute but also to all intents and purposes a genuine motorway.

It's two or three lane, some of it peage, that runs from not far south of Orleans down to just south of Montauban, where it joins the A62 - which is another Autoroute on paper that's actually a motorway in reality that brings you into Toulouse from the northwest.

Trying to actively trying to avoid anything that looks like a motorway and sticking to the Route Nationals (many with 80 km/h limits) would add multiple hours just to the time taken to get from Paris to Toulouse.

KnittedCardi I’ve done the German route too, I think we had about three weeks though for that trip! I’m always trying to convince people to do it, nobody ever seems to fancy it. I found it quite wonderful, and the alps just completely breathtaking. This thread has made me think about doing it again….

@notimagain I am a bit puzzled by your post as Autoroute is literally the french word for motorway. Both the A20 and A62 are proper motorways. What we call A roads are route nationales in France and I don't recommend using them for more than a short section of the journey. If one looks on via michelin the recommended route from Caen to Toulouse is down to Le Mans on a dual carriageway that has the odd service station (this road has never been busy when we've used it), then the A10 to just north of Poitiers where it looks like you'd have to do a short drive on a route nationale to join the A20 at Limoges. From there on it is all motorway. If you come from Calais the fastest routes take you via Paris which is another reason I wouldn't cross to Calais for south west France (fine if you are going to the alps or south east france as the route goes to the East of Paris).

If you take the Caen route it is just over 8 hours to Toulouse. I think Dieppe would be the next best option if the Caen route works out too expensive.

The A88 autoroute starts at Falaise, 50km from Ouistreham and joins the autoroute to Le Mans. It is all dual carriageway before the A88, though it does involve the Caen ring road. And yes autoroutes are motorways and N roads are the equivalent of A roads in the UK. Reminds me of a friend who used their French SatNav in the UK and it thought M stood for Monsieur rather than motorway. Prenez Monsieur Vingt-Cinq instead of "take the M25". 😂

@biarritz

I am a bit puzzled by your post as Autoroute is literally the french word for motorway.

I was replying to a comment that a pp made that "We avoided the motorway and drove down the A roads," ...

Maybe I've been living down here too long but as I read it the advice as written above and thought it might be confusing to the OP because as you rightly say an A road, as in Autoroute here in France almost always is motorway......

If you really want to avoid motorway style roads you have to take the RNs and the Ds, which are the equivalent of the British A roads...

I live pretty close to Toulouse, get back to the UK by road occasionally and it's A as in autoroute almost all the way, similar route to the one you describe though I'm not sure I've done the whole Channel>Toulouse bit in 8 hours...

@notimagain I'm envious of you living near Toulouse I love that part of France. We have always split the journey even from Caen as tend to prefer taking daytime ferries. We once stopped in Brives and another time in Limoges.

Ahh, happy childhood memories, we used to do this every year ❤️
IIRC, we’d leave super early, get an early Dover to Calais ferry and drive to Beaune for a B and B stopover. There was a snack van in Beaune that did the most amazing croque Monsieur!