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Original poster

Driving or flying to France with a baby

37 replies

JuneM · 18/04/2024 21:16

I would love some advice ...

Planning a trip to France and looking at driving (ie eurotunnel at Dover where we are about 2.5 hours away) then it's an extra 10 hours partially on toll roads so we would probably stay one night in a location along the route. We will be in France for a couple of weeks

We will have a baby who will be 9 months when we travel and a dog ... is this a ridiculous idea?
Has anyone done it before?
I'm a FTM so would love some advice.

I know babies cannot be in car seats for more than 2 hours so of course there would be a lot of stopping / feeding / nappy changing etc...

If we fly the dog would stay at home!

Thank you!

OP posts:
fruitbrewhaha · 18/04/2024 21:19

I did it for a few years running when we had small children. It meant you could throw all
you needed in a car. But then I sort of felt
you needed all that stuff for the car journey.
Its totally doable and easy.
Dog might find it hard.

minipie · 18/04/2024 22:29

I would fly hands down. Mine got very very whingy, rapidly converting to screamy, on long car journeys at this age.

9 month olds often want to be mobile, this is just about possible in a plane (lots of walking up and down the aisle for eg) but not in a car.

Will there be a cot available when you get there? Everything else can be brought on the plane if necessary.

lavenderlou · 18/04/2024 22:32

Have always driven with mine, even when babies, as we can take all the stuff we need in the car. We always went to the West Coast though and took the ferry to St Malo or Cherbourg, so not as far to drive. They slept a lot in the car when little.

reluctantbrit · 19/04/2024 08:11

We drove with DD at that age to from London to Cornwall but thanks to traffic it ended up taking 11 hours. It was a disaster, DD refused to sleep, we had to stop every 2 hours, making the journey even longer.

We then needed to see family in Germany, originally we planned to drive (8 hours plus tunnel driving alone) but after that Cornwall trip we flew.

Car seat and pram went into the hold, we had a travel cot small enough to be packed into a suitcase. We flew BA which meant we had generous hand luggage allowance.

The Cornwall trip also showed that we didn't need tons of stuff for DD as half of what we took was never used.

Revelatio · 19/04/2024 08:32

We have been doing this at least three times a year from about 9m. Ours had control of their neck and head by then so could be in a car seat longer than 2hrs which was lucky as they slept most of the way! We have found it really easy, you can bring what you want, having a car in rural France is essential for us. And you can stock up what room is left in the car with wine and cheese on the way home!

Sourisblanche · 19/04/2024 08:37

Have always driven to the south of France from babies to teens, although halfway through France I’m usually heard declaring never again! Once there, it’s great to have the car for day trips.

Your dog needs a health certificate now from a U.K. vet. I’m just back from Paris and it cost me £238 (thanks Brexit) plus the worming tablet on the way back from a French vet, although that’s not new.

Flatleak · 19/04/2024 08:44

I would drive overnight. That's what we do and makes it much easier with small children

MidnightPatrol · 19/04/2024 08:50

i mean… driving is possible but you’d need to time it with naps to actually make any progress. Stopping too regularly will just drag it out.

Depends on the baby re: tolerance of car seat, mine wouldn’t have put up with it!

BurbageBrook · 19/04/2024 08:53

I think it completely depends on the baby. Some like their car seats. Some hate them. My baby always cries in the car (we've tried different car seats, nothing works!) and we'd way prefer a flight with her than a long car journey. She was fab when we flew recently!

2proseccosplease · 19/04/2024 09:08

I would fly. We travelled to the south of France when DD was 6 months. When we booked it she wasn't born and I'd thought flying would be so tough so decided on train instead, but actually flying was super easy and meant she could move around more.

The only downside is you will need to take a car seat if you're planning any taxi/hire car trips. We got the BeSafe car seat travel bag which is great. You can chuck loads of nappies and other baby bits in with the seat to save on luggage.

InTheRainOnATrain · 19/04/2024 09:18

How is your baby on car journeys? Will they sleep? Are they generally content? That would clinch it for me. There’s definitely a convenience to throwing everything in the car and being on your own schedule and stopping as often as you like, not worrying about other passengers etc. but not at the expense of an upset overtired baby because they hate the car seat.

I didn’t worry too much about the 2 hour rule once they were that age as I didn’t see how being in the seat is as much of an issue once they’re walking and sitting unaided, as mine were at 9MO, and it’s not like you apply it to the pram seat, or sat in the highchair if you’re having a long restaurant meal… So if they were asleep I’d push on longer. I reckon we stopped every 2.5-3 hours on average.

theduchessofspork · 19/04/2024 09:20

Flying will be much easier

Driving - might be fine, might leave you with PTSD

drawnfrommemory · 19/04/2024 09:38

We did this exact car trip a couple of times when DD was 7 months (Bergerac) and 9 months (Alps) and it was fine - DD actually slept a lot of the time and was generally happy in the car. I don't remember it being an issue at all. We didn't stop any more than we would normally on a car journey like that for breaks.

What was an issue was the fact that on the second trip we broke down twice on the way back and had to abort the trip and get our car repaired in Reims and do an extra night - that was a bloody nightmare with a 9 month old, especially waiting on the side of the road with a baby in the July heat with no shade.

tattychicken · 19/04/2024 09:42

We drove to the South of France many times with 4 young children/babies. We always left at about 3am, popped them in their seats in their pyjamas and then aimed to stop for breakfast in France somewhere at about 8am.

When they were very young we stayed a night in a hotel to break up the journey but once they were a bit older and could be entertained a bit more we cracked on, stopping about every 3 hours. The journey was about 12-14 hours door to door.

KnickerlessParsons · 19/04/2024 09:46

We used to take it in turns to drive through the night.
I wouldn't fancy the journey with a dog though.
And if, presumably, the dog would be in the boot, where would you put your luggage? Top box?

BertieBotts · 22/04/2024 10:31

We live in Germany (also about 10 hours from here to crossing) and have driven back to the UK a few times. At that age, I was happy to push it to about 3 hours if they are asleep and I felt they were positioned well in their car seats - I know that's not the official advice, so stick to what you feel comfortable with.

We find that driving at night is best because the roads are less busy, though it does of course come with the risk of tired driving. See how you feel about this risk.

We tend to do ferry crossing as it is cheaper but also works in a bit of a break as you have to get out of the car. We would normally try to have 2-3 stops in total between Germany and the ferry. We try to do a long stretch first, then a very quick stop for a feed/nappy change/wee/leg stretch and continue for an hour or two, then a longer stop for breakfast, then try to continue to the ferry (with 1 more quick stop if necessary). The ferry is a stop in itself and we would then do the UK part in one go.

It's worse the other way around because we normally have to leave our accommodation in the morning and UK is much worse than the continent for traffic in general.

When driving through France be aware of the toll roads and look at an online calculator to weigh up whether to pay up or avoid.

CleftChin · 22/04/2024 10:41

I drive with my kids - I like not having to think about packing at all TBH.

But with a very little one, that runs the risk of turning into an absolute disaster (how do they feel about the carseat? I have horrible memories of a baby in the back screaming his head off whilst I had to concentrate on driving to the next motorway exit to deal with him - he hated being in his carseat though)

I think for 10 hours (are you going most of the way to the bottom? I did that earlier this year, and it was a long journey even for me and the kids who are used to it) I'd fly TBH.

HeyDiddleDumplings · 22/04/2024 10:43

When mine were little we flew - we were not routed to school holidays so could get cheap flights and baby can sit on your lap, so no extra cost. to south of France is about 1.5 hours flight. We then hired a smallish car from the airport. It’s all quite straightforward.

Now they are 7 & 9 we drive. The flights in school holidays are expensive and a bigger car for luggage and comfort makes it much more expensive. Stopping in France overnight is easy and affordable. But the main benefit is the cost and being able to take paddle boards etc etc. it’s not easy, mine get travel sick, so entertainment for a long stretch is tricky.

wishIwasonholiday10 · 22/04/2024 12:21

Depends on how your child tolerates the car which you won’t know until closer to the time. Mine started to get travel sick around that age and it would have been a nightmare. A 3.5 hr trip to the Peak District which turned into 6-7 hrs with constant vomit and a huge pile of vomit covered clothes by the time we arrived has left me too traumatised to attempt even another short driving holiday much less a longer one to France or Cornwall.

Chewbecca · 22/04/2024 12:27

I would drive as always enjoyed throwing everything in the car and heading off but I would avoid going 10 hours once in France, can you go somewhere nearer Calais, there's a lot of lovely places within a 5 hour radius.
I confess there was no 2 hour car seat advice when my DC were babies so we just went for it!

Radiatorvalves · 22/04/2024 12:32

I’ve driven and flown frequently. Given all the stuff you need to take, car is probably easier. We now drive the whole way in one day, but when they were younger we stopped once. That may impact the costs and make it cheaper to fly.

Lightfrost · 22/04/2024 12:38

How about doing an overnight crossing from Portsmouth to Ouistreham with a cabin? That way you won't need an overnight stay in France and more importantly you will arrive further South in France and well away from the nightmare of driving near Paris.

We travel to and fro multiple times a year and this is the best option by far. Some ships have dog friendly cabins, or the dog could sleep in the car/on board kennel.

The other good things about doing that crossing is that industrial action tends to focus on the Dover Calais route, so less likely to encounter disruption.

You do need to plan ahead if you are taking the dog: a rabies vaccination at least 21 days before you obtain the travel certificate, which itself has to be within 10 days of travel iirc. Shop around, some vets specialise in animal health certificates and can be much cheaper.

MinnieMountain · 22/04/2024 16:46

Train. Hire a car when you get there.

InTheRainOnATrain · 22/04/2024 16:55

Lightfrost · 22/04/2024 12:38

How about doing an overnight crossing from Portsmouth to Ouistreham with a cabin? That way you won't need an overnight stay in France and more importantly you will arrive further South in France and well away from the nightmare of driving near Paris.

We travel to and fro multiple times a year and this is the best option by far. Some ships have dog friendly cabins, or the dog could sleep in the car/on board kennel.

The other good things about doing that crossing is that industrial action tends to focus on the Dover Calais route, so less likely to encounter disruption.

You do need to plan ahead if you are taking the dog: a rabies vaccination at least 21 days before you obtain the travel certificate, which itself has to be within 10 days of travel iirc. Shop around, some vets specialise in animal health certificates and can be much cheaper.

Great idea for western France but it won’t save any time if you’re going somewhere south east like the Cote d’Azur or the Alps.

mitogoshi · 22/04/2024 17:13

I'd drive via the overnight ferry from Portsmouth. Don't take the dog though, too warm