Terrible holiday! Need advice

[Fishy54]

We are currently on a road trip which is not going well.

the plan was to drive to though France to get to Spain but the journey is taking too long and we are ending up booking into cheap affordable accommodation in awful places to break up journey and we are all stressed. No exercise. Too much time on the road and stopping in places that are making us feel depressed.

we have done this sort of journey before through Europe but for one reason or another this year we have failed.

we all got really upset last night that we have experienced nothing and we are already 4 days into journey with only 7 days left, not where we planned on being plus having to take into consideration the journey back home.

we don’t know what to do. Driven too far. We are 2 hours from Biarritz and was meant to exploring the north of Spain. My son was upset and wished we had stayed at home but being very mature and helping with ideas, my husband has come to a standstill and tired from driving, I’m stressed do to driving passed all the beautiful places to get to where we currently are.

if we carry on we feel like our time will be spent r in much the same way when we get to Spain as we have not allowed enough time to relax and and just be in between visiting places.

we have driven so far that we are at a loss as to what to do. My heart is not in the journey. I don’t think anyone’s was really . It was my husbands idea a while back and my husband and son speak Spanish.

we discussed other more restful options before we left home. I feel awful
that we didn’t pursue them. Nothing I can do about that now. But what should we do now. My husband is suggesting we just stay put. Find somewhere in France and stay here for a few days then drive back home.

we have already lost one day of accommodation as w weren’t going to make it in time for check in.

Alternative is we move on and carry with the plan. Our accommodation for first few 2 days now is quite remote. Which we wanted but now we fed up with the driving. Then we have 3 more days booked elsewhere to explore a different area. Then we have to make our way home. The only way we can get home now in good time is to take the long ferry ride home. Which will kill another two days. My husband seemed to think we first left home that we had enough time to do a loop and drive back through France visiting some lovely places. we now can’t do that.

I can’t sleep and don’t know what to do.

I feel awful for my son. He needed a good break as much as we did.

we are all wishing we had just cancelled this idea and had a single location holiday somewhere peaceful.

what should we do?

No. We stopped for lunch and wee stop. We arrived after 6.

@Fishy54 just find somewhere nice and stay there for the rest of the time , OP. Your son can go to Spain another time and visiting it isn’t compulsory to study the gcse.

No. We stopped for lunch and wee stop. We arrived after 6.

A road trip imo needs two drivers ideally. Then if one gets tired, ill etc you can still make progress. Can you not push yourself to do some driving and give him a break?

I'm sorry you're well earned break has turned into a nightmare @Fishy54. I would suggest heading home and having as much treats as possible along the way.

@Fishy54

also I think finding somewhere nice and staying put is the best option if it’s only your husband driving - he must be sick of it by now

That’s the plan now. Rising early and filling the days we have.

If I was you, I'd be inclined to turn around and go and stay somewhere nice in Limoges or the Dordogne (both places I've stayed before and had a lovely time). See what's going on AirBnB that looks good for your budget and then stay there for the rest of the trip. Clearly, none of you actually want to do a road trip. So don't! Have a relaxing few days instead. As others have said - Spain will still be there at the end of it.

Hi!
I can't offer anything useful as I've never done the trip...but I feel for you and your son sounds absolutely amazing! He really deserves a treat.
@Titasaducksarse is a bit unsympathetic but San Sebastian is a great shout! Absolutely gorgeous place, not too far and you'll have the satisfaction of having made it to Spain...plus the excitement of a spontaneous adventure somewhere new! Your son can still practice his Spanish there. You don't want to go home feeling like it was all for nothing because you didn't get to Spain.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do and at least you've learnt what not to do! In a few years time this will just be a hilarious disaster tale! Xx

I am a very strong fit person but yes i think it is more tiring as get older and if people have conditions which mean have to move around more/eat clean or don’t want to finish holiday twice the size started.

I always pack lots of suitable snacks and tins of ingredients, fruit, vegetables etc

Unless you have pre booked accommodation in San Sebastian, it'll be almost impossible to find a reasonably priced one.

It's the first 2 weeks of August, and finding one will be like winning the lottery.

Have you actually done that though? Because it's already mid-morning in France and from your posts it sounds like you are still planning and dithering rather than actually being on the road.

Look, you just get the train to hendaye which is on the France speaking border. A connecting train will get you to San Sebastián in about an hour.

Oh dear, but sounds like you now have a plan so hope you can salvage and enjoy the rest of the holiday! The area around Biarritz is really lovely, fabulous waves for surfing and Spanish as well as French is spoken.

A road trip with one driver as always had a high risk of crapness, sorry. It's a huge burden on the driver to know they can't hand over if they are tired or unwell or fed up. That's really on your husband for pushing the plan without really thinking that bit through. We have driven to Scotland from SE England (admittedly not as far as driving to Spain) and my husband drove (prefers to) but on the agreement that we would stop and swap if he got fed up. My parents always shared the driving on similar trips.

You need a longer time max 6 hours drive a day and stay in nice places for min 2 nights along the way

You’re not far from the beach towns of capbreton and hossegor in France; so lovely we’ve been twice! Fantastic surfing and beaches, some lovely bakeries and eateries.

also - SAN SEBASTIAN!!! You’re an hr or so away!!! Absolutely incredible; food, old town, beach - it has it all! This was our summer hol and we loved it!

I would say "feck it, its not worked out".
Work your way back.
Do a city break to Barcelona in Oct half term for your son.
Don't be so hard on yourselves. Sometimes stuff goes wrong. Sounds like you and dh were worn out before you left home.

Less than an hour ago the plan was to go to Biarritz so your son could have a surf.
Now you're going to drive to San Sebastian and rest up there for the rest of the holiday.

It's already 10:45 in France. If you've not left yet you need to get going.

Please tell me you're not planning on stopping off in Biarritz, otherwise today is lining up to be another disappointment once you've dealt with the traffic of the town and travel on afterwards.

You're in danger of not rocking up in San Sebastian until late afternoon when you and your husband will both be knackered again.
I highly recommend you knock the Biarritz idea on the head and go to San Sebastian right away. Check in to a lovely hotel, start to relax. Your son can surf there and also practice his Spanish.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday. I annoy my family by getting up early on holiday - otherwise if you get up at 8.30 , leisurely breakfast etc it’s 10 before you leave the house and pretty much lunchtime before you start doing whatever you are doing - half a day wasted!!

Not much use practically, but just... lesson learned?

For whatever reason, long drive holidays aren't suiting you any more. But what was the the reason you didn't bother to plan this one out properly? You've said lots of "Oh yes, we used to..." and "Oh yes, we normally..." Why was this time so different and such a fail?

I used to love a long drive when I was younger, happily taking myself on road trips up and down the UK. Nowadays I sniff at driving more than an hour anywhere!

Can I ask, have you been avoiding toll roads? That would certainly explain how long the drives are taking.

Oh come on. She was teasing, and it was a good description of what seems to have been happening.

OP, I hope you got up early and are well on the way to Spain now! Fingers crossed for a smooth run.

On long road trips, you do have to be quite time-conscious on days you're planning to cover a lot of ground. For instance, if you've not yet set off, and are planning to stop for lunch and then for your son to have a surf, you'll easily find that they day has gone and you're not much further forward.

We do a lot of campervan travel in Europe and on days we want to cover a lot of ground it's just up and away, 5 minutes to grap something from a boulangerie, and keep going till quite late, stopping at the nearest aire or allowed stopping place rather than a leisurely campsite.

It can be frustrating whizzing past things that look interesting or beautiful, which is why I think it's a good idea to pick an area of interest, get there quickly, and then you can change the pace to leisurely exploring.

I agree but I don't think suggesting finding a lovely hotel in San Sebastian is even remotely possible on their budget. Lovely hotels and hostals on a budget are long gone. San Sebastian receives plenty of international visitors but mostly, an internal Spanish tourism booking the accommodation one year in advance.

The real problem for the OP, it's they organised an ad hoc a driving holiday driving thru France with destination north Spain, without thinking this is peak season, the roads are congested with thousands of people moving destinations, and their only accommodation option within budget and without a booking would be awful and out of the way places.

I'm out of fresh ideas to give her. They need to know where they want to go before their booked accommodation, and plan accordingly.,