Is it reasonable to drive to South of France in one go???

[applegate]

Hi,
We are going to South of France in July with our 3 dc, 10 4 and 2. We are hoping to get overnight ferry to Caen getting in at 0645. We then want to go Montpellier which I have worked out is about 600 miles. i just wanted any advice from mumsnetters that have done it. I would rather just have one full on driving day and get there rather than doing it over 2 days but will it be hideous and is it really too far for one day?? Are we mad?

I looked at michelin and it suggested journey time of 8 hrs 40 min, it has been reasonably accurate when we used it before, but obviously doesn't factor in traffic! We are going a little bit below montpellier it was just the closest big place that I thought others may recognise! Got an audi estate, we have got a roof box but avoided taking it last year and would hope to again so not sure if we would fit in the Peagre thing?

We always take Eurotunnel and so do Calais to near Montpellier.

Obviously the northern France part of the trip is different but the suggested route from Via michelin ends up joining onto the route we take.

We either stop in Bourges if we are expecting a tough journey traffic-wise, or we stop in or near Clermont Ferrand. There is a lovely hotel just south of Clermond Ferrand, in a small town called Issoire, and although on the mapy ou may think, oh but its only another 3 hours down to Montpellier, it is the final 3 hours which is the killer. The A75 is very spectacular but involves lots of steep descents which means lowering the speed limit considerably and so it takes time and when everyone is shattered, it is very hard work. If you stay in Issoire and get up, have a lovely breakfast, you'll be at your destination for lunch, all feeling good, and raring to go!

It is doable... I have just made it to central Spain with a 5yo and 3yo in one go. Very tiring for drivers though.
I think the trick is to leave very early (in our case, yours could be leaving very late). But if you hit the road by 4 am you will have done 6 hours by 10 am (pretty obvious) and you can make a big stop for a big breakfast and keep going for a bit more.

It all comes down to how used you are to long driving times and how flexible your kids are with it

Wow camaleon, that is impressive. We have done it to between Montpellier and Perpignan in one go several times but it is tiring.

My main reason for saying to stay overnight is WHEN applegate is going. Fridays and Saturdays in July and August are HORRENDOUS on the french motorways. We have been stuck for hours and hours before now.

well done though!

Loads of help and stuff to think about thank you so much. Would rather have done eurotunnel but it just makes the journey that bit longer on this side as well.
Ok so we need to decide whether to risk it or not as I think if the traffic was fine it probably is do able but if it's not it could be far too long!! The tips on where to stay are great thanks

If I were you I would be clever and hedge my bets.

I would book the hotel I recommended (or something similar) for the Friday night but on the basis you can cancel without being charged.

Then see how it goes. Most hotels have a tarif whereby you can book and as long as you cancel by 6pm, you are not charged. If you pack an overnight bag, just in case, and have the room booked, you can see how its going and if everyone's doing okay at say 5.30pm (or when you reach the Issoire exit from the A75 if its earlier), you can call the hotel, cancel your booking and go straight to your holiday rental. If however, the roads have been horrendous, everyone is fed up, you can go to the hotel, have an enjoyable evening (this hotel has a lovely pool and restaurant), wake up feeling refreshed and you will be there by lunchtime.

Let me know if you want details of the hotel xx

I think probably the kids would be fine they are used to long journeys just not quite as long as this, I thought it would be absolutely fine until a friend said we were absolutely mad to contemplate it whihc is what made me doubt myself and my sanity!

you are NOT mad and it is 100% do-able, it's just the time of year that makes it less enticing! The traffic jams can honestly be unbelievable. We have seen jams which make the M25 look childplay in comparison!

That is what concerns me!!

I am not sure which route you are following. I am only familiar with London-Calais-Paris-Bourdeaux-Madrid.

But if you are leaving early in the morning the chances of long traffick jams is reduced, very reduced, mainly on a Friday. You do not want to be anywhere close to a big/mid-size city after 3 pm. Many drivers on holidays plus all those heading down to North Africa to see their families.

Fantastic advice on hotel. Did not know you could cancel last minute. It has happened to us once to have a plan to stop and unable to do so - Not a single hotel with rooms. It was a terrible experience and had to stop and get some sleep in the car (also very difficult to find any space at a service station). Thankfully this time kids were not with us

Great idea on hotel aznerak, I had no idea you could cancel at the last minute, think it would just be nice to know if traffic has been terrible we have somewhere ot stop if we need to or if dc have had enough.
camaleon I assume we would go Caen to Le Mans to Bourges to Montpellier but not got quite that far yet!
Will bear that in mind thinking about where we would have got to by mid afternoon when thinking about friday afternoon traffic jams too

i would absolutely no way attempt this with a load of kids in the back. it's bad enough without them. (we once drove from Spain to London in one go and it was an experience never to be forgotten...! madness.)
if you did this through the night on empty roads it might just be tolerable but it is July and it is south of france - you are going to hit serious traffic at some point or other. please don't put yourself and your family through this - it would be a real ordeal i think.

I would only do it if leaving in late afternoon/evening and driving through the night, sharing the driving.

If doing in the day I would stop and stay in a hotel half way there and back in both directions.

We did St Tropez to Calais in a single day once. We had two small children then and I was six months pregnant with third which meant I kept on falling asleep (including at the wheel!). Husband had to do practically all the driving and said never again.

A stop half way through will be far safer than trying to make the whole trip in a day.

I would be really interested in your Issoire hotel recommendation, please, aznerak! We're driving to the Gers in mid-July and planning to stop somewhere on the way for one night. We were thinking of Formule 1 but a nice hotel would be even better if not too expensive.

If the hotel in Issoire doesnt work out then try looking on www.logisdefrance.com we have stayed in some great hotels found with them and had some great dinners.

As an alternative to Formule 1 try www.hotelbb.com these are chain but a little more luxurious with ensuite shower room. A little more expensive than Formule 1 but less expensive than Ibis.

This is not really that helpful, particularly given your ferry is already booked, but this is a journey my parents did frequently when I and my brother were small. Having tried many ways, they finally settled on an afternoon Portsmouth-Caen crossing, and then they would do the drive overnight, arriving at the destination c. 4-5am. pile into bed, surfacing around 12. Admittedly that day was a wash-out, but it just meant that they could drive while we slept, the roads were empty and also, importantly in August, temperatures were lower. Obviously you can only do it with two drivers, and two drivers able to cat-nap through the night to keep alternating etc.

Just another idea for a future holiday maybe?

Thanks very much, Suzie, I will check those out.

We have to stop on the way as I don't drive so DH is doing all the hard graft. I hope to nap on the way a bit so that if DD is up until all hours after sleeping in the car or alternatively wakes up madly early, I can be the one to drag myself out of bed and take her out while DH sleeps in preparation for the rest of the drive.

it is so do-able!! We have just done it... back from Marseillan Plage last night. From my experience, whatever time guideline michelin gives you - double it! Going down last Friday, we left Calais at 8pm and arrived MP at 12 o'clock (lunchtime). We had lots of stops and a sleep at 6am. Coming back we did more driving through the day and the girls actually travelled really well. Our stops on the way back were more to let them out and run. We tended to stop at rest-stops with playgrounds.
We didn't book accommodation but next time I would be more organised and plan the route with a stop-over.
We also bought a dvd player last week after lots of recommendations. Dh watched it more than the kids. I had lots to entertain dd2 (3) but she was happy playing with puppets and a teddy-bear. My big tip is not to take felt-tips!!!!! Dd2 is coloured from head to foot (well, maybe shoulder) and her car-seat needs a good wash.
One of the best tips that I received on MN was to have coins for the coffee machines at the services along the way.

thanks that is great to hear of someone who has done it recently, we have done felt tips in the car before and I agree never again!

I have friends and family that drive to Northern Italy (approx 800 miles) every year for 2 week holidays. One of the families have 4 children and the other 3 and they have been doing it every year since their first child was a toddler. They both do it in one go.

They time the drive so they arrive in France (either via ferry or Eurotunnel) at around 6-7 o'clock in the evening. Then the two adults take turns in driving 3 hours each though the night with very short stops for the loo if necessary. The non-driving adult dozes and the night driving means that they get almost no traffic and is as quick as it can be.

They usually arrive in the Italian Alps in the very early morning and get to their destination in Northern Italy at around 8am

The children thus sleep for the vast majority of the driving.