reading justinp's thread re him going to the south of france made me think of holidaying in the french alps but calculating the journey comes up with a 9 + hours drive to get there..has anybody done this journey from calais to down there and any tips or advice.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Yes, we did it a few years ago in my 110 when my son was 5 years old.

Early ferry from Dover and we just took it at a steady 70mph along the toll roads. We stopped off in Dijon at a lovely little central campsite by the side of the river for the night, then resumed around 9am the next day.

We drove to the Italian alps the next day and got there mid-afternoon.

If you're taking your FF, I imagine your journey times will be less than ours were back then. Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

I think people like Gaz do this often enough

I have heard of people in my old work doing it in straight runs as sitting at 85.... helps reduce the time a bit and they just swap drivers every now and again as its just long roads with a satnav for help so there isn't any parking worries or such like, just boring...

It may work out cheaper to fly once you factor in the fuel costs Stan as 9hrs in an FF will be at least 1 tank of go-go juice so thats £130 minimum each way... FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
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dont fancy flying as you wouldnt believe the stuff the wife brings on holiday and we have a small dog that has to come as well so driving is the only way ..i suppose with regular breaks or maybe a stop over , it shouldnt be to bad.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Done it a few times Stan you can either pay the tolls and eat the miles on the autoroute or take in the scenery on the a roads its not like driving here roads are a lot quieter away from Paris so less stress!
 Mine was a blue one!

hadnt thought about the tolls andy, does it cost much? ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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A few years ago I did a similar journey from London via Eurotunnel to Calais and straight down to Avignon just shy of the Med. I don't have the exact figures but the tolls worked out to be just under 100 euros if I remember correctly. It was not cheap, and remember to leave the toll and refuel at the supermarket petrol stations near towns/industrial parks and not refill at the toll road service stations (prices are about 15%+ higher).

Set off at 6.30am and got there at about 7.30pm using the toll roads all the way and driving at roughly 70-80 with little traffic.

It was knackering, but I was in a BMW convertible and it was raining most of the way. Now I try to include a stop half way down in Dijon.

I drove back 50% using the old free A roads which was beautiful but took 3 times as long due to going through every town and village, traffic in France never seems as bad as here unless you hit the main cities in rush hour. The weather was great so had the roof down. When I got past Dijon, I hopped on the toll roads again to make up some time.

I also did the trip to Chamonix from Brussels in one go in my old RR Classic and that was much more enjoyable and comfortable.

Make sure you have regular stops to stretch the legs and buy some expresso and you should be fine. Tom

Current Drive
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Last edited by Flashman on 20th Jul 2012 10:34am. Edited 3 times in total

that was a long day tom..driving in the rain really tires you out.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Asi said above, splitting the driving and getting it done in one go may be the easier option as you then don't lose 2 days of holiday either side and still have to pay for overnight accom somewhere on the way there and back...

If you adn the mrs can drive stick her on the insurance if she isn't already and even if she only does a few hours it will help a lot

And as on another post, the tag system maybe easier as well come the times at the toll booths you'll save time hunting for change or using the plastic  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Stan there is a French website called www.mappy.fr ( I think) if you plan your journey on that it works out the tolls for you and the cost of fuel and gives you live traffic info.
I have done Monaco home in a day before but thats a bit extreme. Just recon on an overnight stay around Dijon which is quite a pretty city
 Mine was a blue one!

Hi Stan, have driven to morzine, val d' etc several times from bristol in my good old td6. Took c. 14 hours door to door (11 hrs actual driving) and got 28 mpg at 80 mph. I left at 4.30 on a Friday afternoon and was there for 6 am Saturday. I prefer driving thorough the night as the roads are empty and you beat the crowds in the run up from annecy which can take hours especially on a Saturday (changeover day).

A tip if you use the tunnel - look for the day trip special offers which you need to search for on their website. I paid between £26 to £40 a crossing, much less than the £186 they wanted for one normal crossing. Then just book on the Internet from the alps depending on what day/time you want to travel back.

Got to say, it was the most comfortable trip I have ever had to the alps and I avoid flying if at all possible now. In terms of costs etc there is a good info point on the ski club website as well as the daily telegraph.

If you want to have any accommodation, let me know which areas you are going to as I have a few places which are very nice with great food and not too expensive but classy!

Have fun!

Have done it many times in winter and summer and for about the past 4 years.

We have done it in one go from the south coast of the UK to Provence, it was 10hrs travelling including stops. We tag-teamed the driving, 3hrs each. It's possible, and although it's a long day, if you split it up over 2 days it seems SO much longer.

You arrive late at night, ready to crash, and then you get a bit more time holidaying rather than driving.

Anyway, the RR is the best car to do it in, get on the Peage route, stick on the cruise control and enjoy.

You might want to read this Stan (should have done a search )

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic875.html?highlight=european Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
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@will,
i dont know if i could relax with the wife driving ..[you aint seen the wife drive btw ]
but it makes sense to do the trip as quickly as possible so you dont incur extra expense on hotels
and loose holiday time.

@andy,
just googled that site funny enough

@james,
you got SAS training so you can stay awake for days ..good tip re the day trip crossing, i've always booked the whole 'period' ..

@adam,
i vividly remember seeing your great pics and , guilty i should have 'searched.  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Last edited by stan on 20th Jul 2012 10:47am. Edited 1 time in total

Stan you dont need Sarcastic And Sadistic training to stay awake through the night

A Costa will do just fine!!

Not sure about Mrs Stans driving but surely she could cope on an autoroute for a few miles, or should she be handing her paper licence back in

Plus you can use it as an excuse to tear her away from 50 shades darker PMPL dont want her getting ideas for the holiday now do we lol FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
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Done a few driving hols in Europe so your trip is the start and finish of most! The car is important but in the FFRR you have probably the easiest thing in the world to do it in. Just stick it in cruise, put on a (long!) story and sit back and enjoy. Currently touring the country listening to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo triliogy and that makes most journeys pass like tardis travel.

In my younger days I went skiing with a couple of mates and we left London after work Thursday, drove to Dover, ferry to Calais b 10:00pm, then two hours each at the wheel in France (I did start and finish cos it was my car!) and we arrived 06:00 in the resort. 4 days skiing, then back overnight Monday, straight into work Tuesday. Awesome use of time!
These days that's a bit too full on, but we still occasionally do an 8 hour day in the car. A few years back we did Cannes to Paris in a day, but via the Millau viaduct which I was keen to see and which added about 200km to the trip. That was quite a tiring one, but not too bad at all with stops etc and the viaduct was brill!

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