Driving to Condado over xmas

Bringing furniture over for my apartment Boxing Day. Ferry via Boulogne A16, A10 ,A75 etc down east side of France onto Barcelona. I am told road tolls about 90 euros but not sure if this is just in France or includes tolls in Spain. Please advise. Any other advise would be welcome as first drive down. Also coming over in a van, anyone need anything bringing back to Uk as travelling back empty. Help towards cost of fuel only. Driving back to Leicester start back New Years Day

Kind regards Gerry n 

Hi

I have just returned from taking my furniture over to Condado.  I also took the ferry to France then drove down the east side of France: Calais-Lille-Toulouse to Barcelona-Valencia-Alicante-Murcia.   I took the AP7 from Barcelona to Murcia which is pretty much a straight run but is a toll road.   My advice as follows :

1) If possible, mr recommendation would be to take the ferry from Portsmouth or Plymouth to Bilbao (or Santander).  It costs approx 250 euros (without a cabin) and means 24 hours on the ferry followed by approx 12 hour drive past Madrid to CDA.   The time on the ferry will leave you refreshed enough to complete the drive in one go (with breaks).  Also the cost of the ferry will work out cheaper than paying for fuel / tolls driving through France. 

2) If you decide to drive all the way and take the route you mentioned it will cost approx 100 euros in tolls for France & the same again for Spain as well as fuel -  approx 200-240 euros for the whole journey.  Be prepared for a long drive as we had 2 drivers but still had to stop one night in the van - there are plenty of truck stops at service stations with showers/petrol/cafeterias.  The whole journey took approx 30 hours (excluding breaks) from Birmingham. 

3) From Boulogne - if you want to save on tolls / time then ideally you should head to / go around Paris - then south to Cartres - Tours - Poitiers - Bordeaux - San Sebastian - Pamplona - Madrid - Murcia.  This is the route I took on the way back but would follow if repeating the journey. 

4) Avoid Andorra as I found out to my cost.  They're not part of the EU so if you try to pass through Andorra you will have to pay tax on everything in your van.  I had to turn back & drive around the Pyrenees which added hours to my journey.

Basically, it's a slog but a great experience albeit an exhausting one.  Make sure you take a camera as the scenery is magnificent !

Good Luck !!

San

According to mappy.fr the distance from Bologne to Mazarron is 1980km and the tolls (one way) are €61.90, though that's for a car, maybe a van will be dearer. Estimated fuel cost (one way again) is €213 but again that's for a medium sized car. 

http://fr.mappy.com/#d=Boulogne-sur-Mer%2C+France&d=Mazarr%C3%B3n%2C+Espagne&lm=r&p=itinerary

Hi Gerry,

 This is the route we take, Stop in St Jean de Luz on the way down and Tours on the way back.  Done it a couple of times, in fact I'll be coming down the the 27th so see you there ;-)  One pointer if you come this way is top up around Zaragosa as filling stations on the A23 are all off the main road and few and far between.

View Larger Map

Phil

Hi Ptan

Just been reading your route. Are there any tolls to pay and if so what is the cost. I would be intertested as we came down through France but the otherside and the tolls were so expensive its put us off driving through France. So last time we came from Santandar which worked out about the same cost bearing in mind  didnt pay so much petrol and cabin on the boat and no tolls to pay.

hi ptan, thanks for the advise. I was under the impression that going the west route at that time of year could be a problem going over the Pyrenees or is that not the case. Was expecting possible snow on some of the passes, or am i totally wrong. Just assumed that the passes would be higher that side.Scenery would be great but dont want to get stuck with van

Regards Gerry

Hi,

Nope shouldn't be a problem there's a good climb out of San Sabastian but it's near enough motorway all the way and there a nice place to stop with great views at the top.  The in-laws have been doing it for years, towing a Caravan! .  Can't remember the exact amount but think the tolls were around €60 each way.  I'll let you all know the exact about in two weeks time .

Phil

Hi,

Its a fantastic drive through the Pyrenees. I drove through the middle of Pyrenees last Christmas. Just past edge of Andorra. at least 6 foot of snow.. But the roads were completely clear. Incredible views. Must have stopped 20 times for photos. VERY cold..... -20C. And that was for 200miles before Pyrenees too!!! Then down towards Barcelona which was +15C...

Enjoy the drive. I'm doing it in the opposite direction. Back to UK for a few days for Xmas.

I am considering driving over to condado via the ferry.

Can someone advise

which is the best booking website to use

If I have to book accommodation

Paul

Hi Paul,

We always bookd with www.accorhotels.com, that run the Ibis/Etap chain.  They have hotels in all the major towns throughout France ( assuming your going Dover/Calais ) or around Bilbao/Madrid if your going that way.  Nice basic hotels, which if you're just after a place to stop overnight whilst travelling, is pretty much all you need.

Phil 

Sorry

should have been more specific

I was looking forthe best website for ferry bookings

Hi

I suggest you check  http://www.brittanyferries.com/

I just recieved a timetable in the post today from them..

Regards

david