Which is the best way from england to spain by car

Hi All

Please help could someone advise me the best way to drive to Spain?? I cant decide the ferry or tunnel & someone told me to avoid the tolls as its expensive ? But the roads that way look scarry !!!! Am taking my dog too so any advice would be great

Thanx in advance from worried traveller

This message was last edited by tracey fletcher on 01/06/2010.

Hi Tracey,

We have just completed the journey for the fourth time so have used several of the available routes (some better than others!)

During our last trip (10 days ago) we decided to give the Portsmouth-Santander route another go. This time we got ourselves an outside cabin which comes with all the little extras that make the journey more relaxing (tea/coffee facilities, t.v, sofa and fabulous view of the open sea which allowed us to see the dolphins which swim in the Bay of Biscay....)

Although (this time) we didn't have the dogs with us, we did discover that the route operator (Brittany Ferries) have now got a limited amount of cabins where you are permitted to have your dogs with you on the journey. This is a vast improvement from the dogs being berthed in the "kennels" where they are seperated from their owners and can get VERY stressed out, which also transfers to the owners so the journey is not as pleasurable as it should be.

I do not know the cost or availability of this facility, but the website we booked through is  well worth a look at:

http://www.aferry.co.uk

After disembarking, we then drove down to Vera using the main motorway which by-passes Madrid. There are no tolls on this road (unless, like us you happen to take a wrong turn!) Using our Tom-Tom was a great help and the scenery is breathtaking in some areas. There are plenty of places to stop and walk the dog and numerous watering holes on the way. The journey took us 11 hours although we did make a few stops along the way.

Driving through France......I would recommend USING the toll-roads as they are not as expensive as some would have you believe, and they do cut the journey time down considerably.

Above all,  make sure you have all the legal aspects covered (hi-vis vests, spare bulbs, stickers for your headlights, spare set of glasses etc.,) and, most importantly, enjoy the experience.

Regards,

Lorraine Braid.

Tracey Hi,

An awful lot depends on where you are coming from and where you are going to.

Spain is an awfully big country!

Take a look at the viamichelin website, (click the highlighted link), and input your UK hometown and destination address and see what it come up with. I would suggest using the viamichelin 'Recommended Route' The good thing about this website is that it is updated regularly.

Specifically if you are heading towards the CDS or CB its almost impossible to avoid some contact with Madrid, but the city is surrounded by a series of concentic ring roads, the outermost of these is the M50 and this is the one to use rather than the M30 which routes through central Madrid and can be a nightmare. The M50 routes to the east of Madrid between Barajas Airport and Torrejon Airbase and is the preferred route of most people making the trip.

Brittany Ferries operate Portsmouth and Plymouth to Santander in Northern Spain and the journey time is 30 hrs. They also operate Portsmouth to Caen journey time 6 hrs but you then have most of France to drive through as well as Spain. I would suggest that unless you live in Essex or Kent, Dover is best avoided as a jumping off point (this include the Chunnel) since the routes South from Calais include Paris which is definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Driving all the way from Northern France to the CDS / CB is best done over two or three days; my suggested stop-off places would be near Bordeaux and Madrid.

Just to add to Lorraines list of essentials...make sure your MOT and Road Tax are fully valid.

You must carry with you originals of the valid vehicle documentation. I would suggest you get breakdown insurance too.

Also you will need two breakdown triangles.

If you breakdown or if the police stop you for any reason and invite you to get out of the car, make sure you put your hi- viz vest on before exiting the car; its an automatic fine if you dont.

Just remember the steering wheel of your car is on the wrong side for European driving so when you're on the road, plan your moves ahead of time!

Take your time, take care and enjoy the trip!

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Thankyou both for the advice it is most kind of you to take the time & very helpful to me x