Hi all,

Need some advice please. Looking at getting to calais for 5:30pm and then driving through night down to murcia. Is this at all doable. The reason we are looking at doing  this is so the chilren sleep for a chunk of the journey instead of 2 days driving with them awake almost the whole time. Know some will think this not ideal but do you think its doable and if so any advice on route etc where to aim to stop for breakfast & lunch etc. Thanks in advance.

Advice please x

The journey time from Calais will be about 20hours without ANY stops! You really think that is reasonable? I know it will cost more but 'safer' might be to use Portsmouth to Santander/Bilbao and then it is an easy 9hours and 'only' 500 odd miles

Much depends on what time of the year.

High summer, nice weather, light untill 10-00, yes doable.

I remember years ago getting to Calais at 5-30pm in the winter, it was dark and raining hard, I could even find my way to the main highway let alone to Spain, we ended up staying overnight in Calais

Edited to say

Try Via Michelin for route ideas.

Steone.... we tried to book that ferry to either place but its all fully booked. 

And Team GB Going July 25th. Have you ever done it yourself?

Thanks.

Depedending on route

Calais to Murcia - approx 2000km (1250 miles) 18 to 24 hours

Bilbao to Murcia - approx 1000km (630 miles) 8 to 10 hours

Toll costs, fuel and ferry comparison - best do the maths

Kazbaz55

I've only driven the whole way the once, there and back (Costa del Sol). Never done it without an overnight stop or though I know plenty of people who have, It's a bit of a worry with children I would of thought.

We have driven from the ferry ports many times and always do it without a stopover, takes around 9hrs just stopping for a coffee and refuel. I've never paid a toll on this route, I go straight through the middle of Madrid, round the inner ring road (M30) and out the other side on the A4.

Edited to say

Have you tried Condor Ferries, Poole to St Malo? depending where you are coming from in the UK it might be of some use.

Have only done it once as well, even though we used to live in Canterbury. We stopped overnight at Bordeaux. A very hot drive in July, even though we had aircon. After that we used the Portsmouth to Santander route. As that is not an option for you, driving at night might be the better option for the children, just not sure if going the whole way without an overnight stop is sensible.Also wouldn't want to come back via Calais, with all it's problems.

Search the forum as lots have been posted about routes.

I did it a couple of times by myself, in late 80’s from Malaga to Caen (about same distance Murcia to Calais).  The roads were less good then.  Took 24 hours, stopping only for food and petrol.  Very long drive and not sensible.

I also did  it a few times with stops in France, using a small tent.  . 

Never used toll roads.

For a trip of say about a month, I think it is much cheaper now to fly and hire a car.

Coming back I've been able to book the ferry so thats fine its just the going there!!! With the hotels can you do late check in like around 2am? Someone suggested that some of them are automated so you can check in at anytime. Does anyone know about this? 

Thanks everyone for all your advice :) 

Hi !

I drove from Calais to Vera (south of Murcia) in 24 hours. Was on my own - no kids to worry about.Needed to make frequent stops for Loo/coffee breaks and to stretch my legs. However my advice would be to do an overnight stop at or close to the Spanish border. Try not to put yourselves under preasure it may spoil your visit before you even get here.

I would recomend a route slightly to the west of france avoiding Paris of course. Maybe head toward Le Mans then south wards and aiming for PAU in the pyrenees then on to Huesca and Zaragoza. From there a lovely long run down to Valencia and the A7 which will take you straight to Murcia. . Get a message to me if you want more details. Save travels, Mike

I have driven this route 10 to 12 times this last 7 years and stop in either B & B Hotels or Ibis Budget Hotels which I book online before I go. You can get into your room at any time of the night by putting your credit card that you have used to pay for the room into the automated machine at the entrance of the hotel and it will give you the room number and the entry code to gain access to your room and where appropriate access to the locked car park. You can also leave at whatever time you wish.

I broadly follow the route outlined by mikeamapola and do not use toll roads. As I am the only driver I usually have 2 stopovers although the last time I did drive down with just I stopover. However, I then used the peage between Boulogne and Abbeville which cost less than €10 and was well worth it for the time saved and there are quite a few speed cameras on the Route National road on this section. You will encounter speed cameras on the way down but generally before them you will usually have a speed camera warning sign or a digital speed sign indicating your speed. They were painted grey like our cameras but of a different shape but the latest cameras last year were round about 2 metres high and painted white.

I use my car to the UK in the summer. One hit both ways. 1900km takes 19 hours plus 2 hours for stops. Timing is everything. North bound I leave at 05.00 to get through Madrid and the lunchtime rush, the rest is peasey. South I get off the ferry at 03.30, dark but rested on the 4 hour crossing and whack on usually arriving in town about 21.00 for dinner. Malaga-Dieppe-Newhaven-Dieppe-Malaga. Never do more than 130kph.

Why put yourself at risk of an accident when you can probably stop-over in a decent hotel for under 40 euros?? Even the most experienced drivers are supposed to rest every 6 hours or so. 

If you stay away from central Madrid, you should be able to find a hotel with secure parking (if that is your concern) as KJL said, there is IBIS (they have an even lower-cost chain hotel F1) plus a host of others. A brief look at booking dot  should provide you with a dozen options.

What's the rush for.