We do that trip every year in Sept, but take several nights to get to the coast as we enjoy the journey as much as the destination. Often we do 1 day toll then 1 day non toll, which sort of halves the total toll bill. And we enjoy the places we stop on the way too.
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Quote:
The new 50mph limit is a bit of a pain! So a route with mostly dual carriageway is good but I also like the mix of not being on a motorway as it’s more scenic, cheaper fuel and easier to find a bouloungerie!!
Motorways in France are just as scenic as N roads IMHO, certainly when you get south of the Loire. Fuel is cheapest at supermarkets - garages on N roads can be as expensive as motorway services.
Quote: Originally posted by Keyboard warrior on 28/4/2019
Why any body would travel cross country rather than peage baffles me.
Don’t believe Google or Via Michelin for timings,they are hours out.
Why? Maybe they have plenty of time and want to save some of the €317 it costs on toll roads from Calais to Frejus and back with a caravan.
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When we first started touring France, to even go near an autoroute was regarded as treachery.
We wanted to experience the small winding village roads, the continual speed limit changes, the bouncing over the interminable speed humps, the small cobbled road that has "route barée" when you are fully committed down the street, the multitude of very pretty roundabouts and of course the boulangerie.
Now we are older, wiser and sexier, we appreciate the calm, stress free péage routes for the most part. It saves gear changing, arthritic wrists and arguments. The péage costs are partly offset by the saving in fuel, time and the certainty of where to find a toilet.
As above, if you are touring then tour, but if you are holidaying in South East France, get there as quickly and as easy as possible. So Autoroute/Payage every time for us.
Auto, active cruise control with lane assist...........Easy Peasy!
Quote: Originally posted by Netherton on 28/4/2019
Quote: Originally posted by Keyboard warrior on 28/4/2019
Why any body would travel cross country rather than peage baffles me.
Don’t believe Google or Via Michelin for timings,they are hours out.
Why? Maybe they have plenty of time and want to save some of the €317 it costs on toll roads from Calais to Frejus and back with a caravan.
Exactly! We tour in France with our caravan, but we have a house there in the south, about an hour from the Spanish border, and we hardly ever use the toll roads. Home to home would cost us around 100 euros in tolls (without the caravan). That 200 euros saved buys us a lot of lunchtime 'Menus' in our local restaurant which (still) does a lunchtime option for 9.80 euros ncluding wine or a lot of bottles of wine or other treats.
Our journeys aren't about getting there quickly, but about enjoying the journey. We like to find a bread shop where we can taste their local specialties, we like to stop at a farm shop and buy some fruit, and we like meals in village restaurants or a nice riverside picnic area, or in a square in a village, not on autoroute service areas. We do use some sections of toll routes where the alternative is a nightmare but those are few.
If you have a fortnight's holiday and/or 'are we there yet' children in the back then it might make sense to use the tolls roads, and when you get too old to cope with speed humps and traffic lights, but at the moment we're quite happy going back and forth in our own meandering way.
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Quote: Originally posted by Val A on 28/4/2019
Exactly! We tour in France with our caravan, but we have a house there in the south, about an hour from the Spanish border, and we hardly ever use the toll roads. Home to home would cost us around 100 euros in tolls (without the caravan). That 200 euros saved buys us a lot of lunchtime 'Menus' in our local restaurant which (still) does a lunchtime option for 9.80 euros ncluding wine or a lot of bottles of wine or other treats.
Doesn't you're "home to home" journey include an overnight stop in France?
It takes me the best part of eight hours to get from Caen to our house near Sarlat and that's doing a good three quarters of the journey on autoroutes.
I did it in the 80's when money was tight from Calais to St Tropez in a Mini Clubman Estate which sprung a radiator leak on the way. One overnight stop for a few hours sleep in the car; another night in a B & B somewhere near Lyon with a Landlady who must have been related to a Rottweiler and although it was good fun at the time, I look back and think "I must have been off my head!" Why didn't I just have a holiday in Brittany where everything would have been cheaper? We all do silly things when we are young (and when we are old!). Good luck!
Quote: Originally posted by Val A on 28/4/2019
Exactly! We tour in France with our caravan, but we have a house there in the south, about an hour from the Spanish border, and we hardly ever use the toll roads. Home to home would cost us around 100 euros in tolls (without the caravan). That 200 euros saved buys us a lot of lunchtime 'Menus' in our local restaurant which (still) does a lunchtime option for 9.80 euros ncluding wine or a lot of bottles of wine or other treats.
Doesn't you're "home to home" journey include an overnight stop in France?
It takes me the best part of eight hours to get from Caen to our house near Sarlat and that's doing a good three quarters of the journey on autoroutes.
Yes, of course. We usually stop off and see friends in a variety of places en-route, or find an overnight hotel. But we would still have to stay overnight if we used autoroutes, so we're not saving anything!
We can be home to hotel/friends by the end of day 1, and by the end of day 2 we can be down at our house in the Aude. We would still need the overnight stop if we used the autoroutes, but would have spent 100 euros more.
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A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Routes and keeping costs down
