BurtTheBeast Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Hi, just thought I would introduce myself and say hello. This site seems to be full of some lovely people! We have just bought Burt - an old Mercedes 207 campervan. Hes a lovely beast. Very cosy and full of character and he has a roar! We are planning on spending the summer holidays driving down to Spain and then spend a week in Morocco. Am having a bit of an argument with my girlfriend about how long its going to take us to get from here to Morocco. We can only really afford to cross Dover-Calais. Now according to google maps it would take us about 24 hours to drive to the south of Spain. She doesnt trust technology and reckons it would probably take about a week - without any time to relax in between. Our van is quite a beast with a max speed of 50 mph, but even still I think we should be able to do it in 3 comfortable days.. Im sure this route has been well travelled.. Has anyone made this trip before? Am I being naive? What kind of journey would you anticipate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Calais to Tarifa is about 1400 miles, using autoroutes/pistas, on the nearest straight line. Then you have to cross to Morocco. If your max is 50 mph, you'll be lucky to average much better than 40 mph. So, say 35 hours continual driving. However, you have to eat, sleep and rest, use toilets, wash, wash up, and do the odd bit of shopping. How much time you build in for those things, only you can judge, but I think your girlfriend has a firmer grip on what is achievable than you do! Nothing to do with technology, just simple, old fashioned arithmetic and a bit of practical experience. The further south you go, the hotter you'll get, the more dehydrated you'll become, and the more you'll both tire. Even if you use a sat-nav you'll need her to navigate at times, so you'll need her awake and alert. Droning along on a sunny day, in a hot, noisy, windy (got cab aircon?) stuffy driving cab isn't a recipe for alertness. I suspect you haven't got power assisted steering, so the driving will be that bit harder on you, as well. Say you can cover 300 miles per day: you'll need 4.5 days, and you'll have to maintain that every day to cover the distance. That's about 7.5 hours per day driving, so 09:00 - 12:00, lunch, and then 13:00 - 17:30 every day! No looking around as you travel, just driving like a truck driver on his day job. Holiday? I think the girl is dead right: shorten the driving day, enjoy the journey, take time to rest and explore, stay fresh and alert, stay well fed and watered, and arrive later rather than sooner! If you are going for less that a month, forget Morocco, and just enjoy the ride to Southern Spain. Your schedule will turn into an endurance test: you'll undoubtedly pass the test - but your girlfriend will probably fly home from Alicante! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEEANDEM Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Hi Bert. The route to spain that you are planing will get very hot in the summer months the further south the hotter it gets. I have done this trip many times as i have family living in the south of Spain. Three days is a fair time to get down there but that leaves no time for sight seing and finding places to stay on route. For your channel crossing try Eurotunel this year i find them chaeper to cross with and no suplement charge to change booking times. The ferry companeys will charge you extra if you do not use the booked times. And the train do not charge extra for high vehicles. I have used it many times and find so easy. Derrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurtTheBeast Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Brian Kirby - 2007-06-19 3:17 PMI think your girlfriend has a firmer grip on what is achievable than you do! Darn it! :-S Thanks for the words. You are right I do not want an endurance test. Unfortunately the lady insists on Morocco and we are limited in the amount of time we can spend as we have a child who must be schooled.Her idea was to drive to North Spain and then fly down to Morocco. I was hoping to avoid this ... where's the romance in catching an airplane on our camping trip???! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurtTheBeast Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 DEEANDEM - 2007-06-19 3:43 PM For your channel crossing try Eurotunel this year i find them chaeper to cross with and no suplement charge to change booking times. Derrick, Thanks I hadnt thought of the Eurotunnel. Will look into it. The heat is something I am very wary of, especially as we will have a child with us. Luckily there is some kind of aircon unit in the van, not very good, but better than nothing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 DEEANDEM - 2007-06-19 4:43 PM For your channel crossing try Eurotunel this year i find them chaeper to cross with and no suplement charge to change booking times. I would like to try the tunnel but have never found a fare even close to Norfolkline/Seafrance (£30-40 each way). I have looked at all times of day and different days of week. Even with paying Norfolklines £10 change fee, I can't see how they are cheaper. Where do you buy your tickets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 BurtTheBeast - 2007-06-19 4:16 PM Darn it! :-S Thanks for the words. You are right I do not want an endurance test. Unfortunately the lady insists on Morocco and we are limited in the amount of time we can spend as we have a child who must be schooled. Her idea was to drive to North Spain and then fly down to Morocco. I was hoping to avoid this ... where's the romance in catching an airplane on our camping trip???! Sounds a bit like two trips to me. One in a mororhome, and the other a flying package. Haven't checked, but I'd guess you can get to Morocco as cheaply from UK as from Spain. Without the van you'll still need accommodation when you arrive, so the cost of a week one way or the other should be roughly the same. Morocco would be extremely hot July/August, so why not a trot around in the van in summer, and an off season week in Morocco when it's cooled off a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Derek500. We use the tunnel all the time I pay in advance every year £390 .for 10 single trips. So £39 but thats a car price for the camper you add anoth £18 this is £9 extra each way making the trip singular at £48. Still not bad though for the convienece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 BurtTheBeast - 2007-06-19 4:16 PM You are right I do not want an endurance test. Unfortunately the lady insists on Morocco and we are limited in the amount of time we can spend as we have a child who must be schooled. If that's the ONLY time restriction you have, no problem. Use the whole summer holiday, which will easily be enough time to get to Morocco and back without pressure. But maybe one or other of you has to earn a living, which will limit your available time rather more? We have an old van (1989 Transit) and wouldn't consider that length of journey unless we had 4 weeks minimum. You CAN blast through France on the Autoroutes, which might make 3 weeks a possibility, but that's SO not what France is for (ask Michele - or any of the regular Francophiles on here)! We reckon even in Spain or Italy we need 3 weeks to do anything worthwhile (if we've less time than that, we don't go beyond France). Remember, like snails and tortoises we carry our homes on our backs - and no-one ever accused them of hurrying! Tony & Liz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 michele - 2007-06-19 7:09 PM Derek500. We use the tunnel all the time I pay in advance every year £390 .for 10 single trips. So £39 but thats a car price for the camper you add anoth £18 this is £9 extra each way making the trip singular at £48. Still not bad though for the convienece That's a good deal Michele. Great if you can do the crossing five times a year. Still doesn't beat Norfolkline for a one off booking and they charge £30 for a pet, compared to Norfolkline's £20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurtTheBeast Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 Tony Jones - 2007-06-19 7:00 PM If that's the ONLY time restriction you have, no problem. Use the whole summer holiday, which will easily be enough time to get to Morocco and back without pressure. But maybe one or other of you has to earn a living, which will limit your available time rather more? We have five weeks. Gosh decisions decisions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 BurtTheBeast - 2007-06-20 9:08 AM We have five weeks. With 5 weeks, do it! Tony & Liz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BensGrandad Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 We are considering similar driving to The Algarve in our 1978 Sherpa Highwayman and I am looking ata week to get there a week to get home and 2 weeks there. I have asked my brother in law, who is my mechanic if the 'old girl ' will make it and his reply was Yes if you dont expect to get there in 24 hours and take your time. Hence the month away. We once drove to Cyprus via Italy (Brindisi) and Greece in our car and have considered the same driving overland to Greece but am not quite sure with the old Sherpa plus at 20 mpg it would be expensive. This accounts for my question on another thread about possibly hiring/buying a Romahome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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