Weneeda Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Hi - I'm looking for a bit of advise on the best way to travel through France (from Eurotunnel) to Alicante - looking to go to Camping Marjal for christmas and new year. Looking on Google maps there are 3 options - Going down the Autoroute crossing into Spain at Le Boulou (Sth Perpignan). This is mainly motorways all the way - and the cost of that. I know these roads well but the cost (just under £200) is a consideration. - Going down through Biaritz over to Zaragoza and on to Alicante - Not sure if this one involves Toll roads and what about crossing the Pyrenees - Going down through Bordeaux and then onto Zaragoza and on to Alicante. - Again comment as above. We are in an Autotrail Miami 740SE (7.4m long) so high mountain ranges & passes may be an issue. Would be delighted to have everyone's opinion of the best (& safest) way to go. Thanks Eileen (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Hi Eileen From my experience definitely route 3, particularly considering time of year. This route totally misses mountains, and is generally both toll and snow free. You need to do some careful planning as not many campsites are open in France at that time of year. and it depends if you use aires or not. We usually stop night 1 around Blois, night 2 in Bordeau and night 3 in Urrugne or Pamplona. It depends how far you want to drive and what time your crossing is.Presume you have ACSI ? We have stayed at Marjal before and the facilities are excellent- be warned however that it is very much out in the sticks and you will need additional transport- unless you want to keep packing up whenever you want to go out. I know many people who are staying for a while hire a car at Alicante airport where the rates are cheap. Sometimes the campsite themselves also have good car hire offers. Hope this helps Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Agree with everything Bob says. One other way (Maybe) go via Pau and the somport tunnel. This is a quick route down, but we have only done it as late as October, so would depend on the weather. The route from Bairitz , the road is now a toll crossing into Spain, so can be pricey Make sure you have an UP TO Date map, as the French are cunning in changing roads to Toll, we got caught, not realising we where on a Toll road PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T8LEY Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 You may find this useful: http://about-france.com/tourism/no-tolls-routes.htm I agree with others re route. If you use aires through France you will struggle to get water but we've found they are accessible. I don't think all of the A10 is toll and it's definitely worth using it around Biarritz where the main road is atrocious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithR Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 it is quite easy to get down via Perpignan toll free using satnav., and a tankfull of water should quite easily get you to spain if you cant fill up on route. And as an alternative to campsites and aires, you will pass many large supermarkets offering shopping, a meal, drinks and a nights sleep. you are, after all, on a quick trip down and don't need a beautiful view!!! no planning needed, just stop and start when you want. weve done all the suggested options, all are fine, depends on your personal preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Had Enough Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 T8LEY - 2015-03-09 8:59 PM You may find this useful: http://about-france.com/tourism/no-tolls-routes.htm I agree with others re route. If you use aires through France you will struggle to get water but we've found they are accessible. I don't think all of the A10 is toll and it's definitely worth using it around Biarritz where the main road is atrocious. We go to Spain or Portugal every January or February and always use the Bordeaux/Bayonne route and have never had a problem. The site you mention above is superb and I actually posted a link to it myself on here a few weeks ago. It spells out really sensible routes, most of which are toll free but recommends using tolls to miss driving through some pretty horrible places that add ages to the journey and as you said, the last few miles to the border are awful if you don't use the toll motorway. Anyone willing to go all the way to to Zaragoza without using a single toll road must be ultra-keen on not spending a penny more than they have to, or have all the time in the world. But even if I did have all the time in the world I'll still spend a few euros to avoid Tours or Poitier for instance. Life's to short to have to put up with the hassle of struggling through some French cities. Another advantage of spending some time on toll motorways is that many of the picnic aires have water available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickydicky Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 We go to spain from December to March every year and have tried all the routes mentioned,but for us,by far the best one is pau,the somport tunnel, a23 to Valencia. We have never had a problem with snow and don't use any toll roads.we find this route offers plenty of good fast roads with plenty of nice aires along the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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