David B Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 There have been many posts discussing routes to southern Spain, with some contributors expressing concerns about winter snows. The following may be of use to anyone planning a trip away from the UK winter (as we are). I have looked at the options from Calais (booked for 31/01/2008, returning 11/03/2008), but not those using the P&O ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao. The routes are based on suggestions in previous posts. The following calculations were done with www.viamichelin.co.uk, using costs based on the family car option (seemed to work out at ~27 m.p.g. – Autosleepers Nuevo ES - 2.2litre Peugeot) at £1/litre and using motorways with tolls. Route 1. Destination: Alicante via Le Mans, Limoges, Toulouse, Perpignon & Tarragona [This route avoids high ground through Spain] 1218 miles £262 Route 2 Alicante via Le Mans, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Bayonne (towards west coast of France), Zaragoza & Sagunto 1177 miles £229 Route 2a Alicante via Caen, Nantes, Bordeaux (nearer west coast of France), Zaragoza & Sagunto 1250 miles £243 Route 3 Alicante via Le Mans, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Lleida & Tarragona [‘valley’ route through Spain] 1265 miles £265 Route 4 Almeria via Le Mans, Limoges, Toulouse, Perpignon & Tarragona [This route avoids high ground through Spain] 1390 miles £279 Route 5 Almeria via Le Mans, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Burgos, Madrid, Albecete & Murcia [includes high ground] 1345 miles £241 Route 6 Almeria via Le Mans, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Burgos, Madrid, & Granada [includes high ground] 1311 miles £234 Route 7 Almeria via Caen, Nantes, Bordeaux (nearer west coast of France), Toulouse, Perpignon & Tarragona (avoiding high ground through Spain) 1478 miles £307 Conclusions:- Distances to Alicante ranged from 1177 – 1265 (a difference of 88 miles). Costs to Alicante ranged from £229 - £265 (£36). Excluding route 7 Distances to Almeria ranged from 1311 – 1390 (a difference of 79 miles). Costs to Almeria ranged from £234 - £279 (£45). Route 7 (the longest to Almeria) would add 167 miles and £73 compared to route 6 (the shortest). In terms of mileage and cost it makes little difference which of the routes 1 - 6 you take. Even route 7 only adds 167 miles (13%), but £73 (31%). The main consideration is likely to be weather conditions and the desirability of avoiding high ground and keeping closer to the coast to reduce the risk of ice and snow. Routes 1 & 4 avoid high ground in Spain by running down the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Routes 2, 2a, 3, 5, and 6 keep closer to the French west Atlantic coast, but encounter high ground in Spain, routes 2, 2a, 5, & 6 more so than route 3. Taking route 7 down the west coast of France and then across to the Spanish Mediterranean coast does significantly increase the cost, and to a lesser extent the mileage, but is likely to have the least risk of snow. Any comments from experienced motorhomers who have over-wintered in Spain (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred grant Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 alice recommends exeter to malaga in january. 1200 miles £99 each including self catering for 12 nights. fred as words to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 DavidI would only point out that your 'van will go as Class 2 on the autoroutes, and not as a car. The toll cost is roughly doubled. You may therefore find those routes maximising the free autoroutes show greater savings by comparison.I know it keeps changing, but if you buy your diesel at supermarkets it should be somewhere around 75p per litre - at least it was a fortnight ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 We do route 2 and stop at Valencia where we live. We never use toll roads and the toll free route from the French border down to Sagunto is an easy one day drive (about 8 hours driving time at approx 90kph). The Spanish are very good with their snow ploughs and if you stick to the main nationals/autovias delays are very rare. Most of the A23 autovia is now complete, with many of the old mountain passes being traversed by viaducts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonB Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Interesting. How do Spanish motorways charges/tolls compare to French ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Having returned from Spain last week my recollection is that Spanish autoroutes class motorhomes as Class1 wheras in France they are Class 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinfrier Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Hi In Spain Motorhomes with 2 axles are class 1, 3 axles class 2 Colin Frier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 colinfrier - 2007-11-09 8:24 AM Hi In Spain Motorhomes with 2 axles are class 1, 3 axles class 2 Colin Frier Colin, You forgot to mention the twin rear wheels (?) I believe a two axle twin wheeled vehicle is Class 2. Unless of course it's been changed recently. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Our Hymer (old, we're not wealthy) is a tag axle (?) ie twin wheels at the back and we're charged as class 2 in Spain, usually the same in France but sometimes as 3. Crossing the Millau bridge cost us class 4 so we don't do that anymore! ike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Don Madge - 2007-11-09 9:24 AM colinfrier - 2007-11-09 8:24 AM Hi In Spain Motorhomes with 2 axles are class 1, 3 axles class 2 Colin Frier Colin, You forgot to mention the twin rear wheels (?) I believe a two axle twin wheeled vehicle is Class 2. Unless of course it's been changed recently. Don Don, you are right. The rules that the Autopista Peage Companies all seem to use (I have been all over Spain, and although there are several different private companies operating the various stretches of toll-motorway, they all seem to have the same rules) are: Two axles, with single wheels on rear axle, regardless of weight = class 1 (car) charge. Three axles (ie tag-axle at rear) or two axles but with twin wheels on each rear axle = class 2 (commercial rigid-bodied vehicle) charge. I have however heard of people with tag axles or twin rear wheels often "getting way with it" and only being charged class one, if the toll-booth operator doesn't notice the characteristics of the MH as you drive up to the booth. Maybe also worth reminding people that in a lot of areas of Spain, there are now new and old motorways running side by side; the new stretches having been funded privately and operating as toll roads, and often the older sections having been constructed by the Government and free to use. Make sure if you come here that you have an up-to-date roadmap/Tom Tom thingy, and then you'll generally see stretches of motorways labelled as "A" or "AP" (eg A7, A31, AP7). "A" stands for Autopista (free); and AP is Autopista Peatge (toll). Because the "N-roads" (the Spanish equivalent of British A-roads) here are generally very good indeed, and very uncrowded, and the scenery is normally miles better, it may well be worth people taking N roads as an alternative to Toll motorway sections, to save money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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