Just so no one is under any illusions, I recently completed a trip to Oliva, Valencia with two drivers in a van. Before I went there were varying accounts on forums of how long it could take, and we decided to try and do it in one hit.

Leaving Calais at about 3.15 in the morning we drove around Paris, down through Lyon, Perpignon, Barcelona etc, all on toll motorways, and it took us a total of 21 hours. We stopped every 200 miles or so for a 15 min break, and stopped a couple of times for meal breaks of about half an hour.

On the way back we stopped in Montpellier overnight. The driving time was about the same although after Lyon we headed directly North through Lille and up to Calais, again on motorways.

Its not for the faint hearted. During the day we were driving for 4 hours each, during the dark 200 miles.

I'm off again with the car on Monday, Portsmouth / St Malo. According to Michelin its only 840 miles taking that route, but even so I'm doing it over 2/3 days as I'll be on my own this time.

Hi Mitzyboy,

What did the Tolls cost?

Regards,

John.

Haven't dared add it up yet, and some of my receipts are in Spain

But it was EXCITING wasn't it?

Shame you're not going via Calais as I think I'm taking a car over to Alicante early next week!

BTW: 21 hrs from Calais?

Yes 21, couldn't hacve done it any faster .... why do you think that was slow? Don't forget I was in an LDV Luton :scared:

If you are going past Oliva on the way back up give me a call (although I guess you'll go back via Alicante)

Didn`t you try top gear ?

me & my M8 did manchester, dover calais along coast to spanish boarder then done all the way to la luz in an old battered merc van took us a day & a half & was wrecked when we got there, wont be doing that drive again, tolls in france very dear they seemed to average around th 45E mark, stopped in a rest area in france was freezing cold & got hassled by the french plod so just carried on never again

ditto!

We did Santander down to Chiclana and found that the roads and tolls were very good. Going back next year by car and was going to make a trip of it via France but now possibly may go back through Spain and across the top of Spain France to get a shorter ferry route back.

Are you moving back like so many I hear about

No first grandchild and a wedding. Just would like to take the car as there is unusually two of us and bring back some things which I can´t get over here, i.e. a breadmaker!!

Whats wrong with spanish bread

glynis wants a breadmaker because it goes hard to quick (ohh ere that sounds a bit wrong)

Women cant be pleased at all can they?!

only if they have batteries