Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

Hi All

I'm going to be driving to Seville province from Kent in the next couple of days. I'd be grateful if anyone has any tips for me.

- What's a good route? Google is showing me one to the west through Bordeaux and San Sebastian, and one to the east, through Lyon and Barcelona, then down the coast to Valencia before turning inland. The latter is further, but I'm quite tempted to do that.

- I've seen some people talking about a stamp on the Spanish border to prove date of entry to Spain. Is this even possible? Where would you go to get that done?

Thanks!

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

We do the journey regularly. We find the most direct route is the one via Bordeaux. Spanish border to Bordeaux is easy driving on the pay motorway which in recent years has been made three lanes each way. Only about 15 euros in tolls.
Bordeaux is a bottle neck . We have never managed an unimpeded run ( traffic jams).

France is full of speed cameras so stick to the limits. We picked up two ( 45 euros each with prompt payment which was very easy). Both were just a fraction over the 80 limit which was irritating. Seems to be zero tolerance.

Calais to Bordeaux is easy driving on the till motorways. If you aren't in a hurry And want to pull in some sights ( you don't see much On the motorways) then the A roads are pretty decent.

it is always a pleasure to get back into Spain. Fuel is cheaper for example and meals. We head up towards Burgos and then straight down past Madrid and down to Granada. For Seville I would guess you would peel off to Cordoba south of Madrid. Lerma is a nice stopping off point for an overnight. Hotel Alisa or the Parador.

the French/spain border at Irun is hard to spot. You just drive straight through. Last time was early August and we had checked we did not need to fill in any documentation ( that is only for ferries and plane arrivals!). So not at all sure how you would get a stamp.

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

Hola

I use a TomTom sat-nav and it takes us through Tours, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Burgos, Valladolid, Salamanca, Merida, Seville

Davexf

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

Excellent - thanks, both!

The thing about the stamp was something I saw on here I think but I can't spot it now. Someone suggested they had needed evidence of date of entry for a residency application and had managed to get a stamp on entry from some bewildered border officials. I'll have another look for it when I get a chance.

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

PS - do you have any night time stops locations/hotels to recommend? I was thinking of stopping in Poitiers overnight.

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

You could also use the Michelin Route planner andt this even shows you the tolls to pay https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Routes
We usually just check Booking.com on the way.

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

We've done trips to the Basque country from the UK over the last 30 years, as my wife is Basque, where we now live.

• Firstly, are you in a hurry to get to Seville? If not so much, then there are interesting places to see en route.
• Secondly, the western side of France (ie Bordeaux etc) avoids the heavily congested and accident prone motorways along the costas via the Biriatou frontier in Catalunya.
• Avoid Paris.
• From Le Mans, I'd suggest aim for Angers, to avoid Tours which can also be a bottleneck
• Poitiers is about half way from UK to Spain, but from Angers, Saumur is a very lovely little town to rest overnight
• From Saumur, head south towards Parthenay on D938, a pretty straight road, avoiding motorway tolls. Then Niort, Saintes & Bordeaux either on motorways or the D roads.
• From Bordeaux to the frontier will be around 3 hours, give or take the traffic. Stay overnight in Spain rather than more expensive France, somewhere like Hondarribia (Fuenterabia). Donosti (San Sebastian is nice but quite expensive)
• Then head for Vitoria by motorway & from Vitoria to Burgos is now toll free. Burgos to Valladolid next.
• South of Valladolid is "castle country", outstanding ones being Coca, Medina del Campo & Peñafiel.
• Salamanca is a beautiful city with the Plaza Mayor to have a beer & people-watch
• Caceres, Merida, Zafra are also worth a stop before reaching Sevilla.
  
  Hope that helps. Buen viaje

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

Olivefarmer/Dxf - Do both of you go to/around Paris with that route or stay to the north, Ruan/le Mans?
In a few weeks I'll be heading from Andalucia to central Germany with a provisional route that passes Bordeaux and Paris and wondering about the traffic situation in both. Do they follow the usual thing of rush hours or is it always busy?

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

If we are doing Motorways we generally go via Rouen. We have done Paris a few times but prefer Rouen. Paris seems to me to be like London. Always busy with rush hours when it is even busier!

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

Hola

We normally stop at the ACE hotel Poitiers, Zone du Patis, Rue de la Maison Coupée, 86000 Poitiers, France which is a dog friendly hotel. We have stopped there since it opened and could now do with a little "TLC"- There is a small Carrefour supermarket walking distance from the hotel which therefore suits our needs.

Davexf

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

Thanks -- I was thinking Poitiers looked like the place to stop.

I'm filling out a covid statement for entry to France, is there anything similar for Spain? I can see something for flying, but do we need anything to cross the border by road?

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

If you prefer to go via Madrid choose the A 5 from there for Merida where you pick up the A 66. for Sevilla. The A 5 is far better and less busy than the A 4 Cordoba route. This I learnt having made the Madrid to Sevilla journey many times. However, if you enter Spain in the Basque area (San Sebastian) head for Bilbao and then Burgos, Salamanca, Merida, Sevilla etc, avoiding Madrid completely, which is very busy and can be complicated because of the network of peripheral highways around Madrid.
Have a safe trip.

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

Agree with Dxf, thats our preferred route. Have been doing the trip from the UK to the Huelva region regularly for the last 12 years and have tried various routes. We normally stop a couple of times in France & then Valladolid as we have dogs so we always use Ibis or Novotel.

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

Take a look at this:
https://www.connexionfrance.com/Fren...f402-357343417
before you leave the UK. It's only a supposition in the conditional, but you should be aware of what might happen when arriving in France. Since the UK announced quarantine at very short notice, the French Govt. is practising tit for tat, methinks....
Whether or not travellers from the UK passing through France en route for Spain would be subjected to quarantine remains to be seen. When France first came out of confinement, only those who were resident in Spain/Portugal and returning "home", were allowed in.
Check with the official News, so that you know what to expect!!
HTH

Re: Driving from UK to Spain via Calais
 

I took the scenic route via Andorra once. Great place to visit and overnight.