calais to south of spain

[renagade]

Well. I think it is on. In September I am driving from Doncaster to the south of Spain to take my wife to see her brother who has lived in Spain for the last twelve years. Are there any do's and don't's that I should know about. I have bought the AA kit with jacket, bulbs, warning triangle and the rest.The car (2011 1.6 e-hdi egs6 ) as covered 74k so will have a full service.

[Stickyfinger]

Check your car recovery small print, in there you will find a clause (probably) that limits car recovery to the "Book" value of the car......then check the lowest book value.

[Gibbo2286]

If you're stopping at anything but the tourist meccas be sure you've learned a little French, out in the sticks they'll treat you like merde if you only have English.

[bobins]

If you have a dashcam and it records any 'incidents.....' whilst abroad, don't assume the footage will either be used in evidence or that your insurers will be interested in it, as dashcam footage isn't acceptable evidence in some European countries. Guess how I know ?

[mickeymoon]

If you're stopping at anything but the tourist meccas be sure you've learned a little French, out in the sticks they'll treat you like merde if you only have English.

Yes, even if it's just the tiniest amount of French. If you start speaking in French, however bad, in my experience those who can will help you out and speak in English.
If you start speaking in English, forget it...

[Stickyfinger]

OR....Tell them you are Scottish.....they then assume you hate the English as well....works EVERY time....."Je suis écossais" .................is all you need and the English will flow

[mickeymoon]

Well. I think it is on. In September I am driving from Doncaster to the south of Spain to take my wife to see her brother who has lived in Spain for the last twelve years. Are there any do's and don't's that I should know about. I have bought the AA kit with jacket, bulbs, warning triangle and the rest.The car (2011 1.6 e-hdi egs6 ) as covered 74k so will have a full service.

Map out a Carrefour or two on your way through France, near your route. Fuel is much cheaper than at motorway services. Motorway services in general are better than UK ones, but THE COFFEE, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, is SH!TE. So bad is it in fact, that I'm taking a camping stove, a kettle, and a Cafetiere when we go in a few weeks, and I'll make my own when we stop for a break on our way to Nice.

Finally, don't do the journey in one hit. It's really, really tiring. I drove back from Tarragona to Dieppe in one hit back in October, 840 miles with the small detour into Paris. I was properly tired out by the end of that. I'd only attempted it because 10 years before, I'd driven 1000 miles in one hit from Calais to Ancona in an open top Morgan replica. That was when I was young and had energy though! This time, we've got a little apartment in Dijon for £55 for the night, which is about halfway. On the way back, we'll do Nice-Dieppe in one go, but I've got a cabin booked on the boat so I'll be able to kip. On the way there, we're going Dover-Calais and stopping halfway.

[mickeymoon]

OR....Tell them you are Scottish.....they then assume you hate the English as well....works EVERY time....."Je suis écossais" .................is all you need and the English will flow

or Spanish, or Colombian, or... well, anything but English, to be honest!

[hirsty]

If you are travelling through France, I believe you need to show the emissions stickers recently brought out. Apparently these can take up to 6 weeks to arrive.

hirsty

[mickeymoon]

If you are travelling through France, I believe you need to show the emissions stickers recently brought out. Apparently these can take up to 6 weeks to arrive.

hirsty

Only needed in Paris, Lyon and Grenoble...

[Stickyfinger]

OR....Tell them you are Scottish.....they then assume you hate the English as well....works EVERY time....."Je suis écossais" .................is all you need and the English will flow

or Spanish, or Colombian, or... well, anything but English, to be honest!

By saying Scottish you can then just switch into full normal English (which they will quite often), best to chuck in a couple of Jockisiums for authenticity, which I find easy.

[vinypeps]

I did Northampton to La Manga last summer, it is a hike even spread over 2 days, if you use mainly motorways you will pay well over €200 in tolls on the round trip, factor in another €60 for an overnight b&b, also something that caught me out last year whilst returning via Andorra was mobile phone and data charges, astronomical would be the polite description, Andorra is utterly beautiful and tax free but have no agreement with the major uk service providers like Vodafone, I saved loads on duty free wine, spirits and ciggys but got stung for £160 in data and phone charges...

[mickeymoon]

Yes, Andorra is gorgeous - just make sure you've downloaded any Sat-nav maps that you're using on a phone so they can be used offline, and fill up with fuel at the massive petrol station at the top of the hill out of the main town I use 3, which have "3 at home", so I can use it pretty much anywhere as if I was at home in the UK.. apart from Andorra, but the signal is so patchy anyway it didn't bother me.

[white exec]

Whereabouts in south of Spain are you heading for?
We may pass as I head in the opposite direction to the North 500 run!

[renagade]

Hi I am going to Orihuela. That's where the brother-in-law has spent the last twelve years.