Driving from Calais to Santiago

I drove the following route...

Calais > Rouen > Le Mans > Tours > Poitiers > Limoge > Toulouse > Perpignan > Girona > Barcelona > Valencia > Murcia.

I travelled down through the UK and through the tunnel on my first day and stayed in a hotel at Calais, so I could start early the next day. I then did the Calais to Perpignan section in one day - it is 600 miles, but do-able. I then stayed in a hotel near Perpignan and had an early start to do the next 600 miles the next day. 

Most of this route is not on toll roads. There are emissions rules for most major French cities, but if you stick to the main routes round them (i.e. don't go into the city centres) then you should be able to avoid these - see link below...

I would recommend Ibis hotels. They are cheap, but decent and in good locations just off main road connections.

Hope this helps!

Hi Richard, 

Thank you so much, thst really is helpful 

Regards 

Mary 

Hi, 

Here are my tips, FWIW:

1. There are basically 3  (motorway) routes across France - West, Central and East. Forget East if going from Calais to the Costas. 

To take the West route, (via Rouen) ,  follow the A16 South from the shuttle. Near  Abbeville, take the A28 to Rouen. This route is OK, but:

a) the motorways don't QUITE interconnect at Rouen, so if you are unfamiliar with that route, it can cause some initial confusion and delay. 

b) Once in Rouen, instead of heading (over the river) for the A13 (West)/A28 towards Le Man's (some tolls), it's worth going across country from Rouen via  the D6015 (North side of the Seine) to Val de Reuil (several cheap stopover hotels here), then take the toll-free A154/N154/D954 towards Evreux, Dreux and Chartres in order to join the A10/E9 (Centre motorway route) at Artenay just North of Orleans. 

Alternatively, the Centre route (A16) takes you around Paris before heading towards Orleans. The motorways on the Centre route are interlinked, but the Paris section can be anything from a total breeze, to the journey from hell, depending on the time of day/week. 

Whichever (motorway) route you take, tolls are more or less a "swings & roundabouts" experience. Do not make the mistake of trying to plan a route using main non-motorway roads in order to avoid tolls - unless you want to take 6 days to complete the journey!! The only time it might be worth leaving the motorway system (briefly) is to fill up with cheaper fuel - but make sure you know how to get back onto the motorway network easily!

From Orleans, use the A71 to Clermont-Ferrand. This then connects directly with the A75 which takes you all the way to the A9/E15 coast motorway, just North of Beziers.  Much of the A71/A75 section is toll-free, although you will have to pay a toll to cross the breath-taking Millau viaduct that spans the Tarn valley and forms part of the A75 (recommended). 

The A9 is tolled to the Spanish border, but from what I can remember, the toll arrangements changed in Spain quite recently, so that motorways from there to Alicante became toll-free (?) 

At this point, at least you're on the right (East) side of Spain, so just keep heading South around Girona, Barcelona and Valencia. Just South of Valencia, take the A-7 towards Alicante, rather than the AP-7 - it's more direct, and is toll-free. Further on, the AP-7 has a couple of modest tolls between Elche and La Zenia, but there are a couple of ways of avoiding these by using alternative local routes. 

It's a long drive from Calais, so use the slightly higher legal max speeds on French and Spanish motorways where possible, but take regular comfort breaks (service areas are frequent). If you are able to share the driving that will help. Even "going for it" you're definitely going to need 2 nights' stopovers, and depending on which part of the UK you're starting out from, quite possibly a 3rd. If your car is a UK/RHD, the driver side will be on the wrong side to any toll booths, so it's easier for the person in the passenger seat to pay the tolls! Finally, it might be stating the obvious, but get your vehicle thoroughly checked over before setting out! 😊 

HTH

Thanks for the information supplied, greatly app

Hi Mary, just to clarify something on my previous note:  the part of the route I described from Rouen to Artenay is a mix of motorway and normal "A" roads. I've driven it a number of times, and although the general advice is not to deviate from the motorway network, this portion of the route is useful as it allows you to: a) fill up with cheap(er) fuel (several stations, especially between Nonancourt and Dreux), b) get a decent stop-over hotel directly along this route, c) is toll-free, d) crossing to the Central route at this point also means less tolls on the rest of the route as far as the French South coast (E9/A10), e) takes in the Millau viaduct. If wanting to spend as little time as possible on the road is your first priority, then the Rouen-Le Mans-Toulouse route might suit you better, but the tolls are likely to be more. 

Also, doing the journey outside of the peak holiday season is likely to be cheaper, as some tolls are increased in the Summer months, some by as much as 100%!!

HTH

Hi Cyril, 

Thank you for taking time to get in contact again. 
Mary