travelling to Spain 2012

[borderboy]

Hi
1st week in February driving through France to Torrevieja in Spain. Coming from Scotland. 1st stop this side somewhere South. Early morning Channel Tunnel to Calais and then head South through France. Going to stop off and make 1 or 2 weeks of it as we will be in Spain for 2 months.
Advice i need.
Heading for the Clermont Ferand direction and then on into Spain. If we stop for 4 days in a Gite in France and then make a similar stop in Spain where would be best.
Weather is my sticky point. Will we encounter snow at that time of year and if so where as that is the area we would want to avoid. Driving in snow not so much of a problem but would like to minimize it as much as possible as i will have a trailer and a roof box on my Kia Sportage 4x4

Any advice on stops and routes would be grateful

Thanks

[BadlyBurnt]

Hi,

If your taking the main road (via Narbonne, Barcelona and Valencia) then you will have no problem with snow - I think that this is the most logical route anyway. Although you may be suprised to know that it does very occasionaly snow at sea level on the Med coast (last time was March 2010), the motorways will be open. If you want to head up to the Pyrenees you will need to take chains. The mountain roads are generally cleared of snow, but if they are snow covered then you will be turned back by the police if you don't have chains.

Since you mention that you are staying in a Gite, I assume you are thinking of staying somewhere rural rather than cities. Since you say one stop I'd succest you break the trip in half and stay somehere in Catalonia, either on the costa Brava or near Girona (these areas "shouldn't" have snow). Perhaps take a look at Besalú: a realy nice small medieval town.

The Spanish equivalent of Gites is "Casas Rurales" you could check out sites like http://www.toprural.co.uk or http://www.charmingvillas.net

Late Edit; If you want to avoid tolls by not using the main AP7/E15 then its better to use the roads that run inland (mostly parallel to the toll road) rather than the coast road which is very slow - especialy the sections near Blanes and Denia. A good site for route planning is www.viamichelin.es
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[borderboy]

Hi Badly Burnt
Great info. Now thinking about 2 stops. Because of where we are coming from it means we would probably get an early tunnel crossing
. Means that we wouldn't probably go much further than Clermont Ferand distance. Been told that they get skiing there so might want to come up short of there looking for a Gite , stop 3-4 days then do a stint into Spain a few more days stop and then the final leg to Torrevieja in the Costa Blanca.

Do you know when you come out of the tunnel at Calais is there an area where you can stop and put on the light deflector/adjustment things for the headlights?

Got a dog guard for the vehicle but do France and Spain require the 2 dogs to be leashed in the boot compartment of the 4x4. (Our luggage will be in the trailer!!!)

Got 2 Hi Vis and 2x Triangles. Do we need spare headlight and indicator bulbs for france and Spain?

You can tell that this is all going to be very new and a bit of an adventure!!

[BadlyBurnt]

Do you know when you come out of the tunnel at Calais is there an area where you can stop and put on the light deflector/adjustment things for the headlights?

I've only ever used the tunnel once, 11 years ago - I think I put the deflectors on while still the uk side of the tunnel (left during the day)

Got a dog guard for the vehicle but do France and Spain require the 2 dogs to be leashed in the boot compartment of the 4x4. (Our luggage will be in the trailer!!!)

In Spain the law only states thet the dogs shouldn't obstruct visibility or pose a danger to the vehicle ocupants in case of an accident. This means that just the dog guard on its own is fine. Don't know about France I'm afraid.

Got 2 Hi Vis and 2x Triangles. Do we need spare headlight and indicator bulbs for france and Spain?

Yes, in Spain anyway - the typical kit with bulbs and fuses.

For skiing you could also check out "Les Angles" in the French Pyrenees
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[borderboy]

Skiing and snow I want to avoid at all costs!! Live in Scotland just moved to the Borders from ther Highlands to get away from the damn stuf!!!!

[BadlyBurnt]

Sorry, I misenterpreted your last post where you mentioned skiing
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[laz]

I can believe the area around Clermont Ferand has skiing. The Massif Central is pretty high, with some quite wild hills and mountains up to about 1800m.

It's just about do-able in a day from Calais, although avoiding tolls and autoroutes would be a very long day. A few years ago, we took a similar initial route to get to Provence, down through Orleans (stopping for lunch) and stopping near Clermont Ferand for the night
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[Besalu2008]

Thanks for the mention badlyBurnt.

Besalu is a medieval village and a good place to spend a day or two on your journey but we don't really have any small properties suitable for a couple in this area.

the most ecconomic place to stay in Besalu is habitaciones maria in the main sq.
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[mpprh]

The A75 through the Massif Central uses several passes at 1100m. You will see snow on the surrounding peaks, but the road is generally clear. Using it several times each winter I have never had a serious problem with snow.

This is a beautiful stretch of autoroute and free from Clermont Ferrand South to the A9.

I'd probably press on and stay in Montpellier - reckon 9 - 10 hours drive from Calais. Montpellier is active in winter and is your first taste of Med weather (Med weather if not always hot is generally bright and sunny !).

Staying a few days around Montpellier allows easy access to the Languedoc area.

The A9 Pyrenees pass is virtually never closed due to snow. The coast road is beautiful but much longer. There are no snow worries from Figueres heading South.

Peter
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[BadlyBurnt]

[ribeirasacra]

[paul]

I read recently that in France it's going to become mandatory for vehicles to carry a breathalyser kit. It's becoming quite a checklist and no doubt a good money spinner for the ferry operators, with all manner of merchandise they can sell at inflated prices to unprepared tourists.
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[BadlyBurnt]

@ ribeirasacra, I was suprised too and likewise could find no mention of it on the dgt site. But it would seem to be true since its mentioned on the RACC site here:

http://w3.racc.es/index.php?mod=fundacion&mem=consejo&ambit=1013&tema=1123&id=18&relmenu=23
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[ribeirasacra]

Nice find BadlyBurnt, One thing they do not say is how many reflective jackets you are required to have for use. I have read that it is one for everyone who steps out of the vehicle. So for every passenger. But then a friend (Spanish) who runs a bus company says he only has to have one for the driver.

Paul: French breathalyser law. Below is a link about it. Maybe there is some sort of grace period. But why risk it for the sake of a Euro or two
http://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/article.php3?id_article=4036
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