Road trip Z4 Caen france to Valencia Spain
Discussion
Cold said:
Avoid toll roads - that was your Plan-A
DaveZ4 said:
UP DATE
Hi Guys, thanks for all the tips, i had the route all planned but due to the covid 19 situation i had to cancel it for 2020 spring time.
Im still working on my route and hoping to go in may 2021
Dave
Ha! We may bump into you then, our ferry is booked for a two-week trip down to the South Coast in May. Hi Guys, thanks for all the tips, i had the route all planned but due to the covid 19 situation i had to cancel it for 2020 spring time.
Im still working on my route and hoping to go in may 2021
Dave
We managed about half of our trip back in March 2020.
St Malo -> Biarritz in one hit - got to Biarritz around 4pm after stopping for a leisurely lunch. Biarritz is a nice place, with a bit of a hippy / surf vibe, coupled with a touch of Tapas.
Biarritz -> San Sebastian - should have taken about 30 minutes, but we took a detour through the mountains. San Sebastian is a fabulous place, and if you're anywhere close it's a must visit. The beaches are fantastic, and so is the food.
San Sebastian -> Jaca - lovely quiet roads - some fantastic scenery. The foothills of the Pyrenees are really nice. We took some side trips up to Escarilla and did some mountain hiking - lots of trails and waterfalls and not many people.
It was here that we found out that Fallas in 2020 was cancelled, so we re-planned and went to Bilbao, which promptly closed at 10pm, so we then did a sprint back to St. Malo, stocking up on bog roll on the way.
We still have 8 nights of pre-paid hotel in Valencia, which has been moved to the same dates in 2021. No idea whether the 2021 Fallas will still be on -we'll cross that bridge after Xmas...
St Malo -> Biarritz in one hit - got to Biarritz around 4pm after stopping for a leisurely lunch. Biarritz is a nice place, with a bit of a hippy / surf vibe, coupled with a touch of Tapas.
Biarritz -> San Sebastian - should have taken about 30 minutes, but we took a detour through the mountains. San Sebastian is a fabulous place, and if you're anywhere close it's a must visit. The beaches are fantastic, and so is the food.
San Sebastian -> Jaca - lovely quiet roads - some fantastic scenery. The foothills of the Pyrenees are really nice. We took some side trips up to Escarilla and did some mountain hiking - lots of trails and waterfalls and not many people.
It was here that we found out that Fallas in 2020 was cancelled, so we re-planned and went to Bilbao, which promptly closed at 10pm, so we then did a sprint back to St. Malo, stocking up on bog roll on the way.
We still have 8 nights of pre-paid hotel in Valencia, which has been moved to the same dates in 2021. No idea whether the 2021 Fallas will still be on -we'll cross that bridge after Xmas...
DaveZ4 said:
Dam covid still waiting for this to happen
With you there.We normally drive down to Spain every summer but haven't since 2018.
Change of work reducing finances and then Covid.
I was hoping for this year but my Wife wants to wait until next year until Covid is hopefully well under control.
SO FRUSTRATED.
Lots of interesting places to visit on the way.
We've done the west of Paris route first stop Bordeaux.
Then stay a night in San Sebastian, Burgos, Madrid, depending on how much time, before heading to Valencia or Alicante areas.
The route west of Paris towards Lyon is also interesting.
We like an overnight in Montpellier then hug the coast staying in Sitges area before on to Valencia.
Good luck, hope you get to see your daughter this year.
Hi Daimlerv
Interesting reading and maybe I’ll change some of my plans. As I think I was being a bit of a whip and only driving about 250 miles a day
I had already decided to change my original route and drive though France without site seeing. I was going to do war sites but with covid restrictions I’ll do them another year.
I think I’ll reduce my stops in France. Once near to the Pyrenees ill reduce mileage and enjoy some great drives and site see. When going into Spain increase daily mileage to get to my daughter’s place.
Also like you my wife still works and wont take 3 weeks off work, so I’ll be driving alone. Love the idea of converting a van I’ve watched so many youtubes on the subject.
Thanks for tips
Dave
Interesting reading and maybe I’ll change some of my plans. As I think I was being a bit of a whip and only driving about 250 miles a day
I had already decided to change my original route and drive though France without site seeing. I was going to do war sites but with covid restrictions I’ll do them another year.
I think I’ll reduce my stops in France. Once near to the Pyrenees ill reduce mileage and enjoy some great drives and site see. When going into Spain increase daily mileage to get to my daughter’s place.
Also like you my wife still works and wont take 3 weeks off work, so I’ll be driving alone. Love the idea of converting a van I’ve watched so many youtubes on the subject.
Thanks for tips
Dave
DaveZ4 said:
Hi So called
looks like you have done it a few times.
what sort of car do you drive the road trip in?
how many hours do you do in a day?
ill be on own as wife still works, im think 4 hours driving a day?
Dave
Hi Dave,looks like you have done it a few times.
what sort of car do you drive the road trip in?
how many hours do you do in a day?
ill be on own as wife still works, im think 4 hours driving a day?
Dave
Yes, we really enjoy the drive.
We normally take 4 or 5 days to drive down, depending if its northern or southern Spain/Portugal.
4 to 5 hours driving each day (max 6) is quite relaxing, gives you plenty of time to detour and also have relaxing lunches and evenings.
I worked away for many years so a 14 hour drive to Germany or Switzerland was quite common so very used to long drives.
I think this is partly why I'm missing heading to Spain so much.
I'm a TVR nut so its been a Chimaera, a Mk1 Tuscan and since 2009 a Tuscan Convertible.
Your Z4 will be great I'm sure.
I would guess similar firm suspension but we've never found it an issue.
We do use the Autoroute a lot as you can eat up the miles in the time you give to driving.
I've found the western route quieter than the eastern route.
However, on the eastern route, when you get past Lyon you start to feel the Mediterranean atmosphere which is great.
AAAAARGGGHHH I miss it.
I think you need to plan the roadtrip according to how patient / chilled out / relaxed you are.
From a very personal perspective - if I'm going somewhere, then I want to get there. The way I deal with this is that if there's somewhere I want to see, then I make it at least an overnight stop - that way, when I get there - I'm there and happy to stay. Pretty much the only exception to this was the Millau Viaduct - we stopped off there on the way somewhere and I was quite happy to spend a couple of hours there including driving down into the gorge to see it from underneath.
The other thing to consider is that there is a massive difference between a one night stop and a two night stop. With a one night stop, you get there, shower, change, drinks, dinner, bed, breakfast, shower, leave - you don't really have much chance to see the place you've stopped in. With a 2 night stop you get an entire uninterrupted day to really see wherever it is you are.
Regarding distances in a day - I've done anywhere between 30 miles in a day and 650 miles in a day. 30 miles was because I really wanted to see Biarritz and I also really wanted to stay in San Sebastian - so we had 2 nights in each. 650 miles was last year (2020) at the beginning of September. We had been staying in the Black Forest, and France, Belgium and Holland were all on the naughty list for quarantine. I went north through Germany to Aachen for a final fuel stop and then non-stop all the way to the Eurotunnel.
From a very personal perspective - if I'm going somewhere, then I want to get there. The way I deal with this is that if there's somewhere I want to see, then I make it at least an overnight stop - that way, when I get there - I'm there and happy to stay. Pretty much the only exception to this was the Millau Viaduct - we stopped off there on the way somewhere and I was quite happy to spend a couple of hours there including driving down into the gorge to see it from underneath.
The other thing to consider is that there is a massive difference between a one night stop and a two night stop. With a one night stop, you get there, shower, change, drinks, dinner, bed, breakfast, shower, leave - you don't really have much chance to see the place you've stopped in. With a 2 night stop you get an entire uninterrupted day to really see wherever it is you are.
Regarding distances in a day - I've done anywhere between 30 miles in a day and 650 miles in a day. 30 miles was because I really wanted to see Biarritz and I also really wanted to stay in San Sebastian - so we had 2 nights in each. 650 miles was last year (2020) at the beginning of September. We had been staying in the Black Forest, and France, Belgium and Holland were all on the naughty list for quarantine. I went north through Germany to Aachen for a final fuel stop and then non-stop all the way to the Eurotunnel.
I've done a few of these, this one on my own: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=16...
Can easily do 250miles+ in the Z4 with no back ache etc. It tends to come after about 10 hours on the road
Can easily do 250miles+ in the Z4 with no back ache etc. It tends to come after about 10 hours on the road
rdjohn said:
Given that you have time on your hands for the first time in your life - definitely avoid toll roads. The fees can easily mount up to the cost of a night in a cheap hotel, but doing 130kph top down over long distances can quickly become tedious, plus you miss all the villages that you want to see.
Reasonable advice but be aware the speed limit on RN and D roads in France is now an environment saving 48mph.Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff