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driving to Meribel
I'm likely to be driving from Bristol to Meribel for the last week of March.
Is it best to have a short ferry crossing from Dover, or should we overnight on the ferry from Portsmouth or elsewhere & have a shorter drive? What makes the best sense in terms of cost and time? Any tips would be useful. Rob |
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#2
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driving to Meribel
"Rob White" wrote in message
... I'm likely to be driving from Bristol to Meribel for the last week of March. Is it best to have a short ferry crossing from Dover, or should we overnight on the ferry from Portsmouth or elsewhere & have a shorter drive? What makes the best sense in terms of cost and time? Any tips would be useful. Portmsouth takes you to places like Cherbourg and Caen... both are well off the autoroute network and further west. The extra UK miles to Dover are worth it, trust me. I went to Val Cenis in january and I drove from Calais. It was a 9 hour drive in all (plus the 3 hours from Dover to Birmingham, where I live). The route was something like A16, A26, A5, A6, A43. Meribel and the Three Vallees is on a different road than the A43, but it's in the rough area. Avoid the A1... it takes you round Paris which isn't a nice place to be. Think of the North Circular around London when you've only just passed your test. But, if you get the ferry from Portsmouth, it will be Paris for you, matey! In terms of cost and time - use the autoroutes. It'll cost about £100 in total for tolls, but you'll be there in 9 hours or so, with little or no hassle. Even Lyon's ring road at rush hour wasn't a problem. If you stay off the autoroutes, it'll save you toll money, but it'll take a hell of a lot longer, use more fuel, longer distances, more stress, more jams... etc., etc. Another tip: vistit Woolworths, or somewhere, and get a coolbox that works from a cigarette lighter. Fill it up with food before you go. We did that and even with a 5 year old in the car, we could limit the amount of time we stopped to the bare minimum. With 2 of us driving (if possible, do that!!), it was only really toilet and petrol stops that we had to make. On the way out, we got a 11:15am ferry from Dover. Got onto Calais's roads about 2:30pm local time (a foreign car got held up at the only Customs checkpoint that was open... with the whole ferry behind it!!). We wanted to stop overnight about halfway anyway, and we got the the hotel just south of Dijon about 8pm. Next day, we had about 200 miles left. Left the hotel about 9:30am, and had a leisurely trip down to the resort. Got there about 1pm, relaxed, stress free, full of energy and raring to go!! On the way back, we were driving the whole lot in one hit. Left the resort about 11am. Got to Calais about 8:30-9pm. Got an earlier ferry (usually possible on the Dover-Calais runs as are later ferries if you need them). We were in our own beds by 3am UK time. All in all, 600 odd miles felt no worse than a trip to work (getting to work involves M6 and M1 for 40miles distance... give me the trip to the Alps anyday!!). Gorgeous roads to drive on (Chambery was a little tedious... had to slow down to 50mph! The cheek of it all!!). And the tolls, I think, were a small price to pay for being able to do that distance in that short a time. You couldn't drive from Dover to Edinburgh in that sort of time, could you? Have good trip and enjoy the drive, Schenckster |
#3
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driving to Meribel
"Rob White" wrote in message ...
I'm likely to be driving from Bristol to Meribel for the last week of March. Is it best to have a short ferry crossing from Dover, or should we overnight on the ferry from Portsmouth or elsewhere & have a shorter drive? What makes the best sense in terms of cost and time? Any tips would be useful. Rob We drove down just a couple of weeks ago... From Portsmouth you can actually get to Le Harve - this is probably the closest to the Alps and you're straight onto a motorway so it's definitely an option. I'd opt for getting across the Channel ASAP as driving France is so much easier. Our roads are so crap you simply can't count on getting to Dover reliably. That said, despite living 20 mins from Portsmouth we still went from Dover - the plus side is a short crossing but above all if you're early you can jump on an earlier ferry and if you miss it there's another on shortly. If you miss one to Le Harve you're probably in for a 6 hour wait or will end up going to Cherbourg or Caen instead. Whether you stop or do an overnighter is purely personal preference. The best thing about overnight is that there's no traffic on the road and of course you get the day skiing when you'd otherwise be driving. I've done this several times but now find the sleep depravation actually spoils the first couple of days skiing anyway. Driving in the day can be a more pleasurable experience. If you're going to stay over night then it might be worth doing some research as to what hotels are where - I booked a hotel using this site www.france-hotel-bookings.com and was very impressed (with the service rather than the hotel) - we only booked as it was half term and you will not need to but getting an idea of some locations can't hurt. The down side of the toll roads is that there are no signs to the hotels, you need to get off the motorway and then look. Formula 1 hotels are good value for a quick stop, but spending a little more gets you something a lot better - Campanille hotels seem good. Some general tips. 1) Watch your speed - even the French are driving noticeably slower now they are cracking down. It always used to seem like even doing 90 MPH you'd have a constant stream of French cars over taking but now even at 80 mph (130kph) I was often the fastest car on the road. 2) Get a GOOD map - one that show ALL the roads through towns, rather than presenting the towns as a blob - this will really make life easier if you want to detour or find a hotel. 3) Not even contemplate NOT using the Peage (toll roads) - the tolls are expensive but well worth it. 4) On the way back many get lost around Lyon - simply follow Paris and you can't go wrong. One expects signs for Dijon, but there aren't any! 5) Take your own music in the car - French radios are plentiful but simply unbearable on a long trip. Best of luck - I really enjoy driving down - it makes it much more of an adventure! |
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driving to Meribel
"Schneck" wrote in message ... "Rob White" wrote in message ... I'm likely to be driving from Bristol to Meribel for the last week of March. Is it best to have a short ferry crossing from Dover, or should we overnight on the ferry from Portsmouth or elsewhere & have a shorter drive? What makes the best sense in terms of cost and time? Any tips would be useful. ....snip lots of good advice.. On the way out, we got a 11:15am ferry from Dover. Got onto Calais's roads about 2:30pm local time (a foreign car got held up at the only Customs checkpoint that was open... with the whole ferry behind it!!). We wanted to stop overnight about halfway anyway, and we got the the hotel just south of Dijon about 8pm. Next day, we had about 200 miles left. Left the hotel about 9:30am, and had a leisurely trip down to the resort. Got there about 1pm, relaxed, stress free, full of energy and raring to go!! Agree about stop overnight in France - F1 or Etap (similar but has ensuite) can be booked on line and costs around 25 or 35 euros for a room with a double bed and single bunk above. We drove from Northampton on Friday evening, caught the tunnel and then stopped in Reims hotel was just a couple of minutes off the autoroute. Arrived in the resort during daylight the next day with plenty of time to sort out ski hire/lift passes etc. We also drove back one hit - but left at 5.30am and were home about 6pm. Doing the crossing around 4pm (eurotime) gives enough of a break before the last couple of hours in the UK. -- Paul Schofield Time flies like an arrow Fruit flies like a banana |
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driving to Meribel
"Rob White" wrote
I'm likely to be driving from Bristol to Meribel for the last week of March. Any tips would be useful. Use the excellent www.mappy.com to plan the route, it can also show you all the F1/Etap etc. hotels near a given spot. Take an iPod and plug into the car stero for non stop tunes. Luke -- http://www.snowgo.com - Reading, writing and riding. A snowboarder's blog. |
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driving to Meribel
We also drove back one hit - but left at 5.30am and were home about 6pm. Doing the crossing around 4pm (eurotime) gives enough of a break before the last couple of hours in the UK. Hi Paul How ? It always seems to take us 11 - 12 hours just to get from the resort to Calais? How on earth do you cross the channel and get all the way to Northampton in 13 and a half hours? |
#7
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driving to Meribel
"Roger" wrote in message
m... From Portsmouth you can actually get to Le Harve - this is probably the closest to the Alps and you're straight onto a motorway so it's definitely an option. I'd opt for getting across the Channel ASAP as driving France is so much easier. Our roads are so crap you simply can't count on getting to Dover reliably. I forgot about le Havre! I stand corrected! LOL! If you're going to stay over night then it might be worth doing some research as to what hotels are where - I booked a hotel using this site www.france-hotel-bookings.com and was very impressed (with the service rather than the hotel) - we only booked as it was half term and you will not need to but getting an idea of some locations can't hurt. The down side of the toll roads is that there are no signs to the hotels, you need to get off the motorway and then look. Another one is to look at the Ski Club's site (anyone remember the url??). If you're a member you can get 10% off at a couple of hotel chains, including Campanile. It's nothing fantastic, but it's clean and comfortable enough with decent food. Take your club card with you, though, as they will want to see it before honouring the discount. Campanile's site is a good one letting you book online. I don't think it's strictly necessary to book, as you say, but personally, I wouldn't take the risk, considering the distances involved. We stayed in a Campanile in Beaune, just south of Dijon on the A6, I think. You could see it from the motorway! LOL!. It was about the right distance, too, leaving about 200 miles the next day. Sorted. 2) Get a GOOD map - one that show ALL the roads through towns, rather than presenting the towns as a blob - this will really make life easier if you want to detour or find a hotel. Also make sure you know the names of major towns on your route. I found that the signposts made the maps confusing as even the best maps rarely show when the road changes it's number 4 times in the space of as many miles. But if you know major town names, that isn't a problem. You just follow them. 5) Take your own music in the car - French radios are plentiful but simply unbearable on a long trip. Ain't that the truth... it's all in French! Inconsiderate or what??? LOL! One thing I did find, though, was that the motorway information stations actually broadcast in English at certain times. We found it was every half hour. There's signs on the roads telling you what the frequency was in the area. Around Calais I think it's 107.7 fm. After that... loads of tapes or CD's!! |
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driving to Meribel
"Roger" wrote in message
m... Hi Paul How ? It always seems to take us 11 - 12 hours just to get from the resort to Calais? How on earth do you cross the channel and get all the way to Northampton in 13 and a half hours? Loads of food and drinks in a coolbox, shared driving, and fewer stops. Only stopped for toilets and the odd coffee. I did Val Cenis to Birmingham inside 15 hours last time including the ferry and a slight wait because we were early but just missed one, if you know what I mean. Left resort about 11am, got home about 2am. The drive from Dover to Brum was the hardest bit, because we'd all physically had enough. But they always say the last mile of a marathon is the hardest. |
#9
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driving to Meribel
Use the excellent www.mappy.com to plan the route, it can also show you all
the F1/Etap etc. hotels near a given spot. Indeed - I like the layout of the directions, and showing the sign posts to look for is excellent. However - when I plugged in the route Calais - 3 Vals it recommended going via Paris rather than via Rheims etc which doesn't make sense. And how do you get the hotel info? I couldn't work this one out! Take an iPod and plug into the car stero for non stop tunes. Indeed - I'm at the age where I can't even listen to a CD all the way through as I get bored of the same band after about 3 songs! Think I'll invest in a mini iPod when they go on sale here... |
#10
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driving to Meribel
"Roger" wrote in message m... We also drove back one hit - but left at 5.30am and were home about 6pm. Doing the crossing around 4pm (eurotime) gives enough of a break before the last couple of hours in the UK. Hi Paul How ? It always seems to take us 11 - 12 hours just to get from the resort to Calais? How on earth do you cross the channel and get all the way to Northampton in 13 and a half hours? Hi Roger, I just sat on the motorway at or just over 130kph, clear conditions and leaving early meant no queues at tolls and no jams, Stopped for late breakfast around 10 and grabbed some pre-packed lunch from the services after Reims. Actually arrived at Calais with enough time to go to the hypermarket. Last stretch through UK was okay as it wasn't too late, the footie was on the radio and it was busy enough to need attention without being stop start. -- Paul Schofield Time flies like an arrow Fruit flies like a banana |
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