For the last 4 years we have travelled from England to Portugal or Spain using the tunnel and driving through France.
The Western route through Bordeaux and across into Spain at Urrugne, has been our favoured route. We used this route as it was relatively easy to find French campsites that were open all year round and we were travelling in January and latterly in late March. We also tend to use Tolled motorways, we just find it quicker and less stressful. We have a toll tag for France, Spain and Portugal, Emovis, so this helps and is so much easier than hanging out of the window.
We have never really been great lovers of Aires although we have used them occasionally. We prefer campsites with decent facilities and EHU, especially if its a bit chilly. Consequentially, our journey to the sunshine has never been a cheap one. If you are on a tight budget, cutting out toll roads, using Aires or wild camping spots and only filling up in supermarkets would considerably reduce the overall costs.
First stop La Source Wissant. An all year round municipal site.
This year I thought I would try and work out if it would be better and more cost effective to cruise to Santander or drive from Calais. Certainly cruising would cut down on the driving, but we have always felt that the journey was part of the holiday. It's so exciting getting lost down some narrow country track......NOT.
Bearing in mind we live just outside Glastonbury in Somerset, our first drive is to Folkestone and it usually takes in the region of 4 hours ( traffic permitting) We filled up with diesel before we left and I estimate that the full tank cost 109 Euros. Sorry can't be more accurate than that. That's the only bit of guess work!
We always allow a minimum of 5 days for the journey and try not to drive for more that 5 hours each day. We aim to arrive by early afternoon so that we are in with a chance of finding Reception open. We try and have food onboard and usually stop for a drink and sandwich for around 30 mins. We often stop for loo breaks and maybe a coffee. Den does all the driving so if he gets too tired or bored, we stop for a bit. We also try and have a brief stop at least an hour before getting to a campsite, so we are not too cranky when we finally arrive. If we are going to get lost and it can happen, it's usually just before you get to a campsite then it's "grumps" all round!
Fuel stops, we usually do at around half a tank. If a supermarket is handy we use that because fuel is always cheaper! However, we usually stop wherever its handy and even on a motorway, the prices vary.
This year we paid between 95 and 124 Euros per litre, depending where we stopped. In England we filled up at Costco and paid £1.66 a litre ( obviously a bad fuel day!!)
Second stop. Onlycamp Tours. Brilliant little site open all year. We discovered it by chance last year.
Third stop. Larouletta Urrugne. Open all year. Good facilities. I got ACSI rates here.
Fourth Stop. Olimpia, near Salamanca in Spain. Very nice meal on site for 13 Euros. Clean and just by a very handy fuel station. Closed first two weeks in June!
Fifth Stop. Alentejo near Evora. Lovely tidy clean site.
Usually when we travel we try and bring at least a few easy meals. A bit more tricky this year with food rules for travellers into the EU. We try and eat out if we can but always have a few trusty standbys just in case. We cooked at 4 out of the 5 stops this year, mainly because we had food in the fridge I wanted to use up.
Fuel: 436.86
Tolls: 220.20
Campsite Fees 109.63
Eurotunnel ( one way) 166.49 ( £147)
GRAND TOTAL ONE WAY! 933.18 EUROS😎
Hope this helps.
Almost the same price as Portsmouth to Santander Ferry.😎 You would also have to factor in one or two overnight stops and a tank of fuel.
