Driving Across France in August

[Pauline]

We are considering driving to Switzerland the first week of August instead of flying. Google Maps says under 4 hours driving from Dorset to Folkstone, car train to France, then 9 hours Calais to Lenk.

We would not be going near Paris. Do you think the roads will have a lot of traffic? Too crowded?

We have never done the drive to Folkstone. I read nightmare stories of traffic jams in the UK heading to Folkstone. Does anyone have experience doing this? @Ian Sutton @jonathan ?

Driving back would be the first week of September so I don't think traffic would be a problem.

The only reason I am considering this is that renting a car in Switzerland for 3 weeks is very expensive - a lot more this year than in previous years. Last year it worked out to £22/day with insurance and a bit more for having a second driver. It was a similar price renting in Italy this spring. This summer it is £32/day.

I booked our flight with miles, so it is only £100 for the two of us return for business class and I can cancel it for a £80 fee. But even parking at Heathrow for 3 weeks is nearly £200. It would still cost us to do the drive - petrol, 2 nights hotel each way. It could be a fun road trip (if the traffic isn't too bad) and would cost us about half what we would pay for car rental and parking.

 

[Ian Sutton]

August presents the problem of public holidays, both in the UK and France. However...

We did Norwich - Aosta via Mont Blanc tunnel in May 2012 and apart from hitting a busy section near Lyon, and some utterly dreadful weather on the Route du Soleil (oh the irony!), the driving was refreshingly pleasant. Indeed for all us Brits have berated French driving over the years, I have to report that the amount of idiocy increased immensely once we'd passed back into the UK, partly (but far from entirely) justified by the much busier roads.

On our trip we tried to make it relatively slow, as although we only stayed overnight on the way there/back, we tried to limit the driving to max 5 hours per day, allowing time to stop for lunch and to stretch our legs in the afternoon / evening. Our stops on the way out were ~ Reims, Macon, Aosta. On the way back St Gengoux le Nacional, Reims, nr. Calais (in a lovely place *Villa Héloïse 683 rue de l'église 62340 Andres (Marie-Christine)). Many will cover much more distance, and with two drivers and the intent, covering twice the distance is certainly possible.

The place near Reims I wouldn't recommend. Not awful at all, but not one I'd recommend. From there I'm guessing our routes may diverge, but if you do go near Burgundy, we had a decent chambres d'hote at a rather well-regarded winemaker (Domaine Rickaert), which to our shame we didn't arrange a tasting with. Lovely chap, great views, great breakfast, though wear shoes or slippers in your room as it's easy to catch a splinter on the wooden floor. On the return, Etape Robinson is run by an enthusiastic Yorkshire couple and the B&B rooms were modest sized but clean/good. I can't recall breakfast so probably good. We'd return, but would prefer their apartment/gite a short walk away. The village is very charming indeed.

Arrival at the tunnel was fine for us, though times have changed since 2012. However the arrangement on arrival is (IMO) brilliant. You have a slot booked, but arrive up to 2 hours early and they'll generally let you get the next train (which we did after a quick toilet / headlight sticker stop). Drive on, drive off and it was only a minute or two off the train when we noticed we couldn't see another car on the motorway! Most took the turning for Paris, leaving us with the motorway to ourselves.

For the leg you are most concerned about, try to slot that into a Sunday. On that day no lorries are allowed on the motorways (and other roads?) except for refrigerated lorries carrying perishable goods. The traffic is thus noticeably quieter and moves as fast as you want.

There are tolls, but we felt they weren't excessive and the quality and cleanliness of the motorways was exceptional.

Regards
Ian

* Found via Alasdair Sawday, B&B with genuine quirky charm, lovely garden, on the edge of a lovely village with really good walking on rural lanes nearby. We ate in the evening with Marie-Christine and her mother (who used to run the B&B before handing it over to her daughter). Food that challenged perceptions of French food (lots of overseas influences) and IIRC it might have been vegetarian, or at least some of it was. The toilet was a type that I'd never encountered before, that sounded like it was exploding every time you flushed it, but the brains of the operation had encountered that type before (I can't remember the type). Not a problem, but a bit of a shock on the 1st flush!

p.s. On the way back, if you fancy picking up some decent French food (a small selection), or some wine (wonderful selection), then Les Halles de Quercamps has been one of the discoveries of the wine pages forum. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...0x1f0d182ad1f42ea6!8m2!3d50.753041!4d2.050212
Not too easy to find, and we drove past initially as it looked like a small rural garden centre. The food is in the first room with the tills, but exit that room to the left for the spacious wine section with fine variety and very fair pricing. It's in very easy reach of Calais, so useful if you're ahead of schedule on the return and want a more pleasant place to buy some stuff (vs. the hypermarkets) / kill some time.

 

[veronicafrance]

It's true that lorries aren't allowed on Sundays, but certain July and August Sundays on French autoroutes are hell on earth. This is particularly the case end of July/beginning of August. I strongly advise you to consult Le Bison Futé for the days you're planning to travel. For example Saturday 29 July is a "black" day when it's advisable not to travel on autoroutes at all if you can help it! The Sunday currently looks OK though.

Note: the terminology of Départ/Retour is in terms of departing from/returning to Ile de France/other large conurbations.

 

[Pauline]

Now that I think a bit more we have done a few long drives in France, but not starting in the U.K. Most were not in summer. The roads were always good.

I looked up Bison Fute (thanks for that) and only the weekends show bad traffic. We would drive on weekdays arriving in Switzerland on Friday. I think we would take 3 days. Day 1 thru UK to France. Then 2 days to do the 9 hour drive to Lenk.

I find the driving in the UK gets crazier when you get close to London. Lots of traffic, aggressive drivers and those huge, complicated roundabouts. Things are easier in Dorset although we have very crowded roads now, from mid-July to end of August as everyone comes here for the holidays.

 

[veronicafrance]

Now that I think a bit more we have done a few long drives in France, but not starting in the U.K. Most were not in summer. The roads were always good.

I looked up Bison Fute (thanks for that) and only the weekends show bad traffic. We would drive on weekdays arriving in Switzerland on Friday. I think we would take 3 days. Day 1 thru UK to France. Then 2 days to do the 9 hour drive to Lenk.

I find the driving in the UK gets crazier when you get close to London. Lots of traffic, aggressive drivers and those huge, complicated roundabouts. Things are easier in Dorset although we have very crowded roads now, from mid-July to end of August as everyone comes here for the holidays.

Yes, weekdays are unlikely to be a problem. The vast majority of people still set off and return at weekends. You'll generally find French roads much emptier than British ones. Particularly autoroutes, as most are toll roads.

 

[Parigi]

Hmm, the first week of August will be brutal on the autoroutes. Try the secondary routes. They are prettier but the trip will take longer.
I can recommend the villages Senlis (north of Paris) and Moret sur Loing (south of Paris). Both are near the major routes. Another good stop would be in a vineyard b&b in one of Burgundy's wine-growing villages near Beaune. Again, near the major routes.
Our go-to vineyard b&b stop on our way south is in the village of Santenay, not overrun. The b&b looks nondescript from the approach, but all the rooms have gorgeous views of vines all the way to the horizon. The rooms are big and nicely decorated with country furniture. I recommend rooms 1, 2, 4. The b&b also has a big kitchen and an eating area for their guests to use. You can't cook there but you can use the microwave and all the tableware. For your food restrictions, having a kitchen is always a good thing.
Oh and of course you can join in a wine-tasting in the wine cellar. Its wines are one of those small Burgundy labels that are great but not well-known and are therefore not astronomically priced.
http://www.bourgognemoniot.fr/chambres-d-hotes-bourgogne

Another possible stop is on the Lake Annecy. Annecy itself and Talloires will be mobbed. But the lakeside Menthon Saint-Bernard has the same breathtaking view and atmosphere and is not overrun even in season.

 

[jonathan]

In our experience, the traffic approaching the Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal has only been really bad on those rare occasions when freight traffic has been disrupted - either by dock strikes in Calais or by problems at the Sangatte refugee centre.

Yes, Bison Futé is invaluable! I'm not sure I'm as pessimistic as Americana is about the autoroutes: we've used that regularly at the beginning of August for our Ostuni roadtrips over the past dozen years, and traffic has been fine, outside the days highlighted by BF? True, the back roads offer a very different experience (and save on the tolls), but if your main aim is to get to your destination, then I'd definitely choose the autoroutes.

 

[veronicafrance]

Yes, Bison Futé is invaluable! I'm not sure I'm as pessimistic as Americana is about the autoroutes: we've used that regularly at the beginning of August for our Ostuni roadtrips over the past dozen years, and traffic has been fine, outside the days highlighted by BF? True, the back roads offer a very different experience (and save on the tolls), but if your main aim is to get to your destination, then I'd definitely choose the autoroutes.

I agree, we live in a touristy area with two major autoroutes (A9 and A61) including the main route to Spain, and heavy summer traffic is generally only a problem at weekends. The BF forecasts look plausible to me.

 

[Pauline]

We are still debating whether or not to do the drive instead of flying and won't decide for another week - closer to the time we leave.

I thought we would break the drive into 3 easy days.

Day 1: Drive 4 hours to Folkstone, train, drive 1 hour to Arras east of Calais. 1 night there.
Day 2 : Drive 5hr30min to Colmar in the Alsace area of France. 1 night there.
Day 3: Drive 3hr to Lenk in Switzerland.
Driving time one way: 12hr30 min each way (740 miles), 2 nights hotel.

Comparing this to flying:
Drive 3hr to Heathrow. 1 night hotel
Early morning flight to Geneva. Drive 2hr20min to Lenk.
Driving time each way: 5hr2omin, 1 night hotel.

To drive one way we have one more day of travel, drive for 7 hours more and spend 1 more night in a hotel. The upside is we could add on a few more days on the way back (or weeks!!), we would see a new area (Alsace) on the way out, and another on the way back.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi Pauline
If you can avoid the worst traffic, then travelling in relatively short hops does give you a genuine 'experience' in the place you stop, not just a night's sleep in a hotel, but a chance to rest, look around, have a nice *meal. Avoiding the cattle-herding at the airports is a definite bonus. Then add in the ability to buy what you want, irrespective of size/weight and never have to carry all of it in one go. You've also got a car you know well and no fretting about rules & tricks of the hire companies.

For a short trip (say 1-2 weeks) we always talk ourselves out of driving, as the value of days at destination has greater value than the travel days. However for 3 weeks or more, the loss is less of a factor, and the ability to come back with lots of goodies becomes awfully appealing. Even little things like picking up fresh bread & cheese in France for our return to the UK add to the appeal.

Regards
Ian

* Indeed looking back at our 2012 trip, as well as the wonderful home-cooked meal in Andres, we had a great meal in Reims (and there was me thinking the place we chose to eat might be a bit touristy), plus an utterly brilliant meal in Julienas (Le Coq et le Rose). Memorable, so much more than a 'transit day'.

 

[Pauline]

Thanks for everyone's help with this but we've decided to fly as planned and to do the drive next summer. I was on the British Airways page to cancel our awards tickets and I just could not do it. I had spent a lot of time planning and booking and, in some cases prepaying, and I couldn't abandon the plan.

I figured it all out and we would save £400 by driving but would spend 16 extra hours driving (return). I even found vegetarian restaurants in Arras and Colmar, our stops along the way.

Another factor was this problem I am having with my driving foot (sore heel for the past few weeks). Usually I avoid long drives because of my back problems, but my back has been good this year (less time sitting at the computer, more time walking). However I think the long drive would not be good for my foot!

So, the plan is to do another short trip to France by car (we took the car to Brittany recently) but this time we will spend a day driving to a destination. See how that goes.