Easy Stop Off Hotel Near Highway in Valencia

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About-France.com - the connoisseur's guide to France

Driving through FRANCE to SPAIN

Covid-19 info. May 2022 : Spain's land border with France is open to road and rail traffic. This is not expected to change in 2022 unless a huge surge in infections leads to general European travel restrictions.

When driving through France, don't forget to carry a yellow fluorescent jacket... All vehicles driving on French roads  are obliged to carry a yellow fluorescent jacket, that must be put on if the driver has to get out in an emergency. (In Spain, it's one per passenger). The jacket must be stored in the car, not in the boot, and be easily accessible. Failure to carry the obligatory jacket may lead to an instant fine of up to 130 Euros, if stopped by police.
► See French rules of the road for full details on French driving regulations.

Important: default speed limit on single-carriageway French roads is now 80km/hr

►ALL ROADS SOUTH LEAD TO SPAIN ......

It's a long drive from the UK to Spain, and drivers heading south need to establish their priorities in terms of time, speed and cost. Motorway tolls between Calais and the Spanish border can vary between zero and over 100 Euros, (over 160 € for campervans) depending on the route chosen. Yet unless time is no object, paying a few French motorway tolls makes sense ; it will even normally work out cheaper on fuel than slavishly avoiding all tolls, given that stop-start driving through urban areas is very heavy on ruel consumption.
Trying to avoid all tolls is generally a pointless exercise even for motorhomes or campervans; driving hundreds of kilometres on slow roads with numerous towns and villages to negotiate is not the best way to cross France, unless you want to keep stopping to visit the sites on the way. There are more economical ways of driving to Spain than that.
There are four main routes south through France, and all of them lead to Spain. They all include long stretches of toll motorway, but three out of four also include long sections of road that are not toll roads.

Time, distance, tolls - compare the routes UK to Spain:

Eastern route or western route ?  :
Eastern routes are recommended for visitors travelling from the UK to the Costa Brava and anywhere on the Spanish Mediterranean coast north of Valencia. They cross into Spain south of Perpignan, at the border at Le Perthus / La Junquera and continue towards Barcelona.

Western routes
These are recommended for travellers aiming for central or southern Spain or Portugal. Routes to southern Spain via Bordeaux and Irun are actually shorter than those via Lyon and Perpignan. Western routes cross into Spain south of Biarritz, at the border at Irun and continue towards Zaragoza, Burgos or Bilbao.
Distances indicated below are from Calais to the Spanish border.
Times are liable to be considerably longer on peak holiday Saturdays (July August), particularly on routes E1, E2 and W2

• E1 ► All motorway, avoiding Paris. : Leave Calais on the A 26 following signs for Reims. Then follow down through Reims, Troyes, Dijon, Lyon, Valence, Montpellier and Perpignan, to the Spanish border at Le Perthus.
  See  Route guide - Calais, Reims, Dijon, Lyon, Mediterranean

  Toll May 2022 ~ 114.60 €Distance:1253 kmDriving time: about 11h 45.

• E2 ► All motorway, via Paris. Leave Calais on the A 26 following signs for Reims as far as Arras. Then follow down through Paris, Orleans, Clermont Ferrand, Beziers, Perpignan. Motorway toll-free from Clermont Ferrand to Béziers, except for toll on Millau viaduct.
  See  Route guide - Calais, Rouen, Orleans, Clermont-Ferrand route

  Toll May 2022 ~ 85.20 €Distance:1162 kmDriving time: about 11h.  (Fastest route if no delays round Paris)

• W1 ► Fastest - all motorway or dual carriageway except through Rouen. Leave Calais on the A 16 following signs for Abbeville. Then follow down through Rouen, Alençon, Le Mans, Tours, (or Rouen,Chartres, Orleans, Tours) and the A10 to Bordeaux, Bayonne and the Spanish border.
    ►  See detailed map, showing Route guide UK - Spain via Rouen and Bordeaux

  Toll May 2022~ 95.70 €Distance:1093 kmDriving time: about 10h.10.

  Alternative route: use Portsmouth Le Havre or Portsmouth Caen ferries for 150 km less driving in France (and less driving in the UK too if coming from west or northwest of London, as well as avoiding M25). Check with Brittany Ferries
• W2 ► Like W1 but via Paris and Orleans, not Rouen
  Toll  May 2022~ 96.90 € Distance, about 1100 km - Driving time: about 10h30.
  But beware of delays round Paris

Cheaper routes to Spain

Tip: reduce your fuel costs by driving less fast. Driving at 70 mph (112 kph) rather than 80mph (129 kph) reduces average fuel consumption by a huge 15%..... the equivalent of 30 centimes less per litre at 2022 fuel prices, or 18 € less on the cost of a full tank of 60 litres.

• E3 ► Good cost / time balance Calais to Orleans avoiding Paris. Then ► same as E2.  Mostly motorway, 8 km longer than E2, but less tolls and no Paris.
  Leave Calais on the A 16 , then follow down through Rouen, Evreux,Chartres, Orleans, Clermont Ferrand, Beziers, Perpignan. Motorways free from Abbeville to Rouen, and Clermont Ferrand to Béziers, except for toll on Millau viaduct. Map with hotels

  Toll May 2022 : ~ 66.30 €. Distance: 1164 km  Driving time: about 11h 30.

• E4 ► The fastest eastern route with few tolls:
  see Route guide - to the Mediterranean without tolls Same as E3 except for Orleans to Clermont Ferrand. But it will take about 3 to 4 hours more driving than any of the other routes. After Béziers, follow the old routes nationales to the Spanish border. Rather slow after Perpignan, and not for HGVS.

  Toll costs and driving time depend on how many time-saving toll sections you prefer to take.

  Distance, a little over 1200 km.Driving time: about 13h  to 14h.30.
• W3 ► Good cost / time balance A fast western route with few tolls:Calais - Irun via Rouen, Orleans, and A10 to Poitiers, then N10 to Bordeaux:  tolls depend on what toll sections you prefer to take. It is possible to avoid tolls after Bordeaux, but this is slow and not worthwhile unless you have all the time in the world.
  For detail see Calais to Southern Spain via Bordeaux with few tolls

  Toll  May 2022 - 58.10 €.Distance, about 1080 km. Driving time: about 11h 25.

• W4 ► Shortest Calais - Irun with few tollsvia Rouen, Chartres, then N10 to Tours, and A10 to Poitiers, and N10 to Bordeaux: shortest route, but longer in time than W3,  Note: Chartres to Tours, 120 km, mostly single carriageway. For more details, notably regarding toll motorways south of Bordeaux, see Calais to Bayonne / Irun without tolls 

  Toll: May 2022:  41.70 €.  Distance: 1030 kmDriving time: at least 11h. 33.... up to an hour and a half more if you avoid tolls between Bordeaux and the Spanish border.

• W5 Cheapest Calais - Irun with few tollsvia Rouen, Orleans, Vierzon, A20, N141, Angoulême, Bordeaux: more motorway than W4 but most economical in tolls. A good balance between distance, speed and tolls   .See route guide

  Toll  May 2022  :   39.10 €.  Distance: 1112 km Driving time: about 12h. 50.

Note: Motorway tolls are based on May 2022 rates for cars.
For Car + caravan; add about 50%; for truck / HGV toll rates (class 4) : approximately three times the rate for cars.
Since the savings on  fuel and on distance make the shortest routes an attractive proposition for HGVs (trucks), (notably N141 or N 10)  they are not necessarily recommended for cars on weekdays. But HGVs are banned from the roads on Sundays in France, and there are far less of them on Saturdays.

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► ► Beware of the "cheap ferries" scam
Some internet sites that announce "cheap" ferry prices are actually charging more than the Ferry companies themselves. Avoid dodgy websites; click to book directly with ferry companies

See France as you travel through......

Chartres, with its UNESCO listed cathedral, is a good stopping-off point on routes E3, E4, and W3 - W5

Bourges : see the remarkable medieval sculpture and stained glass in the cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site - routes E2 and E3

Bordeaux - wine capital of the world. On all western routes

Paris. On routes W2 and E2.  Tip: stay on the outskirts, go in by train.

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Source: https://about-france.com/tourism/routes-to-spain.htm