Due to constraints and obligations, despite being retired (!), we only have 16 days to get there, spend a week and then come back. That's 16 days in total.
Ferry or Tunnel? Loads of discussions on this on Motorhome Fun and countless FB travel groups. We used to be Shuttle people. My wife's former employers before she retired, Laser Transport International, had the first truck to cross from the UK to France when the Shuttle opened for business. We used to get a discount of 25% if booked through the company and not direct. It was a good saving! Sadly lost some years ago around the same time that they axed many ticketing options.
Since Covid though the cost has soared and soared. From being compatible (without the discount!) with the ferries it has gradually increased at a far greater rate. We have used it for almost the full 25 years on the motorcycle, cars and the Moho.
On a recent "boys trip" to Assen for the MotoGP the Shuttle return price for a bike and one person was £135. Irish Ferries was £72. P&O very similar. The other two booked a return on the Shuttle and I choked up the £72 for a single. My return was £32.50 with Irish. A tankful of expensive Dutch or Belgian unleaded saved.
So to this trip. Out second week of October. Back end of the month. Shuttle £375 for Moho, two adults (not the nine it says are possible on the website!), and one dog. The same trip on P&O, including the extra for the pet lounge, was £254. I coughed up £180 in Tesco vouchers. For "Molly" that's a full tank of diesel or about 600 miles driving.
At the moment I have a rough plan to head south. After all that's where Spain ought to be found... Outward as usual the MO is to stop at the Picard in Coquelles to pick up a supply of "dogador". Reggie has raw food at home and so we like to make sure we have similar when we are away. I suppose we could run the risk of having his normal food in the fridge and freezer. All the "we've never been stopped" comments doesn't mean I won't be!
Then we head down the A16 to Abbeville. I don't like paying to go on the autoroutes but the old N1 from Boulogne to Abbeville is simply tedious. So we use the péage for this section.
Our intended destination is the Camping-Car Park (CCP) aire at Formerie. We have stayed here twice in the past and it's a decent stop. It's €12.50 a night and includes EHU. Yes. We pay for an aire. Yes it includes EHU and we use it.
It's around 130 miles from Calais. The town doesn't have all that much to offer but there is a bakery for the morning bread and a couple of bars. We put money into the local economy by buying stuff in town....
From there I haven't booked anything. I have been using Google Maps, The TomTom planner for the Go Camper Max and a "Camping Car & Van" road atlas of France to look at a new to us route south. We have done the "N10" and "N20" routes so often that we want to try something different.
From Formerie one of the non-toll routes is to take an easterly route around the blob that is Paris. We haven't done that for over a decade when we were in the car and heading to Orange for a long weekend.
Then south on the various D versions of the N7 and A77. I am looking at another overnight around 200 miles for the day. There are plenty of free, locally paid and CCP aires along the Loire.
We can't get into the apartment until 4pm on the Saturday and so we have 4 overnights to break up the journey. See something of France and maybe drop into a couple of Les Beaux Villages de France along the way.
That's as far as I have got!
Ferry or Tunnel? Loads of discussions on this on Motorhome Fun and countless FB travel groups. We used to be Shuttle people. My wife's former employers before she retired, Laser Transport International, had the first truck to cross from the UK to France when the Shuttle opened for business. We used to get a discount of 25% if booked through the company and not direct. It was a good saving! Sadly lost some years ago around the same time that they axed many ticketing options.
Since Covid though the cost has soared and soared. From being compatible (without the discount!) with the ferries it has gradually increased at a far greater rate. We have used it for almost the full 25 years on the motorcycle, cars and the Moho.
On a recent "boys trip" to Assen for the MotoGP the Shuttle return price for a bike and one person was £135. Irish Ferries was £72. P&O very similar. The other two booked a return on the Shuttle and I choked up the £72 for a single. My return was £32.50 with Irish. A tankful of expensive Dutch or Belgian unleaded saved.
So to this trip. Out second week of October. Back end of the month. Shuttle £375 for Moho, two adults (not the nine it says are possible on the website!), and one dog. The same trip on P&O, including the extra for the pet lounge, was £254. I coughed up £180 in Tesco vouchers. For "Molly" that's a full tank of diesel or about 600 miles driving.
At the moment I have a rough plan to head south. After all that's where Spain ought to be found... Outward as usual the MO is to stop at the Picard in Coquelles to pick up a supply of "dogador". Reggie has raw food at home and so we like to make sure we have similar when we are away. I suppose we could run the risk of having his normal food in the fridge and freezer. All the "we've never been stopped" comments doesn't mean I won't be!
Then we head down the A16 to Abbeville. I don't like paying to go on the autoroutes but the old N1 from Boulogne to Abbeville is simply tedious. So we use the péage for this section.
Our intended destination is the Camping-Car Park (CCP) aire at Formerie. We have stayed here twice in the past and it's a decent stop. It's €12.50 a night and includes EHU. Yes. We pay for an aire. Yes it includes EHU and we use it.
It's around 130 miles from Calais. The town doesn't have all that much to offer but there is a bakery for the morning bread and a couple of bars. We put money into the local economy by buying stuff in town....
From there I haven't booked anything. I have been using Google Maps, The TomTom planner for the Go Camper Max and a "Camping Car & Van" road atlas of France to look at a new to us route south. We have done the "N10" and "N20" routes so often that we want to try something different.
From Formerie one of the non-toll routes is to take an easterly route around the blob that is Paris. We haven't done that for over a decade when we were in the car and heading to Orange for a long weekend.
Then south on the various D versions of the N7 and A77. I am looking at another overnight around 200 miles for the day. There are plenty of free, locally paid and CCP aires along the Loire.
We can't get into the apartment until 4pm on the Saturday and so we have 4 overnights to break up the journey. See something of France and maybe drop into a couple of Les Beaux Villages de France along the way.
That's as far as I have got!
