Calais to Denia in January

[2025 Denia]

Hi, we are two ladies travelling from Scotland to Denia Spain. We are driving down with our wee dog in January. This will be our first adventure driving abroad. We are looking for the straightest, safest route. Worried about snow and ice. We do want to avoid Paris or any other busy city. Any help in planning would be much appreciated.

 

[ChrisL]

This route may suit you, I have driven it before, just pay attention when traversing Rouen not to go down the underpasses with hight restrictions.

 

[suavecarve]

You may want to consider the Newhaven Dieppe route with (may I be so bold as to suggest) an over 60s discount of 20% if you book over the phone and it takes a number of miles off the driving.

Although we didnt make Denia this year, the route may be something similar to what we did on a journal last year with things in your way

List of the places we went to (with shed loads of photos) here https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/journals/blog/spanish-rehab-thrournal.340/

 

[Brains]

Seriously look into the ferry routes from UK (Southampton/Portsmouth/Plymouth) to Spain. (Santander/Bilbao)
Here
It may 'appear' to cost more
But by the time you have factored in the additional French transit costs of fuel, camp fees, tolls, wear and tear, the other ferry cost, and of course your time, it's not as expensive as it may first appear.

400 miles Scotland to the south coast of England
400 miles Bilbao to Denia
It means one day to drive to the south coast.
One night on the ferry, arriving in Span late afternoon
Camp for the night near the port and be in Denia the following evening.
(Leave Scotland Monday morning, be in Denia Wednesday night)

Also worth looking at the routes into UK to Brittany (Roscoff/St Marlo/Cherbourg) as it could save you a day as it puts you a long way west.

Including looking at Newcastle or Hull/Holland, which when you look into the mileage and cost is faster/cheaper than Dover/Calais despite it 'appearing' on google maps to be the long way around (it's not!).

Basically, I'd be avoiding crossing at Dover/Calais.
Almost any other option is better.

 

[suavecarve]

Seriously look into the ferry routes from UK (Southampton/Portsmouth/Plymouth) to Spain. (Santander/Bilbao)
Here
It may 'appear' to cost more
But by the time you have factored in the additional French transit costs of fuel, camp fees, tolls, wear and tear, the other ferry cost, and of course your time, it's not as expensive as it may first appear.

I m relatively well known as a FLT, but I thought I would take a peek.
£900 return to Santander from Pompey was much better than I was expecting and I think I could blag a BF discount (presuming it is BF) on top of that.
Versus £250 return and c£350 in diesel (£600 total) (No tolls, no campsite fees and a day extra travel for us) to Santander

£300 more expensive (possibly less for ancillaries and possible discount) and a cruise thrown in, plus the potential of no hold ups, accidents, wear and tear etc. I can understand why people do it now.

Still not for us as I like the £300 But I can see it will make sense to many

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Brains]

I m relatively well known as a FLT, but I thought I would take a peek.
£900 return to Santander from Pompey was much better than I was expecting and I think I could blag a BF discount (presuming it is BF) on top of that.
Versus £250 return and c£350 in diesel (£600 total) (No tolls, no campsite fees and a day extra travel for us) to Santander

£300 more expensive (possibly less for ancillaries and possible discount) and a cruise thrown in, plus the potential of no hold ups, accidents, wear and tear etc. I can understand why people do it now.

Still not for us as I like the £300 But I can see it will make sense to many

or £150 extra each way but you get 4 days extra holiday.
The ferry companies are well aware of the costs of the alternatives and price accordingly

Works out at £18.70 PP per day. The cost of a couple of beers.
Therefore the longer ferry option is a no brainer for me.
(and as you say, you get a cruise for free)

 

[suavecarve]

or £150 extra each way but you get 4 days extra holiday.
The ferry companies are well aware of the costs of the alternatives and price accordingly

Works out at £18.70 PP per day. The cost of a couple of beers.
Therefore the longer ferry option is a no brainer for me.
(and as you say, you get a cruise for free)

Fortunately, (for my wallet) the wife will struggle with a 24 hour ferry trip. The Dieppe ferry is her limit.
For us, we enjoy the travel down in the vehicle.
We tend to motor down and its only 12 hours (yeah) according to google on non tolls from Dieppe, but I only have one more journey to make that way, with work limitations, so we would then pick and choose our travel days (when it is overcast or raining) which, in our minds, will negate the "lost days"

We also have the ability to change our mind and go to Germany somewhere nice just to shut up WESTY66 and his warped view on all things french

 

[martin2603]

If you have a dog with you and don’t want to subject him or her to the “Experience “ of on board kennels then I would suggest P and O from Dover (Special dog area) or the Tunnel where you stay in the vehicle. Crossing time 1hr 15 min on ferry or 45mins on the train. Have used the suggested route many times and the main road tunnel at Rouen is fine. You may well have snow between Northern Spain and Zaragossa in January.

 

[Barclaybasher]

Heading South in France in January

I've done it quite a few times

Obviously cold, so be prepared, sites mostly closed but now CCP Aires with EHU and services.

Weather can be miserable and when not you have the sun right in your face so better to set off later rather than early.

The ferries to Spain avoid much of that but snow closed the motorways on one trip. Not a problem in a MH you just find a park up.......

 

[BikerGraham]

We are from newcastle so a long haul for us too. Done the Santander ferry last two years for Christmas in Spain. You need it do Portsmouth to Santander which is a two night sailing. Or go to Plymouth for Bilbao.but Plymouth is a good bit extra too.

With the dog you will want a dog cabin for the ferry which will have sold out almost as soon as they went on sale back in July.

This year we are going on the tunnel and driving down. Will see what it is like and compare. We were just far too bored on the ferry last year. Will drive down one day and stay overnight close to the tunnel ( the Dog House) then early morning train then reckon 3 good days to get well into Spain.

If using tolls we reckon price wise it will be a little cheaper but and extra day or so each way. If not using tolls then it will be a god bit cheaper. Haven’t decided yet which way to go though. But have a look at Tonka’s routes in resources for ideas.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Johnen]

If you are using toll roads consider getting a toll tag, which will make the peage stations a lot easier

 

[Sdrawde]

Welcome to you both
We are going to be considering a similar journey - and there is a great deal of information available on this forum - so much so, that we felt it was definitely worth paying to join the forum officially.
It has already been worth the money, and we don't even have a motorhome yet

 

[The Coops]

Keep off the toll roads, you are in a motorhome, no rush, drive down and enjoy the trip, find someplace you like and explore! If you don't like it for the return journey, catch the Santander ferry back to UK

 

[EuroTrotters]

You may want to consider the Newhaven Dieppe route with (may I be so bold as to suggest) an over 60s discount of 20% if you book over the phone and it takes a number of miles off the driving.

Although we didnt make Denia this year, the route may be something similar to what we did on a journal last year with things in your way

List of the places we went to (with shed loads of photos) here https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/journals/blog/spanish-rehab-thrournal.340/

Fortunately, (for my wallet) the wife will struggle with a 24 hour ferry trip. The Dieppe ferry is her limit.
For us, we enjoy the travel down in the vehicle.
We tend to motor down and its only 12 hours (yeah) according to google on non tolls from Dieppe, but I only have one more journey to make that way, with work limitations, so we would then pick and choose our travel days (when it is overcast or raining) which, in our minds, will negate the "lost days"

We also have the ability to change our mind and go to Germany somewhere nice just to shut up WESTY66 and his warped view on all things french

I can offer 10 % BF discount

 

[EuroTrotters]

The easiest way for me would be Portsmouth -Bilbao

The problem with that is availability, in particular because you may want a pet friendly cabin.

So you may have to opt for Santander.

If you want to go down the Spanish ferry routes, you would be looking around £550 for a 7 metre motorhome one way.

Otherwise, st, Malo or Caen would mean you can avoid paris and Rouen.

I’ve driven to Dénia (well Javea) in our case via varying routes, ports, crossings for 30 + years.

£550 May sound a lot, but driving through France where diesel is still over €2 a litre on some motorways (1.30 here at the discounters in Spain) Then there are toll costs to factor in.

We took the Javea - Manchester route via st-Malo - Portsmouth last time. Via the Somport tunnel which will be closed for repairs to access roads for some time.

Short and tall, book brittany ferries, even if it has to be Santander. Book flexi, keep checking and you may find a Bilbao crossing come free and you can change online.

bigtree has just done the trip from Scotland and was in Denia

Maybe ask him !

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[The Old Man]

This route may suit you, I have driven it before, just pay attention when traversing Rouen not to go down the underpasses with hight restrictions.

View attachment 964312

That is a route I travelled many times.

 

[BILL 875]

Used to do the ferry to sandander now its approx 2 days as someone said £900, add food and drink that could be over £100 so Newhaven to dieppe just paid £160 return 12.00 sailings cheaper if you pick different timings and thats over 60s as said above. We do a few tolls to cut out 30km villages.

 

[2025 Denia]

Hi, we are two ladies travelling from Scotland to Denia Spain. We are driving down with our wee dog in January. This will be our first adventure driving abroad. We are looking for the straightest, safest route. Worried about snow and ice. We do want to avoid Paris or any other busy city. Any help in planning would be much appreciated.

Thank you so much for all of you and the helpful replies. Yes, we are women of a certain age, over 60's. Both have taken early retirement. So looking forward to the new adventure. I shall print off all of the info and maps which have been kindly added for us. Our wee dog is an old man now and wouldn't do well on the overnight ferry, hence coming over to Calais so that we can be with him and it is a shorter trip. Next question, is it true that one or some of the motorways have some kind of special tarmac to help with keeping the snow and ice at bay?....

 

[Kups]

Keep off the toll roads, you are in a motorhome, no rush, drive down and enjoy the trip, find someplace you like and explore! If you don't like it for the return journey, catch the Santander ferry back to UK

We take the opposite view. The french non motorway roads have so many varying speed limits with associated camera that you can go dizzy just keeping up with them. Then there's the roundabouts, speed bumps, endless pedestrian crossings, street furniture in unusual places, chicanes into and out of towns, local shoppers, truckers half awake or late for a delivery and overhanging trees. French roundabout procedure is erratic and often unpredictable especially older Citroen drivers!
Get the picture!
We've seen more than enough empty villages, truck stops and assorted traffic signs over the years thanks. "vide Grenier" - chaos guaranteed! "Ball trap" oh err - also avoidWorn more tyre treads, changed gear until my knee ached and hit the horn until my palm was bruised (a little exaggerated )
Get a toll tag, pay the money and enjoy the superb french and Spanish motorways. Even the french motorway services are superior to those in the UK.
Motorways every time for us but not to sleep on of course

 

[Deepingvet]

From Scotland I would most definitely go Hull-Rotterdam, no London, no M25 and NO PARIS..!!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[altomos]

Hi, we are two ladies travelling from Scotland to Denia Spain. We are driving down with our wee dog in January. This will be our first adventure driving abroad. We are looking for the straightest, safest route. Worried about snow and ice. We do want to avoid Paris or any other busy city. Any help in planning would be much appreciated.

We have done the Bordeaux route for the last ten years. We are also stopping for three months around Denia. What campsite are you on?

 

[OwnedbyCollies]

This website below lists different options for driving through France to Spain and gives you an idea of tolls and mileage. The tolls are slightly out of date and based on class 1 - MH are usually class 2 - about one and a half class 1 figures.

Bot Verification

If you click on a route it will give very detailed information. We found this really helpful when we travelled to Spain in January a couple of years ago. We took the low toll route down the west side through Bordeaux, crossed at Irun, then went east through Pamplona, Zaragoza etc to the med.

 

[OwnedbyCollies]

Sorry if the link doesn’t work! You have to be a human to open it

The website is About-France.com and it covers driving through France to Spain.

 

[Smokaijo]

I can offer 10 % BF discount

That would be useful to us next year if you are happy to share?

 

[Basa]

If you are going around Rouen make sure you register for the low emissions sticker, it’s easy to apply for and cheap as chips

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[EuroTrotters]

That would be useful to us next year if you are happy to share?

Sure

 

[G-RMPS]

Maybe see you in Denia? We're on the campsite from mid-Dec to end-Feb.

 

[Dorwyn]

This could be taken a little sexist, but I have noticed more and more single or shared ladies taking on the motorhoming adventures, and I really appreciate it. Good on them! Go for it, ladies!

 

[Northernraider]

For me Newhaven dieppe then right down the middle on the free a75 motorway past millau. Lots of free aires on that route for stopovers .

 

[Whippetsontour]

This route may suit you, I have driven it before, just pay attention when traversing Rouen not to go down the underpasses with hight restrictions.

View attachment 964312

Yep that’s what I’ve used in the past !