For excellent fiscal reasons we are driving to Val Thorens this year at Easter with 3 children, rather than flying. I have pathetically limited experience of driving in France. If anyone has any advice, routes, or best wishes to offer I would be really pleased.
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Suggest you use www.viamichelin.com for route planning.
As one who also drives on the left, I initially found it difficult driving on the right. You will find it even more so, as the driving seat will be on the wrong side. You will have to rely on your front passenger to say whether it is safe to overtake.
Best of luck!
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Hi,
My personal preferences are:
- take the Eurotunnel. Fast, reliable, can be cheapish if you book the correct times.
- Toll roads all the way. Use via-michelin to check your route, as was mentioned in the previous post, but it%26#39;s basically Reims, Dijon, Lyon, Chambery, Albertville, Moutiers, Val Thorens. You have a choice at Lyon whether to go quite close around the side of it, or take a larger detour via Bourg-en-Bresse (still on toll roads). The latter used to be useful when there were large road-works closer to Lyon, but now it seems to make no odds to me. Most of the toll stations take credit cards now, but I usually stop soon after Calais to get some Euros out just in case. via-michelin will tell you how much you%26#39;ll need (probably about 60 Euros each way?)
- Give careful thought to whether you do it in one go, two goes or more, and whether you%26#39;re happy driving at night. I did a though-the-night journey from the Alps once in April and was absolutely trashed by the time I got to Calais because it was dense fog for almost the entire 10 hours. I now have a young toddler so we always break at least once (near Dijon usually) and occasionally twice.
Actually, noticing you%26#39;re probably going from Cumbria, you might consider driving to Hull, getting a ferry to Zeebrugge and taking that route. A friend of mine does this to get from North Wales to the Alps, normally stopping around Beaune.
Petrol - my car takes unleaded and in December it was considerably cheaper to fill up in the UK. It used to be the other way around. Diesel might be much of a muchness - try and check before you go.
Snowchains - chances are you%26#39;ll not need them, but I%26#39;ve twice been in the situation in May where I%26#39;ve needed them to get out of resort and down the main road for the first 40 minutes!
Other equipment/paperwork - I think the law%26#39;s just changed so you should be in posession of headlight adjusters, warning triangle, spare bulbs and a high-viz jacket when driving in France. There might be some other things so check something like the AA website. That said I%26#39;ve never been stopped by the gendarmes except to check I had chains on when I needed them. Don%26#39;t forget both parts of your driving license, registration docs and check your insurance docs - by law your insurer must give you 3rd party protection in Europe, but you might consider upgrading to fully comp for the week (if you don%26#39;t have it automatically) and/or getting breakdown cover for Europe.
That%26#39;ll probably do for starters! Driving on the Autoroutes is really quite pleasant and you%26#39;ll soon get used to it. You%26#39;ll probably find it much more pleasant than driving in the UK.
Cheers,
Matt
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Many thanks Matt, all brilliant advice. I really appreciate the time you put into that. Various constraints means we will have to do it in one go. Thanks again.
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Hi,
Wouldn%26#39;t recommend doing it in one, expecially if you have limited overseas driving experience. Although the toll roads are super you will be tired from concentrating on driving on the right.
You also need to have your wits about you driving up the last stretch of the mountain to VT. Its an hour of hairpin bends!
Just got back from there and we definitely needed our snow chains from Les Menuires up into VT, don%26#39;t risk going without them. Remember to practice putting them on prior to leaving as there is nothing worse than being stuck half way up a mountain, in the freezing snow trying to read the instructions!
I hope the snow is as good for you at Easter, as it was for us last week.
Best wishes
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