by ramdays » Fri Jan 16, 2015 9:20 am
Hi Seb
I've done the trip about 5-6 times by road and personally prefer it, although other family members prefer flying. Door to door I would say it's around 10-12 hours depending on various factors. Overnight stop of course adds to that
Your best bet is to take the eurotunnel shuttle, and I've typically set off from SW11 around 6pm on a Friday for an 8.30pm crossing (you should allow 2 hours to get to Folkestone although 90 minutes is more likely). You'll be in France around 10pm (local time) and my preference is to drive 3 or so hours while the family is asleep in the car. We tend to stop past Reims in Champagne (which also gives us a good excuse to stock up!) and if you go an hour further Troyes is a lovely medieval town.
The next morning after a bit of a lie in and relaxed breakfast, hit the road at say 10am and with a stop on the way you should be in resort mid to late afternoon depending on which resort
If you're going to some of the well known French resorts, you'll want to go down to Bourg-en-Bresse (where the famous Chicken is from) and skirt past Geneva. If southern Switzerland (Valais type region) then I get off at Dijon and cut through Besancon and drop north of lake Geneva at Lausanne. I've not driven to resorts around Zurich or Austria
Bear in mind that the French police have toughened up on speeding Brits in Chelsea tractors and you'll be wise to carry cash to pay the on the spot speeding fine otherwise they'll drive you to the nearest ATM. The French also have rules around what safety equipment needs to be in the car (high viz jackets, breathalysers etc.) and to legally drive in Switzerland you need to buy a road tax disc that is valid for a year, but I've never bothered (it shouldn't be an issue unless they pull you over and check). Speed cameras in both France and Switzerland aren't well displayed like the UK, and I would strongly suggest either taking snow chains or winter tyres. Many times the police block mountain roads in heavy snow and only cars with chains fitted are allowed to continue on.
That's my 2 cents. If you want some more info happy to help. For me the convenience of putting everything in the car from home, especially when self catering, is great, but it can be a long trip for young passengers.
All the best
Saquib
Hi Seb
I've done the trip about 5-6 times by road and personally prefer it, although other family members prefer flying. Door to door I would say it's around 10-12 hours depending on various factors. Overnight stop of course adds to that
Your best bet is to take the eurotunnel shuttle, and I've typically set off from SW11 around 6pm on a Friday for an 8.30pm crossing (you should allow 2 hours to get to Folkestone although 90 minutes is more likely). You'll be in France around 10pm (local time) and my preference is to drive 3 or so hours while the family is asleep in the car. We tend to stop past Reims in Champagne (which also gives us a good excuse to stock up!) and if you go an hour further Troyes is a lovely medieval town.
The next morning after a bit of a lie in and relaxed breakfast, hit the road at say 10am and with a stop on the way you should be in resort mid to late afternoon depending on which resort
If you're going to some of the well known French resorts, you'll want to go down to Bourg-en-Bresse (where the famous Chicken is from) and skirt past Geneva. If southern Switzerland (Valais type region) then I get off at Dijon and cut through Besancon and drop north of lake Geneva at Lausanne. I've not driven to resorts around Zurich or Austria
Bear in mind that the French police have toughened up on speeding Brits in Chelsea tractors and you'll be wise to carry cash to pay the on the spot speeding fine otherwise they'll drive you to the nearest ATM. The French also have rules around what safety equipment needs to be in the car (high viz jackets, breathalysers etc.) and to legally drive in Switzerland you need to buy a road tax disc that is valid for a year, but I've never bothered (it shouldn't be an issue unless they pull you over and check). Speed cameras in both France and Switzerland aren't well displayed like the UK, and I would strongly suggest either taking snow chains or winter tyres. Many times the police block mountain roads in heavy snow and only cars with chains fitted are allowed to continue on.
That's my 2 cents. If you want some more info happy to help. For me the convenience of putting everything in the car from home, especially when self catering, is great, but it can be a long trip for young passengers.
All the best
Saquib
