# Route to Spain



## gibb (Dec 25, 2007)

Hi could do with some advice on best and cheapest route calais to spain will do 200-300 mile a day[ tag axle hymer ] thanks GIBB


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

AS an ex nternational trucker
Rouen
Evreux
Drew
Chartres
Tours
Potiers
Bordeaux
Irun
There is a toll between calais & Rouen and it is about 11 euro
Tolls between Bordeaux & Irun forgot how much but not high.
There are several other ways that run alongside this route that may be more scenic and if you are going into Spain via Lajonquera may be shorter
eg from Chatres go via
Orleans
Chatearoux
Limoges
Cahor
Toulouse.
This second route has many nice rivers close by and is toll free except for the Calais to Rouen about 11 euro.
In France there is always a toll free route where ever you go and mostly it will be just as quick as Autoroutes usually are a little longer.
Have a good trip


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

*Re: ROUTE TO SPAIN*



gibb said:


> Hi could do with some advice on best and cheapest route calais to spain will do 200-300 mile a day[ tag axle hymer ] thanks GIBB


Hi gibb,

This is a trip we did to Spain last year you might find some of the info useful. I would disregard the fuel prices.

This is a summary of our trip down to Conil de la Frontera, Spain in
Jan 2007.

We used the Dover/Calais crossing, as we have a 275 mile journey to
Dover we have found in the past a Saturday is a quieter day to do the
journey. Also you get a truck free day on Sunday, your first day in
France.

Sat. 13th Jan.
We had a very uneventful trip to Dover where on arrival we found the
ferry was delayed for two hours. As we planned to spend the night on
Calais docks it was not really a problem except we arrived at
midnight instead of 22.00hrs. We stayed the night on the "unbooked
crossing" car park. There were about 6 other vans there. It was
fairly quiet night as not too many trucks are on the move Sat night
Sun morning.

FRANCE
Sun. 14th Jan.
A very good refuelling place at Calais is the Elf filling station
just off Junc 3 as you are leaving the port complex. Take the last
exit of the roundabout and the Elf station is on the right. We paid
€1.02 for a litre of diesel.

We travelled 363 miles and stayed on the aire at St Maure which is
about 20 miles south of Tours on the N10. We used the Peage
(motorway) from Calais to Tours. A16, A28 to Rouen, Le Mans and
Tours. Totals tolls were €49.90. We have been using the aire at St
Maure for many years and it is usually very quiet at night, if you
don't want an early call park well away from the "bottle bank".

Mon 15th Jan.
Today we had a 320 mile trip to St Jean de Luz were we stayed at
Camping Larrouleta (€15.50 per night) for two nights, we like to have
a day off after three days of driving. The site has wifi connection
€5 for 30 min.

A very good refuelling point is the Champion hypermarket which is 14
miles south of St Maure on the N10, we paid €0.97 for a litre of
diesel.

The N10 is now nearly all dual carriageway to Bordeaux. We did use
the Peage from Chatellerault north to Poitiers south at a cost of
€5.70 we think it's well worthwhile it to avoid the hassle of going
through the towns.

When you reach the Bordeaux ring road follow the signs for Bassin
D'Arcachon and Bayonne A 63. I would suggest you stay on the A63 to
the Spanish boarder as the N10 gets very congested going through
Bayonne, Biarritz and St Jean de Luz.

At the Leclerc hypermarket at St Jean de Luz diesel was Euro 0.99 per
litre. In France diesel prices varied from €1.16 on the "Peage" to
€0.97 at the super/hypermarkets. Extreme caution should be exercised
when refuelling at Super/Hypermarkets as some of them have a very
restricted manoeuvring area.

In France the Autoroutes (Motorways) are signed in Blue the N routes
are signed in green. The Autoroute is mainly a toll road and the toll
sections are clearly signed "PEAGE". Tolls can be paid by cash (€) or
the "Plastic". The tolls can work out very expensive over long
distances.

Many people use the word "PEAGE" when referring to toll roads
throughout Europe.

SPAIN

Wed 17th Jan.
We travelled 270 miles to La Cabrera, which is 60 km north of Madrid.
We travelled via the A63 peage (€2.20) into Spain, AP8 San Sebastian
(€1.45) then A1,Vitoria, AP1 Burgos (€9.15) and A1 La Cabrera. We
stayed at Camping Pico de la Miel (€18.50 per night) the site is not
suitable for ARV's and the touring pitches are restricted in height
by metal overhead frames.

Thurs 18th Jan.
Today we had a 300 mile trip to Camping Cubillas (€14.50 per night) a
lake side site 9 km north of Granada.

Fri 19th Jan.
Today we had a 205 mile trip to Camping La Rosaleda at Conil de la
Frontera which is about 30 miles east of Cadiz in a non "touristy"
area. The site has excellent facilities, well designated pitches of a
good size. There are only a few pitches suitable for ARV's. Suitable
for long stays with very good discounts (€255 for 30 nights) there's
also a very good on site restaurant. Free wifi connection is also
available.

MADRID RING ROAD.
With the completion of the Madrid ring road transiting the city is
now very easy. It's a very well engineered "Spaghetti" junction, I
set the cruise control at 60 mph and maintained that speed for most
of the trip round the ring road. For rapid entry/exit to the city
there are the R (rapid) routes they are clearly marked "Peaje/Toll"
We used R4 to exit the city and it cost us €7.05 for the 56 km
journey well worth the expense to avoid the very heavy traffic
leaving the city.

If you are transiting the city from the north (E5/A1) to the south
(E5/A4) just follow this route.

From E5/A1
Take M50, Head towards E90 A2 Zaragoza M45 A3 A4

Head towards R3 Valencia E901 A3 Valencia A4 R4 A42 R5

E5 A4 Cordoba Exit 46.
Or for rapid route follow signs R4.

These instructions might seem complicated but they are easy to
follow. If by any chance you do get lost just follow any A4/R4
Cordoba sign.
In Spain the motorways are called Autovia and Autopista, normally the
Autovia is free and the Autopista is a toll road. The Autovia is
signed A, while the Autopista is signed AP. There could be some
exceptions.

In Spain we found the diesel varied from €0.87 to €0.91 per litre.

Safe travelling.

Don


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

Grath said:


> There is a toll between calais & Rouen and it is about 11 euro
> Have a good trip


A small point.
Autoroute Calais to Boulogne is free
Autoroute Boulogne to Abbeville is payage
Autoroute Abbeville to Rouen is free.


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## inkey-2008 (May 24, 2008)

Hi it depends on the time of the year you wish to travel. If you go down between May and September no problem, there plenty of campsite open at very reasonable prices or stay on Aires. If you travel later than that the choice is limited. Aires away from the motorway system are ok. and you may find some campsites open. We go down to Narbone and in to Spain that way as there are more places to stay but beware of Barcelona lots of highway men looking for stray campers. Dont stop unless forced to, going until you reach a toll or petrol station and then park in a very public place. Keep your doors locked when stopped on services. inkey-2008


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## gibb (Dec 25, 2007)

Hi im going next thursday night 17-7-08 down to Tossa and with the price of fuel im trying to save on tolls as im told that its double with a tag axle. Its our first time abroad with it and i would like to do it in 2 or 3 days and the same coming home. Thanks GIBB


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## hilldweller (Mar 8, 2008)

>> Don Madge
>> This is a summary of our trip down to Conil de la Frontera, Spain in Jan 2007. 

That looks very useful for Morocco next Jan - we are on the Feb trip.

Were there any snow problems ?

We last did Madrid/Toledo/Granada/Malaga but in May, do you know if the Granda area is OK in Jan ?

Or is there a better way to Algeciras ?


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

hilldweller said:


> >> Don Madge
> >> This is a summary of our trip down to Conil de la Frontera, Spain in Jan 2007.
> 
> That looks very useful for Morocco next Jan - we are on the Feb trip.
> ...


Hi Brian,

We have used that route many times in January to go to Morocco/Spain and never had a serious problem in the Granada area.

Another spot on the route that might cause you a problem is the Col de Somosierra (1440 metres) which is about 90 ks north of Madrid on the A1.

You will get plenty of warning if snow is forecast as the Spanish are on the ball and have the ploughs positioned along the major roads well before the snow arrives.

So if you are driving along a see a snow plough at the side of the road with flashers going you can expect snow.

Don


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## hilldweller (Mar 8, 2008)

Don Madge said:


> Hi Brian,
> We have used that route many times in January to go to Morocco/Spain and never had a serious problem in the Granada area.
> Don


Thanks Don. When we did it our problem was wind. It was on a bike and one day we just had to stop early because I could hardly keep the bike between two white lines. Sometimes I didn't, luckily there were 3 white lines. HGVs were warned so we may have done the same in the MH. I'd hate to be there with those winds *and* snow.

There's nothing to stop Westerlies across those plains !


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

*Irun to Madrid*

The way that we always went with our trucks from Irun to Madrid was NOT the N1.
We would turn off to Pampalona immediately as we crossed the border from France.
The route is N121A to Pampalona
N121A from Pampalona to Alfaro
Then the C101 to Agreda
At Agreda turn right for about 2 km onto the N122 and then left again onto the C101 to Almenar.
At Almenar, turn right again for 2km on the N234 and then left again onto the C101 to Almazan. (AT Almazan you will probably see the Storks nesting on top of the electricity pillons)
At Almazan take the N111 to Medinaceli and here t=you will pick up the N2 to Madrid.
This route is quicker when you know it and is most certainly lighter on fuel as once up the mountain towards Pampalona you are riding along the top all the way.
One VERY IMPORTANT final point that has not been mentioned, is that the N1 to N6 in Spain are signed in ROMAN NUMERICALS so for the N2 you will see N11 and for the N4 you will see N1V.
This route has many small truck stops and all the roads are very good including the C roads, which have been upgraded and widened.
It is much safer than the N1 as much quieter.
This is the route that the Spanish truckers use.
For what it is worth, I usually did 3 trips per month to Madrid for several years and this in my opinion is the best way, but if you are a little afraid of reading a map (no offense ment) then the N1 is easier as one straight road, but it will cost you more in fuel.
If you do decide to go via Pampalons, I will give you more details with places suitable for overnighting.
Hope it helps.


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

*Re: Irun to Madrid*



Grath said:


> One VERY IMPORTANT final point that has not been mentioned, is that the N1 to N6 in Spain are signed in ROMAN NUMERICALS so for the N2 you will see N11 and for the N4 you will see N1V.
> Hope it helps.


Hi Grath,

Road numbering in Spain has changed in the last few years.

The N1 - N6 roads have now been changed to Autovia A1 - A6

The toll roads Autopista have been changed to AP1 and so on.

The motorways around Madrid are prefixed with "M" M40/50etc. For rapid entry/exit to the city there are the R (rapid) routes they are clearly marked "Peaje/Toll"

We used R4 to exit the city and it cost us €7.05 for the 56 km
journey well worth the expense to avoid the very heavy traffic
leaving the city.

Don


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

*Re: Irun to Madrid*



Don Madge said:


> Grath said:
> 
> 
> > One VERY IMPORTANT final point that has not been mentioned, is that the N1 to N6 in Spain are signed in ROMAN NUMERICALS so for the N2 you will see N11 and for the N4 you will see N1V.
> ...


HI Don, thanks for that, it is 6 years since I was down there and I know the roads pretty well without having to read the sign posts.
I know the M40 outer ring rd and the M30 inner ring rd but I know a few more have been built from mainly the N11(as I refer to it) 
There is one from the N11 to the N111 (old term) I used part of this when it was just opened, can't remember the number, is it the M50?) and more around the Airport.
We used to do a lot around Cosalada which is just south of the Airport and on the opposite side of the N11.
We also did a lot just south and south west of Madrid.
Madrid is a fine city with lots to offer, did you know that it is the highest capitol city in Europe?
edit.
It seems like that they are changing these road numbers just about everywhere nowadays.
Anyway, the route via Pampalona will still be the same as single carriageway.
Thanks again Don


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