# South or Atlantic Coast by cost



## cje101 (Aug 1, 2009)

Hi all,

We are planning our next trip to france for 3 weeks in august, we are looking at a dover to calais crossing and either going down to the south (Frejus, narbone etc) or over to the atlantic coast. There doesn't seem to be a big difference in the mileage to either, we have looked at sailings to roscoff or St malo but these work out at upto £400 more than Dover to Calais. Has anyone got any knowledge of the total diesel/toll costs to each area so we can complete a comparison???


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## andrewball1000 (Oct 16, 2009)

The Viamichelin web site used to do this for you. Put in MPG and it will show both fuel and tolls


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## MikeCo (Jan 26, 2008)

We travelled through France from Spain last week and it seems more expensive than it was only 6 weeks ago.
Due to a family illness we needed to get back quickly and used toll roads and also filled up on motorways.
Diesel was around 1.45 Euro's and we paid around around 100 Euro's in tolls. That was travelling up the west coast though.
If I was limited to a 3 week holiday I would not take the time or expense to travel down as far as Frejus but would go as far as the Vendee and hope for good weather.

Mike


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## gmberryman (Nov 21, 2009)

Hi,
We have done both of these trips and without doubt it is far better to take the portsmouth to cherbourg overnight crossing and then drive down to the lower atlantic coast below bordeaux we have done this a few times and the tolls are minimal on this route and easily acheivable in a day. if you take the dover calais route you can add about 300 miles to the route and most of it is on toll roads. i dont know if you have been to the atlantic coast before but we find it far more relaxed than the med and also quite a bit cheaper with plenty of aires.


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## cje101 (Aug 1, 2009)

Hi,
Thanks for the info, would the 300 miles be each way or round trip. I have looked at the sailing suggested & it works out £402 more expensive than the Dover Calais route, obviosolly i appreciate the time/mileage difference but would be looking at best value. It looks like the atlantic/vendee at the moment.
Thanks
CJE101


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## Dougle (May 18, 2006)

Just a tad further down the West coast, Charente Maritime has almost the same sunshine hours as the south but with the cooling breeze off the Atlantic [very welcome in August]
See >THIS<

Regards,

Dave


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

I use the HMRC mileage rate of 40p/mile as a good rule of thumb to the TRUE cost of driving over ferry fares.

It takes into account fuel costs + servicing, tyres, wear and tear, etc.

How much per mile you cost out not having a boring plod of a drive down a French Autoroute is up to you.


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## TM59 (Mar 11, 2008)

Less tolls, less traffic, less busy. Good aires, good scenery, good weather, good food and great wine. Visited parts of the Atlantic Coast last year, on the way home. Will return for a full holiday when time permits.

Trevor


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I would do Calais and set the sat nav to avoid tolls and see a bit of France on the way down. Personally I would rather go to Brittany than the Atlantic coast or the med but if you want to guarantee good weather?


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## seanoo (Mar 31, 2007)

hi all, if you use the toll road between nantes and bordeaux thats around €40 euros on its own. regards sean


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## cje101 (Aug 1, 2009)

Wow thanks for all the responses, following a review of the comments it looks like we are going to the atlantic/ Vendee. Does any one know if we can get a ferry cheaper than £460 as quoted by the caravan club. We don't mind where we sail from but would be looking at St Marlo, Roskoff etc. We are planning to sail on the 14th august and return around 2nd september.
Thanks
Chris


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## Dougle (May 18, 2006)

If I had three weeks to do the trip, I would definitely do Dover Calais and enjoy the drive down to the west coast. It is still comfortably do-able with only one overnight stop [obviously dependent on crossing times etc] e.g. Bernay has a lovely compact site which is not quite mid-way and no need to use Autoroutes.

Dave


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