# winter travel from France into Spain



## anitainjune (Apr 21, 2009)

Hi.
Never been to Europe yet in our 2lr 1993 petrol Autosleeper but would like to try a winter rally Feb/ Mar? bit worried about route into Spain or Portugal and snow and mountains. Sorry bit of a whimp I suppose but suggested routes would be appreciated.
Cheers


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## ActiveCampers (Jun 17, 2005)

Take a peek at our site, link below, we did a 2 mth sun & snow tour Dec 08/Jan 09 - and did both beach in the algave for xmas and snowboarding in Sierra nevada and pyrenees later.
Route & details on site.

Will do similar this winter but bits we've not been to before.


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## MikeCo (Jan 26, 2008)

We will be going to Spain setting off around the 1 Feb and coming home 9 weeks later.
We will probably do the same route as last year which is Dover-Calais then down the west side of France to Bordeaux then into northern spain at San Sebastian then Madrid and finnally La Manga.
This is around 1200 miles and we will take 4 or 5 days.
If you wish to cut out some miles then go Portsmouth/Bilbao.


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## jaytee (Jul 19, 2009)

try the N10 to bordeaux rather than the A10 fewer tolls,the route via Madrid 
then south follow signs for Seville and on to the Algarve;have used this way several times and never had problem with snow
john


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## bikers (Nov 26, 2006)

Hi,

Not a route - just some advice having made several winter trips to France. Get water wherever you can. Take every means you can think of for getting water into the tank. Many water supplies are turned off because of freezing.


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## teensvan (May 9, 2005)

Hi.

We have used several routes up and down to spain in the last 3 years. As you are going in mid winter i would suggest a drive down to Rouen and then onto Broglie for your first stop. Broglie has a very nice aire €7 per night. The water may not be on.

Next day you can drive onto Niort. A very nice town with a very nice laid out aire. If the water is on fill up 

You could then go onto Biarritz which also has a good aire and the water should be on. You can do this drive without going on a toll road.

It is then possible to then do a 465 mile drive all the way down to Benidorm and sunshine.

Another route you could do is Rouen-Chartres-Orleans-Clermont,Ferrand_St Floour and down to the med. This route would be very cold and some high climbs. You can also do this route without going on toll roads

steve & ann. -------------- teensvan.


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

The only places you are liable to encounter snow, and then not very often, if following the main A1 route down through Spain, is in Northern Spain around Burgos, the Puerto de Somosierra pass approaching Madrid and Madrid itself, all due to their high altitude. 

We have had to make the journey often, apart from by motorhome, and have only hit snow on three occasions in the last twenty years. However, the Spanish are very organised on the main routes and the snow does not normally settle for long. The journey is really nothing to worry about. Just be prepared for bad weather as you would at home.

I would caution about keep filling up with water in freezing conditions. Unless you have a Grade 3 winterized van this can lead to freezing your water system up and will cost you dear if this includes your boiler. In freezing conditions many experienced owners simply drain their tanks completely and rely on water containers until reaching a campsite and hook-up if the weather is bad enough. Also why not use campsites if the weather turns bad and take any water shortages out of the equation?

Ron


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## BJT (Oct 31, 2008)

Having done the journey from Calais through to the Algarve February this year using the 'Western' route through France and Spain; I can say that there are snow can be experienced anywhere from Irun through to Merida. But the Spanish have road gritting and snow clearance very well organised (unlike our own Highways Agency! The M20 was a skating rink on the Sunday the snow was forecast and although the signs were displaying 'gritting in progress' I did not see one until after the snow had started. By then the road was a skating rink with vehicles going in all directions and some overturned.). 
Northern France, snow clearance was not very impressive, and I did not get clear of the bad weather until Le Mans.
The Spanish high plateau forming a large part of the interior of the country is swept by a cold wind, and it is cold. Water standpipes are isolated for the winter, so it has to be got from internal taps; which makes it more practical to use containers in the van until getting down towards Merida. I was lulled into a false sense of 'winter sun' when nearing Bordeaux, and the weather was warm at the site near the border. But as soon as the road started to climb to cross the Pyrenees the tempetature dropped very quickly.
Apart from needing to keep the heater on all night when stopping in Spain I really had no problem with the weather.
I used the A10 because of the bad weather and it was not cheap. Next year I will use the old N10, but you need to plan the journey carefully using a 2009 road map as the road numbers were changed and the N10 is no longer the N10 throughout its length.
I would suggest the A10 (E05) is sensible to use past Bayonne to the Spanish border as the N10 passes through a built up area for most of this stretch and is very slow to transit. It is also advantageous around Tours as this is a congested stretch with roundabouts and traffic lights galore.
I did it on my own, and I survived, and I'm going back again next year. So go for it; it is an experience to drive on less crowded roads where the HGV's have to keep about 25m apart, so you can overtake safely. 
Good luck.


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