# Up to date toll prices etc if anyone needs them to Portugal



## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Hi having just returned from a months holiday, I have logged the current toll prices etc on the route from Calais down to the Algarve, if anyone requires them or route info shout out.

I also have a few all year round sites for those of you that prefer to use sites on the journey, I must admit we have found the trip quite costly with the current situation with the euro.

Alvor in the Algarve was so quiet we couldn't believe it in comparison to last Feb...........I guess alot of folk are waiting to get Xmas over before travelling out there, which in a way we now wish we had done too. Lunches that last year salad etc were costing us around £16/17 for both of us with a beer etc now cost over £30, the only one good thing was the dentist LOL I managed to get a loose tooth removed and other dental work which I would have struggled to even make an appointment here, I rang up in the morning and got in the same afternoon.

Many of the restaurants in Alvor weren't even open, and for those of you that do know Alvor the very last restuarant on the harbour as you head past all the fish restaurants (last year we found this one of the very best) has changed hands and now instead of fish etc has been americanised and does burgers etc again not cheap but I can recommend the seafood chowder with crust bread. The same restaurant is now also doing a 3 course sunday lunch for just under ten euros, and apparently that is very good as they have a live band from 2pm, we were going to go as we fancied sitting there in the sun listening to jazz/beatles and the eagles, but sadly on the day we were going to go it poured and poured with rain, again rain rain rain has been the order of most of our time there, also leaving Salamanca and heading for Zauritz a week ago today there was driving snow and we had a very slow journey that day, several vehicles were off the road and I must admit I was really glad when we got towards Burgos where the weather improved greatly.

Normally we do the journey down and back to the Algarve in four easy stages with approx 5/6 hour drives per day but this time back took it steady and spread the journey over a week, with the shorter days etc and for the most of the time did actually find sites that were open for the journey.

The last night we stayed on the aire at Calais had just parked up when some well meaning motorhomer informed us that 'we were brave parking there the night, and that our bikes and generator would be GONE by morning' before the said motorhomer filled up with water and headed off to camp behind a supermarket (I think) in Calais, I know I read on MHF a while ago about someone actually having their bikes stolen so must admit I was on edge most of the night (the generator was safely stowed away at a reasonable time) but the bikes were locked on the back of the MH, anyway with one welsh terrier on our bed at the back and one at the front I knew both or one would bark should they hear anything......we managed to grab a few hours uneasy sleep LOL.

By morning though everything was fine and other UK plate MHs surrounded us.


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## NormanB (Sep 8, 2005)

Hi Briarose,

We're off to Portugal/Spain in 2 weeks and would appreciate information on tolls cost and stopping place that are open this winter.

Did you observe that it was quiet in Portugal because they were few Brits or were there just fewer campers of any nationality?


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Tolls*

Hi

Yes, please - a brief outline of your route and tolls. It is not somewhere I am likely to go but I like reading about other folks' travels and exploits etc.

Russell


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## 92763 (May 1, 2005)

Hello Briarose

I also would be most interested to know the toll charges and if avaliable the cost of unleaded and GPL, i will be leaving Plymouth for Rosscoff on the 4th
Heading down to Benedorm for the marathon on the 25th then south to Conil before going up to Marvao in Portugal.
Regards
RickB


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## socialista (Dec 10, 2008)

Hi,

Yes please, we live in Spain and will be touring extensively next year after bring our camper over from the UK.

Best wishes for the hols.


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## Regal (Sep 25, 2007)

Hi Briarose

We leave in April and we are heading toward the Algarve so any information regarding Campsites on route would be interesting. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the £ will have bounced back by then.

Steve


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## ThePoultys (Feb 4, 2008)

I would appreciate the toll prices and your route - we are planning to go late january.
Brian


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Hi I have had a few PMs regarding sites and tolls etc so tomorrow will dig out all the info from the motorhome and post them here for you all.

Also for those interested in the doggie side we use the Vet at Forges on the way back as we find the 2.5 hour journey from there to Calais really fits in with the passport requirement window of 24 to 48 hours and Forges is a lovely little place, in fact you wouldn't go far wrong to have 24 hours there to look around, can highly recommend the chinese takeway on the main road a few minutes drive from the aires there (only problem was all the menu was totally in French LOL).

The Vet at Forges is Dr Patrick Pattyn if phoning ask for him.......as the receptionist doesn't speak english just say Patrick, he advised me to book the dogs in for an appointment, and for our two dogs charged us 43 euros (we took our own Frontline) but my friend didn't and with the Frontline it was only 48 for two dogs, I understand the Vets nearer to Calais charge more like 36 to 38 euros per dog, Patrick is really lovely and very thorough when filling in the passport, double checking that every detail is correct.

1. Rue De Neufchatel
Forges-les-Eaux
76440

tel. +33235905555

Surgery times: Mon-Sat 13.45 to 14.30 & 18.00 to 19.15

*Edit to add although they were the surgery times, he booked us in for 11am and we were due to use the tunnel at 2.30pm the following day so I guess for appointments mornings are used too in addition to the above hours.


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## mauriceheather1 (May 27, 2008)

*portugal*

we are leaving on 11th jan will look forward to your comments also if you have any figures on fuel prices on the way down cheers maurice


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.
with the comment about dogs and vets we stop off at Hornfleur at the mouth of the Seine, it is a brilliant place with free winter parking in the marina area 2 min's walk from the vet and town.
The vet she speaks perfect english and with the free overnight parking you have plenty of time to book an appointment usually the next day.

Even if you do not need the vet, Hornfleur is a wonderful place to visit to break up your journey, and not too far from the Chunnel. 

Very medieval.


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Hi folks sorry I haven't got the info together today, what with trying to get sorted for Xmas and my MIL being not too good the day has flown, I promise I will do it in the next couple of days though.


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Hi sorry its been so long before I posted the info but anyway better late than never as they say :wink:

The route we took to the Algarve.
Leaving Calais and the tunnel we headed to Tours leaving Calais around 11am (French time) and arriving in Tours around 5pm I searched the caravan club book and foud this site in Tours open all year (apart from a sign on the gate to say closed from I think the 23rd Dec to around 5/6th Jan) Camping Les Acacias, Rue Berthe Morisot, 37700 La Ville-aux-Dames......Tel 02 47 44 18 16 the only thing is the lady that runs the site doesn't speak any English, if you have the caravan club book the site is listed bottom left on page 660. The site is quite pleasant if not cheap with the situation with the euro but is very secure with a big gate that closes around 10pm you are given a pass should you wish to go out, it was quite a pleasant little ride to the site once in Tours as the road takes you past some quaint houses and also the river. For more info check out this link
http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/europe/france/centre/indre-et-loire/campsite-les-acacias-100327/ by the way there was a hypermarket quite close where my friend Sonesta found some very good prices on beer. Also there was a hotel and restuarant just up the road should you wish to eat out.

Our first day from leaving Calais to Tours tolls 10.60 euros and 39.90.

Leaving the site we headed towards Northern Spain and one of our favourite sites http://www.grancampingzarautz.com/index_en.html situated at Zarautz this site is approx a 6 hour drive from Tours and it is ideal should you wish to break your journey on a lovely site overlooking the sea for a couple of days. There is a cafe type restuarant open all year and serving basic things like chicken and chips. The ground was fairly wet when we were there both times on this occasion so we were put on one of the hardstanding roads..........but if you go in Spring ask for a pitch with a view. Down in the bay are some nice little places to eat etc and there is also a large Eroski if you need to stock up on provisions, I found last year the prices there very good but again the state of the euro made it seem a lot more this year, the guy on reception will give you details of how to find it, there are also two fuel stations one with easy access for larger motorhomes and a smaller one which we managed perfectly well to use with our Bolero. Day two tolls 45.50E and then pay at booth tolls rather than a paege ticket were 3.00E 3.20E and then over into Spain 2.30E at the border and then another 1.48E and 1.60E.

Next stop Hotel Regio Salamanca again another approx 6hours http://www.hotelregio.com/ the roads on this trip were fairly quiet and we experienced a lovely cold but sunny drive the mountain tops were pretty with snow but the roads fine...............A bit of important info if you use this route you will go through Vitorria and for some reason the sat nav gets in a right old mess, the lady on the toll booth there gave us some very important info (which we wished we had had last year) when she said 'Tom Tom no good here, head for Burgos and you will be fine then......we did and no problems, others on site in Portugal said they had had the same problem in this area so I was happy to pass on that info. Day 3 tolls 1.27E 5.55E and 9.35E end of day three.

Next morning we awoke to freezing cold temperatures and the Hotel Regio camp ground looked just like something from a Xmas card with ice and frost, both ways we found the tap frozen here so make sure you have water if travelling at this time of year, the showers also are very nippy with no heating.........there is a washer but no tumble drier too.

We decided that we would then head on to the Algarve another 6 hours ish and to Alvor and the camp site that we so enjoyed last March Campind Dourada Alvor, we were really shocked at how quiet everywhere was in comparison to last March lots of restuarants closed etc in fact the place was pretty much a ghost town, however we re traced old haunts and apart from lots of heavy rain felt just as at home there as last year, even meeting up with folk we had met in the past, the restuarant on site has just been taken over (if anyone knows it sadly the old man that ran it last year died a few weeks ago) and I can highly recommend it for quality and price.........one of the cheapest and best value places during our stay in Alvor this year. Final tolls into Portugal 3.65E and 37.50E.

The above route is the four easy stages that we did last year if you don't mind approx 6 hour drives most days and from our home in Lincs to Alvor via Folkestone and the tunnel approx 1710 miles, we worked out in total with our Fiat 2.3 engine and must admit mostly driving to the speed limit on each road cost us approx 334 Euros which at the time we worked out to be approx £278...... total tolls 164.80 E again approx £149 .

During our stay we didn't do too much as most days unfortunately we had more rain than sun, but venturing up to Sagres and also Cabannas (near Tavira) Prai De Luz etc we quite liked the brand new site at Cabannas all new toilets and hard standing etc very good security and also a supermarket open all year, if you drive into Cabannas you can't miss it and it is really well lit at night, there was some train noise but I am a light sleeper and it didn't bother me at all...........Also we enjoyed the pine forest setting at Sagres Parque De Campismo De Sagres, tel + 351 282 624 371 and would def return there total for the night with our 2 dogs was 12.70E.

Sorry this isn't a more exciting report folks but just trying to give you more basic info, so on the way back we decided to split the journey over a few more days (which for us we probably wouldn't do again as we preferred to just get there etc) but having decided to leave Alvor we headed to Evorra again for us personally we wouldn't do again, as we found the road pretty poor but it broke the journey to Salamanca........again site open all year and listed in the caravan club book will finish report later as someone at the door LOL.


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

To continue arriving in Evora after approx a two hour journey we stayed the night at Parque De Campisimo De Evora tel +351 266 705 190 or email [email protected] we didn't really have time to visit Evora but I know my friend told me that they had enjoyed it actually visiting the City/Town...........the camp site has free internet and for a while I could pick it up on my laptop from within the MH but the actual computor room was locked due to some probs with other campers, what they were we don't actually know I can only say that there appeared to be some traveller type caravans on there whilst we were there, and I presumed that it might be related to that. I was thrilled though to actually get TV that night and managed to watch the X Factor final.

Again the road from Evora back up to Salamanca wasn't that good and we really wished that we had took our normal direct route from the Algarve to Salamanca, again staying over on the Regio I forgot to mention there is free wi fi in the hotel reception and also two computors that are available for use, so either use them or take your laptop should you want to surf the net.

Next day we saw terrible driving conditions from Salamanca back up to Northern Spain and the site I mentioned earlier with vehicles off the road and driving snow and ice for a couple of hours and I was quite scared for a while.

Now a site I can really recommend on our homeward bound journey and we would love to visit in the Spring or Summer 'Twin Lakes' at Soumeras Charente Maritime tel 05 46 49 77 12 or visit www.twinlakesfrance.com the site is run by an English couple who decided to escape the UK and they made us really welcome even putting the kettle on and having a pot of tea ready for us,the two lakes are lovely and surrounded by wildlife rabbits and birds etc..............we will def go back there in fact even at this time of year it was really pretty and we would have loved to stay more than one night, apparently in summer they have special nights with hog roasts and wine tasting etc.........the bar is outside and I can just imagine how lovely it would be to while away a few days there, fishing for the men too. Not far down the road there was also a lovely shopping centre with a really big supermarket selling all sorts of delicious foods. But the site itself really feels like a million miles away from the main roads etc I am sure if you went you would see what I mean.

Leaving there our homeward journey took us back up to the site at Tours before heading to the vet Patrick at Forges, again a lovely place and I just wish we had spent more time at Twin Lakes and Forges.

Our last night in France was spent on the Calais Aire and I must admit it wasn't as noisy as the last time we were there when it was foggy and we heard the fog horns all night..........I did feel a little uneasy when another well meaning motorhomer advised us we were brave staying there the night and that our genny and bikes would be gone by morning, we took the genny in later but I did worry about the bikes, as I know another Member on here reported his being stolen at the said Aire some time ago, but happily they were still there next day.

Check in was simple and easy at the tunnel and also the 'doggie' bit if you have never used the tunnel before the dog check in area is on the right before you actually check in, so look out for that.

I popped our reservation number into the automatic booths and was really happy when I was offered an earlier crossing at no extra charge.

It is only a couple of weeks ago that we returned but it seems like months and only yesterday whilst walking my dogs I thought 'oh to be back there' even if it did rain the lighter nights (until 6pm) made up for the rain etc and although I now have flu and family commitments my feet are itching to be back on the road.

I hope some of the info will have helped if you are planning a journey I forgot to mention if you wanted to visit Twin Lakes on the way down to the Algarve it is approx three hours from Tours...........so a good way of splitting your journey if you wish to do so. If I can help anymore just shout out.

Nette

PS most of our journey times were broken with doggie breaks and approx 30 mins for lunch.


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Tolls*

Cor - the thought of those tolls has given me a funny turn!

Thanks for the info.

Russell


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## 92763 (May 1, 2005)

Hi Nette
Thanks for the useful information and links, much appreciated, do you happen to know the cost of LPG and petrol?
RickB


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

chilliman said:


> Hi Nette
> Thanks for the useful information and links, much appreciated, do you happen to know the cost of LPG and petrol?
> RickB


 Hi diesel in Portugal was around a euro a litre, my friend found some in Spain at one point for around 86 E I have my reciepts but again they are in the MH so I will have a look for you. Sorry can't help with LPG although my friend Sonesta might be able to help you.

One thing I made sure this time was that I stocked up on cold meats, cheese etc and tried whenever possible to get a french stick most mornings for the journey as sandwiches in the motorway aires were tastless and very very expensive to take away some as much as between 3.50E and 4E I also took plenty of cup a soup and cappacino sachets to help make the stops a little quicker, I found we were much more limited with the nights being darker than last year in Feb..........we do wish we had waited and gone after Xmas..........although it was nice to get away from all the Xmas hype here.


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## takeaflight (May 9, 2005)

Thanks Nette for the update

Roy


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## Regal (Sep 25, 2007)

Again Nette thanks for the information which is appreciated as we will travel a similar route in April.

Steve


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Ohh how strange, just got a reply for this nearly a year to the day since I posted it all :lol: now the problem just might be that I will want to get off somewhere warmer myself now that Christmas is over.


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