Hello,
For a change this september instead of driving to Northern Italy, I'm driving down to Almaria (Well in the mountains nearby) to see my brother.
I'd like to avoid the motroways and I want to go over the mountains rather than through them.
Any suggestions gratefully received cos I have no idea!
If anybody is interested I'll be driving my 1986 S3 spider and intend taking about 3 days.
TIA
JaB
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www.michelin.com will allow you to plan a route and, before you click on Search, you will have the option to avoid motorways and peages. This should give you some ideas. Enjoy!
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tinyurl.com/2bqg83
You could add a few "vias" to this route to make it go anywhere you'd particularly like to go:
e.g. tinyurl.com/27gjg6
V
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I regularly do a cross-Spain journey from Murcia to Galicia (SE to NW) of approx 950 km - by motorway it's a fairly-easy 10 hour drive including stops, but that's on motorways virtually all the way. Off motorway you could probably double the time. For example, just NW of Madrid there's a 3 km tunnel on the motorway through the mountains; going on the old road over the top adds about 30 mins.
Calais - Murcia is two longish days on motorways - I would allow 4 days off motorway.
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You could take in the Millau viaduct. Probably worth a view! Im going from Tours down to Cannes and am going to take a slight detour to take in the views.
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the first bit in France will be fairly boring.......have you considered driving to Devon and getting the Plymouth - Santander 18 hour ferry. It's a bit like a cruise ship and leaving in the afternoon and arriving in the morning is fairly relaxing.
That way you get your mountains, in Spain, but not so much tedious motorway or A roads and Devon's not an unpleasant place for an overnighter either.
Only downside is the ferry cost.....but the saving in fuel should balance that.
I've done that trip on my bike and the mountains out of Santander are lovely.
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Several years ago drove from Malaga to London in a Fiat without a/c. I am pretty sure we stopped overnight twice on that trip, once just before the border with France and once just before Calais making the early morning ferry crossing.
That was mostly motorway. Would reckon on at least an extra 50% time for non -motorway driving, although starting in Calais mid-morning would give you only one night stop if you blasted down the autoroute.
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I did consider an overnight ferry but have discarded the idea the dates/times don't really suit me. Besides if I'm driving my car I';m happy and it is a driving holiday. I normally drive across France and up over the Alps into Italy, there are any number of passes that I can ( and do use)
I simply don't know any of the passes in the Pyrenees, so I suppose my question is what are some nice mountain passes to use in the pyrenees, higher the better above the snowline if possible. (I'm also into photography :) ) I drive an open top car, I don't want to drive through a tunnel if I can help it.
I'll probably make one overnight stop in France, like I normally do and will come back a difffernt way to the one I use going so 2 passes would be nice :D
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Plymouth to Santander in July for a car, 2 adults, 2 children and the cheapest cabin is £970 return. That would buy a whole lot of fuel although I do agree it would be quite relaxing!
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I am envious. Far nicer off the motorway and you can stop more or less where you like. Great way to travel, and not too dear. If you give yourself three or four days for the trip you simply don't have to worry abou a route in advance. Just Michelin map it, you'll make progress without trying. France is great like that and so is Spain (although some mountain routes can slow you down a bit).
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I am envious. Far nicer off the motorway and you can stop more or less where you like. Great way to travel and not too dear. If you give yourself three or four days for the trip you simply don't have to worry abou a route in advance. Just Michelin map it you'll make progress without trying. France is great like that and so is Spain (although some mountain routes can slow you down a bit).
I'm not intending to plan it too much beyond take ing a "sort of " route, I'm just no too sure about getting up over the pyrenees is all. Once I have that information I can just sort of head in that direction, if you see what I mean.
I've already booked my le Shuttle tickets, £49 each way so that'll not be changing.
I was just hopeing that someone had used some passes over the mountains is all.
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If you want the views, PR, don't go over the big bridge - go down into Millau and look up at it. If you go over you don't see much at all because you are so high, particularly if you are going south. It's a bit better because you do get something of a view over Millau when you are heading north.
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This:
{Link to timesonline removed - DD}
---route three. shows a route throgh France to St Jean Pied le Port in the Western Pyranees.
Drove it in reverse several years ago, and tried to avoid motorways.
Came back from the Costa Blanca in three days.
First day to Pamplona, across the Pyranees to St Jean.
Second night stopped around Angouleme / Poitiers.
Not a bad drive.
We went down Via Andorra, and wouldn't recommend this route.
Andorra seemed charmless and took a long time
and the roads south through Spain seemed endless and boring.
Neil
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Sorry DD, how do I put in links. This sitehas three good routes through France, to the Cote d'Azur, Italy and Spain.
We stopped in St Jean Pied de Port at the hotel Ramuntcho, from the Logis de France group.
Typical French Provincial Hotel. Its some years ago though so might have changed. If you're out of the French Holiday season you could probably walk up and see what it's like before booking.
St Jean is a typical nice small French Basque town, worth a couple of hours walk round.
The pass into Spain is on the Camino, the pilgrims route to Santiago de Compostella, and is not as mountainous as the Andorra route. (prettier too!0
You'll have to find your own websites!
8o)
Neil
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Neiltoo,
HJ won't allow links to The Times. I can email you the reason why if you like - that is if I can find the email.
DD.
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