///My Euro Road Trip (pics page 5)
- Thread starter Popey
- Start date
budgie195 said:
The direction uses GPS but the phone needs an internet connection to load the maps - unless the OP is roaming or on wifi he wont have it in europe. He could get an app like you which has the maps saved on the phone or use google maps and save the areas of europe he wants.
Paulwirral
Active member
Just use road signs and a paper map , rouen , evereux , dreux , Chartres , Orleans and down the road to vierzon . Then bear left towards millau and it's signposted Spain from Perpignan , doddle !
So we are going to now go to Barcelona after spending a week at the Villa in Colonge, we have spent a lot if time in Barcelona but this will be the first time driving. I think the RPI's will sound crazy round the city 
:evil: .
This is the hotel we are looking at staying in as our favourite hotel is booked up.
http://www.hotelclaris.com
Looks nice, good rates and private parking.
:evil: .This is the hotel we are looking at staying in as our favourite hotel is booked up.
http://www.hotelclaris.com
Looks nice, good rates and private parking.
For reference on fuel costs:
2011, trip to Spa, 911 miles, £250 in fuel
2012, Classic Le Mans, 857 miles, £236 in fuel
2015, Barcelona, 1965 miles, £361 fuel
Not bad at all I think. Tolls do add up. If you allow the cost of fuel again that might cover it... not got any notes of toll charges.
EDIT: stayed in the Eurostars Grand Marina in Barcelona, safe parking and lovely hotel too.
2011, trip to Spa, 911 miles, £250 in fuel
2012, Classic Le Mans, 857 miles, £236 in fuel
2015, Barcelona, 1965 miles, £361 fuel
Not bad at all I think. Tolls do add up. If you allow the cost of fuel again that might cover it... not got any notes of toll charges.
EDIT: stayed in the Eurostars Grand Marina in Barcelona, safe parking and lovely hotel too.
E86montego
Member
I'm going to be embarking on a huge road trip around Europe stopping off in Monaco in June (albeit not in a Z4, a Supra) , and there is no cheap way of doing it. Save up some extra cash and really enjoy it, skimping isn't possible on road trips.
I'll reply to the original thread, then read the rest 
I did this, or similar, 2 years ago. It cost me around £700 in fuel in a fully loaded M coupe (including around 200 euros worth of tolls we chose to use), but that included a few spirited days in the pyrenees. I averaged around 27mpg through the 2800 miles we did (London -> Valencia, and back, via some random destinations + mountain roads).
Get yourself a pay tag here: https://www.saneftolling.co.uk/ - (just hold it to the windscreen when passing, dont stick the bugger down - still cant get mine off..!) give it some time to be delivered (whatever the webby says). This will stop you having to stop and pay at each toll booth with change you dont have etc - also skips huge queues (most of the french seem to not bother with these so you end up with your own premium lane! hilarious the amount of hours we saved). Worth mentioning the tolls roads can be SUPER fast, on teh way back we did Carcassonne -> London in 1 day, toll roads were invaluable for this, but if youre happy crusing around you dont have to use all of them.
French police used to demand you had a breathalizer cartridge/tube set, i think this was dropped as a requirement but we still carried it. You need warning triangle + high viz vests.
We did the Eurotunnel, no problems - they actually put me on the truck/supercar carriage for clearance which gave some wider carriage space.
Other observations: the french are 10x better at lane discipline than us. The french love Z4M's, all their cars are .. french and slow. The Spanish have normal cars, and dont care.
If you're looking to do some stops on the way (rather than blast most of the way there) i'm sure we can all recommend some places, have been holidaying/driving around central/southern france since i was a baby. IF you want a funky camping stop overnight before crossing the border towards Barca, checkout Belrepayre Airstream Camping - funky place, cool couple that run it.
Oh - and remember 2k+ miles is a lot - check oil (maybe change it if you plan some spirited drives), and tyres.. i replaced my rears before going with some fresh PSS as i knew sub 3mm wasnt going to last my idea of mountain road cornering...
I did this, or similar, 2 years ago. It cost me around £700 in fuel in a fully loaded M coupe (including around 200 euros worth of tolls we chose to use), but that included a few spirited days in the pyrenees. I averaged around 27mpg through the 2800 miles we did (London -> Valencia, and back, via some random destinations + mountain roads).
Get yourself a pay tag here: https://www.saneftolling.co.uk/ - (just hold it to the windscreen when passing, dont stick the bugger down - still cant get mine off..!) give it some time to be delivered (whatever the webby says). This will stop you having to stop and pay at each toll booth with change you dont have etc - also skips huge queues (most of the french seem to not bother with these so you end up with your own premium lane! hilarious the amount of hours we saved). Worth mentioning the tolls roads can be SUPER fast, on teh way back we did Carcassonne -> London in 1 day, toll roads were invaluable for this, but if youre happy crusing around you dont have to use all of them.
French police used to demand you had a breathalizer cartridge/tube set, i think this was dropped as a requirement but we still carried it. You need warning triangle + high viz vests.
We did the Eurotunnel, no problems - they actually put me on the truck/supercar carriage for clearance which gave some wider carriage space.
Other observations: the french are 10x better at lane discipline than us. The french love Z4M's, all their cars are .. french and slow. The Spanish have normal cars, and dont care.
If you're looking to do some stops on the way (rather than blast most of the way there) i'm sure we can all recommend some places, have been holidaying/driving around central/southern france since i was a baby. IF you want a funky camping stop overnight before crossing the border towards Barca, checkout Belrepayre Airstream Camping - funky place, cool couple that run it.
Oh - and remember 2k+ miles is a lot - check oil (maybe change it if you plan some spirited drives), and tyres.. i replaced my rears before going with some fresh PSS as i knew sub 3mm wasnt going to last my idea of mountain road cornering...
Jobs to do to the car before I go:
Full check over
Oil and Filter change
Diff oil change
4 Wheel Alignment
Remove Clutch Delay Valve
Switch headlights to the wrong side
All the above to be done Graham Martin BMW Specialist St, Helens.
Any other advice or advice on the above?
Full check over
Oil and Filter change
Diff oil change
4 Wheel Alignment
Remove Clutch Delay Valve
Switch headlights to the wrong side
All the above to be done Graham Martin BMW Specialist St, Helens.
Any other advice or advice on the above?
mattwaltersz4m
Member
Popey said:
If none of those need doing don't do any of them apart from the lights, do them on your return.
Liverpool
I'd leave by 2am - or do what I do and drive down the night before and stay in a cheap Travelodge/PremierInn in Dover or Ashford.Popey said:
At that time of the day, barring overnight closures for roadworks - which are frequent, I give myself 4 hours to get to the M25, and then 2 hours to Dover - so 6 hours in total. Include a stop somewhere (Oxford services are decent if you go the M40 route).
If you go early, you can take either the M6-M1-M25-M2 route, or the M6-M40-M25-M20 route - doesn't seem to make much difference at that time of the day.
