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New life begins

Posted: Sat Aug 3, 2024 11:29am
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michael G

Posts: 12

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Location: Arboleas

Joined: 4 Feb 2022

Hi all our new life is on track to start early September 🤞🤞we are looking at the option of driving from Nottingham to Arbeloas with our spaniel 🐕using the channel tunnel making a sort of small road Trip. Anyone else done this recently any advice tips etc would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance 

Mick

hartcjhart

Posted: Sat Aug 3, 2024 2:07pm

hartcjhart

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Posted: Sat Aug 3, 2024 2:07pm

I have not used the tunnel to travel to Spain but the best bit of advice I saw somebody give was to set off in the early afternoon get to Calais and stop the night in athe hotel there then you can have a breakfast and set of nice and fresh

jch

Posted: Sat Aug 3, 2024 6:45pm

jch

Posts: 33

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Joined: 7 Dec 2019

Posted: Sat Aug 3, 2024 6:45pm

The advice to stop at Calais and start fresh is good.  A refinement: stop in Calais, in other words get the tunnel behind you, and have a nice breakfast in France before continuing.  The worst and most tiring part of the journey is the leg in the UK. French and Spanish roads are generally smoother, less traffic-y, with less crowded rest areas, often located in scenic spots, and frequently pretty darn good food. Important piece of advice:  avoid Paris.  I will say that again a little later.  There are many modern, clean, comfy, safe, reasonably priced hotels purpose-built with nearby restaurants at most motorway junctions, and they will say whether they are happy with dogs -- most are, but they will say.  Use Michelin's app, or Booking.com or similar to find, and reserve your hotels.  How far you travel in a day is of course up to you, and your dog.  From Calais it could be done in a looong day, easier in two moderately long days, or a doddle in three days. If you are trying to cover many miles/kilometers in a day, the toll roads offer an advantage as they are less tiring to drive.

Having done the major routes, using toll roads, and non-toll roads, I don't find much difference between them. Toll roads cost more (tolls) but are excellent roads. The major non-toll roads cost less but can be more tiring. I choose the toll roads, but thats a comfort and convenience choice.  The most scenic route might be the one sort of down the middle, Clermont-Ferrand down through the Auvergne to Montpellier. How you get to Clermont-Ferrand is up to you (just remembering to avoid Paris), all the routes around Paris from Calais are of a muchness (remembering to avoid Paris). The eastern route by way of Lyon down to Avignon is also scenic, Alps in the distance for part of the way. Both of these routes join with the E15, the Mediterranean motorway, which offers the easiest crossing of the Pyrenees, and in Spain becomes the E15/A7 and the A7 basically takes you past Arboleas. The route around Barcelona can be tricky, useful to use satnav for this section, only because the E15/A7 seems to change names for short distances somewhat randomly, but the Satnav seems to know what to do.  The Western route, Rouen down toward Bordeaux I think is less scenic by a bit (but beauty and beholder applies) and gets a little frantic crossing the Pyrenees but only for a short while.  If you take this route your main concern is to avoid Madrid (not Paris this time, but just as bad).  Whether you go around Madrid to the east, or to the west doesn't much matter, both diversions around Madrid end up at the A7...

I've always enjoyed the trip, whichever route has something to offer -- as long as you avoid Paris (and Madrid), and don't fret the details of hotels and restaurants en route.

hartcjhart

Posted: Sat Aug 3, 2024 7:08pm

hartcjhart

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Posted: Sat Aug 3, 2024 7:08pm

jch a well written post with good advice,

why I say stop the night in Calais is unless you are travelling from somewhere in Kent it can be a nightmare, from Notts you will have the M25/M20 which as we all know can be an absolute nightmare,if I was doing it I would leave at least 6hrs for travelling,

hence leave middayish get to Calais and stop at this hotel pet friendly good breakfast and a VERY secure car park

https://www.hotel-bb.com/en/hotel/calais-terminal-cite-europe-3

within walking distance of the Cite Europe shopping centre(although it aint cheap in France anymore)

michael G

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 9:27am

michael G

Original Poster

Posts: 12

1 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 4 Feb 2022

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 9:27am

Loads of smashing info guys much appreciated thanks for taking time out to reply 👍👍

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John1844

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 10:23am

Posts: 39

23 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 Feb 2020

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 10:23am

We used Ibis dog friendly hotels. Perfect and not expensive. We did about 500 miles a day with a pre booked hotel at the end of the day. We bought a 12 volt fan which was mounted blowing on the dog, and made regular stops. I think the dog enjoyed it more than we did!

HTH

John 

Nickyngaz

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 8:21pm

Posts: 19

10 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 26 Jun 2024

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 8:21pm

michael G wrote on Sat Aug 3, 2024 11:29am:

Hi all our new life is on track to start early September 🤞🤞we are looking at the option of driving from Nottingham to Arbeloas with our spaniel 🐕using the channel tunnel making a sort of small road Trip. Anyone else done this recently any advice tips etc would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance ...

...

Mick

Hi Mick, just seen your post and we are also originally from Nottingham and also moving to Arboleas in a couple of months. 
We are still in the process of buying our villa and applying for NLV at present but hope to be out by October, November at the latest. 
We are favouring getting a private transfer door to door via euro tunnel as we are not taking our car and want to travel together with our 2 cocker spaniel dogs. 

hartcjhart

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 8:55pm

hartcjhart

Very helpful member

Posts: 1136

995 helpful points

Location: Mojacar

Joined: 26 Oct 2017

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 8:55pm

Nickyngaz wrote on Sun Aug 4, 2024 8:21pm:

Hi Mick, just seen your post and we are also originally from Nottingham and also moving to Arboleas in a couple of months. 
We are still in the process of buying our villa and applying for NLV at present but hope to be out by October, November at the latest. 
We are favouring gett...

...ing a private transfer door to door via euro tunnel as we are not taking our car and want to travel together with our 2 cocker spaniel dogs. 

how much would a private transfer cost,I just looked at a 1way car hire calais to almeria and that was £1100

Nickyngaz

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 9:51pm

Posts: 19

10 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 26 Jun 2024

Posted: Sun Aug 4, 2024 9:51pm

hartcjhart wrote on Sun Aug 4, 2024 8:55pm:

how much would a private transfer cost,I just looked at a 1way car hire calais to almeria and that was £1100

It’s not cheap to be honest, about £4,000.00 which includes door to door transfer, passage on Euro Tunnel and dog friendly hotels on the way down. 

michael G

Posted: Tue Aug 6, 2024 7:21pm

michael G

Original Poster

Posts: 12

1 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 4 Feb 2022

Posted: Tue Aug 6, 2024 7:21pm

Nickyngaz wrote on Sun Aug 4, 2024 9:51pm:

It’s not cheap to be honest, about £4,000.00 which includes door to door transfer, passage on Euro Tunnel and dog friendly hotels on the way down. 

Does this price include you both or just the dogs it's a bit steep if dogs only🤔

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