By Road - A great many of our clients chose to drive down through France having crossed
the Channel either by one of the ferry companies or by the Channel Tunnel. For some
- it may be the first time travelling by this route and therefore our suggestions
are largely directed at those who need that little bit of extra help. The Ferries
take around 1hr 30 mins crossing time, Tunnel takes 35 minutes, actually crossing
time. Please be aware that during busy periods that the queuing time could be a considerable
wait before boarding - you should allow for this in your time planning. Although
it is a personal choice - our pick is the tunnel every time - it is quick and usually
quite efficient.
Our preferred route would be to avoid Paris at all costs and take the route via Reims,
Troyes, Dijon, Lyon, Avignon, Aix and then the A8 via our directions which will be
sent to you.
Those of you with GPS - from experience of many of our holidaymakers - we would tend
to say - switch them off!!! When our clients have arrived, having used GPS - they
invariably say “wished we hadn’t come off the motorway, wished we hadn’t used the
Sat Nav, wished we had listened to your advice”. Unless you want to take a scenic
route - our advice is just stick with the autoroute and don’t get tempted to come
off - however long you might be stuck in traffic!!! It is usually quicker to wait
than take an alternative route.
On the subject of traffic - please be aware that the French Autoroutes will be busy
every Friday/Saturday from 18 July to mid August, southbound and likewise from end
July to end August northbound. There are usually hold ups but generally speaking
the Authorities do an excellent job of keeping traffic moving as best as is possible.
Our tip - take lots of water, Cds, things for the kids to do and above all try to
remain patient. Traffic FM 107.7 is a good station to listen to, music is good and
information is excellent.
French Autoroutes have excellent motorway service areas - well equipped, usually
clean, good choice of food, refreshments etc, and there are plenty of smaller “Aire”
if you have that odd moment when you need to take a cat nap!!
Timing - the journey from Calais can take anything from 10 hours to 18 hours in very
period periods. Please don’t under estimate your journey time - in July and August
it is unlikely that it would be less than 12 hours and more likely to be 15 plus!
Overnight stops are worth considering but please ensure you book something before
you leave home - hotel accommodation “en route” does get booked up very quickly.
To avoid the traffic you may wish to consider driving down on a Thursday - we do
have local contacts for Bed and Breakfast or small self catering units which could
be available should you wish to arrive perhaps on the Thursday or Friday before your
scheduled Saturday arrival date. Please enquire for further information and book
well ahead if this is an option for you.
Travelling by Plane
The following airlines fly to our region -
please consult their own websites for further information
There may be others we have not mentioned but hope you will find these useful
To Nice:
www.easyjet.com - from various UK airports
www.ba.com - From Heathrow and Gatwick
www.jet2.com/ From Manchester
www.bmibaby.com - From Heathrow and Birmingham
www.flybe.com - from Southampton or Exeter
To Toulon St Tropez - about 1hr 15mins driving time from Fayence
www.ryanair.com - From Stansted
To Marseilles - about 2 hours driving time from Fayence
www.ba.com - From various UK airports
www.easyjet.com - From Bristol or Gatwick
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