UKC

My approach is to rock up to Dover and wait for a Ferry, then to drive in France and stop after looking out for a cheap motel on the way to the Alps.

My Climbing partner has a different approach. He wants everything booked in advance. He is worried August will be busy with holidaymakers.

Its been a few years since I drove to the Alps.

Can you please tell me what are the names of the cheap motorway hotel chains in France, I get redirected to Booking.com?

In August do you really have to book ferries/motels in advance?

Which motels have you stayed in and where?

From your experiences what advice can you offer?

Many thanks

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

The hotel chain 'Formule 1' is probably the cheapest though maybe you have to get off the motorway, (ie I'm not sure if they have a franchise actually in the services??). I'd say he's probably right in that anything near the main autoroutes will be full - and I'd say booking in advance would be advisable (in my opinion, anyway). However, it doesn't take very long to drive from the channel to the alps - depending on what part you're going to, of course. I've always done it in one go, especially with two drivers.

In reply to jon:

Formule 1 is the chepaest, but there are several others not much more expensive. I've always found a room but don't drive Calais-Chamonix & try to avoid travelling at busy weekends

See

http://www.hotelf1.com
http://www.hotel-bb.com
http://www.premiereclasse.com

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

Sounds a good plan but there can be a bit of an issue booking/finding a suitable motel late at night especially with intermittent data connection and the web cutting out with roaming limits etc. So may be worth printing some Google maps of some likely hotels in advance

The Mâcon area has several of the type of hotels in the links and is a good place to stop

Main thing I think is to use the auto-routes and so get the journey done efficiently

Pete

In reply to PeterBlackler:

We left Chamonix yesterday morning at 08.00 and arrived home in Derbyshire at 21.00. Swapped driver every 2 hours, Payage all the way except for a few standard motorway sections, mostly 130km/h. Same on the way down.
Paid for Flexi Plus ticket on the tunnel, straight through past the queues which extended outside the site, and straight onto the first train. About 15 minutes from arriving to being on the shuttle.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:
Even from Edinburgh it's not unduly wearing to get to Chamonix, the Ecrins or the Vanoise in two days as long as you have at least two drivers. In recent years I've found an economical option is to book a late afternoon ferry (seems to be lower rate then, don't quite understand why) and to stop in a reasonably cheap-n'-cheerful Ibis hotel in Calais/Reims or Troyes at a push (Ibis won't always hold a booking after 8.30pm). Laon too has a couple of perfectly serviceable motel-type hotels. However, even in June, if you don't book, it can be a bit of a gamble to drive on into the evening and hope to find a room reasonably near the autoroute, though it varies with the day of the week. If an Ibis hotel is full, staff will (usually) helpfully check availability at the next Ibis down the road, but that can become a recipe for driving all night ... been there, done that, no wish to do it again.

In August, if your journey requires an overnight stop in France en route I'd definitely make a booking. That might mean you stop driving earlier than you'd ideally like to, but then you can get going again very early in the morning.

Another advantage of Ibis (I'm not a shareholder, I assure you) is that their buffet breakfast can set you up for the day, so you need only stop for the odd coffee break along the way.

http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/traffic-forecast.htm gives a useful indication of likely traffic peaks on the autoroutes. Sundays can be good (no trucks, a very civilised measure) but only if you're going in the other direction to the peak tourist flows to/from the Med.

But for an old fart like me who remembers the weary trauchle of grinding up the RNs through every hamlet and then through London and up the wretched A1 in the later 1960s and early 70s, it all seems a doddle nowadays.

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

How much did the train cost?

How much in total did the road tolls cost?

Thanks

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

The Payage cost about 70 euros each way, and really worth it. 60 quid for the car to go on Eurotunnel to France. Coughed up 200 quid coming the other way, as there had been so much trouble with migrants and French strikers at the terminal this week, and didn't want to hang around. As it was the Flexi Plus lets you straight through onto whatever train is loading, without even going to the terminal, you just drive straight through. There was something like 2 to 3 hour wait at the terminal with standard tickets as we went through.

In reply to The Ice Doctor: I'd go with the flexiplus on the train too. I would also book a room, just in case. the formula1 rooms are super cheap, but can be really noisy, some are in great condition others are pretty thread bare. Ibis are better, and their buffet is pretty good, but if you want a step up go for mercure they're really aimed at the business person, the rooms are much much better, and the breakfast buffet is really good!
I drive down 3-4 times a year, and I've found I'm prepared to pay a little extra so as to get a decent sleep. before i had kids, we use to sleep in bivi bags at the unmanned picnic/lay-bys with toilets, this isnt such a great idea now as there have been a number of car jackings in recent years. Ive also used campsites just off the autoroute in the past, this can be a great, particularly if they have a pool!


Hope this helps.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

Having tried both methods on numerous occasions in recent years, i'd go for booking in advance.
Online mapping & sat nav will give a good indication of distances covered each day, so go with that and book appropriately. Saves hassle and uncertainty and can turn out to be cheaper.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:
Hi. I have been driving over to Switzerland from the UK regularly for many years now. Some tips:

1) Formule 1 Motels are disgusting. This is coming from someone who stayed in a room in India with a hole in the ground for a toilet. Don't stay in one. The one I stayed in, the sheets were stained really badly and stank from smoke (it bothered me, and I smoke...).

2) Book the ferry in advance, it costs more if you just rock up on the day. You only need to book it about a week or so in advance though. We used to book one late at night (cheaper) and then turn up early, they invariably let you on an earlier ferry for free. But I don't want to recommend that and then you get screwed over... anyways I just drove over and I booked a ferry with DFDS to Dunkirk, it was the cheapest at £35.

3) Don't cross the channel by train. It is more expensive and you have to sit in a tunnel in a car (vs. sitting on a boat with a nice view and fresh air). Also did you hear about those fires a few years ago. I dread to think.

4) Drive through Germany. It might be a slightly longer distance but you avoid all the toll roads and it's so, so much better. The German Autobahn kicks the French toll road's asses. If you go through France expect to pay at least £50 in tolls. Also the German motorway doesn't have a speed limit. Really.

5) Drive at night if you can. So much less traffic. So much nicer.

6) Buy fuel, drinks & snacks in towns and villages, not at service stations. It will be better quality and significantly cheaper.

7) Bring good music. European radio is rubbish. It makes 12 hours of Radio 1 seem tolerable.

Safe travels.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

I have done both loads of time, either rocked up or booked in advance. The reply if you go there directly is usually, why on earth didn't you book in advance, even if you go to an Internet cafe NOW and book it for in three hours time you will get it so much cheaper. So, no brainer, book in advance even if it is only a couple of days before. You can usually get crossings on the day if you are unsure about when to go, so it really is a no stress way to travel, but if you want it cheap book a wee bit in advance. My 2ps worth. I live in Scotland and have probably travelled Calais - Dover about 15 times in summer.
Cheers
H