Costcutting our holiday to France

Bogtrotter

You will probably get as many routes and costs as there are route planners.

My Garmin sat-nav set to Calais-Beziers on the fastest route gives 1048km in 9hr 11min if I set it to avoid tolls it calculates a route of 1098km in 10hr 5min. Its impossible to predict the route till you drive it but generally I find my sat-nav fairly accurate.

I usually travel everywhere in France avoiding tolls but your route is a lot longer journey than I generally make so the tolls may for you be a worthwhile cost.

I can also confirm BenL's tip to avoid anywhere near Paris if you can help it... its quite easy to eat up a few hours travelling in slow moving traffic if you get unlucky.

tammy73

Mike r - called Tesco clubcard earlier about just that as my sister does have enough to cover the cost completely, they said unfortunately that isn't possible, maybe i just spoke to the wrong person, i usually do, lol. Do you know this from personal experience?
richardw - checked other flights as suggested and i can get rtn flights frm bhx to montpellier for £287.92 which is tempting but we would need car hire as nearest bus stop is 7kms from resort, train is 20kms and we're self catering. Cheapest car hire is £167 which seems cheap for a week in early July from what i can gather. Overall it's working out cheaper by approx £50 to take ferry/tunnel however i'm am concerned about the amount of travelling/fatique we will have to deal with by taking ferry/tunnel. Do you think it's worth waiting to see if Ryanair put the flight on sale nearing the time?

richardw

tammy73 wrote: »

i can get rtn flights frm bhx to montpellier for £287.92 which is tempting .....Cheapest car hire is £167 .....it's working out cheaper by approx £50 to take ferry/tunnel however i'm am concerned about the amount of travelling/fatique we will have to deal with by taking ferry/tunnel. Do you think it's worth waiting to see if Ryanair put the flight on sale nearing the time?

It'll be more relaxing to fly and hire a car.
If the ryanair flights that you want are 'no taxes' specials then they might not be put on sale, it's a difficult one to guess.

irstaroo22

When we used to go, my parents used to take food with them, like beans and supernoodles etc things which we could eat over there, also things like ketchup! This means we didnt buy much out, we tended to BBQ a few burgers and having it with something from the uk guessing this was to save money! Fresh bread and things are also cheap from local shops, and make good breakfasts! We shopped in Giant most of the time when we did need things! France is lovely and you really dont need to spend much money to have a great time when you are there! Sorry im not much help with ferry crossings etc as we always just go with brittany ferries. Im sure when you get there you will think that it is worth all of the hassel it has caused and you will have a fab time

Rachie_B

no you cannot use someone elses clubcard vouchers towards your Eurotunnel booking

we go to France using the SUN deals too driving is great as you can pack the car up with food / kids bikes etc (not great for fuel consumption though I guess!)

Sounds like fuel and tolls is going to cost you a fair whack

Kazipoo

irstaroo22 wrote: »

When we used to go, my parents used to take food with them, like beans and supernoodles etc things which we could eat over there, also things like ketchup! This means we didnt buy much out, we tended to BBQ a few burgers and having it with something from the uk guessing this was to save money! Fresh bread and things are also cheap from local shops, and make good breakfasts! We shopped in Giant most of the time when we did need things! France is lovely and you really dont need to spend much money to have a great time when you are there! Sorry im not much help with ferry crossings etc as we always just go with brittany ferries. Im sure when you get there you will think that it is worth all of the hassel it has caused and you will have a fab time

My family and I regularly do these kinds of trips and I have become a pro at organising the food. I pre-cook some meals such as bolognese, curry, a pie or two and freeze them. They are then put in a freezer box and generally make it to our destination still frozen. I also start a box, so when there are any really good specials at the supermarket, I buy some for home and some for holiday, like when 4 cans of beans are 80p at morrisons, or tuna is £2 for 4 and we take a box full of canned things and noodles, pasta, rice etc. We also take a seperate cool box for snacks on the way, the continent always has lovely picnic areas along the sides of main routes (some with WC facilities), so I make sandwiches and buy picnic food, crisps, fruit and yogurts and some cold drinks for us all to enjoy.

A few years back we took the harwich - hook of holland ferry (which is approx 8 hours) and we had two bags to take on board with us, once was full of food and drinks so we didn't have to pay the inflated on board prices, and the other was full of things to do like puzzles, board games, colouring books, cards and books. The looks we were getting from other passengers were quite comical, their faces seemed to say "why didn't I think of that?" and we had quite a few younger children joining our children, to the relief of their parents I am sure.:rotfl:

knightstyle

For cheap fuel in France get the post code for the town and enter it on here http://www.carbu.fr/
Cheapest supermarket in our area is Leader Price.
If you want to eat our one day go to a workers restaurant at 12 midday. A meal will cost about 9€ plus drinks.
Drinking out is expensive.

micro4

Tammy - I do know this from personal experience however to ensure things had not chaged I have just completed a call with Tesco on 0808 100 0707 and spoke with Camilla. She confirmed this is in order and walked me through the process which is: Go to the Tesco site tesco.com/clubcard when you get on the site click on 'Rewards' on the Top Bar - look down the menus on the left hand side go to the bottom to 'How to order rewards' click on this. On the next screen go down to How to order by Post - beneath that heading click on 'ORDER FORM' this will bring up a PDF order form. Print the form and then complete it as required. When you come to the signature panel tell your sister not to sign it but put - C/O and your name in that signature box. Send this off with the required Tesco Reward Vouchers and she will receive the Euro Tunnel Vouchers and Order Form which you will need to complete.


I trust you understand the abov, good luck & a good holiday

dangers

Tammy - which site are you staying on? We've stayed just outside Beziers for the past two years so I know the area a little. It is a very pretty area.
We flew from Bristol to Toulouse, hired a car and drove the rest (2 hrs give or take!) but a lot of people had driven down - 12 hours on a good run.

tammy73

we're staying at serignan plage.
Still undecided about ferry/flight. Both have good points, o/h is totally unfazed by the prospect of 12 hrs on the road, but i know if i'm driving i'll tire much quicker. However o/h has pointed out the luggage allowance or lack of it on the cheap flights, at least driving we can take more than essentials and save us from having to hire bedding/towels.
I can see us tossing a coin on this one,lol.