Thrifty trip to France

Tarry

Ah I know that, we just wanted to save time

benjus

Jonnytwotimes wrote: »

Take bucket loads of cash for french tolls. If the price of french tolls is not something you are aware of then prepare for a shock _pale_ if you dont factor this into your budget.

Paying tolls by card is faster (you use different lanes which usually have shorter queues) and probably cheaper (unless you have one of those "cards from hell") than using cash.

Nationwide cards are not too bad - not as good as they used to be but better than most. It's cheaper to use them to pay for things than to withdraw cash.

tonybee1

I use a Fairfx sterling card BUT a lot of autoroute toll card machines won't accept it. So take cash

knightstyle

We use the Halifax credit card for tolls, petrol from supermarkets, in fact for just about everything even restaurants accept it.

artha

sunshinetours wrote: »

Give some more details of what your plans are (time there, family size, type opf accomodation etc) and I am sure you will get more useful answers

Diesel is generally cheaper than UK (as its cheaper than unleaded) but petrol similar or possibly slightly more than UK. As others have said either avoid toll roads (get a good Michelin map) and allow more time for travel.

Tunnel can be paid for with Tesco clubcard vouchers if an aption. Otherwise Dover-Calais ferry will usually be cheapest option.

Eat like a local in France and you will be OK. Things like fresh bread, local cheeses and meats/pates, local seafood (Moules especially), local wines all good value and very tasty in general.
In restaurants look for plat de jour which often offer 3 courses with wine for decent price. The french like theior food so don't really out up with crap quality so avoid the tourist based places and you will eat much better.

Try speaking some French as well - it goes down well rather than launching into English for everything

Watch out for speeding if driving. On the spot fines which you will be expected to pay and drink drive limit is lower and from this year you will need to have a couple of disposable breathalysers on you and disable your sat nav for speed camera updates

Thanks for this. I'm planning this years trip to France and didn't know about the new requirements although having done a search I'm not sure that even the AA are clear on this.

As far as speed camera warnings it appears to be correct in that radar detection is illegal. A have a Garmin sat nav and the website page which extols the virtues of it's european warning systems now has a footnote in red indicating that UK satnavs are now illegal in France. It gives some outline instructions on how to disable the alerts.

None of the sites I've checked give any definitive information on the disposable breathalysers which I think are available in France for about 1 euro each.

If anyone has any further info it would certainly benefit me as well the OP in minimising costs. I think some sites say that certain things should be carried when they are not by law (e.g first aid kit, fire extinguisher) as they want to sell you them

andygb

Mr_Wang wrote: »

Top money saving tip for France - Camp, or don't go.
If you do, ferry is much cheaper than the tunnel.

Pretty useles and incorrect advice.

We live in Kent, and travel over a few times a year, so I know what I am talking about.
The cheapest way to travel is simply whatever is cheapest at the time or when you book the tickets. You may find that the Shuttle/Eurotunnel is cheapest if you book in advance, but the prices change on a weekly basis, so just shop around.
As for saying "camp or don't go", what on earth are you talking about? You can stay in a variety of hotels - Formula 1, Etap, Campanile, all the way up to expensive chateaux. You could stay in a caravan. We generally look on the Logis de France site and get something reasonable for around £45 per night per room (not per person like the UK).
Regarding banking, we are with the Nationwide, and received a nasty shock last year when we used our debit cards, because there were three different charges. So use credit cards sparingly and change sterling to Euros here before you go.
Petrol in France is marginally cheaper, but diesel is much cheaper, as long as you use supermarkets and not motorway service stations.
The motorway tolls can add up to a lot (£150 to South of France and back:(), so use the scenic roads and take your time (saves fuel as well).
Wine and food is cheaper in France as long as you use supermarkets like Intermarche, Lidl or Champion.
Have you decided where you are going yet?

sunshinetours

andygb wrote: »

Pretty useles and incorrect advice.

We live in Kent, and travel over a few times a year, so I know what I am talking about.
The cheapest way to travel is simply whatever is cheapest at the time or when you book the tickets. You may find that the Shuttle/Eurotunnel is cheapest if you book in advance, but the prices change on a weekly basis, so just shop around.
As for saying "camp or don't go", what on earth are you talking about? You can stay in a variety of hotels - Formula 1, Etap, Campanile, all the way up to expensive chateaux. You could stay in a caravan. We generally look on the Logis de France site and get something reasonable for around £45 per night per room (not per person like the UK).
Regarding banking, we are with the Nationwide, and received a nasty shock last year when we used our debit cards, because there were three different charges. So use credit cards sparingly and change sterling to Euros here before you go.
Petrol in France is marginally cheaper, but diesel is much cheaper, as long as you use supermarkets and not motorway service stations.
The motorway tolls can add up to a lot (£150 to South of France and back:(), so use the scenic roads and take your time (saves fuel as well).
Wine and food is cheaper in France as long as you use supermarkets like Intermarche, Lidl or Champion.
Have you decided where you are going yet?

Whilst I agree with most of your post. I don't agree that food is generally cheaper in France in supermarkets or not. One thing we do have in the UK is a lot of local store competition and lots of special offers in stores. They simply don't get the amount of offers or specials or cheap (and indeed nasty sometimes) food we get here. this is why if going self catering, a supply of staple food items that you will want (favoruite ceereals, baked beasn etc) will be worth taking with you as they are not cheap out there

Diesel also not as cheap as it used to be although still 10% or so cheaper than UK

sunshinetours

artha wrote: »

Thanks for this. I'm planning this years trip to France and didn't know about the new requirements although having done a search I'm not sure that even the AA are clear on this.

As far as speed camera warnings it appears to be correct in that radar detection is illegal. A have a Garmin sat nav and the website page which extols the virtues of it's european warning systems now has a footnote in red indicating that UK satnavs are now illegal in France. It gives some outline instructions on how to disable the alerts.

None of the sites I've checked give any definitive information on the disposable breathalysers which I think are available in France for about 1 euro each.

If anyone has any further info it would certainly benefit me as well the OP in minimising costs. I think some sites say that certain things should be carried when they are not by law (e.g first aid kit, fire extinguisher) as they want to sell you them

It literally has just come in on 4/1/12 I think. Whether they will fine Uk motorists is another matter but unless your french is fluent, how will you argue with a gendarme when they have stopped you and are demanding a fine to be paid on the spot?! As you say they can be bought here or on ferry/tunnel or in advance via ebay etc for pennies.
Spare glasses and high vis jackets within reach of the driver are two other easy thinsg to forget.
Also check out the other incresaed fines etc for things such as wandering onto the hard shoulder without due cause which carries stiff penalties. Being cynical it sounds very much like a french government looking to raise monies under the guise of "road safety"

benjus

andygb wrote: »

Regarding banking, we are with the Nationwide, and received a nasty shock last year when we used our debit cards, because there were three different charges. So use credit cards sparingly and change sterling to Euros here before you go.

That's not great advice. The best way to take money is to use the right plastic. If you take cash you will typically lose about 1.5%-6% on the exchange rate, depending on where you change it.

If you're planning to travel a lot, it's worth getting a special fee-free card, such as the Metro Bank debit card or a Halifax Clarity credit card (more info here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money ). Otherwise you could look at prepaid cards - the best one is probably the TravelEx Cash Passport Globe (http://www.travelex.co.uk/uk/cash-passport-globe.aspx) which charges 1.49% for every overseas transaction but uses wholesale inter-bank exchange rates.

artha

sunshinetours wrote: »

It literally has just come in on 4/1/12 I think. Whether they will fine Uk motorists is another matter but unless your french is fluent, how will you argue with a gendarme when they have stopped you and are demanding a fine to be paid on the spot?! As you say they can be bought here or on ferry/tunnel or in advance via ebay etc for pennies.
Spare glasses and high vis jackets within reach of the driver are two other easy thinsg to forget.
Also check out the other incresaed fines etc for things such as wandering onto the hard shoulder without due cause which carries stiff penalties. Being cynical it sounds very much like a french government looking to raise monies under the guise of "road safety"

My french is good but, even so, I don't want to end up arguing with a gendarme! I'm not going until July so plenty of time to source some cheaply just to be on the safe side even though I am teetotal.

From previous years trips I have the high vis jackets (cheap at Aldi or on Amazon) and warning triangle. Spare glasses is something I'd never come across before so I assume that this is also new. I assume it applies to glasses required for driving i.e for distance vision.

I always fit the headlight devices but, depending on the car, it is sometimes confusing to know where to place them. Some people say it doesn't matter as they are not "beam benders" but "beam blockers" and judiciously placed balck electricians tape can do the same job at a much cheaper price. Not sure about this so I buy the devices (currently about £2.80 incl postage on Amazon cf £7ish elsewhere).

I've always carried a spare bulb kit as I believed it is compulsory although having just read the AA site guidance they say they are recommended? The bulb problem I have this year is that I now have a car with Xenon headlights(Mazda 6SL) which, according to the manual, are not a DIY/roadside job. I've also seen some info which suggests that the beam blockers don't work very well with xenon/HID lamps

Seem to be drifting a bit off topic here but the point to the OP is that there are costs to be considered that may not have been factored in and to do some homework and shopping around i'e. make sure what you actually need and don't buy your safety/legal requirement stuff at Halfords or even worse at the departure point.