Driving Through France - costs

3Dwarves

Hello, 
I was send some nice looking holiday offers by Eurocamp as I haven't been there before, thought they look particularly good - water slides for the kids, sports, nature, maybe ecourage kids to speak French, also won't break the bank. But then there's the cost of getting to France - flying or ferry - tehse costs are easy to check, but how about driving through France. Is there a way to know in advance how much tolls and petrol would cost, at least with a certain proximity?
I was looking at Brittany, which was something like around 600 miles from Calais and 300 miles from St Malo ferry, with some tolls on the way. 
Just trying to figure out how much the total costs of travel and accommodation would cost.
Thanks!

zagfles

Use the viamichelin route planner, not as user friendly as google maps but it will calculate the tolls.

Not sure how anywhere in Brittany could be 300 miles from St Malo?

Sandtree

https://fr.fuelo.net/?lang=en will give you a good idea of the prices of petrol and presumably you know how efficient your vehicle/driving style is. Similarly there are plenty of sites giving current tolls for roads and tunnels etc.

Alternatively you got the likes of France Toll Calculator - TollGuru that will do both sides of it.

3Dwarves

Oh, amazing! Thank you!

thegreenone

Petrol costs depend on where you live in the UK.  But as above, use the viamichelin site to work out distance and then calculate how much fuel your car will need and base on UK prices.  Hopefully, once you get to your destination, you won't need the car much.

If you are going to Brittany get the fast ferry to Cherbourg. You can check prices on the ferry websites.  Factor in a overnight hotel in dep. port/French arrival port.  If you are not used to driving in France, book an hotel and rest before pushing on. Last time we went, we arrived in Cherbourg and overnighted in St Malo before driving south.

www.emovis-tag.co.uk   

We bought one of these for convenience more than anything but if you are going in school holidays, I would say they are a must buy.  You buy the tag and whizz through the toll barriers.  You are charged at the end of the following month.  We went to the Ile de Re and round trip was £80 in tolls - however, this did include the bridge over to/from La Rochelle, which started charging school summer holiday prices in the last few days of our holiday.  

zagfles

If you get a long crossing eg to St Malo the ferries are usually much cheaper if you book them through Eurocamp than booking direct with Brittany Ferries. If getting a short crossing eg Dover to Calais or the tunnel it may be cheaper to book the crossing and campsite (direct) separately. But check both - things may have changed...

Magnolia

Also have a look at 'N' roads.  These are the old national roads and are invariably very good.