Motorhome/MPV/Van for europe trip ?

smallzoo2

Next September  we are taking a trip from the UK to southern Spain as a sort of family road trip. It will be 4 adults and 3 dogs. We will plan anything from 10 to 14 days with 5 of those in a Villa etc in Southern Spain. 

First there is the route. We could of course just go via France and Spain with one or 2 stops..job done but then I wondered if we could make it more exciting for the kids and go via another country or countries ?.. Any recommendations or even a good website which would have lots of advice etc

Second, initially we were thinking of hiring a motorhome to give us plenty of room with our three dogs but  it seems not many motorhome hire companies will rent with that number of dogs. Those that do seem expensive ( £2k+ )...so we wondered whether it might be just as easy to get a nice large 7 seater or van ( Ford custom etc ). Again.. any suggestions or website which might help with that

Thanks

p.s. we cant go by train as 2 of the dogs will not set foot on one and before you ask we definitely want to take them with us

Mands

I can't help with transportation but do hope you have a plan to protect the dogs against leishmania. 

sheramber

Are you aware of the Animal Health Certificate requirements for taking your dogs to Europe?

smallzoo2

sheramber said:

Are you aware of the Animal Health Certificate requirements for taking your dogs to Europe?

Aware of all that yes

smallzoo2

Mands said:

I can't help with transportation but do hope you have a plan to protect the dogs against leishmania. 

Hadn't heard of it thanks

Diddidi

smallzoo2 said:

Mands said:

I can't help with transportation but do hope you have a plan to protect the dogs against leishmania. 

Hadn't heard of it thanks

Seresto collars protect against sandflies which can carry leishmania - just need to put them on a couple of weeks before you travel and they last for up to 8 months. The dogs can also wear them while swimming. We’ve always used them on our dogs. 

TMSG

Re countries to visit en route, if you go via Dover/Dunkirk then Belgium (Ardennes are lovely) and Luxembourg are not that far off.

A motorhome for four (plus kids?) and dogs may be a stretch if for more than a few days.

twopenny

I wonder if a strait drive via some lovely and unique places would be better appreciated by kids and dogs.

Rather than many hours sat in a vant to see another country

Have a look for YT videos, I seem to remember a TV programme that had a family driving through France with stops that had some really good ideas.

Or check Michael Portillos train journeys and see what interesting stops he made. Plan the road around that.

TELLIT01

How big are the dogs?  Will they be travelling in crates, or free-range?  Even a 7 seater MPV might be snug with 4 people, 3 dogs and luggage for 2 weeks.

Mands

Diddidi said:

smallzoo2 said:

Mands said:

I can't help with transportation but do hope you have a plan to protect the dogs against leishmania. 

Hadn't heard of it thanks

Seresto collars protect against sandflies which can carry leishmania - just need to put them on a couple of weeks before you travel and they last for up to 8 months. The dogs can also wear them while swimming. We’ve always used them on our dogs. 

I live in a leish-endemic area, as south of Spain is. I have a leish-positive dog, wearing a seresto collar, asleep at my feet as I type. 

Yes, Serestos are *mostly* effective. But since the disease is so deadly (90% mortality rate if untreated), AND costly to treat (UK first year costs are typically 1000) AND the disease can lie dormant for 7 years it would be foolhardy not to be aware of the risks before taking the dogs

Tucosalamanca

smallzoo2 said:

Next September  we are taking a trip from the UK to southern Spain as a sort of family road trip. It will be 4 adults and 3 dogs. We will plan anything from 10 to 14 days with 5 of those in a Villa etc in Southern Spain. 

I often do motorhome trips around Europe, I'd suggest that you look at timings.

A return trip to Southern Spain is possible in ten days but even in 14 days it's a demanding journey.

The trip will be mostly sat on autoroutes, with many hours driving at speed each day, even if you take the direct route.

Calais to Valencia (so not that far South) is around 1,050 miles each way, or 2,100 mile round trip.

Staying at a villa for five days, it leaves between 5-9 days travelling.

Five days travelling would mean a minimum 420miles per day. Even at an average speed of 60mph (unrealistic), that's seven hours driving each day (equivalent of London to Edinburgh each day).

Extend it to nine days and it's still almost four hours driving each day.

If you want to go further than Valencia or deviate from the autoroute for sightseeing and stops, your time spent driving will rapidly increase.

With kids and dogs, I fear that you could be setting yourself up for a very uncomfortable trip, bearing in mind that temperatures could still be in the mid-high thirties.

A motorhome isn't really suitable, acceleration is slow, top speed is low, refuelling is frequent.
Seats (other than front two) aren't particularly comfortable, air con is of limited use and a vehicle would likely be over 3,500kg, so class 3 tolls (about £250-£300 tolls each way)

If you're determined to visit Southern Spain, ferry to Bilbao or Santander followed by a solid day's driving across Spain would be a far easier option.