Hola! Driving from London to Malaga

I am driving from London to Malaga with cat & dog yikes! we are both competent drivers. Can we do it with one stop over or is 2 more realistic? help!

 One stop is possible if you use the toll roads and don't have too far to travel to the ferry port or Eurotunnel in the UK. But they will be long days and it depends how many times you need to stop for the dog to exercise. Personally I prefer to have two over night stops and not use the toll roads and spend a bit of the money I save on tolls on the hotels.

Hi

I drive to Torrevieja every year with 3 kids.  Ferry from Ireland to Cherbourg (Leaving around midday), drive to San Sebastian in Northern Spain and stop for the night (Around 9pm) then leaving San Sebastian around 9am we can reach Torrevieja around late afternoon (around 5pm).

Stick to the toll roads were you can, they are faster and less congested.  Plan your route and use a good sat nav.

You may find this helpful regarding the french toll roads, search on google for saneftolling in the uk (It wont let me post the weblink)

I have one of these fast passes and they work a treat, no queueing at the tolls, just straight through the left hand gate.

Just take your time, enjoy the scenerio and the drive and the time will fly in.  I would say 2 stop overs to ensure both yourself and the dogs make it in good humour and safely. 

This message was last edited by johnzx on 26/05/2013.

 I have driven down through France quite a few times. However, the cost of the toll roads to travel from Calais down to Perpignan is now over €100. Once you add on the cost of fuel and two overnight stops it becomes quite expensive. We now take the Portsmouth to Santander ferry which for two people and a car with the cheapest cabin will work out around £300. The ferry is spotless, the food is excellent and it allows you to relax for 24 hours. The drive from Santander to Málaga is 630 miles which is easily covered in 10 hours with a stop for a doze at the Services if required. For someone who is coming from London the total mileage to Málaga would be 700 miles. If you go through France the mileage would be 1400 miles.

Hmm I have done the Santander (priced it this year and was costing £1800 for 2 adults 3 kids with cheapest cabins) run as well and found the 2 day run via France a lot more relaxing, the Santander ferry gets in to late in the afternoon and you end up driving through the night.  Using the sanftolling quickpass the cost to me last year Cherbourg to San Sebastian 34 euros, which I pay by direct debit the following month. 

The Pont Aven is a fantastic ferry, we loved it but the cost from Ireland is way too much.  Irish ferries rosslare to cherbourg £600, 2 hotels (1 each way) £175 for both 4 fills of petrol £65 each fill --- still cheaper than flying and hiring a car  (Flights for 5 this year £1500 -- £3000 plus car hire at £600 -- £1200 depending on the small or medium car I wanted)

Make sure you have purchased the double pack of breathlysers to go in your continental driving kit.I have a 2011 Grand Scenic and had mine stacked to the top of the head rests.  Just make sure it neat, well packed and nothing loose on top.

 andymag, I think you are misleading people when you say it cost you 34 euros in tolls.

Having looked at the Sanef website I think this is just the amount you paid for the electronic transponder and the toll fees were additional.

Toll fees from Rouen to Tours are 31.20 euros and from Tours to Bordeaux 31.70 euros and this is only part of the route. I should imagine for the complete journey through France it would be twice this.

From 1987 for several years I used to drive between UK and  Malaga.  For me, the best route was  Caen / Portsmouth. Via Madrid, Biarritz, Mons. I used the toll motorway ONLY to pass Mons and the cross the Franco / Spanish border. 

The alternate routes avoiding tolls are free and fast, and there is a much better selection of places to eat for less,  and to get cheaper petrol.

I used to camp one night each way. Not exceeding the speed limits I found it was 20 hours driving, plus about 4 hours for petrol and food stops.

However,  about  14 years ago I found that it was much cheaper to fly and rent a car if my trip back to UK was for less than 6 weeks.  I have not driven since.

For info:-  

                        MILEAGE FROM MALAGA

Santander      610

Biarritz           673

Caen         1,200

St Malo    1,120

Cherbourg    1,280

Dieppe       1,350

Boulogne     1,410

Calais       1,429

I forgot to mention that I did the Plymouth Santander route once.  24 hours on a boat, far more expensive than by non toll road. By road from Caen to arive at the same pñlace in Norhern Spàin  about 6 hours driving.   As I said, I did it once

KJL

I haven't mislead anyone, I have the invoices to prove it. 

July on the way down 34.90 euros, 5 euros of which was the monthly active service fee (Cherbourg to San Sebastian)

August on the way back 42.06 euros, 5 euros of which was the monthly active service fee (San Sebastian to Cherbourg)

And those totals also have TVA and foreign exchange fees included

The reason for the difference is due to the fact there was a long diversion outside Niort on the way down.

And the set up fee which I paid in June 2012 was 40 euros 

Oh and for the record KJL I didn't go that route. So I would imagine you ask which way I went before accusing me of providing the wrong information.
 

Sometimes ..... just sometimes the cost of  a journey is not the only factor, for my part I have done all the journeys and for different reasons.

Flying is not the pleasurable experience it once was but if you need to get there quickly it is the only choice.

Driving the whole route is for me better up the west coast not the east/central as it is more picturesque and seems a pleasant trip and I thoroughly enjoy the drive as part of my whole trip.

Driving to Santander is another experience again and both the drive and the short cruise are extremely enjoyable as part of the whole trip.

Either of the driving journets gives you your own car whilst in your destination country which ias in itself a nicer experience than a hire car, we choose the route to suit the circumstances that surround each trip and not necessarily the cost of that small part of the whole trip.

Barry