Calais to Caen question.

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DCB40

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I will be off to Normandy beaches for a few days, and not having ventured abroad before, and have not been through the toll booth stations before i am a little apprehensive. I speak little french and can't read french.

I am told that bikes need to use a certain lane for the toll or you get charged as if you were a car.......is this right
I have to pay the toll machine a with a Credit card (not a debit card)
i must not use the manned booths ??? but the auto ones only, again is this right. as you can see i need instruction.
I only have a HSBC credit card, so am hoping this will be accepted at tolls/petrol stations.

There are several tolls on the direct route from calais to caen, but according to the Michilin planner you can do it toll free, but takes longer. I have all day to get there so am in no real rush. Should i go half way on the motorway then take a more scenic route, open to suggestions .....:beerjug:

Not that i am a speedy rider, but is there a heavy police presence on the motorways on this route.

Sorry for the probably silly questions, but just want a little reassurance/guiding hand. Thanks DB..
 
Take the scenic route all the way

Hell, you have all day so enjoy the ride, maybe even stop for a coffee and croissant, soak up the foreign atmosphere

Beware Priorite au droit :D

Enjoy your adventure

And the salty air of coastal France
 
Take the scenic route all the way

Hell, you have all day so enjoy the ride, maybe even stop for a coffee and croissant, soak up the foreign atmosphere

Beware Priorite au droit :D

Enjoy your adventure

And the salty air of coastal France

This...

As red says, enjoy, forget the toll roads and have a bimble. Even better as you say as you're not a speedy rider. Take in the scenery and relax!

Have fun! :thumb
 
Out of Calais and take the coast road D940 and keep the sea on your right as you enter Normandy D925 and then drop south to cross the Seine over the Pont Du Normandie and turn right to follow the coast road towards Caen. Enjoy.
 
Oddly enough, Calais to Caen (avoiding motorways) is further than a lot of people imagine it might be, at say 250 miles. Feck all good if matey boy fancies swanning of the ferry at noon and be chillin' at the pool by 15:30.

So, when do you land in France and by when do you want / need to be in Caen?

I'm sure RiDE magazine has loads of ideas on just such a route; see freshly prepared sticky.
 
Hi
D940 very good out of calais,After that but i tend to jump on motorway at Boulogne or berck, Pop in to Honfleur for coffee then see how much time you have left , Decide scenic or motorway,if its raining i know which i prefer,get there and have a Beer :D
Have good trip whatever you choose

Dave :thumb
 
And i think bikes on tolls are classe 5 and cars classe 1, but i can never change the settings on these smaller unmanned booths,drive me mad with a bloody car revving up your Arse,i just take more time then though :D

Dave :thumb
 
Tolls are a piece of gateau.

DO NOT go through the height restricted lanes.

Without a tag DO NOT go through the 30kph lane.

Wait for the vehicle in front to clear and the barrier to come down again...leave a decent gap.

Cruise up and collect a ticket from the machine. DO NOT lose the ticket...try not to crumple it too much.

At the other end leave a decent gap, bung in ticket and credit card. DO NOT take any notice of froggie behind; he's only niggled because he's going to have to pay more tax to make up for loss of UK income and increasing EU pension bill(mostly going to froggies who like to retire in their forties).

You'll be lucky to find a manned booth.
 
Toll booths are easy. When you enter a section of paid road you take a ticket, so a tankbag is a good idea to store this if your bike does not have a cubby hole.

When you come off the toll road, either at a junction or at the end of a pay section then you will be presented with a series of lanes. The lanes use symbols so avoid the ones with height restrictors and "no motorcycles" shown. Avoid the ones with only a "t" as these are for those with a tag. Use the ones with a screen showing a bundle of coins, a credit card or a person. All of these will take cards.

When you get to the robot you will most likely see a coloured display. There are often buttons to choose a language but just look for the flashing lights. This will indicate the slot to insert your ticket. The ticket has an arrow. The slot has a visual aid.
Once the ticket is inserted the display will tell you the toll. Check the screen also says Class 5 or shows a bike picture as this is the bike rate. If the screen says Class 1 press the button and just keep saying Moto or Class 5 (class sank) until the display changes. Once happy the correct amount is displayed, insert your payment card. There is no PIN needed. Remember to grab your card and then ride off when the barrier raises.

You do not need to be literate, let alone understand French.

As Wapping says, it's a fucking long way to Caen via the coast road as your average speed will be very low. Split your journey between autoroute and coastal road.

The bridge over the Seine between Le Havre and Honfleur is free. Cars pay a toll. Just ride to the right and go through the narrow lane.
 
Thanks for your help thus far, i little more detail for you, the eurostar gets in to france at 1025 euro time, and i can't check in to my hotel in arromanches until 1600hrs at the earliest. So i have plenty of time to get there, even at my leisurly pace :)
Looking at my route off the interweb, it's is indeed a very long way to take the coastal route, combined with my unique ( slow) riding style, so it's looking like this, follow A16 - A28 - A29 - into Le Harve over the bridge, and plod along the coast to Arromanches to my Hotel.
Not very exciting but it's my first time, and i need the experiance with the tolls as i have much bigger plans for next year :beerjug:

I am surprised about not having to put in your pin number for the tolls, i would of been sat there on the bike like a right idiot wondering how to pay the fee. So a big thanks for that one.
Thankyou for trying to help a simple soul. DB.
 
As has been said tolls are straightforward, put your ticket in safe place, if you are not using credit cards in the future, what i find useful and quick is to use a little tobacco type tin with euros in it, i hand this to manned tolls, they take all the rubbish change as well then,they all seem to think its a brilliant idea :

Dave
 
Just to put your mind at rest they don't chop off your head anymore for losing your toll ticket,just charge you a lot more then necessary

Dave:D
 
Negotiating toll booths is the least of your worries for a first time on foreign soil.

Remembering to ride on the right is what you need to be careful of especially entering a deserted road from a junction or petrol station.
Its very easy to forget you are in France and start riding on the left a common and sometimes fatal mistake.

I usually stick the ferry sticker on the right side of my screen so if in any doubt its an instant glance to correct myself. (ok i forget my left from my right)

As for toll booths when you grab your ticket there is usually a parking/toilet area on the RHS as you exit the booth i tend to ride over carefully negotiating exiting traffic to that area and put the ticket in a safe place and put my gloves back on. You will immediately suss out what works for you.

Enjoy your trip and ride safely.
 
the coast road from the bridge at Le H to Arromanche is quite nice but slow as there are villages ever km. Each village seems to have a pedestrian crossing to the beach every few metres. Just be aware, white road paint in France has little grip when wet so take care, especially if you have to stop and then accelerate away, across a stripe.
 
If I was going from Cumbria to Normandy, I wouldn't go via Calais, and certainly not Eurostar. *shudder* Hateful experience. Caen, Cherbourg or Le Havre are streets ahead, IMO.
 
The cheapest and easiest way is always the best way and that's nearly always going to be the tunnel :thumb2

The tolls are easy, go for a manned booth so you can guarantee not being charged as a car and just take it easy but with the timescale you're giving I'd go scenic on it and stop for a croque Monsieur (toasted ham and cheese buttie) along the way and wash it down with a cheeky biere pressione (draught beer) just because you're on holiday.

Enjoy it and don't worry about anything because even though they often try to deny it most French people can speak basic English but your best friend will be google translate on your phone because you can use the camera to 'read' menus and shock horror, you get it in English.

Edit: Far be it from me to encourage someone to break the law but it's not unknown for bike riders to pull up at the smaller unmanned exits, scope out the territory on the exit side and ride around the barrier but is it really worth it to avoid about €5?
 
The cheapest and easiest way is always the best way and that's nearly always going to be the tunnel :thumb2
Ain't that the fcukin' truth.

Took P&O Dover-Calais a couple of days ago, never again. I've crossed 5-8 times a year, always by tunnel for the past 20 years, first time for 20 years I take the ferry and it was an absolute bloody nightmare.
 
How about taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Cain. I've used it many times and it's great. Coming back, there's a 3pm ish sailing which gets to Portsmouth around 9.30pm and it's a nice crossing at this time of year.

N&D roads are great in France, the drivers are courteous and often move over to let bikes past. The police are getting hot on speeding so be careful near towns and villages. Motorways are expensive and boring so I normally set my sat nav to avoid tolls and enjoy the amazing scenery.
 
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