Calais to Malaga - route advice avoiding toll roads

[Dave56]

I`m looking at travelling down to Malaga at the end of March and was wondering if it was do-able in 2 days, while avoiding toll roads.....!
The idea was to catch an overnight Dover - Calais ferry, and then head down through France, looking to arrive at Malaga on the Sunday evening.
Any advice on possible routes, accomodation etc would be most welcome, I have a 2610 sat-nav so any waypoints would be great.

 

[Fanum]

I`m looking at travelling down to Malaga at the end of March and was wondering if it was do-able in 2 days, while avoiding toll roads.....!
The idea was to catch an overnight Dover - Calais ferry, and then head down through France, looking to arrive at Malaga on the Sunday evening.
Any advice on possible routes, accomodation etc would be most welcome, I have a 2610 sat-nav so any waypoints would be great.

On a bike, piece of piss....I struggle doing it in a 4x4 towing a 21 foot trailer though.

Depends on how tough your arse is I guess.....

without the flippancy, yes, it's easily enough doable, but its totally down to you and how safe you are riding at the 900+mile mark...time it right, get bike fit before you go and stick to 85 all the way and you'll be fit enough to go for a good drink when you get to Malage....

Leave at the wrong time of day, not having ridden more than 500 miles in a day before and make the mistake of thinking that faster=further/quicker and you'll either be dead before you get there or fucked by the time you get to Granada

Routes and avoiding tolls are the easy bit.....being sensible,realistic and above all honest with yourself about your own capabilities is the hard bit

EDIT...Just read it again and you said two days rather than one

FFS!!!! Two days from Cambs to Malaga?

Even my gran could do that if she focused...what is it, 1400 miles or something? 700 miles a day for two days plus a ferry ride to chill on?
































































PS she's been dead two years

 

[ChasMill]

If you look at via Michelin I think you can plan a route to pretty much anywhere in Europe and it allows you the option of avoiding toll roads.

There are also options for recommended route, fastest route and shortest route. The last one will not be quick as it will involve very minor roads.

 

[Greg Masters]

You won't do it in 2 days if you avoid toll roads.

It's over 1300 miles from Calais to Malaga - 2 x 650 mile days. That's more than most people on this forum would do but is entirely do-able.

However, if you avoided toll roads (particularly in France) your average speed would plummet and you simply would not get down the map quickly enough to make Malaga at the end of Day 2.

Greg

 

[Wapping]

Go to ViaMichelin.

Insert Calais

Insert Malaga

Click on Route options

Highlight Avoid tolls

Click on Search (ie. calculate)

Wait one second

Answer pops up, with a map and route plan.

Time
24h41 which 14h32 on motorways

Distance
2066 km which 1467 km on motorways

As you will see:

(a) It has avoided all Toll roads |(which is what you wanted) but still routed you down motorways (for a bit over 50% of the journey) which are free.

(b) Non-stop it is over 24 hours. Of course you will stop somewhere as you will, if nothing else, need fuel.

To avoid the motorways completely, get a map and plot it out. Follow, near enough, the general direction suggested by Michelin. Then work out if you can do it in two days.

In the routing preferences you can select the type of vehicle, the currency, and your MPG - so you can work out the exact cost, too.

 

[Dave56]

Thanks for the responses guys, much appreciated...............
I`ve done big miles before x2 500 mile days and x1 730 mile day, albeit a few years ago.
Its just that I`ve never done that sort of mileage on foreign soil on strange roads.

 

[David Nimrod]

It seems a shame to do it in two days really... you'll fly by so much good stuff

I'd take it a lot easier and enjoy the ride, the places, the food & drink, and the bike

 

[Wapping]

Thanks for the responses guys, much appreciated...............
I`ve done big miles before x2 500 mile days and x1 730 mile day, albeit a few years ago.
Its just that I`ve never done that sort of mileage on foreign soil on strange roads.

Wherein lies your problem, perhaps.

If you come off the motorways, your average speed will drop dramatically. If you then come off the N (National roads) onto D (Departmental roads) it will drop again.

We did Calais to Algeciras and back (twice) on the Moroccan Dashes, in two days, via motorways all the way. We also did Budapest to London in one day, again on motorways. On lesser roads we would have struggled to do it in the time.

I have done Calais to southern Spain in three days on lesser roads (on a Blackbird) but I lobbed in chunks of motorway to avoid what were simply straight National roads (often running parallel to a motorway, so no more exciting) and to cut out major cities. I broke it up into three, nearly equal, thirds:

Calais to beyond half way down France, on day one.

Half way down France to beyond the top thirdish of Spain, if you see what I mean. Day two.

Just under 2/3 of Spain on day three.

It wasn't too bad but I didn't stop for pictures and took coffee / lunch stops on the hoof. Did not camp but stayed in small private hotels, booked in advance so:

(a) I had good daily targets to aim for.

(b) I didn't have to ponce about looking for a bed, wasting time.

Have fun.

 

[Wapping]

It seems a shame to do it in two days really... you'll fly by so much good stuff

I'd take it a lot easier and enjoy the ride, the places, the food & drink, and the bike

That depends on why you might need to be in Malaga on your motorbike ASAP, surely?

Different reasons, different routes, different roads, different timings.

If I wanted to go there quickest of all I would go in the car or fly.

 

[rockchunk]

i along with many other people have done this trip though i didn't avoid toll roads and not convinced i could have done it by avoiding them,,to be perfectly honest it is not a nice trip to do but for me what was at the end of it made it worth it (morocco),,, i am with fanum on the steady 85 this allows me 200 miles between stops,,started using an i pod recently and found it helps,,,good luck with yer trip

 

[Tim Cullis]

Lots of Red Bull and coffee then!

The A16 motorway from Calais to Boulogne is free. To avoid going miles on really slow roads--there's nothing worse than getting bogged down at the beginning of a long day--you might then want to take the pay section of the A16 between Boulogne and Abbeville.

Then from Abbeville you are on to free motorways and motorway-standard dual carriageways to Rouen and south via Evreux and Dreux to Chartres.

The N10 from Chartres to Tours is single carriageway 90% of the way but fairly straight so lots of overtaking possibilities.

The D910 from Tours to Poitiers is also single carriageway and unlike the N10 goes through some towns, but you could hop on to the A10 running alongside if you don't mind paying for a section.

Then from Poitiers to the Spanish border it's free motorways and dual carriageways almost all the way--you may want to jump on the toll roads for the final section around Bayonne and Biarritz.

In Spain use the Autovia (Axx) rather than the pay-for Autopistes (APxx) or Rxx roads.

 

[Dave56]

Go to ViaMichelin.

Insert Calais

Insert Malaga

Click on Route options

Highlight Avoid tolls

Click on Search (ie. calculate)

Wait one second

Answer pops up, with a map and route plan.


Time
24h41 which 14h32 on motorways

Distance
2066 km which 1467 km on motorways

As you will see:

(a) It has avoided all Toll roads |(which is what you wanted) but still routed you down motorways (for a bit over 50% of the journey) which are free.

(b) Non-stop it is over 24 hours. Of course you will stop somewhere as you will, if nothing else, need fuel.

To avoid the motorways completely, get a map and plot it out. Follow, near enough, the general direction suggested by Michelin. Then work out if you can do it in two days.

In the routing preferences you can select the type of vehicle, the currency, and your MPG - so you can work out the exact cost, too.

Thanks for that Wapping, its of great help, especially the mapping. I think I`m now going to overnight somewhere around Dover on the Thursday night and then catch an early morning ferry on the Friday therefore gaining an extra day.
If anyone has got a cheap bike-secure hotel they can reccomend around Dover........

 

[Dave56]

Lots of Red Bull and coffee then!

The A16 motorway from Calais to Boulogne is free. To avoid going miles on really slow roads--there's nothing worse than getting bogged down at the beginning of a long day--you might then want to take the pay section of the A16 between Boulogne and Abbeville.

Then from Abbeville you are on to free motorways and motorway-standard dual carriageways to Rouen and south via Evreux and Dreux to Chartres.

The N10 from Chartres to Tours is single carriageway 90% of the way but fairly straight so lots of overtaking possibilities.

The D910 from Tours to Poitiers is also single carriageway and unlike the N10 goes through some towns, but you could hop on to the A10 running alongside if you don't mind paying for a section.

Then from Poitiers to the Spanish border it's free motorways and dual carriageways almost all the way--you may want to jump on the toll roads for the final section around Bayonne and Biarritz.

In Spain use the Autovia (Axx) rather than the pay-for Autopistes (APxx) or Rxx roads.

Thanks Tim, very useful info..............

 

[rockchunk]

Thanks for that Wapping, its of great help, especially the mapping. I think I`m now going to overnight somewhere around Dover on the Thursday night and then catch an early morning ferry on the Friday therefore gaining an extra day.
If anyone has got a cheap bike-secure hotel they can reccomend around Dover........

why not go through the tunnel on the thursday night cheap as chips and quicker than the ferry,,once in calais there's plenty of reasonably priced accommodation i normally use a balladins almost in the centre of calais cheap basic but with a 24 hour porter and cctv stayed there a few times left panniers etc on the bike never had a problem ,,,done it both ways night in folkstone and night in calais and will always have my overnighter in calais ......

 

[Dave56]

Sorry to be a pain but I`ve another quick query..........
I`ll be travelling back through France on the 4th April - Easter Sunday - so I`m a little worried about petrol. I assume that if I stay on the main routes I should be OK or am I being a little optamistic - any advice.....

 

[rockchunk]

ok on the main roads

 

[everywherevirtually]

PS she's been dead two years

After she did the Calais to Malaga trip