Calais to Nice in 2 days?

[Boxed-in]

French Motorail Calais - Nice is the Best, you spend a little time getting a good bottle of Wine or three in Calais, frech bread, cheese.....

Depart Calais 18:00 arrive Nice 10:00 the following day (they even provide Breakfast as they unload your bike), your rested ready to go.

It's the Only way to travel with two bikes and two kids!

Oh and you save on fuel, hotels and tyre wear as well.

 

[Sherringford Hovis]

French Motorail Calais - Nice is the Best, you spend a little time getting a good bottle of Wine or three in Calais, frech bread, cheese.....

Depart Calais 18:00 arrive Nice 10:00 the following day (they even provide Breakfast as they unload your bike), your rested ready to go.

It's the Only way to travel with two bikes and two kids!

Oh and you save on fuel, hotels and tyre wear as well.

Might be okay for two bikes.... as the Calais service has the same fare for bikes as cars... unless two go and you get one essentially free if booked together.

What are we taking about, doshwise? Calais to Narbonne is £555 return, two bikes, four adults in 4-berth couchette, one-way in August......

I chose that as I have to work until Thursday evening before and wanted to be in my mate's villa Saturday afternoon... Will ride back off-toll over a couple of days and sight-see the Dordogne!

 

[thornley]

I regulary do Calais to Buis les Baronnies in one day, its 640 miles on a R100Gs airhead without using the Autoroutes. Surprising how quick the old RN routes actually are in real on the road time, better fuel economy and less tiring at 70 constant than 80+ The most tiring bit is actually the 300 miles from here in Bolton to Dover, can often take as long as the French side if the timings wrong or a hold up on our wonderful motorways. Calais to Nice is tiring, the Autoroutes are quick but boring and maintaining a constant 80 plus is heavy going on any bike unless weather is with you, I've tried it on K1100Lt, R1100RT, VFR800 , Ducati 916, had to stop with that one I had terminal Wrist pain and a backside that was still aching 4 days later. Macon would be my choice for a stop over. Used the motorail last year, bloody expensive but I arrived in Avignon reasonably fresh.

 

[hood]

I know that there are many feats amongst these threads but we did narbonne to ipswich same day and wasted 2.5hrs because channel trains were cancelled.

 

[Den]

Rural France is lovely. Dont waste it by haring down to the south as quick as you can. Unless you really have to.
Route de Naoleon is one of the best roads in the world down Gap - Digny - Grasse way.

 

[Den]

on the Route. I think thats Gap in the visor

 

[franco]

Nice

Ask ELK on the forum, he did Calais to Nice in a day last year, but I'd finished half the wine by the time he got here. As has been said here, if you're in a hurry, it is do-able in 12 hours from Calais. It's a depressingly boring ride though, especially, as you head south-west from Calais, you drive for an hour or two, then you start to see signs for "Lyon - 673Kms"...and there's still 4 hours from Lyon to Nice.. Not nice. I drove from Chamberey to Nice the other week, and it took me just under 6 hours, with a few stops along the way. The RN85 (route Napoleon) can be picked up from Grenoble, then down to Gap, follow the D900B east to Barcelonette. There are photos in the 'col-bagging' thread on the forums. The Col de la Bonette is well worth doing, then it's only an hour and a half to Nice from there.

Bon route.../Rob