[S Smith]

Hi all,

Myself and a friend are driving from Nottingham to Ceuse and back in June.  We'll be leaving Nottingham on the 2nd to arrive in Ceuse on the evening of the 3rd, and then leaving Ceuse on the 15th to be back in Nottingham on the 16th.

We've got space for up to three more in the car if anyone needs a lift in that direction (or back).  We're pretty flexible, so can pick up/drop off along the route we're taking, which is roughly this:

http://g.co/maps/962s7

Also, Gap has a pretty large train station from which you can fairly easily get to other places in the south of France, say Chamonix.

The cost will obviously depend on how many people end up in the car but if there are only three (most expensive scenario) then it'll be roughly £115 for both legs of the journey, including the ferry cost. 

If anyone needs only one leg of the journey, that's cool too.  I'd stay for more than two weeks if I could...

If interested, feel free to pm for more detailed, erm, details.

[wsmith]

Will be going down later in the summer so unfortunately wont be able to share lifts but I see you chose to avoid the tolls on the way down. Ive been trying to decide whether to do the same. Do you know how much cheaper it works out and what the drive is like if you avoid them?

Sorry for the 

[S Smith]

No worries!

There's about a €16 toll on the A1 from Lille to Paris, and from what I can remember a €32 one on the A6 from Paris down to Lyon.  I've found www.mappy.fr to be pretty accurate in the past when it comes to tolls  Overall you're looking at about a €100 (£80) saving for the round trip!  Haven't done it on the toll-free roads before but looks like it turns a 10 hour journey (from Dunkirk) into about a 13 hour one...

[chris j]

Haven't done it on the toll-free roads before but looks like it turns a 10 hour journey (from Dunkirk) into about a 13 hour one...

Probably much easier in this age of sat-navs but I still remember driving from Dunkirk to Cham in a mate's Bedford Rascal based campervan 10 years ago, trying to avoid the tolls because the other three in the van were students on a tight budget. After 12 hours we were less than halfway there and after coming out of the third town in a row on the wrong road and having to navigate cross country to get back on the right one I finally cracked and offered to pay all the tolls if it got us there any faster...

But like I say much easier with sat-navs and smartphones and the like, I'm sure you'll be fine...   

[ianv]

No way will Dunkirk to gap take 13 hours on toll free roads. If I was you I would take the hit on the autoroutes, save a days extra driving and get there less stressed. In my experience the rn's tend to double your journey time.

[Paul B]

I'd advise using Michelin route planner. It allows you to balance the cost of tolls and fuel etc. and find the optimum.

[S Smith]

Yeah I suppose the google maps and mappy estimations have to be taken with a pinch of salt.  I've given myself 15 hours to do it so don't mind if it takes longer the 13h given.  Not adverse to paying the occasional smaller toll, it's mostly the big one on the A6 I'd like to avoid.

Had a look at the Michelin planner, gives some very comprehensive instructions I'll certainly make use of, thanks for that!

[abarro81]

The bit of toll I thought was very useful was Lyon - grenoble. When i did that region (going north) without toll it was a pain in the ass, loads if traffic just north of grenoble and loads of built up areas. If you want to avoid tolls out of calais go south and left of Paris, or be prepared to use toll for a bit until the a1 area or its shitty

[Paul B]

Its nothing as well... Taking that split North of Lyon towards Grenoble seems to always save us time (despite what TomTom thinks).