Driving tips...

Planning on taking the ferry to Bilbao and then driving back to the UK. We'll be going over the Pyrenees via Andorra before heading up through France.

Any tips on driving over the Pyrenees?

 

Keep to the roads!

 

It’s all very straight forward. Enjoy.

 

Keep on the right

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Enjoy the road, the view. Break every couple of hours, the bus may get a bit hot.

 

I've wondered in the past is it better to drive down and ferry back or ferry out and drive back? I think outbound from the UK has two nights onboard and the return to UK one night and two days? @Marty SmartyCat, are you doing it your way for a specific reason as this is a trip I'd love to do someday.

 

If you drive there instead of taking the ferry then you won’t need any tips on driving back over the pyrenees

 

The change in altitude over the mountain pass Pas de la Casa will somewhat reduce your power , producing black smoke as it will be running too rich.
If you lived in the mountains, a re- tune would be done.
Or some in the USA carry a spare carb tuned for weeks in the mountains.
Passing through though, you go back down hill quite soon afterwards .
I can remember storming up the pass from the north past a line of struggling petrol powered cars back in 1993 in my 70HP turbo diesel Peugeot 309, wastegate open..

 

The ferry only runs a couple of times a week so if you are delayed travelling down through France, it can screw you up completely. Also, having two dogs means that you have to book kennels and they don't have that many.

Main reason is...why not drive north instead of driving south

 

I would definitely get the kennel booked first or pet friendly cabin (hen’s teeth)
And plan round that
And get the dog’s rabies vaccination done
And then you have to get the AHC paperwork done that has to be dated for time of travel
Good luck

 

i think i'd prefer to have the ferry as the return leg - that way you get home relaxed after snoozing on the boat vs tired from the long boring drive.

 

But it is probably more stressful having to meet a deadline and get the dogs to vet for the 48 hour window for the return
I would do it the way t OP said at least you can take a more relaxed trip back up through France
And is more flexible for channel crossings

 

I have been to Andorra several times since my youth -
and decide against it at my last bay window trip around the Pyrenees.

There are several other impressive castles and churches to see in and around the Pyrenees...
San Juan de la Peña, Castillo de Loarre, Carcassonne, ...
(https://www.vw-t2-bulli.de/de-travel-2011.html)

regards and have a nice trip,

 

We got the ferry to Santander and drove up through France to Caen. Ferry to Portsmouth… and then a breakdown truck home from the A3.

Had one of our best holidays.

 

I think these are some of the places we parked up, aires mostly.










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Fuel saving mode…




May not look the most exciting, but would have a holiday like that every year if we could…

We only paid for one of those aires.

We drove until I had enough of driving so we could still have a holiday. each day maybe an hour or so and then parked up. Think it was only a 2 week holiday or may 17/18 days something like that.

 

Blimey looked back and it was 12 years ago we took the bus from Santander to Caen for a family holiday. All I'd say for those thinking of doing it the more time you have the better mainly so you dont have to rush to quickly from one place to another. I remember the ferry arrived quite late so we booked a B&B for the first night after that we stayed in number of campsite, I think mainly that my wife found in one of them cool camping books. Happy memories.

 

It's too easy to keep going and before you know it, you've spent most of the days driving.
Plan some of it before you go, saves the nightly planning ritual enroute when you're supposed to be on holiday.

 

I never planned. Just drove for a short while. Had an idea of what we wanted to do I.e follow the west coast and then found somewhere to stop as and when.

 

Anyone who drives their bus over the Pyrenees I take my hat off to them, I get nervous just driving mine up west hill East Grinstead

 

Is that near the Croydon Alps, Baz?