# Best driving route Calais to Costa Blanca



## jimiansville

Hi Folks,

I guess this has been asked before but here goes! 

We have just bought a villa in Benidoleig near Denia and are planning to take the car just after Christmas (27th) so that we can load up a few things and stay for around a month. We will be driving from Worthing near Brighton and are looking for the fastest route. Portsmouth crossing seems long and expensive so thinking of Dover route. What is the best route to take from Calais down to Denia? Any advice?

We will need to break the journey on the way down and back but are unsure of how far we will get on the first day so would rather book into a hotel late at night wherever we make it to that night. Don't want to mess around and waste time looking for a hotel. Will we be able to turn up and get a room at a hotel on/near the motorway or should we book in advance?

Thanks for your advice.


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## xabiaxica

jimiansville said:


> Hi Folks,
> 
> I guess this has been asked before but here goes!
> 
> We have just bought a villa in Benidoleig near Denia and are planning to take the car just after Christmas (27th) so that we can load up a few things and stay for around a month. We will be driving from Worthing near Brighton and are looking for the fastest route. Portsmouth crossing seems long and expensive so thinking of Dover route. What is the best route to take from Calais down to Denia? Any advice?
> 
> We will need to break the journey on the way down and back but are unsure of how far we will get on the first day so would rather book into a hotel late at night wherever we make it to that night. Don't want to mess around and waste time looking for a hotel. Will we be able to turn up and get a room at a hotel on/near the motorway or should we book in advance?
> 
> Thanks for your advice.


Benidoleig is lovely 

we used to do the chunnel - stop overnight near Dijon & again in Perpignan - but that's years ago when the kids were tiny

I know Stravinsky & various others here have done the route way more recently


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## Stravinsky

Well, I can tell you from experience of doing all the routes, but I know others will disagree.

The easiest and fastest route is to go down to the East rather than going to Paris. Therefore you head down towards Troyes, Lyon, Perpignan, Barcelona etc. It's all motorway hence you have the tolls. If you leave Calais (I'd take the tunnel, rather than the ferry) around early morning you will be able to get to Valences for a night stop, the hotel we use is about €60 for the room, and there is secure parking.
Hotel Kyriad VALENCE NORD, book comfort hotel
It's literally 5 minutes from the motorway junction.

Starting off from there 9 am and allowing for stops, iirc you will get to this area around 8 pmish


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## gingham

Stravinsky said:


> Well, I can tell you from experience of doing all the routes, but I know others will disagree.
> 
> The easiest and fastest route is to go down to the East rather than going to Paris. Therefore you head down towards Troyes, Lyon, Perpignan, Barcelona etc. It's all motorway hence you have the tolls. If you leave Calais (I'd take the tunnel, rather than the ferry) around early morning you will be able to get to Valences for a night stop, the hotel we use is about €60 for the room, and there is secure parking.
> Hotel Kyriad VALENCE NORD, book comfort hotel
> It's literally 5 minutes from the motorway junction.
> 
> Starting off from there 9 am and allowing for stops, iirc you will get to this area around 8 pmish



We used this route and it was easy travelling and plenty of rest areas. Check with the Michelin website this will give you the current tolls. Enjoy your journey.


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## MacRov

Must say I took a totally different route when coming to Costa Calida, I travelled south from Calais down the west of France towards Pau, then sort of towards San Sebastian and from there to Zaragosa and onto Valencia. Then the last stretch down the east of Spain to Alicante and beyond 
I was travelling alone (except the 2 dogs) so I just slept in the car in the pretty empty service stations, must say down the toll roads in France there are service points every few miles it seemed like.
Enjoy the drive as once I was of the French toll roads driving into n then through Spain I found it hard to keep my eyes on the road as the views through the mountains were amazing.


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## catalanboy

Hi Jimiansville
as a truck driver i can tell you one of the most efficient routes to eastern spain is through the middle of france since they have built the Millau bridge; the route is eurotunnel to Calais follow signs A16/A28 to rouen then to N154 to Dreux/Chartres after Chartres this road joins the A10 then the road splits follow signs for A71 Vierzon continue on to Clermont Ferrand {middle of France} then follow to A75 to St Flour, follow through over the Millau bridge {cost 8 euro} and continue on the N9 /A75 joins the coastal autoroute A9 towards Narbonne/Perpignan.....then just a straight run to Barcelona/Denia you can either use the n340 or the AP7 but spanish motorways are expensive


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## Stravinsky

catalanboy said:


> Hi Jimiansville
> as a truck driver i can tell you one of the most efficient routes to eastern spain is through the middle of france since they have built the Millau bridge; the route is eurotunnel to Calais follow signs A16/A28 to rouen then to N154 to Dreux/Chartres after Chartres this road joins the A10 then the road splits follow signs for A71 Vierzon continue on to Clermont Ferrand {middle of France} then follow to A75 to St Flour, follow through over the Millau bridge {cost 8 euro} and continue on the N9 /A75 joins the coastal autoroute A9 towards Narbonne/Perpignan.....then just a straight run to Barcelona/Denia you can either use the n340 or the AP7 but spanish motorways are expensive


As an ex multi truck driver owner operating (amongst others) services to Spain ........ thats not what we ever found, but good luck to you  I guess everyone has their own favourite.

Welcome to the forums by the way ..........


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## jimiansville

Thanks for all your help and advice.

I have a sat nav and when I use it to plan the fastest route it wants to take me via Paris which we want to avoid. When I ask it to calculate an alternative avoiding Paris it comes up with a route to the west of Paris as follows:- Calais - Rouen - Orleans - Châteauroux - Limoges - Toulouse - Perpignan - then over the border into Spain. Has anyone any recent experience of using his route and how it compares with the route that has been suggested to the east of Paris via Lyon which looks to be very straightforward.


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## Stravinsky

jimiansville said:


> Thanks for all your help and advice.
> 
> I have a sat nav and when I use it to plan the fastest route it wants to take me via Paris which we want to avoid. When I ask it to calculate an alternative avoiding Paris it comes up with a route to the west of Paris as follows:- Calais - Rouen - Orleans - Châteauroux - Limoges - Toulouse - Perpignan - then over the border into Spain. Has anyone any recent experience of using his route and how it compares with the route that has been suggested to the east of Paris via Lyon which looks to be very straightforward.


I _did_ say that I have tried many of the routes, including going down the West. I cited the route I did because for a car trip I found it the easiest. Iirc the route you mention connects eventually with the one I mentioned.

Given the choice of all the routes I have done (which include these two, also via Paris (which was a disaster), Portsmouth/St Malo (stopping in Bordeaux), Portsmouth/Bilbao, Portsmouth/Santander, (both 7 hour drives on straight dual carriageway) I would choose the last one because (a) the costs are similar and (b) you don't have two days constant driving (c) you have no overnight hotel.

However it's only from my experience ....... the choice is yours .... good luck


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