# Driving madrid to calais



## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

Can anyone suggest a reasonable overnight rest stop en route from madrid to Calais as I am uncertain as to distances.Is Bordeaux about right or could I get further north?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Trubrit said:


> Can anyone suggest a reasonable overnight rest stop en route from madrid to Calais as I am uncertain as to distances.Is Bordeaux about right or could I get further north?


Well, if you go onto viamichelin and type in your route it will give you an idea of the halfway point. To give you an idea, when we drive from Gandia near Valencia to Calais we usually get to Valences Nord in one day, and thats about 9 hours. When we have done the Route from Northern France via Bordeaux we have got to Bordeaux in one days drive, but that was from St Malo so you will need a bit more time

Via michelin, as you will see, has it down for around 14 hours in total


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> Well, if you go onto viamichelin and type in your route it will give you an idea of the halfway point. To give you an idea, when we drive from Gandia near Valencia to Calais we usually get to Valences Nord in one day, and thats about 9 hours. When we have done the Route from Northern France via Bordeaux we have got to Bordeaux in one days drive, but that was from St Malo so you will need a bit more time
> 
> Via michelin, as you will see, has it down for around 14 hours in total


It's very easy to stay overnight in France, with proliferation of budget motels at every motorway exit, such as Formule 1, Premiere Classe, Etap, Fasthotel etc. Booking in advance is advised if you are travelling at busy times, such as start and end of holiday period or over a weekend.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I would get to Bordeaux from here in the south in one day so you should be able to get further. I find Google maps useful.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jimenato said:


> I would get to Bordeaux from here in the south in one day so you should be able to get further. I find Google maps useful.


I used to rely on Google maps until they told us we could get from our place to yours in 44 minutes ... it took 75! I think they just multiply the distance by the legal speed limit and take no account of the fact that you are driving through mountains on hairpin bends and can´t go more than 50 kph.

Shouldn´t be a problem on the Madrid-Calais route though, not many hairpin bends there.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> I used to rely on Google maps until they told us we could get from our place to yours in 44 minutes ... it took 75! I think they just multiply the distance by the legal speed limit and take no account of the fact that you are driving through mountains on hairpin bends and can´t go more than 50 kph.
> 
> Shouldn´t be a problem on the Madrid-Calais route though, not many hairpin bends there.


Yes - I've found that as well - accurate on the fast roads but hopeless on the twisty ones - our satnav is much more accurate. 

Not wanting to drift off topic but we drove to Chiclana the other day, there via Los Barrios and back by Alcala. A fair bit quicker by Los Barrios. Next time you come out way it might be worth trying that.


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