Always fancied a trip to Catalans, never seriously considered it this year with the upheaval I've had, but thinking about next year. I get the sense that the vast majority seem to fly to France or Spain. Have any of you guys driven there? Got the ferry from Portsmouth or somewhere and headed down the peage? I know France is a big country,and it'd mean a stop half-way, but I wouldn't mind that really. I wonder how the costs would stack up in comparison. Of course, one benefit of driving would be that you'd save the expense of hiring a car if you were going to stop for a few days. I'd like to see Carcassonne and a few other places. I've got an old 2 litre diesel which is pretty economical on a long run and comfortable too.

This time a couple of years ago I was in France on the bike, but, perversely, found it too hot for motorbikes for that sort of distance.

Pretty sure the cost of driving is more than flying.

Google maps says 1029 miles! That's via Chunnel. So two overnight stops en route might be more comfortable. As long as the cost difference wasn't enormous, I do kinda like the flexibility that driving offers. And I just don't like air travel much, and it seems to get worse by the year.

I have considered train... Interesting option, as it can be done in a day.

cant beat driving..... done it loads of times.
There are five of us so much cheaper to drive than pay for five flight tickets.

have done different routes and tried no stopovers, and one stopover.
I dont recommend the non stop as 16 hrs straight was a bit much...!!

time it so you can leave and get a 3pm-ish tunnel crossing...(the only way to cross in my opinion ).
then straight off the train floor it to the other side of Paris.
Avoid Paris at all costs....your sat nav will take you round the ring road and its horrendous.
you should get to the other side of Paris about 8-9pm.
We have stayed in Orleans directly south of paris, and on a different route we stayed in a great hotel south west of paris near Troyes,
Get a decent night kip and get up early and head south....you should be in Perpignan region for 4-5pm.

coming home we leave nice and early and floor it across the entire Country, cross using the tunnel again and stop over in a hotel in kent, then we head back home the following morning...

its great using your own car especially if you have tvs in the back for the kids like we do.... so while me and the missus are crossing the french spanish border over the top of the Pyrenees taking in the views the kids are watching spongebob in the back...!!

Thanks for that. I had wondered about going to Southampton or Portsmouth and getting the ferry, which does reduce the driving a bit in England and France, but mid-season ferries are pretty pricey, and I'm sure the Chunnel would be a lot cheaper. On the other hand, an overnight ferry and an early start in France with around a 600 mile journey could mean a fairly comfortable 300 mile to half-way, and one overnight stop. But if taking the Chunnel option, I'm sure your advice about avoiding Paris is sound, I've never been round the peripherique, and I'm in no hurry to start! I don't have TV in the back, then again, no kids either!

If you fly you have plenty of airports in fairly close distance.You can normally get cheap flights to Barcelona and stop a night or two there,although accommodation and drink/food ain't cheap but if you've never been it's worth a visit.

wouldnt go to perpignan id go to spain then drive over.

Now thats interesting not a fan of air travel,not the flight,just the hassle getting there through airports etc.

You would have to be a Euston for 9.00amish, but would be an interesting journey, and totally stress free.

Go on ferry from Poole to St Malo, shorter journey in miles, a few hours longer as you going by ferry but that's a bonus as you can get a hot meal and a decent kip, plus it's nicer scenery on the west side of France

Very do-able.......but booking the entire journey on the Eurostar website is a must.

I checked a couple of years ago, but couldn't go in the end.
I've just checked again and I could get a a return ticket from Warrington bank quay to Perpignan station for as little as £107 per person. Obviously like planes peak prices are a bit much. ...and Its a 12 hr journey because you waste a few hours changing stations in London and paris.

But I quite like the idea of doing that journey once.

Considering I used to pay £88 for a return from Wiltshire to Wigan, that sounds a bargain...

Barcelona-Sants to Perpignan (1hr 20m) return on the train was €120 last year. Yes you read that correctly. I was expecting Bollinger, caviar and a Thai massage with a happy ending.

Done Eurostar to Paris then Paris to Perpignan by train on the TVG double decker (Paris to Barcelona train) . Long day but interesting if you like train journeys. French train system very good and bargain's can be had if you search well .

Prefer flying as it gives you more time in Perp.

Avoid ferries to places further West in Brittany. The roads are not as good and it adds to your travelling times. French roads are generally lined up North South or towards Paris. If you end up in Roscoff you will have a hell of a drive.

St Malo to Perpignan is dual carriagway all the way once you get out of St Malo, all nice smooth roads (they where last time i drove on them), cutting through some gorgeous countryside, yes the journey is 3 or 4 hours longer but at least you can get some hot food and a couple of hours shut eye on the ferry unlike the tunnel and it works out around 60/70 miles shorter round trip, less traffic as well and no illegal immigrants scaring the crap out of everyone

God, yes, I wouldn't consider anywhere west of St. Malo. And I can see that Calais might be place it'd be nice to avoid these days.

I think you would need at least two people to make driving feasible: I did a quick check on ferry costs yesterday, and I reckon with an overnight crossing and cabin (which you'd want) you'd be talking around the 400 quid mark for ferries alone. If the St Malo crossing, probably more still. Say 1200 miles each way @10 miles/ litre = 240 litres, best part of 300 quid in fuel.

Add to that most of the French motorways are toll roads.

Well there's plenty of good dual-carriageways that aren't péages, but yes, I'm sure in a journey of that length, you'd probably end up paying a few tolls. All in all, as I say, not cheap, and only feasible with a few to share the cost.

If you need to stop over in Calais go for The Ibis or Ibis Budget in Coquelle and, if you are rich, the Suite Novotel. These hotels form three sides of a square with the rest fenced off to form a secure car park. The French riot police use the compound as a staging post and at any one time there are about forty riot vans on site. Try to avoid running across the car park wearing a fishing waistcoat with cans of beer in the pockets.

As I say, a place worth avoiding... But I suppose if you took the Chunnel you'd just high-tail it out of the area.

Frankly, I feel sorry for the long-suffering citizens of Calais.

That is the future of Dover when the French tell us to remove our customs posts from their soil.

Another unconsidered result of Brexit? Maybe. I'm sure the French would love to 'export' the problem. You can hardly blame them.