Any thoughts on driving holidays?

SueDonim

You think, Callistemon? I can get the back of a jumper knitted whilst driving through the roadworks on the M6.

When the motorway was closed and we were stuck in the resulting jam I knit three jumpers.

You can drive down to the south of France in a day but don't do that Spend a week or two driving down so you never have to drive for more than a couple of hours a day. You can stay in posh hotels but I find it much nicer to use airbnb and try and stay with families. They know the area and can be really interesting to talk to. You can then book as you go along. If you like a place stay a few nights if not move on.

I expect that 75% of the drive would be on very dull motorway type roads before swooshing about on the Grandes Corniches. I think your DH must have seen too many films about glamorous South of France. No parking problems for Audrey Hepburn or Cary Grant!
DH has a fierce beast of a car that I can (just about) insert myself into but its purgatory in the driving rain and wind. He's not happy parking it and it doesn't idle happily in streams of traffic queues. I'm sure he'd love to drive it sur le continent but even he sees it as a slog.
Why not fly South and hire a little buzzabout once you're there?

BlueSky

Polarbear my DH wants to do exactly the same when all this is over, or should I say when we are allowed/is sensible to. I feel exactly like you. I’ve done that trip before and it was great fun, but I was 50 years younger! I would say essential that you can both drive, for all sorts of reasons.

He has just today suggested I have a go at driving the car. We have my car which is a practical workhorse but it would help if we could both use both cars. Am a bit surprised. But I’m happy with the thought. Who knows, as someone above said I might end up enjoying it more than him ??. Good suggestions btw. Thanks all. Particularly enjoyed the quick drying underwear ?. I should start assessing my wardrobe for very packable stuff although to be fair he will struggle more than me re clothes. Men’s clothes are much bulkier I find. Not my problem tho !!

Polarbear my DH wants to do exactly the same when all this is over, or should I say when we are allowed/is sensible to. I feel exactly like you. I’ve done that trip before and it was great fun, but I was 50 years younger! I would say essential that you can both drive, for all sorts of reasons.

Go for it. Just make sure that you arrive at your destinations in plenty of time so that you can see the town and surroundings.
It's important to stretch your legs every day. I speak from experience. France is lovely and driving in France is a great pleasure, empty roads and great hotels.

Although I wouldn't call them "driving holidays " we have driven a lot in France. You don't say how well you know it already. Because it is less densely populated, the roads are somewhat clearer. I too take some simple crochet, good music and audio books.
I'm sorry to say that I stock up on wine and food, we have a bigger car as we tow a trailer tent. However, the small boot may not be a problem as the amount of wine you can bring back is more limited now!
Do go to small towns on market day, and look for the lovely 'prix fixe' menus.
I definitely agree with reading Lonely Planet / Rough Guide beforehand and getting a really good idea of places to go.
My main concern would be to make the car comfortable for you, get the right cushion or whatever you need. I always have a neck cushion and a pashmina. I would also aim to stay 2-3 nights most places, to get to see the area properly.
Having said all of that, you should not do anything you are uncomfortable with - but I got the impression you are asking for experience to help you decide.

PamelaJ1

Katie that doesn’t sound very enjoyable!
When we set off from Sacramento to Salt Lake City we were interested to see the scenery but after hours and hours of the same thing......boring. That’s the trouble with the US it’s so big.
France won’t be like that.

If we had booked in advance it would have been OK, it was before smart phones and instant information, you had to phone landline to book. Mt Whitney was nice we even had an earthquake (small one) then over the Rockies to Yosemite.
US has its challenges, France is a doddle.

Katie that doesn’t sound very enjoyable!
When we set off from Sacramento to Salt Lake City we were interested to see the scenery but after hours and hours of the same thing......boring. That’s the trouble with the US it’s so big.
France won’t be like that.

Well, the classic holiday with a car like that is a tour of the Lake District or the Cornish Riviera. It immediately speaks of those elegant men (complete with pencil moustache and blazer) and women( Cindy tall and slim) that featured in holiday posters of the 1930s. As with anything, practice is needed before a real big endeavour. So try the road tour out with trips to Cornwall and Cumbria, to iron out all the irritating little glitches.

France is much bigger than you think for. Calais - Nice is around 750 miles, then you must add the journey from Yorkshire to Dover, another 300 miles.

!,000 miles. That is 4 days to get to Nice, just driving each day. 6 - 8 days if you take in a bit of sight seeing and a lazy lunch,

Why not suggest you tour an area of France a little closer to Britain as a taster and if it is manageable do Nice next year.
How about the Loire, the great wine making region. Once again, a touring holiday that very much fits the sports car image, or possibly Brittany.

I suggest you persuade him to a couple of shorter trips first and see how it works.

We’ve done it a few times, mostly for 3 weeks at a time. I love it. The distances here are huge and not so much traffic so you can get a long way in a day. We have driven right up the Queensland coast, to West Australia and also across the middle to Broken Hill. Thousands and thousands of kms. Usually we book the more popular places ahead via email but sometimes we just rock up in the small towns if we like the look of them. What we do is fly somewhere en route first and hire a car when we get there. So we would fly to Sydney and drive up to Far North Queensland, for example. Sometimes we would drive a long way, dump the car at an airport and catch a plane back. Saved retracing our steps.

We’ve driven through France and Italy slowly and enjoy finding lovely places to stay. We usually had an end goal where we would stay for a week or so, but we made the journey part of the holiday. Go slow on the D roads and you’ll pass through some beautiful countryside and lovely towns and villages. We drove 3-4 hours a day then stopped somewhere for lunch or bought a picnic from a boulangerie then headed for a historic town or wherever we were staying that night ( we did book beforehand but you really don’t always have to) arrive mid afternoon, , check into hotel, have a rest, go out for a walk, find somewhere nice for dinner, have a leisurely breakfast . Maybe stay longer in a larger town we wanted to explore. Lovely. Make sure you take underwear that dries quickly as I often had to rinse out undies overnight and dry in hotel bathroom. Quite often treated ourselves to the hotel laundry to do our washing when running low of clean clothes, I used to joke that I could tie my knickers to the wing mirror and they would dry as we drove along ?

Personally, I don’t like driving holidays which involve driving a RH drive car in a LH drive country, especially if you are in the passenger seat, with the driver asking you ‘Is there anything coming?’ when they want to overtake.?

We have done a couple of US road trips planned by our travel agent which included long stretches each day. My DH hated the driving, and, even if the scenery is nice, it did get boring. Apart from which, you find you are driving past things you want to stop and see.

So the third time, we planned our own route and just asked them to pick the hotels for us but in the places we chose. That worked out much better and we didn't drive more than 200 miles a day.

The most important thing to remember:

When you stop at a hotel, always stay for TWO nights. That way you are only driving every other day and you get a chance to see the place you are stopping at - on foot or hire bikes for the day - , get some washing done, and not have to rush over breakfast.

Start as early as possible. If you have a long drive ahead, especially, try and get on the road by 8 am.

NotSpaghetti

My concern is the overnights - will they all be booked up given that everyone seems desperate for a holiday?

Make a plan book in advance, it’s easy everywhere is online, have 2 nights or more at each stop, it’s much more relaxing, not having to repack every day.
Traffic in France (outside Paris) is much quieter than UK.

It sounds lovely to me. Since you are not planning for this year, you have plenty of time to route-plan, and find things to see along the way.

In advance, you can decide what your limit for driving is, what sort of accommodation you like and what your budget is. We frequently do road trips (takes ages to get anywhere here!) Having all meals out can get tiresome, so we pack a small cooler for sandwiches and beverages, and also bring along thermos mugs.

If you or he have any special interests like wineries, Roman ruins, gothic cathedrals, you can do a little research and find wonderful sights along your route. We always like to end our vacations with 3 days at a beach before heading back. Planning is all part of the fun for me!

One year we did our 'hot springs road trip' and enjoyed different hot springs in southern BC. Some developed spas, others just rocky natural pools.

As for your silent type, you may be suprised and learn more about him, or you may be in charge of the ultimate road trip playlist and find some great driving music. We have signed up for satellite radio before a trip to enjoy all the offerings.

I hope this thread gives you a little glimmer of confidence that you may enjoy this type of holiday.

You think, Callistemon? I can get the back of a jumper knitted whilst driving through the roadworks on the M6.

I am slightly paranoid about the outcome of then being in accident but it would, as Bill Bryson says in one of his books, be an exciting death. ?

I think you'd be safer as long as you weren't driving at the same time SueDonim ?

We have had some wonderful holidays driving through France. We use the RN ( route national) routes and take our time.
Empty roads, lovely villages attractive towns great food. Out of high season it’s easy to find a hotel or chamber d’hote (b and b).
What’s not to like? France is a beautiful country. Enjoy!

I often do some knitting or crocheting on long journeys. I am slightly paranoid about the outcome of then being in accident but it would, as Bill Bryson says in one of his books, be an exciting death. ?

We’ve done long US trips, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, LA, and the Pacific Coastal Highway. The long haul to LA from Vegas was a bit boring. There are only so many cactuses, tumble weed and freight trains you can comment on.

In 2019 we went to Australia and took a campervan from Melbourne to Adelaide. The drive was exhilarating but shall we just say that I’m not cut out for camping, even in a mobile home.

NotSpaghetti

My concern is the overnights - will they all be booked up given that everyone seems desperate for a holiday?

Oh we’ll probably book places before we go. Plan a route etc. It’ll be next year now. UK this year

My concern is the overnights - will they all be booked up given that everyone seems desperate for a holiday?

Sounds amazing. I would definitely go. Having 'done' camper vans I would rather drive in a car and stay in hotels any day. Much more my idea of fun, especially if only the two of you.

Long drives that reminds me, San Diego to Death Valley. no rooms, on to Mt Whitney that was a veeery long day.
These days we book in advance, maybe I am loosing my sense of adventure. LOL.

It depends - if he wants to drive on motorways then it could be boring.

However, taking more time on the scenic routes, meandering through France with stops at interesting places, could be lovely.