 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I did like the section through Reims
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I've never minded it much in the past but sat there in horrendous jams for a good hour - or more - driving back in late October. The new road will be a bonus as far as I'm concerned, but there presumably won't be anything to stop you driving through Reims just like in the olden days.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Hells Bells, yes you are right that Troyes is the furthest we will get on the first day. I expect to leave Newcastle at about 3.30am ish and then get to the tunnel. But who knows what the weather will be like that day anyway, it is all guess work. My biggest concern will be my 7 year old who will ask how long we have to go at about Chester le Street
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AW, thanks for your tips. I expect the time we leave Troyes on the Saturday will depend how early I can get the family out of bed
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chrisb, tell them that they won't get any breakfast till you've been on the road at least 1.5 hours. It works with my OH, who is v keen on breakfast. As I do 95% of the driving I call the tune! Given that you need to stop to eat, it saves time to make this coincidental with a break you need anyway, and it saves them loafing round the hotel picking stuff from the breakfast bar.
Hmm. A 7 year old who asks how far at Chester Le Street! You're brave to drive so far. I'd be tempted to drive all night with him asleep with a comfy pillow and fleece blanket. Good luck. 
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Crikey that was built quickly - would take 12 years in the UK
I quite like the Reims bit, look at the boats on the river, watch out for the camera, check out the football stadium
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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pam w, getting my OH plus the two girls out of bed at any time is a battle, you should see the chaos of the school run! I might be brave or insane, but cost at half term makes this affordable and for once I fancy the challenge, and the car even has winter tyres on this year - probably will end up with no snow on Tyneside this year!
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Boris, never noticed the river  (probably counting markers to camera) but you're right, there are a few things to make that bit more interesting.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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thanks for your tips. I expect the time we leave Troyes on the Saturday will depend how early I can get the family out of bed
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I have the same problem - getting my wife and 3 daughters moving. We are leaving the UK Friday night and staying just South of Troyes. Hopefully getting there by 4am. I can't see us leaving before 9am on the Saturday, but we only have to get to Les Gets so even if it takes 8 hours it's not too bad. Last year we overnighted in Calais and left at 7am. Arrived in Les Gets at 8pm.
I'm thinking of unpacking their hair straighteners, which should shave an hour of the morning ritual 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| chrisb wrote: |
| Hells Bells, yes you are right that Troyes is the furthest we will get on the first day. I expect to leave Newcastle at about 3.30am ish and then get to the tunnel. But who knows what the weather will be like that day anyway, it is all guess work. My biggest concern will be my 7 year old who will ask how long we have to go at about Chester le Street |
We've never left any earlier than 6am, and always make the 12.20 tunnel crossing. Gets us to Champagne region by about 6pm.
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Boris,
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I quite like the Reims bit, look at the boats on the river, watch out for the camera, check out the football stadium
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Don't forget the fire station 
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You know it makes sense.
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| Fogliettaz wrote: |
Yes, I would also think that the Peage before and after Reims will also go. |
Doesn't look like it. There is a map/picture at http://www.a4csr-sanef.com/aa/echangeur/Noeud_A4_A26.html which clearly shows a new peage immediately you get onto the new section (heading south).
So coming from Calais, you'll get stopped at the peage at just N of Reims (Courcy?), go two junctions of toll-free autoroute, then join the new section and immediately be stopped at the new peage.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| chrisb wrote: |
| looking forward to my first drive to the alps.... going south through England though will not be fun i expect |
Thats a fact - we took the Hull-Zebbruge ferry when going out in the summer; saved the schelep down the M1, M25 and although more expensive the drive distance and time were the same from arival on the continent to Bourg St Maurice. Also when vectoring in fuel costs (we went Leeds to BSM on one tank of derv in our Passat estate), probably a hotel en-route and the driver ware and tear, the costs were worthwhile. Also we have a 12,000mile a year deal on our car and we reduced mileage going via Hull, which in 3 years time will help as we have a charge for miles over 36,000 
If life is a journey, I would rather not spend it on the M25.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Camera in Reims? Ooops never noticed that one 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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So coming from Calais, you'll get stopped at the peage at just N of Reims (Courcy?), go two junctions of toll-free autoroute, then join the new section and immediately be stopped at the new peage.
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Ah yes! Of course, sections round towns are always free, aren't they? So that will remain a bottleneck for the half term drivers, if not for other 363 days of the year.
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brian
brian
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brian, excellent find! I've been stuck in bad Friday evening traffic a couple of times going through Reims, so this should mean an end to that.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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So although you miss out the stretch through the town with suicidal teenage girls in 15-year-old R5s weaving in and out ... and the return where you either have to get in the right lane three miles before the exit, or cut in at the front with the Audis  ... you will still have to queue up at the toll south of town.
Does anyone know a route you can take to the north of Rheims, joining the toll road at the next entry point? Every year I look at the map and every year I chicken out...
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Actually just looked at it again and I'm wrong ... sorry ...the new stretch has a peage at Ormes just after you get on, so you miss out the "old" one to the East/South
But there will still be a massive queue at the new peage, so it might end up quicker to go the old way through the town and pay the toll at the old peage, where the queues will be shorter.
But whichever way you go, you won't know if you've saved time or not! I hate it when that happens
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But whichever way you go, you won't know if you've saved time or not! I hate it when that happens
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Life's like that, sanman. Whichever path you choose at any of life's crossroads, you never know where the other might have led you.
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Hells Bells, yes but if I tell the OH we are leaving at 6am we will end up leaving at 8am. She takes after her mother when it comes to time. On our wedding day we told my mother in law to be that we were getting married half an hour before we actually were!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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chrisb, well you can tell her that if she's late you'll sit in traffic jams - then when you are sitting in traffic jams you can come over all holy and not say "I told you so".
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chrisb, My Mam is always late too, but unfortunately we couldn't fib about the wedding time, as she attends the church regularly, although I did consider it.
I'm in charge of booking crossings and telling hubby when to get out of bed, as I don't take after my mother. They're threatening to come away with us next summer, god knows how that will work.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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They're threatening to come away with us next summer, god knows how that will work.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Hells Bells, tell her you are going to whitley bay for thje summer and then jump on the ferry to Holland
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You know it makes sense.
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I've driven this route many times at different times. Been through Reims Friday evenings and during the day. I must have been lucky as I have never experienced any real issues. The drop in speed is a minor inconvenience, it can be rather 'busy' though.
Only serious delay was in Feb 2010, Saturday evening on the return journey at Reims, there was a major tailback from the peage. When we got there we discovered the Telepeage tag lanes were clear!
I use maps and satnav more as a 'how far to go' aide. The old paper map is now 8 years old and probably needs an update. For some reason I always find the return trip a little less clear particularly at the Riems junction. Maybe this will simplify the matter?
If going overnight (Friday\Saturday), I always tried to get as far south as possible, but that was when I was travelling alone. I'd sacrifice 1/2 Friday as part of the holiday, as I was driving from Manchester. I'd plan to stay near Dijon, a F1\Etap type using it more as a v late pit stop, short sleep shower, grab a snack, and be out of there by 5:00 am latest. For me that still leaves nearly 240 miles to Moutiere.
Recently, we have travelled early Friday from Essex, car of 4, early tunnel, via Bourg en Bresse, and stay overnight in Albertville and go up the hill on Saturday morning. No real issues, in fact the French autoroutes roads tend to give an easier journey than the UK motorways!
I hope the new road helps, I bet my out of date satnav will have an attack though!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
| Does anyone know a route you can take to the north of Rheims, joining the toll road at the next entry point? Every year I look at the map and every year I chicken out... |
Haven't done this going south but last year on the way home at the end of half term there was a 29km bottleneck before and around Reims (according to 107.7) so we went east along the A4 where the A26 merges then took the D944 to the east of the autoroute - it was completely empty and we could see stationary traffic to our left on the motorway so we knew it was a good decision. We then went up the A34 for a bit then around the north of Reims - we rejoined before the péage but the road to the west looks nice and straight so I would take that going south if there were queues at the péage - never happened to us yet though. We were very surprised that hardly anyone else took a diversion - all the roads around the traffic jam seemed to be free flowing. We would have missed our slot if we'd carried on the autoroute.
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Poster: A snowHead
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No real issues, in fact the French autoroutes roads tend to give an easier journey than the UK motorways!
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Absolutely no comparison. Normally the autoroutes are clear enough that you can travel at the speed limit for hour after hour. Just avoid the dratted A6. The French rest aires are also much less crowded, most of the time, than British service areas and sometimes have half decent food (though some have grim coffee - it often pays to buy a jeton for the espresso machine, not take the mugs of stale Nescaff or whatever). In summer, the quiet picnic aires make for a good stop - often play areas for kids, picnic tables under the trees, plenty of space.
AW, that sounds like a good plan for people with no choice about travelling on the heaviest weekends. Listen to 107.7 and have a good map to hand, to help you plan an alternative route.
I find the satnav very useful for timings - to know how much time you have in hand before a ferry. The autoroutes are so clearly and frequently signposted that you'd have to be half asleep to go wrong at a junction.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I find the satnav very useful for timings - to know how much time you have in hand before a ferry. The autoroutes are so clearly and frequently signposted that you'd have to be half asleep to go wrong at a junction.
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You clearly have not been in a car with me. My best one was driving through the toll booth on the bridge into New Jersey thinking the guy was waving us through
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You clearly have not been in a car with me. My best one was driving through the toll booth on the bridge into New Jersey thinking the guy was waving us through
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chrisb, Respect for confessing. Most men think they are champion navigators. But maybe you're not a man? Maybe give Baghdad a miss for a bit if you tend to charge through checkpoints?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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chrisb,
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You clearly have not been in a car with me. My best one was driving through the toll booth on the bridge into New Jersey thinking the guy was waving us through
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Is that on the New Jersey turnpike? Hell I've always wondered what it's like i.e. every time Paul Simon sings the line. Sounds better than "counting the cars on the M6". Why can't the Brits give them names? I mean "Autoroute Blanche" sounds great doesn't it.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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As a teacher, we always have to do the drive at peak times, we have left formula 1somewhere south of Dijon about 5.30 -6.00 am arrived in Saint foy (tarentaise) about 10am, change in car park and on the slope by 10.30am, it's either an early start or a long traffic jam
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Went through Reims on Friday and the new road did look good, and almost ready to open.. not too sure on the average time improvement though...... (Chamonix to Calais 6hrs 35mins......................... including a 15min stop for fuel)
And yes the UK was the worst part Chunnel to Northampton......... 3hours 32min)
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6h 35m? Blimey, that's going some!
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planeurge, That's what I thought. I've never done Calais to Flaine in less than 8 hours (not including breaks). Is it time I ignored 130kph?
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Obviously we should never ignore the 130kph or any other posted limits.... but given an empty road dry road and cruise control it's not that difficult.... after all Chamonix (Argentiere) to Calais is only 557miles so the 6h 35m works out to be only an average of 84.6 and 6h 20m an average of 87.9... hardly the crime of the century to cruise at 90.
Drove through 3 manned speed traps and iirc 5 cameras too.
Also there are more of the 30kph toll booths now on the route so no longer do you have the fear factor of will or won't my telepeage work... it beeps as you enter the lane and the barrier lifts before you even get close...
All compared with the UK where I averaged 42.8 on the 150mile drive!!
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pam w, no I am a man, and of course blamed my wife for the navigation error and she was holding the map
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FAQ
its a good journey overnight with little or no traffic.
