Longest non-stopover drive, e.g. from UK to Alps?

A snowHead

Obviously, long drives without stopovers are dangerous.

However, I'm intrigued as to how far up north in the UK someone has started their drive to an Alpine ski resort without stopping for a lie-down prior to successful arrival?

Other journeys are also interesting, e.g. US to Canada.

Service station stops for fuel, meals, leg stretches, caffeine top-ups, are fine.

I'm interested in same driver marathons as well as multiple driver shifts.

What time of day did you start? And what time did you arrive?

Where did you start, and to which resort was it?

If you used a ferry/shuttle, which one did you use, and through which countries did you drive?

What vehicle did you use? Were there any secrets to your success? Overnight drive? Cruise control? Red Bull? Drum & Bass?

I once did Sussex to Serre Chevalier in one go, but I wouldn't do it again without a stopover.

A snowHead

Kansas City to Bozeman Montana 863 miles, 13 and a bit hours . . . 13.5 mpg Evil or Very Mad

Ford 150 Econoline van 4.6V8

My average day is no less than 580 miles.13 ltr. straight 6 diesel

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Albacete to Tignes - 13 hours. Leave at 5am. Absolutely no coffee or caffeine drink, the highs are only temporary. Drink water and have a packed lunches. As the hair turns to Alpine Ash not sure I would do it now. Also no music, eventually it adds to the tiredness.

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@Masque, in a Cadillac or Buick? With a stereo 8 track player?

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@chocksaway, Albacete, Spain, eh? I knew someone who swore by ProPlus, but it didn't do their guts any good.

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Las Vegas New Mexico to Las Vegas Nevada (to drop off a car) - 696 miles

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I've done Emsworth to Les Saisies (and vice versa) without a stop over, several times, solo driver. I think it's about 720 miles but I don't store up statistics and not sure what my fastest time is. I try not to break speed limits and stop regularly every two hours - it's too easy to become zombified if you do long stints without stopping. I once did Cambridge Massachusetts to somewhere near Chicago, non stop and rather slowly as there was a lot of snow on parts of the road, and only one lane open. That's not far off 1000 miles. But that wasn't solo. There were three of us driving 2 cars - I in a rented Herz car and a friend in hers. The third guy swapped between the two cars at regular stops. I did drive solo, at 21, from Cape Town to Johannesburg, across the Karoo, 1400 kms according to Google Maps. That was fun - but a lot of very empty, undemanding, road and too easy to creep way above the speed limit. But as with skiing, much depends on the conditions. The most tiring drives I've done have often been much shorter, but in difficult conditions. Particularly with poor road surfaces in Africa - not to mention lethally dangerous fellow-vehicles on the road. Having to stop the car before fording a river in a game park, to paddle across and see whether there were any big nasty stones lurking beneath the surface. In a Ford Cortina. rolling eyes

If I'd been driving a Land Rover I wouldn't have had to risk being eaten by a hippo before driving across. Having to stop to put on snow chains, or take them off, and driving at 25 miles an hour in between, in heavy snow, is tiring too. Just pootling down French motorways at 130 kph in decent visibility is really not something to write home about. Doing it with moaning children is a whole different ball game. As they say, there are two classes of travel - First Class and With Children. Driving alone in a decent car counts as First Class. I do listen to music, and audio books, and find both a great help, especially when being a solo driver you get to choose!

After all it is free

As @chocksaway, no coffee or caffeine drinks as just makes it harder over long time. Love coffee and when started driving to ski drank it on advice but soon realised it doesn't work for me.

Often drive through Friday night non stopover from London to French alps, usually always works out to 50mph average for whole journey including tunnel door to door.

Make sure I'm hydrated throughout Thursday /Friday as prep, pre-mixed bottles of Roses lime cordial throughout journey, plus salty snacks seem to suit me. Also in France, bottles of St Yorre mineral water good for driving and general hydration during skiing. Guess I'm after electrolytish / sugarish overall effect, seems to work though with less tiredness and fatigue.

Sometimes shared, sometimes solo driver if it feels ok.

@crosbie, When I was young(er) I used to be happy to do Sussex->Tarentaise (eg Val Thorens) on my own without a break.

Now I have a home in the West Midlands and am over 60, I usually regard the idea of doing the journey non-stop as unwise and as I am retired without any time pressure I usually expect to overnight in a hotel somewhere en-route. However, just before Christmas I did the journey Arc 1800 -> Worcestershire in one go, on my own. Would I do it again? Possibly - but I wouldn't aim to do the opposite journey in one go.

Doing it non-stop I left Les Arcs around 0900 local (0800 GMT) and got on a ferry about 1900. having been waved through Calais docks straight into a priority lane I hadn't paid for. (Actually, the guy in the booth issued me with the normal boarding documents but crossed out the details and changed the ferry to an earlier one - I've not seen that before). I was fortunate to be on the ferry within 10 minutes of arriving at the port. An hour's sleep on the ferry makes all the difference.

The M25 late in the evening was a delight (quite different to earlier in the day which is why I wouldn't do this in the other direction) and I had a very easy drive home.

I probably stopped twice on the way up through France for coffee, etc. Also stopped on the M40 to pick up supplies from Waitrose.

Key achievement: I didn't set off my car's sleepiness alert at any time during the journey. I have previously set it off when I've broken the journey.

Key points: I was very well rested and up for it at the start. I have a car so loaded with electronics (a bit of a retirement present to myself) that it almost drives itself. I was quite happy to duck out and check into a hotel at any time if I felt tired. Most of the drive was during daylight (until arriving in the UK) and on roads I know well.

From the Midlands, the worst part of the drive is, sadly, the M25 between the M40 and the M26. I need to pick a good time for that so doing the journey southbound isn't attractive. From Sussex (where I used to live) it's less of an issue and I would still do the journey direct provided I was properly rested beforehand. Many people who work for a living may find it difficult to be really properly rested before setting out and £50 for a decent clean hotel room on the way up/down through France may be the ultimate bargain.

I usually drive with the cruise control set at the speed limit. Ignoring any stops, the picture I took of the car's trip computer when I got home gives you an idea of the journey. Only you can determine whether it's suitable for you.

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Whitby to Andorra, numerous times with co driver.
Set off Friday tea time, through the tunnel by 10pm, drive overnight & arrive in resort about mid morning & 1000 miles later.

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Tignes - Glasgow 1150 miles via Calais/Dover ferry.

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Did Birmingham to Cervinia once but it was a long time ago and the details are hazy. Done Birmingham to Ischgl several times. Leave Birmingham for Dover at around 16:00. Catch ferry 21:00. Off ferry around 23:30 arriving in Ischgl at 07:30. Countries driven through; France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Vehicles used; saloon and 4X4s. Two or three people sharing the driving. Occasional coffee/toilet stops. Total mileage about 900. No sleep when we arrived in resort. Used to dump bags in hotel, get changed and go skiing. To be honest the journey there wasn't too bad but the return was a killer. We'd ski hard and drink hard for eight days and were pretty exhausted by the end of it and then had to face the return journey. We'd ski on the last day until 16:30, load up the car and drive straight back. We stopped doing it in the end as it was just too tiring.

I've done a few times from Edinburgh or Fife to Tignes/Bourg, an hour of shut eye on the ferry or half an hour on the chunnel then home straight to the Alps.
Probably not a very sensible or well advised thing to do and always think I'll need to stop but once I'm on my way somewhere I just want to get there.

You know it makes sense.

Best part of 20 years ago St Tropez to Somerset with ferry crossing and detour via Heathrow and Hatfield in UK, about 1,000 miles. It wasn't meant to be just me driving but my wife became unwell during the journey and was unable to drive. The only stops were fuel/coffee/toilet stops, I managed to get an hour and a bit sleep on the ferry arrived home close to midnight after an early start. Car was a hired Skoda Octavia as mine had broken down at the start of the journey out. Strangely I didn't feel tired when I got home which convinced me to buy an Octavia as our next car.

A few years later Somerset to Chatel, after I had given up smoking, ProPlus washed down with Red Bull, got me there, just. By the time we got to Chatel I was hyped so much that I then couldn't sleep at all that night.

These days fly to the south of France, still drive to the Alps, usually leave about 2:00 am for a 6:00 am ferry and arrive Les Gets between 5:30 and 7:30 pm, my wife will normally drive 1 or 2 hours somewhere on the A26/A5/A39 allowing me to have a nap, it usually starts to rain and the traffic gets busy when she's driving. The usual combined fuel/coffee/toilet stops with lots of water and sandwiches.

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@Masque, since you've edited your post, and from your average day, I guess it's not a saloon you tend to drive, but more like a truck or tractor? Are you a long distance lorry driver then?

A snowHead

@alasdair.graham, the pressure to get there is familiar to me and also dangerous, which is why I normally book a hotel en-route. I always arrive at the intermediate hotel thinking "Why have I stopped here? I could have gone on for miles" but I have, in the dim and distant past, planned to drive direct and found myself on mountain roads aware that I was falling asleep.

Everyone is different, but I'm happy to admit that my long distance driving capability isn't what it was.

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We have done south coast to northern Italy non stop (overnight) a couple times and we do south coast to the alps return trips at least four times a year. Two of us drive and we are both able to cope without sleep quite easily. The only journeys that have been difficult have been those where we were on a deadline to be somewhere at a certain time. As someone else has pointed out, technology such as adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning makes a big difference, but ultimately, it comes down to how the driver feels on the day (or night) and that's not easy to predict or control.

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@rachelharrisonsmith, what, like Hastings to Cortina d'Ampezzo? Pretty good going.

'Lane departure warning'? Luxury! In my day you were lucky if you had t' bumpity sounds of cat's eyes, as usually you had to wait for t' scrapey sound of Armco on bodywork.

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After all it is free

Basingstoke to kitzbuhel (via Mannheim and Brussels) and same again a week later. Think it was getting on 900 miles. Took a 5 min detour on the return journey home to pick up bacon, bread and coffee for the morning!

Calais is 6 hours one way from my place, and the Alps are 6 hours in the other direction. So I'd never be doing the whole thing in 1 go with no stops. Have done a return journey Frankfurt-Kent, stopped over for a day or too at home and the other home, then done a weekend return trip Frankfurt-Innsbruck.

Moscow to Samara, 4 up in a Lada, was tiring. About 16 hours on the road, plus stops. The single most uncomfortable car I've ever been in.

Frankfurt to Torridon in Scotland was also pretty tiring too, and must be roughly similar to Scottish borders to Alps? And that was with an overnight ferry.

I try to avoid coffee when driving. Sure it keeps you awake for a bit but then the caffiene low hits and need to turn the aircon to icy cold and slap your face just to get to the next turn off to stop safely somewhere. Or get stuck in a jam 5 miles short of a services, and be busting for a slash.

It's always those last hour or 2 where I really want to get there asap. Probably one of the most dangerous bits of the journey. Tis why I stop over in Innsbruck en route to Dolomites rather than do the extra 2 hours all in one hit.

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@crosbie, Aye. Freightliner Cascadia is my home. But longest single run was in my own van. Unless I'm in the NE, most of my days are 600+ miles.

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Tavistock to Les Menuires via Dover - Calais, 882 miles

Every year for the last 6 - doing it again this year. With 4 kids - 3 in secondary school it's the most economical option.

Very Happy

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I did Tignes to Brussels in a day in 1995, in a 1988 205GTI, as I had to be in work the next morning. I was in work the next morning. Don’t think I did anything that day though.

A friend has found modafinil to be good for long trips. Me, I need my sleep.

Once I drove from Bethune near Calais to Vallabrègues in the South of France, to drop someone off at home, and then onto Les 2 Alpes. 1225km (762 miles). Left after breakfast and arrived in the early hours, in summer though. I was the only driver too. Too far, I'd hesitate to do it again.

Dangerous too, I've two friends who've developed DVTs through similar such drives.

You know it makes sense.

Done Paris to Edinburgh in one sitting, didn’t even get out at tunnel.
Regularly do Edinburgh to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains but wife demands a overnight.
I reckon I could do StG to Edinburgh in 1 sitting but for some reason I don’t think I could do Edinburgh to StG , perhaps that hour time change makes it seem shorter

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I regularly drive from North Wales or Manchester to Austria. It's just over 1000 miles and takes approx 22 hours including meal and fuel stops. I sometimes get a room, sometimes sleep for a couple of hours in a sleeping bag on the front seat or just drive through in one hit. I've done 19 hours on a naked motorbike too in torrential rain at the beginning and end, that really is no fun.

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Longest was Manchester to Montepulciano (Tuscany) in an old and underpowered van full of orchestra instruments. 1300 miles, with a break on the Dover-Calais ferry and various loo stops en route. Was glad to get there. But it was worth it as plenty scope to bring wine home on the return leg!

These days often do Amsterdam (off the Newcastle ferry) to Chamonix, Innsbruck etc - which is a paltry c680 miles. Fairly civilised in comparison!

A snowHead

@jonathancarty, I guess a crossing via Cherbourg or Caen is a bit iffy in ski season? And may not save much time (the Cherbourg 3hr ferry only operating in high season).

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Glasgow to Macugnaga back in the early 70s. Four of us packed into a Renault 1100 with all our ski geaŕ for a fortnight. Left in the evening, drove down to Dover overnight for a morning ferry, got there the following morning. Never, ever, again !

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@deerman, pretty much ties with Fife/Tignes. The ski experience is a pretty big motivator eh? But then, they didn't have EasyJet in those days...

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@crosbie, yep the fast ferry or "vomit comet" as we call it is only operational in the summer. Otherwise it's Brittany Ferries which is more expensive and don't accept Tesco Clubcard vouchers!

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I regularly drove from Essex to Les Arcs in one hit, stopping only for fuel and would be doing it again next week if it weren't for the fact that my dear old Dad now in his 70s gets rather annoyed if we don't overnight these days. This despite it being him that taught be to do the drive in one hit back when I was growing up. It usually takes about 12 hours door to door, although one memorable occasion took an awful lot longer. That journey was my dad driving as I'd have only been around 12 or so. And he had to dig the car off the drive in Essex and then drive through snow all the way to Bourg St Maurice. I think he had been driving for close to 20 hours by the time we arrived. He always was something of a masochist and had been pointedly ignoring my mum for hours who was pleading with him to stop and try and find a hotel.

After all it is free

Longest shift - Mayrhoffen to Warshaw, including first three hours at turtle speed on Saturday morning. It was like 1200km/750 miles. MB passenger van, 160-180km/h on Autobahns and toll roads in Poland helped.

Longest drive with drivers switching - Vilnius - Bourg Saint Maurice, 2350km/1470 miles.

In July 2011 we had to come back from Sagres in Portugal to London due to a family member becoming I'll. We drove from Sagres to Bilbao in one go - 725 miles (via Seville) at 55 mph in my 1973 VW camper in 35 c heat, it was just me driving and the wife cant drive the camper van, then 24 hours on the boat to Portsmouth then 3 hours to west London. We left on the Monday morning got to Bilbao on the Tuesday morning and to west London by Wednesday PM. I was shattered, and then we spent 6 hours in Queens Square Hospital to see family member.
Hopefully we will.never have to do that again. If we hadn't had the emergency we still would of had 10 days for the return trip

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Did a drive down to the Alps, should've been a civilised Sussex to Les 2 Alpes. However, the mate I was going with left his passport at uni in Exeter. He realised just as we were setting off for Dover. So we drove west to pick up the passport, then backtracked after re-arranging the ferry. That added about 6/7 hours to the journey!

We got to Les 2 Alpes as the sun was coming up. Coffee and croissants in a boulangerie then we skied that day.

Help!!

Longest non-stopover drive, e.g. from UK to Alps?

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