International Meet in Switzerland 2018

[felixkk]

Very well summarized, John. Theoretically I would advise to sticking to the speed limits also. Anything above 140kmh on the highway will be a bit costly. Most of you will be enjoying the landscape anyway. If there should be snow on the Grimsel, we will have to figure out an alternative, which we don‘t have at the moment. No need to worry about winter tires or chains. I drive the C-V8 in the winter, if there is the chance to- only on dry and salt free roads though.

Yes, SatNav warnings are illegal. I‘ve never had someone check though. It‘s not on, so I‘m not even sure how well it would work.

[johnw]

[/quote]

It is even worse. Warnings for speed traps on your sat nav seems to be illegal, so you have to remove the option from your GPS.
Kees Oudesluijs[/quote]
Yes. Absolutely. The first thing they check, so have it on view as a distraction!
edit: It is a really, really nice place. Most people want to come back again! The roads are not very good for speeding anyway, and the ones that are sometimes get closed off for hillclimbs.

[felixkk]

The roads are not very good for speeding anyway

This was taken on the Grimsel, judge for yourself (I don't know them)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r28GvrG ... be&t=1m48s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Kevin Birch]

I'm in the process of booking ferries and Hotels in France for the trip down there, and the trip back.
My thoughts are 15:15 ferry and get to Cambrai for Wednesday night, and stop at Nancy on the return for the 17:00 ferry back to Blighty. What are others doing?
Prefer the ferry as it gives a break from the car and allows to eat and perhaps a beer.
Found a glitch on DFDS ferry booking. If you select Dover -Calais for 3/10 returning 9/10, economy will cost £124 for the above times. If you put the dates as 3/10 returning next day 4/10, each crossing is £17.50 so £35 total. Do the same for 8/10 returning 9/10 and you get the same, £17.50 each way. So you can go on the 3/10, return 9/10 for £70. Only economy available, which doesn't allow cancellation, but does allow you the ferry before or after the one booked, which gives a 3 hour slot.
Not booked anything yet, might be nice to meet up on the Wednesday with others, and travel together, if convenient.

[Steve Payne]

We are catching a Channel tunnel Thursday morning and doing the 400 odd miles in one hit.

Coming back is even worse we are leaving Monday morning from the Grimsel pass and are booked on a late crossing Monday night.

Sarah has no spare holiday so we have got to do it this way.

Steve

[Chris_R]

Found a glitch on DFDS ferry booking. If you select Dover -Calais for 3/10 returning 9/10, economy will cost £124 for the above times. If you put the dates as 3/10 returning next day 4/10, each crossing is £17.50 so £35 total. Do the same for 8/10 returning 9/10 and you get the same, £17.50 each way. So you can go on the 3/10, return 9/10 for £70. Only economy available, which doesn't allow cancellation, but does allow you the ferry before or after the one booked, which gives a 3 hour slot.

Check the terms and conditions. They are wise to that trick. You have to actually sail both ways to get those fares otherwise they will charge you the difference. Or more.

[Toby]

We are catching a Channel tunnel Thursday morning and doing the 400 odd miles in one hit.

Coming back is even worse we are leaving Monday morning from the Grimsel pass and are booked on a late crossing Monday night.

Sarah has no spare holiday so we have got to do it this way.

Steve

I think i'm on the 7:20am Thursday Tunnel and doing likewise and back to St Omer on the Monday for a early am Tuesday tunnel.

[Steve Payne]

I think i'm on the 7:20am Thursday Tunnel and doing likewise and back to St Omer on the Monday for a early am Tuesday tunnel.

Toby I have just checked and we are on the 7.50am so might see you there or on route

In my experience as long as they are not fully booked they are quite happy to let travellers get on an earlier or a later crossing.

Which route are you planning on using? With the time constraints I will be using some very expensive French motorways as far as Reims and then get on the D977 and D944. According to Google earth it is a 400 mile 7 hour drive so with a fuel stop and comfort brake we should hopefully be there at a decent time. Doing the hole trip on motorways does not seem to save any time as it is a lot further and the last time I went via Strasbourg in May I got caught in there rush hour and some major road works

Are we going to have a WhatsApp for this trip? I think it was Jensen's on tour or something similar the last time.

Steve

[felixkk]

Are we going to have a WhatsApp for this trip? I think it was Jensen's on tour or something similar the last time.

Steve

Good idea Steve, I'll set one up

[kees]

I do a lot of travelling in France. Most of the time I set the satnav on "avoid motorways" to have a leisurely drive which will take a bit more time but is imminently more enjoyable, especially in the weekends when there are no trucks on the road.
French motorways are very good but the food is lousy and expensive, so is the toll. The secondary roads are usually in excellent condition, quiet and far superior to the ones in the UK which are often in a terrible state. Make sure you have a full petrol cannister in the boot as petrol stations in the country are few and far in between and often located in the big shopping malls just outside the towns
There is also no need to book hotels in advance as there are plenty of nice places to stay along the way, an up to date satnav can help you out here. If you get into trouble finding a place go to a large industrial/shopping estate and you will find the usual business hotels, not very luxurious and the food is not to good but at least there is nearly always enough room for the night.
Have a good trip.
Kees Oudesluijs

[felixkk]

I will be using some very expensive French motorways as far as Reims and then get on the D977 and D944.
Steve

That is the route I usually take. I've never encountered much traffic between Calais and Reims. And the Route via Nancy is quite nice.

Ohne Titel.jpeg (476.29 KiB) Viewed 4177 times

[johnw]

I am with Kees, and really enjoy the non motorway, or at least avoid tolls routes through France if you can make time to enjoy your car. I have traveled the route many times in various vehicles, towing/not towing, etc. Avoiding toll roads on this route makes it shorter, but it takes longer clock time wise. Fuel consumption is less in my small car when I avoid toll rolls too, >85MPG avoiding tolls on a shorter route vs 68MPG on the toll road thrashing it at 140kph+.

To maximise the distance travelled and countries visited at minimum fuel cost (but not volume!), irrespective of time (obviously a bit longer but more fun), I recommend selecting Google's non toll road route (free motorways only), and adding Luxembourg motorway service station as a fuel stop. Make sure you are almost empty when you get there! It is open 24 hours, about €1.3, so 15 to 20% less than in France.

[Chris_R]

Although I'm not on this trip, much as the other routes might be nicer I think John and Kees are missing the point about the route. Steve will not arrive in Calais until around 9.30am local time and than have 400 miles to go. Avoiding tolls will add another hour and a half to the 7 hour journey. Avoiding motorways adds even more. Sometimes you just have to go motorways, they are often the quickest if not the cheapest or shortest.

[colin7673]

Throwing my hat into the ring, there will be three cars leaving Lincolnshire on Wednesday, plan to get through the tunnel the same day, then head towards Lille, over to Belgium down to Luxembourg ( one tank of cheap Fuel ) then re-enter France near, Saarbrucken then down to Mulhouse.
Google maps says 50 miles longer but save £90 on tolls.

Not sure where will stop yet but maybe in Beligum

[Kevin Birch]

All options seem good, but will be doing the simple route, Reims, Nancy mainly due to knowing a good proportion of the route and driving an unfamiliar car to me. I know Nigel's is a Mk1 the same as mine, but will be nervous driving somebody else's car and I'm sure it will be different to mine, so will need to get used to it. Stopping near Arras on the way down, then Nancy on the return.
See you all in Mulhouse