Road-trip to the South of France in the Gallardo
Discussion
Hi,
Thought I'd share the details of my recent trip to the South of France, might be of use to others thinking of doing the same. I won't bore you with all the details, more of a summary with data to give you an idea of how much it can cost and how long it can take. The few pics I took were with my phone so apologies for the quality - they're okay but nothing special. If anyone would like more info as to the detail, just let me know!
Car: Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 (2013), mileage of 11,500 (when I started).
Route: Hertfordshire, UK (nr Bishops Stortford) to Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France (between Nice and Cannes) - and back
Duration: 5 days
Total Miles: 1,799
Litres of Fuel used: 377.41
Average MPG: 21.67
Total Cost: Around £2,000 - includes accommodation, fuel, tunnel, tolls and restaurants - split between two of us.
Day 0 (Saturday night)
I call it day zero as we (I drove all the miles but had a mate as a passenger) were informed that there were roadworks near Folkestone so we decided to stay in a Travelodge (£81.99) the first day (the closest we could find somewhere to book at such short notice was Dover). As we had a fair few miles to cover on day 1, this made things just a little easier for us.
Day 1 (Sunday)
It was about a 25-minute drive from Dover to Folkestone. The train from Calais left at 0650 and we chose the extra height/width option as I read on these forums that it was probably the best option. The first day involved driving down to Bourge-en-Bresse, a distance of about 450 miles via the A2, A26 and A39. There's no getting away from the fact that this was a slog! We stopped off at Reims, the old GP circuit which was a nice distraction but there must have been about 20 cars there, all parked up. The weather was all over the place, sometimes sunny and sometimes bright sunshine. I prepared a Spotify playlist before we went - helped a lot to get through the boredom of the motorways! The airbnb we booked (all places we booked had at least two rooms) cost just £53.31 and was an easy walk into town. I used the emovis tag which worked great through all the tolls, it just automatically opens the barriers when you approach the toll-barrier and debits your account, all automatically.
Day 2 (Monday)
Leaving early, we left from Bourge-en-Bresse to head to our accommodation in Cagnes-sur-Mer (on the South coast of France) which was 313 miles away. This was for two nights, booked via airbnb and cost £327.77
The route I chose was via the A48 down to Grenoble before hitting the N85, Route Napoleon. I saw Harry Metcalf drive this in his Countach in a YouTube video and thought I want some of that! We stopped for lunch in Gap, which was nice and the route made a pleasant change to the previous day. We took a few wrong turnings but there was some great scenery and the weather was perfect all day.
Day 3 (Tuesday)
This was a full-day and we had planned to spend most of it in Monaco, which we did. However, it chucked it down from about 0800 into the evening, which was a shame. Managed to curb my wheels a couple of times in tight Monaco car-parks and generally found driving there quite stressful. After we parked up and walked the circuit (getting soaked in the process) I chilled out just a bit. Shame it wasn't sunny but hey-ho. Visited the Top Cars museum which was interesting but you've really seen everything after 30-45 minutes. Cagnes-sur-Mer was very pleasant and had several nice restaurants.
Day 4 (Wednesday)
Heading back home but via Avallon, which was 440 miles away. The weather was better and the journey seemed easy and went quickly. Have to say the French roads are a pleasure, not much traffic, good lane discipline and we cruised along at 80 mph. Drove via A8, A7 and A6. Hardly saw any police at all, lots of warning on Waze of average speed cameras but no idea if they actually existed or not, I never saw any but generally kept to the limits on the motorways. The accommodation in Avallon was via booking.com and cost £113. Avallon was a real find, beautiful little location and would definitely recommend.
Day 5 (Thursday)
Avallon to Hertfordshire, UK - a distance of 411 miles. I bought the FlexiPlus Eurotunnel ticket as I wasn't sure what time we were going to get to Calais. This cost £219, compared to the £89 usual price but was well worth it. Literally turned up at Calais and 5 minutes after we passed passport control we were on the train, easy. Things got more stressful after that though with typical UK traffic, especially around the M25 Dartford crossing - this was actually the only time we were in a traffic jam during the whole journey!
The car was awesome throughout the journey and wasn't too uncomfortable for long trips, although I got a bit fidgety after a couple of hours or so. I didn't need to top up the oil (although I brought some, just in case) and also bought RAC Premium Euro Cover, costing £53.89
Overall, a great trip - the highlight was probably Route Napoleon. If only I could be transported there without having to do the slog first! I was actually really surprised about the MPG I got out of this thing, even taking into account Route Napoleon and 4 hours or so of twisties, this is really impressive. The typical range was around 350 miles.
Would I do it again? I'd love to do the N85 again and be in the South of France but don't fancy the slog that much (maybe it's too soon after coming back). If I could afford to transport my car, maybe I'd do that - but can't myself having that kind of disposable income for a while. Maybe for the next one, I'll head South East to the Balkans...
Thought I'd share the details of my recent trip to the South of France, might be of use to others thinking of doing the same. I won't bore you with all the details, more of a summary with data to give you an idea of how much it can cost and how long it can take. The few pics I took were with my phone so apologies for the quality - they're okay but nothing special. If anyone would like more info as to the detail, just let me know!
Car: Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 (2013), mileage of 11,500 (when I started).
Route: Hertfordshire, UK (nr Bishops Stortford) to Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France (between Nice and Cannes) - and back
Duration: 5 days
Total Miles: 1,799
Litres of Fuel used: 377.41
Average MPG: 21.67
Total Cost: Around £2,000 - includes accommodation, fuel, tunnel, tolls and restaurants - split between two of us.
Day 0 (Saturday night)
I call it day zero as we (I drove all the miles but had a mate as a passenger) were informed that there were roadworks near Folkestone so we decided to stay in a Travelodge (£81.99) the first day (the closest we could find somewhere to book at such short notice was Dover). As we had a fair few miles to cover on day 1, this made things just a little easier for us.
Day 1 (Sunday)
It was about a 25-minute drive from Dover to Folkestone. The train from Calais left at 0650 and we chose the extra height/width option as I read on these forums that it was probably the best option. The first day involved driving down to Bourge-en-Bresse, a distance of about 450 miles via the A2, A26 and A39. There's no getting away from the fact that this was a slog! We stopped off at Reims, the old GP circuit which was a nice distraction but there must have been about 20 cars there, all parked up. The weather was all over the place, sometimes sunny and sometimes bright sunshine. I prepared a Spotify playlist before we went - helped a lot to get through the boredom of the motorways! The airbnb we booked (all places we booked had at least two rooms) cost just £53.31 and was an easy walk into town. I used the emovis tag which worked great through all the tolls, it just automatically opens the barriers when you approach the toll-barrier and debits your account, all automatically.
Day 2 (Monday)
Leaving early, we left from Bourge-en-Bresse to head to our accommodation in Cagnes-sur-Mer (on the South coast of France) which was 313 miles away. This was for two nights, booked via airbnb and cost £327.77
The route I chose was via the A48 down to Grenoble before hitting the N85, Route Napoleon. I saw Harry Metcalf drive this in his Countach in a YouTube video and thought I want some of that! We stopped for lunch in Gap, which was nice and the route made a pleasant change to the previous day. We took a few wrong turnings but there was some great scenery and the weather was perfect all day.
Day 3 (Tuesday)
This was a full-day and we had planned to spend most of it in Monaco, which we did. However, it chucked it down from about 0800 into the evening, which was a shame. Managed to curb my wheels a couple of times in tight Monaco car-parks and generally found driving there quite stressful. After we parked up and walked the circuit (getting soaked in the process) I chilled out just a bit. Shame it wasn't sunny but hey-ho. Visited the Top Cars museum which was interesting but you've really seen everything after 30-45 minutes. Cagnes-sur-Mer was very pleasant and had several nice restaurants.
Day 4 (Wednesday)
Heading back home but via Avallon, which was 440 miles away. The weather was better and the journey seemed easy and went quickly. Have to say the French roads are a pleasure, not much traffic, good lane discipline and we cruised along at 80 mph. Drove via A8, A7 and A6. Hardly saw any police at all, lots of warning on Waze of average speed cameras but no idea if they actually existed or not, I never saw any but generally kept to the limits on the motorways. The accommodation in Avallon was via booking.com and cost £113. Avallon was a real find, beautiful little location and would definitely recommend.
Day 5 (Thursday)
Avallon to Hertfordshire, UK - a distance of 411 miles. I bought the FlexiPlus Eurotunnel ticket as I wasn't sure what time we were going to get to Calais. This cost £219, compared to the £89 usual price but was well worth it. Literally turned up at Calais and 5 minutes after we passed passport control we were on the train, easy. Things got more stressful after that though with typical UK traffic, especially around the M25 Dartford crossing - this was actually the only time we were in a traffic jam during the whole journey!
The car was awesome throughout the journey and wasn't too uncomfortable for long trips, although I got a bit fidgety after a couple of hours or so. I didn't need to top up the oil (although I brought some, just in case) and also bought RAC Premium Euro Cover, costing £53.89
Overall, a great trip - the highlight was probably Route Napoleon. If only I could be transported there without having to do the slog first! I was actually really surprised about the MPG I got out of this thing, even taking into account Route Napoleon and 4 hours or so of twisties, this is really impressive. The typical range was around 350 miles.
Would I do it again? I'd love to do the N85 again and be in the South of France but don't fancy the slog that much (maybe it's too soon after coming back). If I could afford to transport my car, maybe I'd do that - but can't myself having that kind of disposable income for a while. Maybe for the next one, I'll head South East to the Balkans...
Thanks for sharing.
It is a bit of a slog if you're trying to squeeze in as many miles as quickly as possible so to do all of that in five days is quite something. We usually have a couple of overnighters each way as to enjoy the driving more, it also allows you to avoid the efficient but mind-numbing motorways in northern France. We tend to go the Belgium-Luxembourg-Germany route, then peeling off through Switzerland towards France or Italy further down.
We also found the toll tag in the windscreen a good idea, although you never quite know what bill's going to land on you later!
However you choose to do it, it's great to see a lovely car being used
It is a bit of a slog if you're trying to squeeze in as many miles as quickly as possible so to do all of that in five days is quite something. We usually have a couple of overnighters each way as to enjoy the driving more, it also allows you to avoid the efficient but mind-numbing motorways in northern France. We tend to go the Belgium-Luxembourg-Germany route, then peeling off through Switzerland towards France or Italy further down.
We also found the toll tag in the windscreen a good idea, although you never quite know what bill's going to land on you later!
However you choose to do it, it's great to see a lovely car being used
Edited by Kyodo on Saturday 14th September 09:39
Hi OP. I am doing a road trip soon also staying in Bourg en Bresse and on to Venice via Lambo Museum (incl a factory tour) and then back via Geneva and Reims.
Did you bother with beam deflectors or do you know if they are needed, I.e. does Gallardo have flat beam?
Cannot find any info anywhere on this...
Thanks
Did you bother with beam deflectors or do you know if they are needed, I.e. does Gallardo have flat beam?
Cannot find any info anywhere on this...
Thanks
Superleg48 said:
Hi OP. I am doing a road trip soon also staying in Bourg en Bresse and on to Venice via Lambo Museum (incl a factory tour) and then back via Geneva and Reims.
Did you bother with beam deflectors or do you know if they are needed, I.e. does Gallardo have flat beam?
Cannot find any info anywhere on this...
Thanks
don't forget the "other" lambo museum https://www.museolamborghini.com/en/ferruccio-lamb...Did you bother with beam deflectors or do you know if they are needed, I.e. does Gallardo have flat beam?
Cannot find any info anywhere on this...
Thanks
Superleg48 said:
Hi OP. I am doing a road trip soon also staying in Bourg en Bresse and on to Venice via Lambo Museum (incl a factory tour) and then back via Geneva and Reims.
Did you bother with beam deflectors or do you know if they are needed, I.e. does Gallardo have flat beam?
Cannot find any info anywhere on this...
Thanks
I didn't bother - I was driving for the vast majority during the day and the people I spoke to didn't do it were also fine. I think you 'should' technically but I don't think I will when I do it next time...Did you bother with beam deflectors or do you know if they are needed, I.e. does Gallardo have flat beam?
Cannot find any info anywhere on this...
Thanks
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