[Scoobyd]

Hi all

Given that flights and hotels to Madrid for a certain game of football on Saturday 1st June have been completely extorted 4 of us are now looking at the option of driving there. Leaving on the Friday and getting home on the Monday.

For the length of the journey we’d look to hire a comfortable, luxury vehicle to make the trip in. I’ve seen through Avis Prestige that I could get a Range Rover Sport 3.0TDV6 Autobiography for around £1,100 for the 4 days. Even with several fills ups and tolls it still works out a damn sight cheaper than any flight right now.

The aim would be to get from Folkestone to Calais on the train then try and make our way down to Bordeaux to get our heads down for the night. Then it’s a 7-8 hour drive on to Madrid from there on the Saturday. Doesn’t sound particularly appealing but a case of needs must. 3 of us would be sharing the driving, 1 doesn’t.

So my questions are has anyone driven to Spain before who could give any advice/tips about the viability of it? And does anyone know of any other good places to hire a nice, luxury SUV such as the Range Rover for such a trip?

Also I know a few of you have or have had Range Rover Sports on here so what kind of mileage do you tend to get to a tank and what’s the cost to fill up a tank? Should give me a steer on what it might cost in fuel to cover a 2,200 mile round trip!

Thanks!

[Broncho]

Sounds like an excuse to have some fun in a camper to me.

[R0B]

Originally Posted by Broncho

Sounds like an excuse to have some fun in a camper to me.

I think I've seen that video.

[inkiboo]

Can't remember if Avis allow UK cars to travel to Europe. Worth checking.

We are flying out via Gibraltar and then driving up.

Good luck to you; it's a bloody long way!

[Blacktemplar]

Fly to Valencia and get the TGV - takes about 90 minutes

[shutterman1]

faintly , in the distance i hear duelling banjo's

[Scoobyd]

Originally Posted by inkiboo

Can't remember if Avis allow UK cars to travel to Europe. Worth checking.

We are flying out via Gibraltar and then driving up.

Good luck to you; it's a bloody long way!

Yea they do I checked that out with them. Have you got accommodation for the night in Madrid? That’s the other problem. Glad you got flights sorted. Another option we’re considering is flying into France somewhere then hiring a car.

[Scoobyd]

Originally Posted by Blacktemplar

Fly to Valencia and get the TGV - takes about 90 minutes

A good idea if flights to Valencia didn’t require a remortgage for those dates

[Watsey]

You're thinking of driving for 4 days (assuming 9 hours per day in the car), return trip, to watch a game of footy ? Mental.

It's a schlep. I go to Le Mans (400 miles from home) every couple of years and that's a long day's driving once the pick up (mate; central London), Chunnel, fuel stops and rest/lunch breaks are factored-in.

Taking a guess at 35mpg over a long run, the fuel bill would be around £400. Not expensive across 4 people. Obviously you have to add tolls, hotels (3 nights), food, booze, etc to that.

I'd be budgeting £800-1000 per head, all in. Obviously depends a lot on how expensive your tastes are.

The biggest cost is time though. I'd be looking at lots of alternatives.

[inkiboo]

Originally Posted by Scoobyd

Yea they do I checked that out with them. Have you got accommodation for the night in Madrid? That’s the other problem. Glad you got flights sorted. Another option we’re considering is flying into France somewhere then hiring a car.

We have a hotel about an hour's drive outside of Madrid. £80 per night; nothing fancy, just a bed and a room.

[Scoobyd]

Originally Posted by Watsey

You're thinking of driving for 4 days (assuming 9 hours per day in the car), return trip, to watch a game of footy ? Mental.

It's a schlep. I go to Le Mans (400 miles from home) every couple of years and that's a long day's driving once the pick up (mate; central London), Chunnel, fuel stops and rest/lunch breaks are factored-in.

Taking a guess at 35mpg over a long run, the fuel bill would be around £400. Not expensive across 4 people. Obviously you have to add tolls, hotels (3 nights), food, booze, etc to that.

I'd be budgeting £800-1000 per head, all in. Obviously depends a lot on how expensive your tastes are.

The biggest cost is time though. I'd be looking at lots of alternatives.

It’s a painful journey granted! Think I may have found a decent alternative though. Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris on the Friday morning. Hire a car at Paris and try to put 9 hours on the road and get over into Spain to say San Sebastián or Bilbao. Stay overnight there and it only leaves a 4 hours or so drive down into Madrid on the Saturday. Stay on the outskirts of Madrid Saturday night then over the course of Sunday and Monday make our way back to Paris stopping overnight somewhere in France. Eurostar back to St Pancras. Travel and accommodation should work out at around £550 each. And far less of an arduous journey than driving all the way from home. Albeit still a long one!

[Scoobyd]

Originally Posted by inkiboo

We have a hotel about an hour's drive outside of Madrid. £80 per night; nothing fancy, just a bed and a room.

Good plan. I know people staying in Alicante, Malaga etc but with nowhere to stay in Madrid on the Saturday and no way of getting back so they’re having to pull all nighters until their trains start running again on the Sunday. Rather them than me! You Spurs or Liverpool?!

[Bibbles]

Originally Posted by Scoobyd

A good idea if flights to Valencia didn’t require a remortgage for those dates

Have you tried flights to Bilbao as you can drive to Madrid in about 3h30 from there. If you still decide to drive all the way see if you can borrow a sanef tag if you don't have one already so you can just breeze through the toll booths in France.

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by Scoobyd

It's a painful journey granted! Think I may have found a decent alternative though. Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris on the Friday morning. Hire a car at Paris and try to put 9 hours on the road and get over into Spain to say San Sebastián or Bilbao. Stay overnight there and it only leaves a 4 hours or so drive down into Madrid on the Saturday. Stay on the outskirts of Madrid Saturday night then over the course of Sunday and Monday make our way back to Paris stopping overnight somewhere in France. Eurostar back to St Pancras. Travel and accommodation should work out at around £550 each. And far less of an arduous journey than driving all the way from home. Albeit still a long one!

That'll save a bit of time but personally I'd be trying to fly into Spain - Paris to Madrid is a long way.

Good luck with getting it sorted

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Scoobyd

Hi all

Given that flights and hotels to Madrid for a certain game of football on Saturday 1st June have been completely extorted 4 of us are now looking at the option of driving there. Leaving on the Friday and getting home on the Monday.

For the length of the journey we’d look to hire a comfortable, luxury vehicle to make the trip in. I’ve seen through Avis Prestige that I could get a Range Rover Sport 3.0TDV6 Autobiography for around £1,100 for the 4 days. Even with several fills ups and tolls it still works out a damn sight cheaper than any flight right now.

The aim would be to get from Folkestone to Calais on the train then try and make our way down to Bordeaux to get our heads down for the night. Then it’s a 7-8 hour drive on to Madrid from there on the Saturday. Doesn’t sound particularly appealing but a case of needs must. 3 of us would be sharing the driving, 1 doesn’t.

So my questions are has anyone driven to Spain before who could give any advice/tips about the viability of it? And does anyone know of any other good places to hire a nice, luxury SUV such as the Range Rover for such a trip?

Also I know a few of you have or have had Range Rover Sports on here so what kind of mileage do you tend to get to a tank and what’s the cost to fill up a tank? Should give me a steer on what it might cost in fuel to cover a 2,200 mile round trip!

Thanks!

Have you looked into flying into somewhere else (France, maybe) and renting a car there for the duration...? Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux might be possible... Also Southern Spain... Malaga, Seville etc...

Renting a car in the UK then taking it to Spain can be really expensive and some rental car companies will not allow cross border removals (although i am sure you ahve looked into that)...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Scoobyd

It’s a painful journey granted! Think I may have found a decent alternative though. Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris on the Friday morning. Hire a car at Paris and try to put 9 hours on the road and get over into Spain to say San Sebastián or Bilbao. Stay overnight there and it only leaves a 4 hours or so drive down into Madrid on the Saturday. Stay on the outskirts of Madrid Saturday night then over the course of Sunday and Monday make our way back to Paris stopping overnight somewhere in France. Eurostar back to St Pancras. Travel and accommodation should work out at around £550 each. And far less of an arduous journey than driving all the way from home. Albeit still a long one!

Alternative would be to go south from Paris on the TGV and rent from a southern city...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by inkiboo

Can't remember if Avis allow UK cars to travel to Europe. Worth checking.

We are flying out via Gibraltar and then driving up.

Good luck to you; it's a bloody long way!

Just a tip... when heading back to Gib, allow yourselves plenty of time in case there are delays at the border with Spain... sometimes there are... Just a "heads up"...

[isleaiw1]

And just imagine how much fun the journey back will be when you lose (I'm assuming fairly simplistically that Herts means Spurs fan as we are surrounded by the whinging twats)

Come on Liverpool....

[inkiboo]

Originally Posted by Scoobyd

Good plan. I know people staying in Alicante, Malaga etc but with nowhere to stay in Madrid on the Saturday and no way of getting back so they’re having to pull all nighters until their trains start running again on the Sunday. Rather them than me! You Spurs or Liverpool?!

Spurs and not a bin dipper!

We have family in Marbella so spending a few days there before the game.

[inkiboo]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

And just imagine how much fun the journey back will be when you lose (I'm assuming fairly simplistically that Herts means Spurs fan as we are surrounded by the whinging twats)

Come on Liverpool....

Whinging twats? Surely that is the perfect description of Liverpool fans?!?!?

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by inkiboo

Whinging twats? Surely that is the perfect description of Liverpool fans?!?!?

Nope, when you listen to the Spurs fans talking about how they should have finished above Chelsea but didnt....

Liverpool fans seem pretty magnanimous given their points total and they still came second. Whereas Spurs were closer to Bournemouth in 14th than top....

[inkiboo]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Nope, when you listen to the Spurs fans talking about how they should have finished above Chelsea but didnt....

Liverpool fans seem pretty magnanimous given their points total and they still came second. Whereas Spurs were closer to Bournemouth in 14th than top....

We should have finished above Chelsea. It was entirely in our own hands and we messed it up on numerous occasions. Thankfully for us, all the teams around us did the same.