French toll calculation Cherbourg to La Rochelle

martyc5674

How are ye all?
Trying to calculate the expected tolls should i stick to the motorways on the above mentioned journey.
Tried one online calculator and it came back with only €14.50 which seems a bit too cheap...any links for easy to use calculators??(mappy.com)
Or any ideas on nice scenic routes...im in no rush will probably only drive an hour or so first evening to granville and do the rest over 2 days.
Cheers,
Marty.

testicle

viamichelin.com has one

martyc5674

Cheers,
yeah that came back @ 6.40 for a car (hadnt an option for commercial which apparently campers are considered as in France)
So thats great news...was expecting to be paying a pile more ;-)
Marty.

SeamusG97

Not a route as such but, starting from Cherbourg you have the D-Day beaches, Bayeux, <Granville> St.Malo, Dinan. Nozay (Aire) is a handy half-way point for La Rochelle. When are you going? We're off next weekend.

stapeler

Using http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/homepage.html and select "more options" allows you to select vehicle type. I put in HGV/Bus (Cat3) and your journey comes in at €12.20.
Granville is a nice place to stop off with a good choice of campsites and municipal sites. Lovely beech too.

martyc5674

Cheers lads for that...yeah had planned stopping in granville for the first night...heading off thursday eve so hopefully be in granville Friday night for the dishco!!(not!!)
make our way towards nantes on Saturday but again we will probably head towards the coast for sat night...la rochelle sunday/sunday night and then out to ile de re for a week or so.
Any stop offs ye recommend b e appreciated :-)
Marty.

SeamusG97

Just a thought. Looking at how dear fuel has become, the tolls aren't really that significant. Any long journey will be expensive no matter what. I'll offset the cost with a few(!) nice bottles of wine on the way home.

martyc5674

Cheers Seamus,
I was expecting the Toll charges to be about 100-150 euro each way for some reason so that would effectively double the diesel costs at least!!
I usually get 600km from a full tank here which is ~ 75€
Cheers,
Martin.

vinniem

Hi Marty, heading to La Rochelle also should be there next Monday evening . Just note that there is now speed a restrictions in France for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes think its 80km/hr so (if your over 3.5) there would be no big advantage using motorways and you would save a fortune. Also think from last year we were charged as a truck on autoroutes so worked out very expensive. Bon voyage:)

martyc5674

Cheers Vinne,
I actually dont know the weight of my vehicle...its a 7 meter camper and it is registered as being under 3.5 Tonne(its max weeight on the plate is 3500KG) ...but loaded up etc with 3 of us in it water fuel and all the extras i really wouldnt know what weight it is.
Would they take you off to be weighed?...or how do they decide what your weight is with their speed cameras etc...i assume they have the weights in a database.
Cheers,
MArty.

martyc5674

Another Question for you Vinnie,
Your trip last year...was it to La Rochelle that was an expensive trip?
Cheers,

Marty

stapeler

martyc5674 wrote: »

Cheers Vinne,
I actually dont know the weight of my vehicle...its a 7 meter camper and it is registered as being under 3.5 Tonne(its max weeight on the plate is 3500KG) ...but loaded up etc with 3 of us in it water fuel and all the extras i really wouldnt know what weight it is.
Would they take you off to be weighed?...or how do they decide what your weight is with their speed cameras etc...i assume they have the weights in a database.
Cheers,
MArty.

If your passing a local quarry, animal feed supplier etc. you could drop in and get her weighted for peace of mind. I've never had a experience with the Gendarmerie but they can be very active in France. I know we're typically running at around 3300kgs.
Keep you water level low for travelling, no point in having the extra load. We typically bring a 5 litre water container for coffee etc.

Just another point totally off topic but if your fridge is full on the ferry ask a staff member if you can plug into their electricity. They're always happy to help.

vinniem

martyc5674 wrote: »

Another Question for you Vinnie,
Your trip last year...was it to La Rochelle that was an expensive trip?
Cheers,

Marty

Hi Marty,
Last year we travelled from Roscoff down to Arcachon (near Bordeux) and think it cost us a fortune on the autoroutes with camper, cant remember what exactly it was but was very expensive. Regarding weight and speed they probably have a database but if stopped by the Gendamerie they have been know to have mobile weighbridges for weighing campers at side of road. Your wagon is 7m? Mine is just slightly over that...in fairness thats a large camper, are you sure GVW is below 3500kg's? Good advice from Stapler to keep just enough water in tank for toilet and small use during transit. We only travel with one bottle of propane also, bikes on back could add close to another 60kg to your load.

martyc5674

Cheers Vinnie,
I have genuinely no clue as to the actual weight.
It is as you say a big van but it was coach/factory built to be under 3500KG...what it is i genuinely dont know.
I went through all the docs i got with it las night but i couldnt find a weight written down to give me an idea of allowable payload.

I have 2 bikes on the back 2 full gas bottles, all the presses are full with clothes etc but not over the top.
Bar a pram theres nothing else majorly heavy in it....surf board and kites on the roof but they are only about 20KG all in.

Heres a pic attached but sure that wont tell u much!!

Marty.

martyc5674

ooopps attachment.

vinniem

martyc5674 wrote: »

Cheers Vinnie,
I have genuinely no clue as to the actual weight.
It is as you say a big van but it was coach/factory built to be under 3500KG...what it is i genuinely dont know.
I went through all the docs i got with it las night but i couldnt find a weight written down to give me an idea of allowable payload.

I have 2 bikes on the back 2 full gas bottles, all the presses are full with clothes etc but not over the top.
Bar a pram theres nothing else majorly heavy in it....surf board and kites on the roof but they are only about 20KG all in.

Heres a pic attached but sure that wont tell u much!!

Marty.

Hi Marty,
You will get the weight on plate under bonnet (gross weight) then if you know you weight with tanks empty (local authority weigh bridge) etc you can easily work out payloads. Got mine weighed last year and it was 3220kg and have GVW of 3850kg's so loads to play with. But TBH I would not be too worried bout it now if your sailing at the weekend, would say from what you have said above that the stuff you are carrying is not going to put you overweight...also heard French police will only stop and weigh if they suspect you are grossly overweight (very dangerous) Personally I am going to try avoid autorotes this year (Calais to La Rochelle) and the money I save on tolls can be spent on a few beers:) also will be a nicer driving experience. Best of luck with your trip. Vinnie

killalanerr

hi guys as vinniem says,we were in the el de re area last year and stayed off the motorways all the time except for one day as we wanted to get back north for the last few days as we did not want a long rushed drive to finish the trip (their was a crash on the motorway and we were held up for hours ),sorry i cant tell you the route i took as it was done by satnav with the do not use motor way option on,my garmin has a mind of its own,which is fine when your on the hols and in no hurry,marty dont over plan and enjoy your trip

killalanerr

just to correct my last post the option we used on the garmin was avoid tolls,this option takes you on the untolled motorways

martyc5674

Nice one...i have that option enabled aswell(avoid tolls)...however looking @ the map there is only one toll section between Cherbourg and la rochelle.
Cheers anyway lads...cant wait to get going!!
Marty.

vinniem

martyc5674 wrote: »

Nice one...i have that option enabled aswell(avoid tolls)...however looking @ the map there is only one toll section between Cherbourg and la rochelle.
Cheers anyway lads...cant wait to get going!!
Marty.

Hi Marty, best of luck with your trip. Its our first time going to La Rochelle, have you been there before?