Self drive holidays and self drive breaks in France, Spain, Portugal and UK

Going on a self drive holiday doesn't necessarily mean that you have to use your own car - you could fly /drive,  or hire a car, rent a campervan or motorhome.  If you are going to use car hire we recommend you pay a little extra and rent a larger car such as a people carrier, you will appreciate that extra space. One of the benefits of self drive holidays is that you can move on to other destinations if you wish and car hire in France makes this possible.

We have had some fantastic self drive holidays over the years here in the UK, some in Spain, the Black Forest area of Germany, but most of them have been spent in France because after the ferry trip you're virtually there - all that remains is to drive to your chosen holiday destination. All this means that over the years we have been able to amass some common sense tips for having a good holiday. We never fly/drive and always take our own car, and it was with great regret early in 2007 when we were planning our annual summer holiday in France that my beloved old Volvo estate finally gave it's last gasp. The poor old girl had faithfully covered over 400,000 miles with me at the wheel, and though the engine was still sound the bodywork virtually dropped off around it, so with a tear in the eye I let her go to the big Volvo parts depot in the sky where I know she will be kindly looked after ( not really - they crushed it but this is a story after all). Then I bought a Citroen Picasso diesel which has a massive amount of luggage space and does the thick end of 70 to the gallon on a decent run.

Now you either plan your self drive holidays or you don't. Personally I'm a planner, and have derived countless hours of pleasure going over the routes with our kids when they were younger, explaining to then what we should see on the journey and how long it would take. Doing it that way also gets you out of answering the perennial question, "Are we nearly there yet Daddy?" which becomes rather tiring when repeated several times. On the other hand, I know of several couples who get off the ferry and toss a coin to decide which direction they take. They all seem to enjoy themselves. Most drivers seem to fall in between the two, and by that I mean they at least take a map with them!

If we are diving down to the Vendee we always take the ferry to St Malo and it takes about four and a half hours sailing time., and over the years we have talked to many drivers who haven't got much of a clue as to where to go when they get off the ferry - seriously that is true. So many people stand a good chance of ruining their holidays before they even start them properly when, with just a little foresight and a tiny little bit of homework they could escape the hassle and the driving problems which they will undoubtedly encounter, and the number of drivers who don't have a comprehensive European breakdown insurance policy in force boggle the mind.

We have a page about European driving laws which you may wish to take a look at. There is a link through to the AA and also a few snippets of ours regarding essential equipment you need to carry in your car these days. Yes, things are a changing and the French road police are becoming less and less lenient (as if they ever were), so anyone embarking on self drive holidays now needs to have a checklist of things to take with you in the car - and by that I mean things to take with you which are immediately available to the driver without him/her getting out of the car. The latest in this list is of course the high visability vest/jacket (they are cheap so take one each) which the driver must be able to don in the car if so requested by the French Flics who love to dole out the mandatory 90 Euro on the spot fines for non compliance.

All this sounds rather grim but you have to remember with self drive hols that you are in charge, that you are the driver and possibly the navigator too. You are responsible for your holiday rather than an airline or a package holiday courier so it makes sense that if you do a little bit of planning and forward thinking, get your car serviced and up to scratch. Do that and you will have a seriously good holiday!

Please also take a look at this page on our sister site for self drive holidays in France