[dxb335d]

paris?? from near stansted airport?

also to the south of france from the same starting point? also to italy?

never driven to any of these places, but want to go away this year but cant stand flying anymore been fyling since a month old and had 3-4 holidays abroad every year as a child and lived in italy for a year so was flying to and fro from italy - uk etc, but since the age of 14 have hated it. flew to spain last sep and hated it

missus kicking up a right stink so id said id drive, she going mad saying it will take up a couple of days of the holiday

any advice mucho appreciated.. im sure lots of you have driven thru the continent

Carlos

[SoYank]

Go to WHSmith's and look at a road atlas for Europe. In the front there is a matrix of cities. Find the nearest starting city (probably London) across the top and the nearest city to the destination along the left. Read across and down from the two and the number corresponds to the mileage (or kilometers). Divide by 50 and that will be the approximate time in hours. Add two to three hours for the Channel crossing depending on whether you're taking the Chunnel or the ferry.

It's been eleven years since I drove on the continent.

[peterg1965]

I have studied your question above.

Carl, have you heard of the equation s = d/t. Where s = speed, d=distance and t=time. The equation can be altered to give t = d/s. Given that for any given location 'd' (distance) will be fixed from your starting point, the variable that you are looking for and which will have an effect on the answer to your question is 's' (speed). Now given your propensity for pressing the accelerator viciously (Colloquially known as given it some 'welly') I suspect the 's' figure will be high. Given that an increase in 's' is inversally proportional to the resultant value of 't'.

So bottom line it depends on how fast you drive down the M11/M25/M2 - Autoroutes/Autobahns/Autostrades in Europe. Short answer South of France should be possible within a days (12hrs) driving from Northern France. Northern Italy add another half a day

[dxb335d]

cheers for the help guys

i just dont want to fly

Carlos

[silverbmwz3]

Does your sat nav cover europe? Can't you just bung a location in and it will tell you ETA?! I guess it won't know about ferry times? Or maybe it will?

[Hotcoupe]

Yes I'd agree with the 12 hrs from Nth France to Sth of France.
Calais to Nice is 750 - 800 miles so it's do-able in a day.
I've done Carcassone - Calais in a day, but it was a tough drive.
If you're going down South, a must drive is across the Millau Bridge (chances are you would go that way, any how)
I'm planning on a mini South of France run later in the year, after I collect my new 335D M Sport sometime in September.
I'll hopefully avoid the French gendarmes who I ran into the last time I went to France, which resulted in me being given a 6 mth on the spot driving ban! (thankfully the ban was only in France)

[peterg1965]

Quick change of subject, how do I add my 'garage' pictures?

[330cdsport]

Google maps provide a super route planner too.

[mjh93sa]

Originally Posted by peterg1965

Quick change of subject, how do I add my 'garage' pictures?

Hit the "E90GARAGE" link at the top of the page. Next page has "View your garage" and "Add your vehicle" options.

[booforty]

It will take you 40 days and 40 nights... I've done it...

[peterg1965]

Originally Posted by mjh93sa

Hit the "E90GARAGE" link at the top of the page. Next page has "View your garage" and "Add your vehicle" options.

Thanks Matt, I'll use my eyes next time!

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by beauforty

It will take you 40 days and 40 nights... I've done it...

You stopped off at every old persons home you could find on the way though, didn't you Paul?!

Viv

[Art Man]

Driven to the South of France a number of times, I work on 12 to 14 hours from Calais.
Drove to Tuscany once, took me another 10 hours from the South of France.

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

any advice mucho appreciated.. im sure lots of you have driven thru the continent

Carlos

Carl - do you ask us lot a question 'every' time u want to know something - we could have a poll on to what the next post from you will be!!!!

how do you put up a shelf?
what hand do you hold the petrol pump with?
shall I have my hair cut this week?
do you think I look cool in this demonstrator Audi? (on a BMW forum, lol)
did u see me on you-tube?
etc
etc
etc

I would have thought with all your recent posts about re-mappping you would be an expert on geography !!

.....and seeing as daddy's car is the quickest 335 then surely goint to France will be like a blast to Devon!

[mjh93sa]

Originally Posted by redE93cab

I would have thought with all your recent posts about re-mappping you would be an expert on geography !!

[Dave_3]

I'm just back from Switzerland enjoying my hols in Scotland. Takes about 7 hours from near Zurich, Switzerland to Zeebrugge in Belgium (at mostly legal speeds) = ~700 km. Switzerland is just above Italy before you ask.

There are several main arterial E routes that run through Europe. The Toll roads in France are superb, but you have to pay. Take a credit card or some spare Euros.

You can enter the town you want in the SatNav. It will not include ferry travelling time, but will give an estimation of travelling time for the driven route. Sometimes it takes a few miles driven to calculate. Bear in mind that you will most likely hit at least one big city at rush hour (early morning - evening) which may bring you to a crawl - although the SatNav lady will try and re-direct you if it is indicated as very heavy traffic on your chosen route.

Check the legality of a set of replacement bulbs, first aid kit and warning triangles. Also check your insurance (or Daddy's insurance) to see what it does and does not cover. You should have a standard claims form with you.

The ferries I catch are overnight, so can't give you advice on the Channel ferries. You can look those up. Can you guess where ?

You must be absolute PANTS on google (Or generally finding thngs out), Carl. What did you do before E90post - ask everyone on PassionFord ?? Engage your brain and think about it, a lot of good replies here to help you start.

Oh yes, charge and take your phone so you can call Mummy for advice when you have another low tyre pressure scare or similar "bloody important" issue.

You might even consider finally reading the BMW Handbook. It has lots of good info about your car you may need if you breakdown (Like we told you about the location of the tyre pressures). You might not be able to access the internet en-route to ask us.

D.

[NathanJT]

I've done Derby to Aulon (Just outside Limoges) in 12 hours flat, including the ferry crossing. That's about 2/3 of the way to the south of France, so add maybe another 3-4 hours traffic and weather permitting.

Oh and ALWAYS carry plenty of cash as the Gendarmerie don't take cards! I would recommend before applying the right boot liberally, that you wait until you're South of Paris

[NFS]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

paris?? from near stansted airport?

also to the south of france from the same starting point? also to italy?

never driven to any of these places, but want to go away this year but cant stand flying anymore been fyling since a month old and had 3-4 holidays abroad every year as a child and lived in italy for a year so was flying to and fro from italy - uk etc, but since the age of 14 have hated it. flew to spain last sep and hated it

missus kicking up a right stink so id said id drive, she going mad saying it will take up a couple of days of the holiday

any advice mucho appreciated.. im sure lots of you have driven thru the continent

Carlos

Depends which way you go I suppose

If you go the long way round you could really drag it out and if you go straight there it will be quicker.

Here's a tip ... try this website:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps

In the search bar type the name of the place where you wish to start first:

Stansted Airport

Next type:

to

Then type where you want to go:

Paris

It's tricky, but with luck you will end up with a map type screen. Try not to panic or get confused by all the numbers and writing. Most of the words are small and the numbers are not hard or anything.

If you look very carely you will see that somewhere on the left it says:

Drive: 313 mi – about 5 hours 48 mins

The first number is the distance in MILES and the second is the TIME in HOURS and MINUTES. Try not to mix them up.

Now, remember that although your 335d is a drag racing legend and you are a driving god it does not make good progress on water. The blue bit on the map is called a 'SEA', in the case it's known as the English Channel and it's mainly made out of water which is quite deep.

Instead of driving on it I recommend that you book a FERRY, which is a kind of boat that carries cars.

Try looking here to see how to book one of these 'ferries', but bear in mind that you may need to share with other people who are not from Essex:

http://www.ferry-to-france.co.uk/

It's also important to realise that the 'TIME' taken to get their is variable. If you drive really slowly like an old woman it will take longer. If you drive like your hair is on fire you will probably end up in a French jail and they will impound your Dads car.

Now ... is there anything else we can help with, would you like to know for instance how much petrol costs, or what to have for dinner this evening?

[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by needforspeed

Depends which way you go I suppose

If you go the long way round you could really drag it out and if you go straight there it will be quicker.

Here's a tip ... try this website:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps

In the search bar type the name of the place where you wish to start first:

Stansted Airport

Next type:

to

Then type where you want to go:

Paris

It's tricky, but with luck you will end up with a map type screen. Try not to panic or get confused by all the numbers and writing. Most of the words are small and the numbers are not hard or anything.

If you look very carely you will see that somewhere on the left it says:

Drive: 313 mi – about 5 hours 48 mins

The first number is the distance in MILES and the second is the TIME in HOURS and MINUTES. Try not to mix them up.

Now, remember that although your 335d is a drag racing legend and you are a driving god it does not make good progress on water. The blue bit on the map is called a 'SEA', in the case it's known as the English Channel and it's mainly made out of water which is quite deep.

Instead of driving on it I recommend that you book a FERRY, which is a kind of boat that carries cars.

Try looking here to see how to book one of these 'ferries', but bear in mind that you may need to share with other people who are not from Essex:

http://www.ferry-to-france.co.uk/

It's also important to realise that the 'TIME' taken to get their is variable. If you drive really slowly like an old woman it will take longer. If you drive like your hair is on fire you will probably end up in a French jail and they will impound your Dads car.

Now ... is there anything else we can help with, would you like to know for instance how much petrol costs, or what to have for dinner this evening?

just what to have for dinner this evening please

[NFS]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

just what to have for dinner this evening please

Steak Frites with a small green salad and a large glass of decent Chianti.

[NFS]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

any advice mucho appreciated.. im sure lots of you have driven thru the continent

Carlos

I don't think any of us have actually driven through the continent. That would imply some serious drilling machinery and possible an expedition to the outer mantle. This would be a problem for the air con which might not be able to maintain a comfortable internal temperature, when it's 1400 deg C outside the car.

Most of us who have taken our cars abroad have instead chosen to drive accross the surface, which is not only less complex, but also more fun since there is very little to do 7 miles underground.

[ShereKhan]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

paris?? from near stansted airport?

also to the south of france from the same starting point? also to italy?

never driven to any of these places, but want to go away this year but cant stand flying anymore been fyling since a month old and had 3-4 holidays abroad every year as a child and lived in italy for a year so was flying to and fro from italy - uk etc, but since the age of 14 have hated it. flew to spain last sep and hated it

missus kicking up a right stink so id said id drive, she going mad saying it will take up a couple of days of the holiday

any advice mucho appreciated.. im sure lots of you have driven thru the continent

Carlos

Carl,

Try using http://www.viamichelin.com

Found it quite good when I went to Nuremberg last year.