Monaco - August 2013 + trailer

[Bob]

So... Just got news of an unexpected road trip for the end of August. Long story.. But the basics are.. I'm a tech guy with an amateur theatre group (hobby only.. No moola) and we are bringing a successful show of ours to the world amateur theatre festival in Monaco.

Anyhoo, being the techie, and owning a cruiser and a large trailer, I have the job of bringing all of our stage gear from Ireland. Mucho happy... 1200 miles with this...

12x6 Indespension with a box fitted for this purpose. Great trailer to tow..
Myself and herself will probably camp on the way down.. Any site recommendations around Dijon??

... Yeah a transit would be a cheaper option, but we don't have one... And this is more interesting

 

[Gav Peter]

Sounds like it will be a fun trip Bob

 

[AndyCook]

Yes stay in Beaune. Municipal campsite is OK, may need to book. But Beaune a great old town and hub of burgundy wines. Wr spent night there last july in transit from alps to home

 

[AndyCook]

Les cent vignes

http://www.beaune-tourism.com/Accommodation-France/burgundy-campsites/campsite-liste.asp

http://www.zoover.co.uk/france/burgundy/beaune-cote-d-or/les-cent-vignes/campsite

 

[Bob]

Cheers for the link Andy. Looking at it again, we'll probably stop a bit further south, possibly a mountain site... Depends on how far we get in 7 or 8 hours from Lens. Kind of restricted for speed with the trailer (90kph in France) although the LC will pull on to a lot more with it!

 

[AndyCook]

which route will you take through mountains, as i drove the main valley from Nice to Jausiers this summer

 

[Bob]

Will likely cross a bit further north near Alpe d'Huez and Mont Blanc tunnel, then down the Italian side. I'm increasingly tempted by the Var valley around Verdon Parc, although it involves a lot more routes nacionales... Not to mention the diesel used on the big climbs

 

[fast but dim]

Yes stay in Beaune. Municipal campsite is OK, may need to book. But Beaune a great old town and hub of burgundy wines. Wr spent night there last july in transit from alps to home

great sitecand town, we've stayed there in the past too.
definately need to book in season though, we went in2011 and it was full, with a massive queue to find out there was no room.

 

[Ian Rubie]

We called into Monaco a few years ago on the way to the Italian Alps. Being an F1 fan I had to do a few laps of the circuit. I can honestly say that in my diesel 80, with a roof tent, my lap was ruined by having to slow down for a Ferrari.

In Casino Square there were loads of super cars parked, which were all being ignored, however at the end of the row there was a Mini Moke with loads of people taking pictures of it.

 

[Bob]

Nice one Ian.. It has been one of my odd little ambitions to have a photo of my dirty cruiser in front of the Casino beside all the flashy motors! Looking forward to the trip, even if it will be a bit slow with the trailer... All part of a busy summer, I'll be only 10 days back from Honeymoon when I'll be packing up the truck.

 

[Bob]

Well the summer has flown by.. Myself & the new Mrs. Bob have had a fantastic honeymoon in Mexico and the USA. Unfortunately have no pics of cruisers from my travels, so here's a lizard instead...



Anyway, down to business... Off to the South of France in the morning, and onwards to Monaco - total of 12 days - short but full of fun I hope. No laning to be done I'm afraid. For those of you who may be anywhere on the M4 - M25 - M20 tomorrow afternoon, you may see this pootling along with the lorries as we make for Dover from Fishguard.. do give us a wave!

 

[Bob]

Ok, finally returned from the South of France. Not as exciting as some trips here, but for those who are interested...

2 observations to start:

1- The person in charge of maintenance on the British motorway system is as mad as a bag of toasters... Why are there roadworks on the M20 M25 M40 M42 M6 & M54 (and these are just what I saw coming back) all at the same time... Making a trip from Dover to Holyhead a nightmare.

2- The quality of diesel varies a lot... My driving was pretty constant. Tank of diesel bought in Ireland returned 21mpg. UK diesel 18mpg, French Gazole 14mpg, and French excellium diesel 17mpg.

Day 1- The drive was fairly straight forward. Left Ireland on the 9 am sailing from Rosslare. made very good time apart from one strap that decided to unravel from its cable tie and jams on the M25, so we missed our channel crossing, and had to divert to Dunkirk. Got to the Campanile in St Quentin at 3:40 a.m

Day 2- hit the Autoroute at 7:30 am and kept the rig moving along.. No substitute for power... Arrived in Frejus at 6:40 pm. That's an average 64mph

Our campsite pitch

Beautiful monastery in the old town

Wandering near the port, we came across this hard working 70 - though he abandoned towing the Suzuki as he couldn't get the dolly wheels under the side skirts!

Left Frejus after 5 glorious days and headed to get down to business in Monte Carlo.

Big traffic jam on the A6 and then the kicker - Monaco tunnel was closed. So off he headed through La Turbie and down the Moyens Corniche with the trailer. It was tight on the hairpins, and slow going, but the views were fantastic

Parked up in a decent spot for the week outside the theatre Princesses Grace... VIP parking!!

We had a great time with our show, even performing in front of Prince Albert himself.

In our spare time we went galavanting, spotting this rather clean 80 on Monaco plates

And paying a visit to the rich and famous at the Casino

After 5 great days in Monaco, we hitched up the trailer and headed for home.
Is turned into an 18 hour marathon drive from Monaco to Amiens due to crazy traffic jams caused by pure volume in the South. We also pulled in to a Hypermarche in Macon and purchased a large quantity of squashed grapes!

The following day is when I decided that I hated the M25 with every fibre of my being, as well as traffic comes... Millions of them! But we made our ferry and got home to our bed at 2am.

Already looking at the Alps and Lake Garda for next year... No bloody 2 ton trailer though!!

 

[froggy Steve]

Great trip Traffic is at it worst on The weekends, from Mid July to End Aug - with the middle weekend being the crazy one. We even get it up here! 2pm, first of Brits arrive from Caen, steady steam until 6pm, but all the while Paris traffic, nutters most of them heading South and those that are in a rush to get home after their 2 weeks heading North = carnage!
Come out of season and enjoy empty roads.....
Steve

 

[AndyCook]

Good to hear trip went well and fantastic to see the photo of the LC outside the casino in Monaco!!

mmm traffic - thats why I always plan my trips so am back in UK by mid July, but you cant always plan things this way
especially with alps, go too early and trails still blocked by snow

 

[Gav Peter]

Love that 70 tow truck!!! Glad the trip went well

 

[chadr]

Sounds like you had a great trip, even considering the traffic! Love the pics in front of the Casino.

 

[IRLGW]

Hi Bob looked like a bit of a rally for you and I hope prince Albert paid tribute to your truck!

I'm just wondering though, would it not have been less painful to go Rosslare/Cherbourg? I looked at both options for my trip but using the celticlink service was cheaper, quicker and less hassle if you take fuel into the caclulation. Admittedly, I only went as far south as mt Ventoux in north Provence so not sure if that influences the route choice much, but figured than 2 ferries was better than 4. My total ferry time was probably 40 hours from Dub to Cherbourg return so how did that compare (for curiosity) against your route from Dub-Dub say.

Also wondered about your fuel consumption I didn't really note the irish diesel but in france I did 5 fills to travel 2300 miles. The best I saw on french gazoil was 483 and the lowest was 378( but on that occasion I drove the col De l'iseran twice after having dropped the remote for my action cam at the bottom). I found the terrain more of a determining factor than the fuel quality itself but then at €1.18 a liter beggars cant be choosers!

|congratulations on marrying your truck- I think this is the first such event on the forum lol

 

[Bob]

Cheers for the feedback.

GW in relation to the route there was a couple of considerations. Mrs Bob is not good on boats and gets quite seasick. Secondly speed was a factor, if I worked out just Rosslare - Calais return it would be around 26 hours, add in 5 hours sleep before setting off again in the morning and its about the same... plus I'm on the right side of France to avoid Paris. Being on a schedule also made this a better option as I had to be back for work. Add in the land bridge deal at €670 return with trailer and its decent value too, although it is 2 more tanks of diesel.

Re fuel consumption, you're probably right, with the truck topping 2.4 ton loaded and 2 tons behind it was bound to take a hit when the speeds increased in France, plus the autoroute gets quite hilly in the south, long pulls uphill and its single digit mpg! At 260 miles or so per tank I was happy, (normally hit about 430 or so empty)

The other point to note was I didn't have to pay for the diesel!

And it's probably habit too, 6th time on the continent, and have always scooted across the UK..

 

[IRLGW]

That's handy to know Bob as I always wondered if the double ferry was much of a difference. I nearly considered it for travelling with the dogs but celtic link came in at €630 return compared to irish ferries who wanted a whopping €1200 by the time Dogs were included. In the end it was cheaper to loose the booking fee and re book with celticlink. Harbour to harbour is 17 hours which is also considerably faster then the irish ferries boat. Not sure how it would have worked out with a trailer though. However the main thing is it another successful round trip by a landcruiser