[Closed] Driving to Spain

If you go for short crossing, long drive… you’ll probably need two different international driving licenses… France & Spain are signed up to different ones… they haven’t bothered changing it so they use the same one, because most foreign drivers already have a driver’s licence valid across the EU.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/driving-abroad/international-driving-permits-and-brexit/

Tolls can add up quite quickly. Plan the route around them. There's usually a major road that shadows the motorways anyway

If going through France with the possibility of going in to any towns, check to see if you need a Crit'Air Fichette. These have numbers which determine whether or not you're allowed into towns depending on pollution levels. My van has 3 and I'm not allowed into towns when the pollution index for that day is 4 or 5.
French tolls are expensive but the roads are in good condition and the standard of driving on them was high. Generally, a fairly relaxing cruise control on experience. Plenty of shop-free rest stops as well, maybe helpful if you have kids with you
I drive to Malta a couple of times a year and now go via Harwich - Hook of Holland (from Scotland so happy to avoid M25) because the Dutch, Belgian, Luxemburg and German motorways are all toll-free and Switzerland have a one-off annual 40 Euro payment. Probably not relevant to you though.
You can check how much your route will cost using
Via Michelin
or
Mappy

EDIT - international drivers permits are about £5 each and you get them from the post office. I don't have mine with me but one is valid for a year, the other (I think) for 5. Passport photos and your UK licence needed.

EDIT again - first time, I used the channel tunnel. very quick and you get dropped off away from the town which is great as ferry terminals are in busy harbour areas so you're stuck with driving around a strange town on the wrong side of the road. Wanting an early start meant B&B in Folkestone which adds to the cost and, frankly B&Bs in ferry towns are almost exclusively overpriced shyte IME. I now use Stena line overnight from Harwich and have to say the cabins, although tiny are very comfortable. A morning start after a decent night's kip means ready to face negotiating a strange town on the wrong side of the road.

Done Portsmouth Bilbao and then east to west across Spain on the bike and Portsmouth -Le Havre and then a long drive to Malaga with an overnight in Burgos.
If you're not in a hurry and the U.K. side isn't a problem I'd get the ferry to Bilbao and treat it as part of the holiday rather than a very long ferry trip

Call in if you're passing along the coast road through Cataluña we're 2 hours south of Barcelona in a great biking spot.
Our Finca b&b

We do Northern Spain at least one a year.

Don't bother with none autoroute - routes, the back roads take forever and France is far bigger than you think it will be.

Get the autoroute toll tags for France and Spain - an absolute no brainer.

If you are going via the east coast route - join the locals come off the autoroute and stock up on cheap booze/fags/ all you can eat and drink buffets in La Jonquera.

Hotel F1 is your friend. I did late crossing, stay in calais, day1 drive to Toulouse, then into Pyrenees the scenic way day2. Tolls are well worth it, the distances are huge and a small decrease in traffic and increase in speed can make a big difference (it was a bit weird hearing Google say "stay on this road for 485km")

Route via vierzon, limoges, mauntaban and Toulouse is cheaper on tolls than millau bridge route.

We did it this year,a great journey if you have the time. We went Leeds-Dover/Calais ferry-Beauvais( to see friends) then Limoges-Pau then over the Pyrenees into Spain. French tolls are expensive, but worth it, and get a TAG, and fill up to the brim when leaving Spain, as fuel in France is getting very expensive.

I have driven to Morzine a few times but not for awhile, was thinking of a ferry to Santander or Bilbo, we are not in any hurry and want to see as much of Spain as we can

Big sis lives in Spain near Malaga. Occasionally drive and use Portsmouth Santander.

I drive over to Spain every year to spend 6 months there over winter.
Never driven through France as i don't fancy the length of the drive and by the time you look at tolls and fuel then Portsmouth - Bilbao/Santander there's not much in it.
On the routes, Brittany Ferries,there is an economie ferry available which might save a few quid.Not as many shops or eating places as the bigger ferry but not a problem for me.
Looking on the Govt website with regard to IDP's then even with a no deal Spain does not require one unless you are staying over 6 months. Obviously travelling through France it might be best to get one.
I wouldn't use the hotels at the sides of the motorways for an overnight.Much better to get off the Autovia and find a place in a small village or town.Plenty on Booking.com.
A really overlooked place for mtb'ing is the Sierra Espuna in the Murcia Region. The small Spanish village of El Berro has a cracking campsite, bars,2 bakers and a shop.Epic TV has a short film on it.I'm a bit biased as i have a house there and will be setting off on Tuesday until mid March.

I wouldn’t use the hotels at the sides of the motorways for an overnight.Much better to get off the Autovia and find a place in a small village or town.Plenty on Booking.com.

Air BnB is massive now in Spain, also worth looking into to save a bit of money.

Lots of great advice, we don't work anymore so can take as long as we like,don't really want to drive through France so will probably do Santander or Bilbo

Oh and I can take the Ebike

We've also done the Santander route in a LWB van, as above the costs are very similar to driving through France, the constant rumbling from the ship engines doesn't equal a nice relaxing overnight sleep however but it does cut out the mind numbing boredom of northern France.

We can do door (Rossendale valley) to Spanish border in 21 hours in our Volvo via the tunnel and the Millau route.

Do avoid the Millau route north if heavy/laden - it is an absolute slog of a climb up to the bridge from the valley floor.

I live in San Pedro de Alcántara near Marbella and have pretty much tried each option with and without kids. With kids the ferry to/from Santander or Bilbao is IMHO the easiest option. Tolls from the north to the south through Spain are not expensive, perhaps €50 in total dependant on peak season or not. Avoid driving through Madrid as the roads are wide, multi-laned and quick moving. Other than that the traffic is sparse, the roads are good and the scenery is pretty, albeit take some good tunes as after a while driving through La Mancha you can easily zone out. Regarding France I’ve driven solo from St Malo through to Burgos (North of Madrid) in one stint down the West coast. Roads were great and again not that many tolls. I think, but happy to be corrected that the more costly tolls are towards the centre of France. I’ve also done this return leg with kids and that took three days and two hotel stops. Another thing to consider is that a coffee in France is about €2.50 compared to €1 in Spain, but their wine is better 😉

their wine is better

That's debateable...

Madrid's fine to drive around, just avoid it at rush hour (7-9 / 17-19). And get hold of a Spanish calendar (search for "Calendario Laboral"), you really don't want to get caught up in the traffic heading out of Madrid when there's a public holiday meaning a long weekend. (In fact, avoid any major cities on Friday or Sunday afternoons...)