Cost Of Driving To Spain

I recently drove our Toyota Prius Hybrid down through France and Spain, from the UK, to Almerimar.

I thought this would be a good chance not only to test the economy of the Toyota Prius Hybrid, but also record the cost of the trip, and see how that stacked up against the typical cost of taking a flight.

The trip was a total of 2147.2 km from the Eurotunnel Terminal in Calais (N50 56.162 E1 48.875) to our apartment in Almerimar.

So how did I do, and how much did it cost?

The Crossing

I opted for the Eurotunnel crossing as I much prefer the flexibility, speed and ease of use to a Ferry. Plus I get really bored on the Ferry!

I have used the Eurotunnel since the day it started up (Le Shuttle) as I actually did some work for a number of Tour Operators, Road Chef and the French Government Tourist Office. Suffice to say that at the time I was a very frequent user of the service. What is funny is that what was originally intended as a turn up and go service quickly became a book in advance business, but there are still some great deals to be had.

Unfortunately not for me in this case!

My parents had driven down the week before and paid around 35€ for a one way ticket, and I was driving back with them to pick up the Toyota Prius Hybrid. When we arrived at the Calais Terminal on the Sunday morning they wanted 280€ for a one way ticket, or 200€ for a return, so that was my decision made! I booked the 6.50am on the Thursday morning, knowing that I could travel two hours before or after my scheduled departure time.

In the end I caught the 6.20am and boarded easily and efficiently as always. Half hour to sit and get my stuff sorted out and then disembarked and hit the road!

The Route

I am not a huge fan of driving through France, but admit it is efficient and easy. I wanted to avoid Paris, get to a hotel in Spain that evening, and if possible not rely on Peage (Toll Roads) that much.

Well the last wish came true! Having chosen a route through Bordeaux I must have hit the shortest rather than quickest option on the GPS as after a couple of hours I was driving through small French villages, open fields and some very interesting small towns. All very pleasant (and cheap) indeed, but not good regards time so early afternoon I hit the Peage again!

I stopped over night just past San Sabastian then drove down through Burgos, Madrid, Granda, and Motril to Almerimar. The roads were great, especially the new road between Granada and Motril which I hadn’t driven before.

You can download the route that I recorded on the Garmin Zumo 550 on the Downloads Page or as I am nice like that here

The Hotels

I stayed at the Premier Inn Folkstone (N51 05.651 E1 09.393) which was £56 and very convenient for the Eurotunnel at Folkstone (N51 05.588 E1 07.157). It is hard to fault the Premier Inn’s really – reasonable rates, close to a pub for food and drinks, good locations. My only gripe would be the lack of free WiFi and the stupid in-house TV system they use. Get Sky you guys!!!!

In Spain I found the amazing Azkue Hotel (N43 16.868 W2 12.596) in Getaria that was 38€ and a really well maintained, small privately owned hotel. Good bed, nice rooms, FREE WiFi, excellent bar and what looked like a good and popular restaurant. Very friendly staff as well.

The Food

To be honest if you don’t buy and pack your snacks etc in advance you are just lazy, and a little mad, as although the choices are great in the service stations they are expensive!

Maybe you don’t want to go as far as I did though as I decided to pack all the food and drink I was going to consume on the trip so I didn’t have to stop, buy or consume anything. That way I was going to save time, know that I had foods that would keep me going, and could eat on the go rather than stop for meals.

My food and drink for the trip comprised:

• 4 Red Bull – £3.72
• 4 Litres of Water – £1.96
• Bean Salad – £1.99
• Cous Cous Salad – £1.69
• Jaffa Cakes – £0.98
• 5 Bananas – £1.29
• Slices of Turkey – £1.69
• Slices of Corned Beef – £1.89
• Pork Pie – £1.92
• Wine Gums – £1.28
• 4 Granary Rolls – £0.65

All packed up and split into the two days in advance, and I pinched a couple of Pears from my Mum’s fruit bowl!

The Schedule

• Caught the 6.20am Eurotunnel on the Thursday
• Arrived at hotel in Spain at 8pm on the Thursday
• Left the hotel in Spain at 5.30am on the Friday
• Arrived at the apartment in Almerimar at 3.30pm on the Friday

I kept a steady, pretty fast speed up. Never excessively fast, and took frequent short breaks to stretch, eat, drink etc.

Petrol & Tolls

The Toyota Prius Hybrid was amazing as far as fuel consumption went! It was also very comfortable and a pleasure to drive. Slightly underpowered on the steep hills, but more than quick enough in my view.

As far as petrol went I started with a full tank of fuel and ended with a full tank of fuel. Total fuel bill was 160.38€

I spent a total of 64.53€ on 11 Toll Roads, with the most expensive 20.90€ and the cheapest 1.50€

The Music

Stuck 6 all time favourite CD’s in the CD player and just let them repeat. Never got bored of the songs, but may give it a week or two before listening to them again. That said they are still in the car, and as the Jeep has had the same CD’s in for 6 years now I guess I will hear them again pretty soon!

• The Killers – Day & Age
• Coldplay – Viva la Vida
• The Postal Service – Give Up
• Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run
• U2 – No Line On The Horizon
• Yellowcard – Lights & Sounds

The Cost

So the total cost for the trip worked out at:

• Food & Drink £19.06
• Crossing 100€
• Hotels 100€
• Tolls 64.53€
• Petrol 160.38€

A TOTAL of 443.97€ which I thought was pretty reasonable.

Now compared to a flight it is expensive, especially as it should really be 553.97€ as return on the Eurotunnel should be calculated in. That is certainly a lot compared to a typical flight from Almeria (say 250€), but a flight requires transport costs at each end, possibly Airport Parking or a Airport Hotel, so lets say an average of 350€ per person.

Now if I took a second person with me on my trip I would have had to pay for a second lot of food, in my case 20€, and double up on the hotels and petrol etc for the return trip, a return total of 940€ for two people, against 700€ for two people flying.

Flying still wins but with fewer and fewer flights in Almeria at the moment, and the airlines wanting to charge for more and more services the difference is going to get smaller, and driving has a number of advantages, not least the ability to bring back as much food etc from the UK as you want!

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