Driving from Roscoff to Spain (Irun/Ainsa) realistic drive times?

Looking at taking Ferry from Plymouth (as live in Devon) to Roscoff in September and driving down to the French/Spanish border to ride the Basque Coast for a week then head to Ainsa for a few days and back. Possibly come back on the Bilbao or Santander ferry. Would need to take the Roscoff Ferry due to timing of the boats from Plymouth and Portsmouth to Spain don’t work for us. Anyone done the Roscoff to Spain journey and give me an idea of realistic drive times? Google recons 8 ish hours.

Lived in Brittany and have driven that route many times! 8 hours without stops is about right, the only significant traffic is round Bordeaux but the two lane section South of Bordeaux can be a bit slow if there’s a lot of lorry traffic – there are long stretches where trucks aren’t allowed in Lane 2 at certain times

Mmhhhhh.
Maybe plan for more.
First day maybe to the french side of the Pyrenees (Pau ?).
Next day cross (port de Bielsa) the Pyrenees and to Ainsa.
From Pau to Ainsa it’s not far – but really better to cross the Pyrenees in daytime!

i drove st malo to bayonne last summer. over night in saints.
lovely drive.

Brest to Biarritz with van and trailer driving all night took 12 hours. Avoiding toll roads because the trailer owner had just found out it was stolen and couldn’t risk a police check. The things I did to make ends meet when I was starting basqueMTB. Assuming you don’t have to avoid the toll roads I think that 10 hours should be ok. I’ve not done it for years but guests do it all the time in a oner. On the French motorways you can make good time in a car, depends how relaxed a trip you want.

Irun to Ainsa if you don’t know the roads is 3.5 hours without breaking a speed limit.

Aínsa back up I honestly haven’t done but you would cross at Bielsa then Pau, Bordeaux etc and it should be a similar time so ten hours ish.

Thanks for really helpful responses. Now just need to book!

Have done Cherbourg to down there a few times, it’s a very long way and now prefer to overnight stop half way down in a nice hotel, much more enjoyable way of doing it. Yes around Bordeaux can get snarled up other than that it’s normally great driving through France on smooth roads and being able to use cruise control unlike back in Blighty.

Worst bit is probably the ferry. Can be pretty rough and takes 8 hours or so. Remember it from my youth. Not a fan of ferries after that.

there a few times, it’s a very long way and now prefer to overnight stop half way down in a nice hotel, much more enjoyable way of doing it.

Yes.
Turns the trip into fun.
Crossing the Pyrenees at Port de Bielsa at daytime / in the morning has the advantage that you “see” the beautiful landscape around. A blast on the french side, fantastic on the Spanish side. From the Port de Bielsa to Ainsa is very quick. First small trip with the mtb in the afternoon…
Fun town to visit: Jaca. From Ainsa to Jaca by car is quick.

Strangely enough, I’m doing exactly that in September – a week with Doug on the Basque coast, then a few of us are planning on spending some time in Ainsa. Maybe also a little riding on the French side as well.

We drive Calais to Irun every year. Unlike in the UK, if you’re on the toll roads, on Cruise control at the legal limit, you nearly always make or beat google’s estimates. The only time you lose a bit is if you hit a big town at rush hour (the toll roads don’t by-pass everywhere – Paris and Toulouse being the most problematic).

Our regular routine is to take a 10/11am Eurotunnel, then spend about 8 hours on the road on the french side, overnight at a cheap Formula1 hotel or similar, then a relaxed 3 or 4 hours the next day to get to Irun for lunch. We pull off the toll roads and find a supermarket to fill up with fuel and buy a picnic (easy with a Satnav to find one that’s not far out of your way), then stop and eat at the road side rest stops. (takes a bit more time but, like the UK, you pay a big premium for fuel on the autoroutes).

Strangely enough simons_nicolai-uk we’ll be spending the week with you, lol!

D’oh. Mind was on many other things yesterday