Tips for driving to France?

I drive to the Vendee from Berkcestershestershire every summer. Via Folkestone and the tunnel. It is less than a quarter of the cost of the scandalously expensive ferries to Normandy, even when you factor in fuel and motorway tolls and a hotel stay to break up the drive (8 hours from Calais to St Jean de Monts). Last couple of years I've overnighted in the Honfleur/Dives-sur-Mer area, which is lovely. Check out Le Bougnat restaurant in Dives. Haw hee haw.

However, if ferry it must be then I like the Portsmouth - St Malo route. There's a fast boat on it and St Malo is one of the loveliest places in Europe in my humble opinion. Couple of hours to Loire/Vendee from there.

Stick to the speed limits. The French rozzers are now using civilian with radar guns in ordinary cars so I hear.

Don't drive up incredibly steep hills in a fully laden 12 year old SAAB 9-5 2.2 TiD auto, the gearbox is likely to go argh and distribute itself over a wide area.

For a week, perhaps investigate cheap flights to Nantes plus car hire.

Quite. Last did that in 2012 when we reckoned we'd do Calais-Royan in a day. We did, but it took ten hours and took the shine off the start of the trip, arriving in near-darkness and a thunderstorm. Plus, of course, the dreary slog down to Folkestone. The Tunnel itself works brilliantly, and if I lived nearby I'd be popping over all the time, but it's just in the wrong place to make an easy portal to the holiday parts of France or the habitable parts of England.

Did the condor crossing once, never, ever, again. Boat stank of puke both ways on calm seas in July.

Did Rotterdam to t'ull last night. Didn't get out of Rotterdam until midnight arrived in t'ull 11:30, got out of the port 12:10 about 4 hours behind schedule. It was like sleeping on a rollercoaster. There were a few pastie faces this morning.