Road Trip - Charging in France & Spain

[JP1611]

I’ve booked a holiday in Spain and rather than fly I will be driving a M3 SR+.

I’ve used ‘A better route planner’ to plan my journey and all charging will be at Tesla Super Chargers. As a safety net, which other EV charging Apps would you recommend registering for use in France and Spain?

 

[Sparkeur]

I'll have a go if you could provide your route and destination/s?

Basically, in my view, Tesla charging will supply you quite happily to your destination. Once there, as at home, charging at your hotel/apartment/villa is best if possible. If not, unless you're lucky there won't be a Tesla supercharger nearby so you will probably have to travel into the nearest town which may be some distance. Plugsurfing is one app that will show you the towns and plugs required.

 

[Mr H]

At the very least get a Plugsurfing RFID for the time when you need a 3rd party charger

 

[M3noob]

Done and done. Left Beds with 99pc and stopped across Le Manche at the Supercharger at Aire de la Baie de Somme and spent €9.00. Next up was Rouen which saw €7.44 disapper into the battery. Then LeMans (note: always route to the Supercharger not the city, ahem) where we spent the princely sum of €12.72.

At the Supercharger co-located with the splendid Relais St Jacques in Chateauroux we put €9.60 in while having dinner and then €3.00 after breakie and headed for Brive-la-Gailarde Supercharger for a €12.24 hit. Headed then for Toulouse (Castelnau-d'Estretfonds) and spent €11.28.

We went for the freebie Destination Charger at Villa Dufot where we spent two luxurious night and ate fine food. Management kicked a ICEhole Merc out of our charger spot one evening We killed a couple of more nights at the excellent Hotel des Elmes in Banyuls with a Destination Charger awaiting the Spanish border to open. Ate very well, slept with the sound of the sea outside the room.

Back to the cruel world of electricity-for-pay at the Girona Supercharger at the Hotel Ibis. Good coffee and service while putting €7.83 in the tank.

We tried to keep at 70mph/115kph but a bit slower in dreadful rain, city traffic, unplanned detours to LeMans city centre and a few bits of roadworks. Delighted that the MPP Lift Kit didn't seem to impact efficiency in any detectable way (the ABRP prognostications were just about spot on) even though we were laden with a Road Hero spare and a combi boiler (don't ask!)

With the exception of the Novotel in Rouen, all of the associated hotels had loos and food.

Pictures in a bit...

 

[mick4545]

How do you pay for electric in Europe? Do they bill your UK CC in euros and then you have to pay UK bank currency conversion charges? Can you add a pre-paid euro card to your account and have Tesla take the money from there?

 

[M3noob]

How do you pay for electric in Europe? Do they bill your UK CC in euros and then you have to pay UK bank currency conversion charges? Can you add a pre-paid euro card to your account and have Tesla take the money from there?

Supercharger charges come out of the card on your Tesla account. EZPZ - that's one reason I went with SCs most of the way. I've done one charge at a Repsol in Spain that payment went via an account on Movilidad Electrica where I registered a credit card.

I have a wallet of RFI cards and a phone full of apps...just in case I get caught short

Careful inspection of the photo will reveal the spoor of the EU - what the Romans have done for us!

 

[M3noob]

Notes on the trip... We have a LR M3. Navigate on AP was a real help. Confidence is growing but I still chicken out on sharp turns at speed

There wasn't any contention for SC resources. Never had to wait. In fact, most were empty or had just one other charging car.

At the Girona Ibis they were very Tesla affirming...

The Rouen Novotel SC site was a ghost town. Shut up tight. Here's a picture of the unisex toilet facilities...

 

[Sparkeur]

You will pay whatever exchange rates are current to the credit card applied to your account in account settings. If you are in the UK with a UK card, obviously, there are no exchange rates. If you are in France (or anywhere else outside the UK) you will pay exchange rates on a UK card. I use a Euro card most of the time as I live in France most of the year. When I go to the UK, I change my card to my UK debit card. and therefore pay no exchange rates. If you have a euro card, you can do the opposite. In certain territories, Tesla accepts prepaid cards but I do not know for sure if this applies to Europe.

 

[Mr Miserable]

Careful inspection of the photo will reveal the spoor of the EU - what the Romans have done for us!

I don't see any aquaducts....

 

[M3noob]

I don't see any aquaducts....

Well, in Perpignon we saw a lovely aquaduct near Villa Duflot with 21 arches. 14th C so a bit post Roman. Part of the canal that allowed Perpignan to get water from the River Tet. The kings of Mallorca were involved.

Glad you asked?

 

[markharro]

At the very least get a Plugsurfing RFID for the time when you need a 3rd party charger

I see this costs 10 euros - do you know if that is for a year or for life? Do this card offer the most comprehensive cover in Europe? How do you know when you are planning your trip whether a particular charger will work with the card/app? Is it just a case of using the Plugsurfing app and any chargers that show up on it are useable with their card/app?

 

[Mr Miserable]

Well, in Perpignon we saw a lovely aquaduct near Villa Duflot with 21 arches. 14th C so a bit post Roman. Part of the canal that allowed Perpignan to get water from the River Tet. The kings of Mallorca were involved.

Glad you asked?

I do like aquaducts.
The picture below is of the Roquefavour aquaduct which holds the distinction of being the largest stone aquaduct in the world. It's an astonishing 83 metres high and a simply wonderful feat of engineering.

Of course, you can't mention aquaducts in France without including Pont du Gard.

 

[Mr H]

I see this costs 10 euros - do you know if that is for a year or for life? Do this card offer the most comprehensive cover in Europe? How do you know when you are planning your trip whether a particular charger will work with the card/app? Is it just a case of using the Plugsurfing app and any chargers that show up on it are useable with their card/app?

The 10 euros is a one off charge, just one free charge and that's paid for. Yes just use the plugsurfing app to find nearby chargepoints or chargers at your destination if you can't get to a supercharger etc

You will pay a little more than if you had the dedicated charge provider card but it's better than being stranded

 

[JP1611]

At the very least get a Plugsurfing RFID for the time when you need a 3rd party charger

Thanks, I had not heard of Plugsurfing, although the rates are seems high.

 

[Mr Miserable]

I have a Chargemap card and also a Kiwhi card for France - just in case.
Never had cause to use them. Tesla Superchargers are pretty well distributed

I would highly recommend a toll tag though. Delays at the numerous toll booths on the autoroutes soon eat into any schedule you had planned. DM me for a €5 saving on fees and enjoy not having to stop at the tolls!

 

[interbear]

I have a Chargemap card and also a Kiwhi card for France - just in case.
Never had cause to use them. Tesla Superchargers are pretty well distributed

I would highly recommend a toll tag though. Delays at the numerous toll booths on the autoroutes soon eat into any schedule you had planned. DM me for a €5 saving on fees and enjoy not having to stop at the tolls!

I second the benefit of having a toll tag for France. Well worth it, it’s great to get through the tolls without hunting for cash and cards and, even better, using the lanes where you don’t even need to stop. As regular road trip visitors to France for family visits and holidays, we’ve found the tag an essential purchase.

 

[Mr H]

Thanks, I had not heard of Plugsurfing, although the rates are seems high.

If you're desperate the price doesn't matter

 

[M3noob]

I second the benefit of having a toll tag for France. Well worth it, it’s great to get through the tolls without hunting for cash and cards and, even better, using the lanes where you don’t even need to stop. As regular road trip visitors to France for family visits and holidays, we’ve found the tag an essential purchase.

Another important benefit is not hearing your road wheel grinding on the toll booth curb to get your short-armed debit card wielder within reach!

 

[mick4545]

I have TAGs for France and Spain, the M3 does not have a hatched area to position them in, I take it the whole windscreen lets the signal through? The manual says to position them near the mirror but I'd like to put them somewhere more out of the way. The roof maybe.

 

[mick4545]

You will pay whatever exchange rates are current to the credit card applied to your account in account settings. If you are in the UK with a UK card, obviously, there are no exchange rates. If you are in France (or anywhere else outside the UK) you will pay exchange rates on a UK card. I use a Euro card most of the time as I live in France most of the year. When I go to the UK, I change my card to my UK debit card. and therefore pay no exchange rates. If you have a euro card, you can do the opposite. In certain territories, Tesla accepts prepaid cards but I do not know for sure if this applies to Europe.

I have a Centtrip card (Mastercard) that I preload with euros and £s I wonder if that would work. I really resent paying bank exchange charges. I will try replacing my Visa credit card with it.

I have not paid for any supercharging yet as I still have over 6000 miles to use up before the end of this month! I was expecting them to run out on 15 Aug, 12 months after delivery of the car, but that's another story.