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Plan B · Passat eHybrid · route and stations checked 31 Oct 2026

Helmond → Arneiro

If staying in Helmond stops being safe, this is the drive to the family home near Alenquer. It goes around Paris and Brussels, stops only at staffed service areas that are open 24 hours, and needs two fuel stops if you carry two 20 L jerrycans.

by road
2,279 km
at the wheel, free-flowing
≈ 24½ h
at the pump
2 stops
in Spain, at Pancorbo
1 night
NL · BE · FR · ES · PT
4 borders

The route

Antwerp, Lille, Amiens, Rouen, Le Mans, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Irun, Burgos, Salamanca, Vilar Formoso, Abrantes. Tap a numbered stop for details.

  • Route
  • Fuel
  • Pour a can
  • Swap drivers
  • Night
  • 20 km around a nuclear plant
  • Via Paris

Fuel plan

Every stop at a pump can mean a queue, and in a shortage a station can be dry. Two jerrycans, poured in while you swap drivers, halve the number of pump stops.

Tank, 45 L Jerrycans Last 100 km of fuel

The plan assumes 7.3 L per 100 km, which ADAC measured for this Passat on the motorway with an empty battery, plus the first 80 km on a full battery. At 110 km/h you use less, so these numbers are on the safe side. At night stops with a charger, a full battery adds about 80 km more.

Stop by stop

Times assume free-flowing traffic and short stops. In an evacuation the roads will be slower, so leave as early as you can.

Day 1 in Google Maps ↗ Day 2 in Google Maps ↗

    Stopping safely

    1. Stop only at staffed service areas with fuel and a shop, like the ones in this plan, never at rest areas with only toilets.The Gendarmerie counted 2,645 thefts from cars at French motorway rest areas in 2023, up from 1,278 in 2021. The UK government tells drivers in Spain to stop only in lit public places such as service stations.
    2. One of you always stays with the car, doors locked, also while fuelling.
    3. In Spain, don't stop for people waving at you about a flat tyre or a fault. Drive on to the next service area and check the tyres there.Gangs target foreign plates this way, according to UK travel advice and the Guardia Civil.
    4. Keep clear of big cities, ports, airports and army bases, and don't stop within 20 km of a nuclear plant. The route passes Doel at 14 km and Blayais at 11 km.
    5. Fill up whenever a station has fuel and no long queue, even before the plan says so. Try to keep the tank above half.In the October 2022 shortage, about 30% of French stations ran out of at least one fuel, and some prefects capped private cars at 30 L.
    6. Pay inside, by card or with cash. French 24-hour automatic pumps often refuse foreign cards or put a hold of €100–150 on them.
    7. Swap drivers every 2 to 2½ hours. If you're both tired, sleep at a staffed service area. Tiredness is more dangerous than lost time.
    8. Listen to 107.7 FM in France for closures and jams on every motorway, and message the family at each stop.

    If the way is blocked

    Roads calm? Go via Paris

    Lille, A1, Paris and A10 is 111 km and about 1½ hours shorter. Take it only when traffic is normal: an exodus from Paris jams these roads first. Shown dashed on the map.

    A10 jammed

    Between Poitiers and Bordeaux, switch to the N10 through Angoulême. It's free, mostly dual carriageway, and meets the A10 again north of Bordeaux.

    Irun closed or jammed

    Cross at Dancharia (Ainhoa to Urdax, towards Pamplona) or through the Somport tunnel (Pau to Jaca), then rejoin at Burgos.

    Vilar Formoso closed

    Use Caia, from Badajoz to Elvas, or Valença–Tui in the north. Both were among the nine crossings Portugal kept open in March 2020.

    Borders checked again

    In March 2020 Spain let in only its citizens, residents and people with a documented emergency, and Portugal its citizens and residents. Carry every passport and ID card you have, including any Portuguese one, and proof of the family address in Portugal.

    Jerrycans and the rules

    Two 20 L cans are allowed by the safety rules everywhere on this route. Tax rules are stricter, and Portugal is where fines are known, so the cans are empty before that border.

    At homeKeep at most 25 L of petrol at home in the Netherlands. So keep one can full and fill the second on the way out.
    In the carPrivate use: up to 60 L per can and 240 L per car, in UN-approved cans (ADR exemption, confirmed by the Dutch ILT). Keep them upright and strapped in the boot.
    Tax allowanceADAC lists 10 L in cans as the tax-free amount in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal. Above that you risk a fine at a check.
    FranceIn a shortage, prefects can ban filling cans and cap fills at 30 L per car, as several did in October 2022.
    SpainStations may fill approved cans, up to 60 L of petrol per sale, straight from the pump nozzle (Royal Decree 706/2017).
    PortugalMore than 10 L in cans bought outside Portugal can be fined €750–2,250 under fuel-tax rules. Pour them in at Fuentes de Oñoro.
    Shelf lifePetrol keeps about 6 months in a sealed can at 20 °C and about 3 months at 30 °C (RAC). Write the fill date on the can and use it in the car within 3–6 months.

    Before you need it