A summary of our experience traveling all-electric from the Netherlands to the South of Spain with a fully loaded none-aerodynamic car. How often did we have a queue to charge or a charging station that did not work? How often did we have to charge and for how long? What was it like driving all-electric? We will share all our experiences in this article.
Preparations for the trip
To tell the truth, we did not prepare much for our trip through Europe. We like to plan as we go. What we did do? We knew the actual range of our expedition car (Skoda Enyaq iv80) thanks to our pre-expedition through the Netherlands. As we have new all-terrain tires, a rooftop tent and -box this had an effect on the original 500km range. In addition, we installed several apps to find charging stations. As there is not one app that knows-it-all, we often check multiple apps during our travel. This is always the passengers job. Our favorite apps are ChargeMap, EasyChargingQuality, and Tesla (as many of their charging stations are open for all electric cars). Last but not least, we choose a good charging card. For this, we choose the Greenchoice card as their card works all through Europe.
Choosing a charging station while traveling
As said before, we did not prepare a route including charging stations. We decided on the go, where to charge depending on our personal needs (event, food, toilet, leg stretch), and the range of our car (which changes depending on wind direction, -speed, and rain). The navigation system of the Skoda Enyaq gave suggestions where we could charge and for how long to make your final destination. Those suggestions were better than expected, so sometimes we chose to follow these suggestions. However we always checked at least one other app to see if this was truly the best option. This second opinion often made our trip more comfortable and efficient.
We were happy with our Greenchoice charging card, as it worked at all charging stations where a charging card was accepted. There were only two locations in Spain where an app needed to be installed by the charging provider itself. Unfortunately, this app was in Spanish. Which was a bit of a challenge but not impossible. In addition, we charged twice at a Tesla Supercharger. They are not included in the Greenchoice network.
How often did we have a queue to charge, a charging station that did not work, or just range anxiety?
We never had a queue, often we were the only ones there. Of course, this might also be because it is no holiday season at the beginning of November. But still, there were no business cars either. At some charging stations we met curious people, asking questions about our expedition. And when there was no one, we used the charging time to do some work in and around the expedition car.
Only once we arrived at a charging station that did not work. This is why we always had a backup charging station in mind, knowing we could make the next one if needed. Therefore this was no reason for stress in our case.
Checking the figures
Total energy used: 587,18 kWh
Total km’s: 2669 km
How often did we charge: 15 times
Total costs: € 329,57
Our conclusion
Overall we were surprised by the availability of charging stations in France and Spain. As you often hear stories there is none if you need them, we never experienced this. In France, the availability was just perfect. In Spain, it was a bit more difficult but still more than OK.
Besides, we just love driving in an electric car compared to a fuel car. It is much more quiet inside and driving requires less energy. On the highway we always use lane assist in combination with cruise control. Therefore, you don’t have to check the figures on your dashboard all the time. You can focus only on the behaviour of other drivers to anticipate, on the route you want to drive, and of course enjoy the view.
Are you thinking of going on holiday all electric and do you want to know more? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We happily answer your question!
Here you can see some of the charging stations we visited:
