Spa

🚗 Getting there from London

From London you cross the Channel by Eurotunnel LeShuttle (Folkestone–Calais) or by ferry (Dover–Calais), then drive via Dunkirk, the Brussels ring (R0) and Liège to Spa. Rather fly? Take a flight from London to Brussels and hire a car at Brussels Airport. All figures run to the centre of Spa.

Start	Distance (one way)	Driving time	Crossing	Fuel return
London via LeShuttle (Folkestone–Calais)	± 455 km	± 5 h 38 min	35 min + check-in from 1 h before	± €118 (fill up in Belgium) to ± €123 (fill up in the UK, ≈ £103)
London via ferry (Dover–Calais)	± 466 km	± 5 h 43 min	± 1 h 30–1 h 40 + check-in from 60 min before	± €121 (fill up in Belgium) to ± €126 (fill up in the UK, ≈ £106)
Fly London–Brussels + hire car	± 136 km from Brussels Airport	± 1 h 34 min	flight LHR–BRU ± 1 h 10	± €35 (hire car, Belgian price)

Destination	Spa (centre), from London St Pancras
Recommended route	UK: A13 → A102 → A2 → M2 → A229 → M20 to the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone (or A2/M2 to Dover for the ferry); from Calais: A16 → E40 → R0 → E42 → N629, via Dunkirk, the Brussels ring (R0) and Liège
Channel crossing	LeShuttle: 35 min platform to platform, arrive at least 1 h before departure. (LeShuttle) Ferry Dover–Calais: ± 1 h 30 (P&O) to 1 h 40 (DFDS), arrive at least 60 min before. (P&O Ferries) (DFDS) Fares vary by date and time: check current fares with the operator.
Flying instead	Brussels Airlines flies London Heathrow–Brussels direct in ± 1 h 10. (brusselsairlines.com) From Brussels Airport it is ± 136 km (± 1 h 34 min) to Spa by hire car (A201 → E40 → E42 → N629). Check current schedules and fares.
Tolls & vignette	UK: if you take the Blackwall Tunnel (A102), a car pays £4.20 per crossing (£1.55 off-peak with Auto Pay), 06:00–22:00. (TfL) France: the A16 (Calais–Dunkirk–Belgian border), A25 and A27 are toll-free. (Ulys: A16) (A25) (A27) Belgium 2026: no tolls and no vignette for cars. A digital road vignette is planned from 1 May 2027; check the current rules before you travel. (wallonie.be)
Fuel return	via LeShuttle ± €118–123, via ferry ± €121–126 (fill up in Belgium or in the UK) 6.5 l/100 km petrol (assumption): via LeShuttle 910 km return = 59.1 litres, via ferry 933 km = 60.6 litres. BE €2.002/l (FOD Economie, official Belgian maximum price petrol 95 RON E10, valid from 24.10.2026); UK 174.57 p/l = €2.085/l (UK DESNZ weekly road fuel prices, unleaded (ULSP) average pump price, week commencing 19.10.2026; ECB euro reference rate 23.10.2026: €1 = £0.83728).
Low-emission zones	London: the ULEZ covers all London boroughs (£12.50 a day for non-compliant vehicles); starting in central London, also check the Congestion Charge. (TfL ULEZ) (TfL Congestion Charge) Belgium: the Brussels ring (R0) is not part of the Brussels LEZ; foreign vehicles must register before entering the zone itself. (lez.brussels) Wallonia has no general LEZ in 2026. (wallonie.be)

Route: OSRM/OpenStreetMap (fastest route), calculated on 24 October 2026 from London St Pancras, without breaks, traffic or the Channel crossing. Fuel: 6.5 l/100 km (assumption), petrol: BE €2.002/l (FOD Economie, official Belgian maximum price petrol 95 RON E10, valid from 24.10.2026) to UK 174.57 p/l = €2.085/l (UK DESNZ weekly road fuel prices, unleaded (ULSP) average pump price, week commencing 19.10.2026; ECB euro reference rate 23.10.2026: €1 = £0.83728). Channel crossing: LeShuttle 35 min (leshuttle.com), ferry Dover–Calais ± 1 h 30 to 1 h 40 (P&O Ferries, DFDS); fares not included, check current fares. More: Guide: cost of a weekend in the Ardennes 2026

What does the fuel cost exactly?

We use the fastest route and 6.5 litres per 100 km, including the UK leg to the Channel. That way you see straight away what filling up in Belgium saves. The Channel crossing itself is not included.

Road vignette from 1 May 2027

If you travel after 1 May 2027, you will probably need a digital vignette (check current rules). The rates for a car with Euro 4 or newer:

Source: wallonie.be (updated 11 September 2026); Flanders gives the rates subject to final approval.

Good to know

🚗 Combine Spa with other Ardennes towns

Staying a few days? The closest is Malmedy, about 19 minutes from centre to centre.

OSRM Table service (OpenStreetMap), centre to centre, retrieved 22 October 2026, without breaks. All destinations compared: destinations overview.

Days out

🎯 Days out and attractions around Spa: 2026 prices

Spa is about water and wellness, but also about racing. These are the 2026 prices.

🎯 Thermes de Spa (3 hours)

📍 Location: Spa🏷️ Type: thermal baths

💶 Cost: adults 3 hours € 35 weekdays · € 37 weekends · from 5.30 pm € 31 (until 31 December 2026) (source)

Thermal baths with indoor and outdoor pools, 800 m².

Find out more

Mon–Thu and Sat 9 am–9 pm, Fri 9 am–10 pm, Sun 9 am–8 pm.

Children under 15 are not admitted. Students € 30 / € 32.

👉 See official website & info

🎯 Race circuit: behind-the-scenes tour

📍 Location: Francorchamps🏷️ Type: tour

💶 Cost: adults € 16 · children under 14 € 9 (source)

Tour of the paddocks, press room, commentary boxes, podium and race control.

Find out more

On fixed dates; in 2026 including October and until mid-November.

👉 See official website & info

🎯 Lac de Warfaaz

📍 Location: Spa🏷️ Type: lake

💶 Cost: walking and picnicking free · pedalo: price not online (source)

Walking, picnicking, pedalo boating and fishing at the lake.

👉 See location on the map

VISITWallonia

🎯 Musée du Circuit (Abbaye de Stavelot)

📍 Location: Stavelot🏷️ Type: museum

💶 Cost: adults € 11 · ages 6–18 and over-65s € 9.50 · ages 0–5 free (source)

Museum about the race circuit in the abbey of Stavelot.

Find out more

Tue–Sun 10 am–6 pm, also Mondays in the school holidays; closed 25 Dec and 1 Jan.

The historical museum of the Principauté de Stavelot-Malmedy is closed for works from 2 November to 19 December 2026.

👉 See official website & info

🎯 Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand

📍 Location: Spa🏷️ Type: spring

💶 Cost: viewing the Livre d'Or is free (source)

Taste the iron-rich spring water. The 9-metre-long Livre d'Or by Antoine Fontaine hangs in the Jardin d'Hiver.

Find out more

1 Sept – 30 June Tue–Sun 9.30 am–5.30 pm (closed on Mondays, except public holidays); July–Aug daily; closed 1 Jan and 25 Dec.

👉 See official website & info

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All prices compared

Prices from the attractions' official websites, retrieved 22 October 2026. Where no price could be found, it says “see official website”.

💶 Worked example: a day in Spa for two

Two of you driving there and doing the three days out below: this is what it costs, excluding accommodation and food (those are further down and in our cost guide).

Adult prices from the official websites (retrieved 22 October 2026) and the Belgian maximum price for petrol 95.

🌧️ When it rains

• The thermal baths: 800 m² of indoor and outdoor pools, saunas and hammams.
• Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand with the Jardin d’Hiver.
• Musée du Circuit in the abbey of Stavelot.

👨‍👩‍👧 With kids

• Note: the thermal baths are not open to under-15s.
• Race circuit: children under 14 € 9.
• Silva Hôtel Spa-Balmoral: children in the wellness area 7–10 am and 6–8 pm.

🧒 Travelling with kids? Also see the days out with kids around Spa, with prices from the official websites and a filter by type of outing.

💡 Eating out, supermarket and local tips

In Spa you mainly taste the water itself.

What does eating out cost?

For Spa we did not find a current menu with prices online. So below are the averages for Belgium as a whole and the price trend from Statbel.

Eating out and accommodation in Belgium became about 5% more expensive over the past year, while food stayed the same (Statbel):

Source: Statbel, consumer price index, retrieved 21 October 2026.

🛒 Shopping

What do the basics cost? There is no official price list per shop; these are the averages for the whole of Belgium as reported by visitors to Numbeo:

Source: Numbeo, Cost of Living Belgium, updated 21 October 2026. Averages from user reports, not official statistics.

Regional products and addresses

🦌 Game and hunting

In autumn, game is on many menus, and there is hunting in the forests. The hunting season in Wallonia runs until the end of January 2027. Check ChasseOnWeb beforehand.

Energy surcharge at gîtes

If you rent a holiday home, ask whether the extra costs are included, fixed per night or charged by meter; those are the three forms Gîtes de Wallonie mentions.

📅 Closing days and events

• Thermes de Spa: until 8 pm on Sundays, until 10 pm on Fridays.
• Musée du Circuit: closed on Mondays (except in the school holidays).

Fancy thermal baths further afield? At Oost-Europa Reizen we compare thermal baths and spa hotels in Hungary, Slovenia and Czechia, among others. See the Oost-Europa Reizen wellness page (in Dutch).