16/17 seater minibus self drive to pick up from london for french vacation
 

15 days in june 2011

Somewhat cryptic question? But given that the steering wheel is on the right in England and on the left in France, does it make sense to pick up a van in England? In another post, someone mentioned that vans with the type of seating you are suggesting (16?) would require a special driver's license.

That's more than a minibus.
You will need a public service vehicle licence to hire a bus that can carry that many people.
Most companies would be very reluctant to hire one to you without their driver I suspect.
Even if you did hire it to drive yourself you would still have to obey the driving times rules, and probably have extra passenger insurance.

Not going to happen.

Better to charter a bus for the French arrival point, if you have the proper license. At least the steering wheel will be on the correct side.

In UK, those who held full car licence prior to 1997 can drive a minibus up to 17 passengers (D1 entitlement) but only in UK (not in Europe) and only if all passengers are carried free (not hire and reward). So provided you got your overseas licence before 1.1.97, you can drive a large minibus in UK but can't take it to France without passing extra test and more stringent medical requirement. Many hire companies in UK won't let you drive a large minibus without extra test pass or D/D1 entitlement. In addition you are bound by tacograph rules and driving hours directive.