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First post, so go easy on me...

I'm looking to embark on my first trip to France on 20th August. I'm travelling with wife and 2 kids (6 & 2). We're looking to get the ferry to Calais and travel to somewhere on the west coast. We were looking at Britanny, but taking into consideration the drive from Calais, we're now thinking it maybe worth our while to travel further south with the hope of some guaranteed weather - towards La Rochelle

Can anyone help me weigh up the pros and cons of such a decision and maybe suggest some good campsites for a tourer.

A lot depends on many days holiday you have. With children the age of yours I wouldn't recommend travelling all the way from Calais to La Rochelle in one day - it would be hell! If you have enough time to break the journey with one night each way then it would be more manageable for a first trip. Be aware though that there is no such thing as guaranteed weather! Personally I love the Vannes area of Brittany although we are trying the Vendee this year for a change, but I shall be prepared for all kinds of weather just in case.

Susie

8 hours travelling/driving will take you to the Vendee so allow more for the journey further south.  Depends on how far you are willing to drive without a break for the children.  As you have a caravan, it would be quite interesting for you to stop overnight en route.  Some of the villages are delightful and the shops and restaurants an education.  Most of the towns will have a municipal site and these are often much nicer than the name would imply!  We stop in one en route for St Gilles in the Vendee, just outside the Avranches area - a place called Villedieu Les Poeles (it's called Les Chevalliers).  You will note from this we prefer the northern route to the one across country, this takes about 30 mins longer but in terms of tolls is about 60euros cheaper and we don't have to tackle Rouen!

The West Coast catches similar weather to that which lands on Cornwall and the west country, so you can make the assumption that this can be variable......

1st year in the Vendee was unbearably hot, the following years have been cooler and wetter - I thought things woud be getting hotter due to greenhouse effect - it would appear not!

Is the French season so much later than ours then? I'll be travelling over from the 16th to the 30th August so will it be necessary to book anywhere in advance or do you think it would be ok to turn up and ask the question each night?

Thanks

Phil

We to are going that fortnight to France. We have travelled to France many times sometimes 2-3 times a year. We have been to La rochelle and all down the west coast. We to have children now aged 8-10. We have driven down south of bordeaux in our motorhome a couple of times.  The weather problem I think you should encounter nearer the time. For example we have just come back from a week just outside of Paris whwere the weather was awful (nice site though). What we would do and will do is book a ferry at a very sharp rate for when we want to travel (sea france have a good offer on at the moment). We never book anywhere, just the ferry. We have a copy of ACSI (cna be accessed via internet) check the weather in France for different areas and then decide how far we will go. The loire valley is really nice as is Normandy. We have had better weather in the Loire or Normandy at the same time the weather has been poor down the south. If needs be we will travel right down south. Anywhere you go in France is generaly very welcolming and very tourist friendly (bar the odd idiot/thief) especially to motorhomes and caravans with many decent stopping places. So thats how we plan our trip and to be honest it adds to the excitement of not really knowing exactly where you are going untill a couple of days before.

Now as for the journey times and distance thing. WHat many people not of the generation of ourselves dont always understand, are that the days of playing eye spy and spot the eddie stobart lorry are well behind us. Our kids since I can remember have been entertained by on board DVD players, PSP, Nintendo DSs  etc,etc for sometime. It makes the journey more bearable but of course you should stop to give yourself a break and the kids time. If you travel in france a lot of the aires have childrens playgrounds which are really quite good. At this point our kids run riot for 1/2 hour before wanting to rest and enjoy some more driving.

Whatever you decide to do enjoy yourself, and I hope you have a good time.

Paul

Quote: Originally posted by Ramblervan on 06/6/2007

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Is the French season so much later than ours then? I'll be travelling over from the 16th to the 30th August so will it be necessary to book anywhere in advance or do you think it would be ok to turn up and ask the question each night?

 

Thanks

Phil

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Ive never failed to find a site even in High season,  try ACSI loads of sites.

Thanks, I'll wing it for the most part then!

We go lat 2 weeks or lat week and 1/2 of August - the motorway going N is MUCH busier than going S.

Have a look at the price of hiring a static on a french site if you want to see the demand - the last week of our school hols is about 1/2 the price of 1st 1/2 of aug.

The crucial date here is the 15th August, Assumption Day, which is a national holiday in France. This is effectively the end of the French holiday season, although many people will continue their holiday until the weekend of 18th/19th August. If I were you, I think I would be inclined to book a few nights somewhere (perhaps in Normandy), just to give you a bit of peace of mind about where you are going to spend that first night or so, then assess your options after that. If you are happy where you are, and the sun is shining, you can stay put. If the weather leaves something to be desired, you are well placed for routes south or west. Most French campsites ask you to pay when you leave, rather than when you arrive, so leaving earlier than planned, or indeed staying longer, is not usually a problem. It might be wise not to count on travelling too far on Saturday 19th August, as roads arre likely to be very busy on that date.

Thanks for all the responses. I hadn't figured we could travel without booking. I think I'll probably take chrissie's advice of booking something in Normandy for a couple of days and reassess our options once we're there.

Hi,

We're doing the exact same trip from calais to ROYAN at the beginning of July. We have decided to break our journey up by stopping at Stu & Syb's

e-mail them for details: info at loire-gites.com

It's approx a six hour tow from calais and then a four hour tow the next stage. We're stopping over for 3 nights but I'm sure they will be able to accomodate you??

Royan is a nice area and has great beaches...

Check them out, I'm sure Stu will be able to offer advice either way.

Nigel and Liz