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Which way are you going?

Campsites are not signed off the autoroutes. You will need some form of camping guide or Atlas with sites marked on them.

I think Michelin Atlas has some sites shown, other guides are available-Caravan Club, Alan Rogers,ACSI to name three.

Yopu can stop at "Aires" ( service or rest areas) with campervans or caravans, there are discussions on other threads here about that! ( I don't do it but that is personal choice).

Campsites are signed on main roads and in towns, usually on outskirts of towns too in France.

We went down to the South in June, stopped at Beaugency ( On the Loire) for 2 nights as we fancied a break then just outside Millau for one night, then headed off to Carcassonne  for a while.

Coming back we overnighted at Troyes, then stayed at La Bien Assise for 3 nights.( That is near Calais). We have a long trip home from Dover to Shropshire!

You can work out your tolls from mappy.com, or from viamichelin.com.  However, where are you going on the Med - there is a huge choice of routes to get you there - and I wouldn't rely entirely on a Sat Nav - you need to at least have an idea on a sheet map of where you are going.  This may save hold-ups if there is a traffic problem, so you can work out an alternative, or save the scenario my sons had when their Sat Nav kept directing them off the autoroute and through the major towns alongside the autoroute.  The outward route took them 17 hours to Geneva - and the return only 10 hours once they had ironed out the glitches - but on an overnight trip when they didn't have a map they couldn't do anything other than follow the Sat Nav instructions.  They bought a sheet map whilst on holiday, and had at least an idea of the route they were following.

The route down the Rhone Valley, which Sat Navs tend to direct you on, is the busiest, and prone to hold-ups around Lyon - which can sometimes last almost all day.

We get down to the Med - usually around the Camargue area by using mainly non-toll roads, and use the A75 which takes you down towards Montpellier, but if you're going to the 'Riviera' end then you may find the Rhone Valley route the most convenient.

Post your final destination - and someone will help you plan a decent route - and then it's up to you whether you decide to do it paying the tolls or not (tolls may possibly be around 80 euros each way, depending on your route).

Then you want to be doing down the A75.  Basically from Calais, head towards Boulogne, Abbeville, Rouen, Evreux, Dreux, Chartres Orleans, and then either the A71 down to Clermont Ferrand, and the free A75 from there south, or the A77 (non-autoroute, but a good fast road) down toward Nevers, then Moulins, and then Grannat - then Clermont Ferrand.

Apologies for butting in on your thread, but we are also going down to the med (Serignan Plage) in a couple of weeks from Dunkerque.

Val A, we're intending to use the toll roads and viamichelin is telling us to use the A1 and A10 before the A71.  This appears to go past Paris so was wondering if you would say going via Rouen etc. is a better route in terms of hold ups etc??

Thanks.

Quote: Originally posted by Val A on 21/7/2009

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Then you want to be doing down the A75.  Basically from Calais, head towards Boulogne, Abbeville, Rouen, Evreux, Dreux, Chartres Orleans, and then either the A71 down to Clermont Ferrand, and the free A75 from there south, or the A77 (non-autoroute, but a good fast road) down toward Nevers, then Moulins, and then Grannat - then Clermont Ferrand.

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This is by far the best way to go having done it several times, use the N154 from Rouen

With regards to travelling times if you use motorways you will average around 43 mph not including any stops and if you do not use any toll motorways you will be down around 30-35 mph.

Quote: Originally posted by gary+jo on 21/7/2009

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Hi Thanks for that, we're all in tents and got little 4 man ones for the stop over. Not sure on the best route 'tom tom ' will prob decide. Just wasn't sure hom much slower the non toll roads would be or the cost of doing it all toll.I know sat nav gives times but i'm not sure on the ammount traffic.

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I your not bothered about toll costs just follow tomtom, otherwise look at a map and if an N road follows the motorway without going through towns use that instead. You can do more distance over there with ease, unlike the UK

I am also sharing my tomtom POI's with anyone who wants them, they have Archies european campsites on, speed cameras, other campsites, Mcdonalds!, Tescos etc, we found it invaluable last year for the campsites.

Just visit our home baking forum to download them for free; http://www.kitchenfoods.co.uk/forum/tomtom-satnav-pois-t-28.html