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thinking of splitting our 16 days in france into 2 areas, but is it really practical ??

calais to Dordogne then Dordogne to Vendee , then return to calais works out to about 1100 miles towing in france plus probably a couple of night stopovers & the hassle that is involved.Night sailings will also add to the fatigue & we want a day in calais or Boulogne on the way home to stock up with beer/wine etc.If we had say 5 days extra it could be worth it , what do you folk reckon.Id love to do both this year because i  dont think we will get back over for a couple of years.

When are you thinking of going? Do you need to book sites or are you prepared to turn up on spec.? Do you have children travelling with you? I would opt for a relaxed meander rather than have to stick to a fixed scedule, but you may prefer to have it all booked before you leave home. If the weather is hot, you may not relish having to pack up and spend a day of your holiday in the car, just to have a change of region. If it's wet, you may be glad to move on! If you want a mix of scenery and beaches, there are some lovely sites and beaches in Normandy, on the way back to Calais, which you could use to break the journey.

Bev and John

Perhaps I have misunderstood your post but surely the Vendee to Calais is only 500 miles according to MS Autoroute, admittedly going via Paris which you might want to avoid!  So a day and half towing.

David

Quote: Originally posted by David Klyne on 28/03/2005

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Bev and John

Perhaps I have misunderstood your post but surely the Vendee to Calais is only 500 miles according to MS Autoroute, admittedly going via Paris which you might want to avoid!  So a day and half towing.

David

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correct, but , 500 miles each way , + 200 miles approx to dordogne, ive probably underestimated the distances .we dont use tollroads either.apologies for not making it clear.

going mid to late June & not booking anywhere , we never do & have never had a problem.looking at camping 2 valees near Beynac and camping pong in the vendee if we decide to do this.

June is a lovely time to go camping in France- we are hoping to spend June in France ourselves. Checked the Speedferries website today to get a quote. £33 each way for campervan and 2 adults, £15 each way for the dog! Grrrr- but it's still good value.

I agree you shouldn't need to book, and if you haven't booked you can move on or stay put as the mood and the weather takes you. Calais/Dordogne/Vendee/Calais sounds like a nice round trip, but try and avoid making the journey home a marathon, or it defeats all the good R&R which you went on holiday to enjoy.

shouldnt be too stressful , we did beziers to calais in 2 days last time round , doing beziers to just south of orleans in a day , 400 or so miles , & never paid a cent in tolls.

where are you aiming to visit minicamper ?? very good price you were quoted , shame about the dog though !!

car/caravan & 4 of us with p&o is £121 return ( be ok if we have a berth to dock at without spending half a day bobbing about off calais harbour)

ive heard good reports of camping pong from a few folk on here,has all we require of a campsite & the prices are reasonable also.

just looked at my map & it is an awkward sort of journey from Beynac to the Vendee area, the roads dont look great unless you go out of your way & use the m/ways.

Bev+Jon

We may aim first for Burgundy, as we so often end up in the Loire or Charente Maritime ( Royan/Oleron) area. The trouble is, we find the weather is so good we stay put. Last Sept, we sat on the Calais ferry at 1 am with a map saying "so where are we going to head for when we get off?" We love exploring France and finding new places to stay, as well as revisiting old favourites. We have friends in the Lot who like us to call in, so that's on the cards too. And the Loire on the way home......

we may just go to the area that has the best weather forecast for the coming week.last year we were`nt 100% sure of our destination til we got to Rouen when we HAD to choose a route & ended up on the med.Good choice , hot and sunny while the rest of France was windy with showers from time to time.

We hope to stop our 1st night at LaTouche if we get that far in the day & if they`ll have us !!!!

Quote: Originally posted by Iansoady on 29/03/2005

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I think if you take it easy you shouldn't have a problem - 250 miles in a day is pretty easy in France. Our first caravanning holiday in France was quite similar - we spent a week near Pornic (not quite the Vendee but close) then another week near Sarlat in the Dordogne. That too was in June and we found no problem at all in just turning up at sites - we had a couple of overnights as well in both directions. And that was towing with a Triumph Stag with the temperature gauge permanently in the red!!!

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Ah, Pornic!  A lovely spot ..... with some superb places to eat, away from the tourist restaurants.  We often go there (on our way to the Vendee) for lunch (we use a great restaurant in the back streets - small, and highly popular with the Fench)  and we then have a lovely relaxing journey to our site in the afternoon.  (Mind you, this year the wife has booked the Loire in June and Biarritz in August and couldn't get the crossings we wanted ...... so I'm going to be cream crackered when we arrive!)

As for the Stag, lol, they were notorious for cooling problems ...... one guy I knew had 13 radiators within a few years of buying one new!  My French girlfriend (many years ago!) loved Triumph Stags and I worked like stink to be able to buy one!  Oh, the memories!  :-)

Oozat