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Mappy reckons about 440 miles, 7.5 hours driving without stops to St Jean de Monts. We have never driven that route but have driven 500/550 miles to the Dordogne/ Lot regions for the past 2 years. We both drive and swapped every couple of hours so it is quite doable. Depends if you have young kiddies though. They can be hard to amuse for long journeys. It also depends on how far you are driving once you get off the ferry in England. We live in the NW and always use a hotel in Calais on both legs of the journey.

Carol

Hi Christine

September before last we had a gite near St Jean de Monts, and departed at 9.30 a.m on the Saturday to catch the 7.30 pm ferry from Calais.  With short loo stops every couple of hours, and a decent lunch break, we were amazed to find ourselves close to Calais before 5 pm, and even managed to get on the 5.30 ferry!  (Only one driver).  It's an easy journey, but just keep your wits about you as you approach and pass through Rouen.  The signs can be a bit confusing, but I seem to remember that you can keep following the Boulogne sign.  Perhaps someone else can clarify this.  Enjoy your trip, and a visit to the Island of Noirmoutier via the causeway at low tide is a must!

Bryn

we did Vendee to calais this summer but we were towing.

To be honest i found it a slog as i was the only driver who would tow plus we didnt use the peage ( cos im tight ! ) and some bits of road round pont Audemer and that area were awful , narrow villages etc.

its not so bad once you hit the autoroute round Caen , Rennes and nantes but you do need to keep your wits about you in these areas.

we werent in any great rush fortunately and broke the journey near Mont St Michel both coming and going home.

Its feasible solo but i wouldnt attempt it in one go with a caravan on.

I've done that journey in one day,towing a caravan as well. There wasn't the amount of Autoroute available then as there is now, so I had to use quite a bit of N roads. It took me about 9 hours so it should be a doddle nowadays.

                        Jim

We did a similar trip the first time we ever went camping in France in 1985, with 4 children between 5 and 11. It is not really a question of whether it can be done, more of what is the point? We had a great holiday and then negated the benefit by an exhausting thrash home. Since then, we have always taken the homeward journey in shorter stages and made this a part of the holiday, taking the chance to visit an additional area (or two) en route. If you must have a long drive, I would recommend doing it on the outward rather than the homeward journey - that way, you at least have a chance to recover.

We learned this the hard way. Maybe your experience will be different. In any case, I am sure you will have a great time.

Quote: Originally posted by chrissie7 on 28/11/2005

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We did a similar trip the first time we ever went camping in France in 1985, with 4 children between 5 and 11. It is not really a question of whether it can be done, more of what is the point? We had a great holiday and then negated the benefit by an exhausting thrash home. Since then, we have always taken the homeward journey in shorter stages and made this a part of the holiday, taking the chance to visit an additional area (or two) en route. If you must have a long drive, I would recommend doing it on the outward rather than the homeward journey - that way, you at least have a chance to recover.

We learned this the hard way. Maybe your experience will be different. In any case, I am sure you will have a great time.

 

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thats the way we look at it , not worth hammering 500 miles a day, after all its a holiday and not some sort of endurance thing.

much better to split the journey and spend some chill out time with a glass of whatever you fancy and a dip in the site pool before setting off refreshed the next day, or the day after even.

The joys of not pre-booking !!!

Hi Christine

Which route do you think you will follow to Calais, and where do you think you would like to be by lunchtime? I'm sure we could come up with a few ideas for longish stops.

I think the A28 between Rouen and Allencon is now open which will save a few hours as the N138 is one long slow road when you stuck behind some damn caravan or the inevitable french haulier!

Just for info, we got from Bolougne to south Le Mans (A11 J9) via the dreaded N138 in approx 5 hours this August. The next morning we got to our final destination at Jard Sur Mer (which is further south than St Jean Du Monts) in approx 3 hours.

This journey should be a lot shorter now with the new autoroute.