advice on taking van to France (1 Viewer)

Hayleylulu

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we are thing of taking van to France then in to Spain need help as wot we need and a step by step guide .and we wont to miss toll roads as we are planing this for next year if any one can help:Blush:
 

haganap

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Hayley, how much time are you planning? this will make a big difference to the advice you get.
 
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Hayleylulu

Hayleylulu

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:Blush:QUOTE=haganap;198126]Hayley, how much time are you planning? this will make a big difference to the advice you get.[/QUOTE]

only 3 weeks my be more if lynn can get time of work

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vwalan

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time of year makes a difference as well. if its in the summer i say dont go too far . have a drive around brittany . forget the middle its too hot. drive slowly keep off toll roads ,get a good french map . lots to see . remember its 3 times larger than uk so its a miracle if you see it all. cheers alan,
 

sedge

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And what do you like doing when you are along the way or when you get there - is it beach, is it skiing, is it seeing eagles and scenery, is it historical monuments, do you fancy the north coast or the south .....

And Alan's correct! France is an absolutely enormous country in comperison to here. Not at all scary though, esp for us in M/H's and on motor bikes as the standard of driving by the French is fantastic in comparison to here. And with all that space and the same no of people as here - the roads generally are not so busy. Even the motorways because the exits are much further apart except round large towns and cities, where often the m-way is also the ring road.

3 weeks is OK if you want to get there and come back, moseying along the old main roads in France (Routes Nationale - helpfully numbered 'RN this' or 'RN that' LOL) and taking your time. But if Spain is the object, to spend time there, even a week going down, a week there and a week back - you will not have much time anywhere to actually really appreciate it - or do you enjoy the travelling as much as the staying parts?

It's always been our habit to have a destination in mind, blat there fairly quickly (we use Mways to do this if the destination is the main object, quite a lot of them have really nice scenery too - and not all of em are toll roads - but not when it isn't, does that make sense?) then spend a large chunk of our time getting to know the area.

I haven't found a region of France that I haven't really liked, so far. (Well there was one bit when I got us lost in the back streets of a suburb of Paris, blocks of run-down tower block flats, iffy looking youths (dare I say hoodies?) hanging round street corners etc etc) which was clearly a Big Mistake, so we got the hell out of there pdq!!!) But then really I spose we've only been going there a couple of times a year for the last 10 years and so have hardly scratched the surface ourselves yet!
 
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The story of how we coped on our first trips to France are in the links below

Ralph & Dot

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vwalan

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if you want to visit spain then think seriously about the ferry to spain. .i use plymouth santander its on my doorstep. .catch it today be there tomorrow. thats the bit i like. 3 weeks in spain then. france is so nice it takes me alot longer to drive through so much to see and visit. spain is huge as well you can only dust the surface not even scratch it. both full of adventure and fun. read as many books from library as you can ,then do it enjoy the adventure its not like the books at all .we all see it from a different perspective. but most of all have fun ,cheers alan.
 
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Hayleylulu

Hayleylulu

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if you want to visit spain then think seriously about the ferry to spain. .i use plymouth santander its on my doorstep. .catch it today be there tomorrow. thats the bit i like. 3 weeks in spain then. france is so nice it takes me alot longer to drive through so much to see and visit. spain is huge as well you can only dust the surface not even scratch it. both full of adventure and fun. read as many books from library as you can ,then do it enjoy the adventure its not like the books at all .we all see it from a different perspective. but most of all have fun ,cheers alan.

well i think its got to be France for are first trip wife likes to see as much of the sea as she can and we dont wont to Rush to much so we will use the 3 weeks in france so thank for your help
 

vwalan

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best turn right n follow the coast . i travel like it sometimes . if there is a road between the sea and you your on the wrong road. all depends on the ferry you take ,you will enjoy it i,m sure .try n learn abit of french even if its only a few words ,makes so much differance.you will get adicted to going its almost compulsary. get the aires book when you get to france most hyper markets sell them cheap. otherwise find a church normally a big carpark nearby. new country new adventure ,lucky you. cheers alan.

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MIN663

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Hi Hayleylulu, When we drove France last year (pre motorhome ownership) i found a site very useful for what you need to have/ speed limits etc also you can plan routes on it might be of some use. Hope the link works (my first attempt)

Min

http://www.drive-alive.co.uk/
 
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hilldweller

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well i think its got to be France for are first trip wife likes to see as much of the sea as she can

Easy then, get on ferry, drop her overboard. They always say we don't make the effort, prove 'em wrong.

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Hayleylulu

Hayleylulu

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thanks to all for advice, we have decided on st malo/brittany middle to the end of june. what weather like at this time and which route from uk best and most economical. we want to stay on the coast and do a few nights at a few different sites. would ideally prefer sites on the beach/coast and within walking distance to a town. talk about wanting my cake and eating it.
 

takeaflight

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Stayed on the above a couple of weeks ago, excellent, in the center of the village, there is a gate at the rear of the site leading onto a cycle path that runs alongside a river about 5Km to Mont saint Michel.

We used camping cheques.

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chatter

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I would recommend Haliotis as well, the owners are very friendly and welcomming and all speak good english, choice of pitch size and nice clean site facilities and they take camping cheques as well, also free wifi either from your pitch with your lappy or from the cafe/bar area, and for those that dont take a lappy the site have a computer that is for customer use.Supermarket and town centre within stones throw of site. The cycleway at the rear of the site is tarmac pathway with grass verges and is also the dog walk area.

For us its one of those sites that you look forward to going back to again and again
 
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thanks to all for advice, we have decided on st malo/brittany middle to the end of june. what weather like at this time and which route from uk best and most economical. we want to stay on the coast and do a few nights at a few different sites. would ideally prefer sites on the beach/coast and within walking distance to a town. talk about wanting my cake and eating it.

that is when we usually go and the weather is reasonable and sometimes very hot.
 

bigfish

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More questions.

we are thing of taking van to France then in to Spain need help as wot we need and a step by step guide .and we wont to miss toll roads as we are planing this for next year if any one can help:Blush:

Barb and i are going to be doing the same, probably june, but not going to Spain and only for 2 weeks, like to thank everybody here for the info on the back of "Heyleylulus"
question. going to have to do my homework :Doh::Doh:

But i do have 2 questions.

We want to go to la Rochelle area and here the beaches are the muts nuts, is this so
and what can we expect, also prefer not to use toll roads as lke to look around but is this possible?.

Living in Southampton logic says best to get an overnight ferry from pompey, again is this the best thing to do.

(sorry 3 questions)


Thank you.:thumb::thumb:

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takeaflight

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Hi bigfish

have a look Link Removed

il d'oleron second largest French island about 20k south of La Rochelle, great beaches and unlike il de re there is no charge to use the bridge onto it.

They also take camping cheques, if you do go to La Brande heres a tip but don't tell everyone :winky:

If you take the site road to the right of the reception, assuming you are facing it, keep going down it, you think it's taking you to a dead end, but as you emerge from a gap in the hedge row you will find a number of large pitches backing onto open country and when we was there completely empty apart from us. Looking at them they seem to have been a recent addition and no one realised they was there.

Roy
 
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vwalan

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i would say if you land at st malo then turn right and follow the coast there are loads of aires all over brittany .you might never go on a site. some virtually on the beach. just go dont worry . it should be great weather aswell. cheers alan.
 

ronald4874

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Pay Motorways

Number of people mention pay motorways in France as if there are no others. There a more non pay M/W in France than the pay ones so whats the problem.
In the UK we can use our M/W's or we can use the A roads, France is no different.
Its surprising how good the RN roads are with new dual carriage in many parts now.
It is said that the new roads built or being built are spoiling the drive through some very fab villages and towns.
I know many people who said they have been to France, when all comes to all they have only driven down M/W's and RN roads and obviously have never seen France atall. What a shame to miss France.

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sunshinebus

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hi
we had good intentions of doing loads of milage around france but it never happend lol
for our first trip abroad we did dover calais cheepest crossing then headed down the loire valley to the vendee area had a fantastic two weeks at the end of june begining of july then back to calais via normandy.
second trip dover calais again 7 meter bus for ÂŁ72 return then normandie brittany and back to vendee again last two weeks in sept still fantastic weather but empty beaches
total of 13 days and used free aires for all but 2 nights total cost 8 euro's my advice dont try and travel too far as you will spend too much time travelling
enjoy
:Smile:
 

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