2 different holidays planned - advice please (1 Viewer)

[suavecarve]

Right, once I have my passport sorted its off to france for skiing in February. Never been skiing so should be fun. Thinking the Alps are closest as the maximum amount of time is 9 days and dover calais as teh crossing. Do i need snow chains or can i stay low and get up to the top on ski passes? (we are self sufficient) any suggestions as to where to go for an aire ?
Similarly we are off next year to the west coast of france for surfing but we are surfers so any decent sites next to the beach on the west coast where there is some surf. I am thinking about going to La Rochelle area as La Canau gets a little too hot allegedly in summer. Again any suggestions would be most welcome.
Cheers ever so

 

[Heyupluv]

Right, once I have my passport sorted its off to france for skiing in February. Never been skiing so should be fun. Thinking the Alps are closest as the maximum amount of time is 9 days and dover calais as teh crossing. Do i need snow chains or can i stay low and get up to the top on ski passes? (we are self sufficient) any suggestions as to where to go for an aire ?
Similarly we are off next year to the west coast of france for surfing but we are surfers so any decent sites next to the beach on the west coast where there is some surf. I am thinking about going to La Rochelle area as La Canau gets a little too hot allegedly in summer. Again any suggestions would be most welcome.
Cheers ever so

Hi and Welcome to MHFun
I know Nothing about Skiing... But Paul (haganap) should be able to help you, also many others Funsters that do go Skiing.

The South West coast are some of the best beaches for surfing in France...Heading Northwards on the west coast From Biarritz, Ondres plage, Capbreton, just to name a couple

Mel:thumb:

 

[15edward]

My sister has moved near to Issoire, Puy de Dome. She has people staying in late January/ Feb for skiing at Besse Super Besse- I think thats probably nearer than the alps? Not sure of the level of skiing but there are a couple of well serviced aires there and I would think you'd need to check snow before leaving!
We have just come back from a Gite stay near La Rochelle- super beaches and some good surfing. I was checking that there were numerous likely looking campsites - my favourite was Les Conches near Longville sur Mer. Have you used wannasurf.com? I find that with french camping site useful

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[Taran_Las]

A group from this forum generally go skiing about that time. (Val Thorens if I remember correctly) I'm sure one of them will appear soon and provide you with some useful information.

As for surfing, as Mel says the south west beaches are a Mecca for surfers. From Biscarosse plage down to Biarritz.

Contis plage and the beaches around Mimizan are great surfing places too. You are spoilt for choice.

 

[Forestboy]

We used the m/home in February this year in Val Thorens with some others on this forum and had a fantastic time. But be aware it gets seriously cold up there minus 25 at night and minus 15 during the day this year so you do need to prepare your m/home and yourself to cope with that sort of temperature. A great source of information on preperation and places to stay is on this link http://www.motorhomeski.com/

Also if you type in skiing on the search on here you will find some usefull advise. Snow chains are a legal requirement in the Alps in winter and you'd have to be mad to drive without them. Make sure you practise putting them on at home before you go though as its much harder in a snow storm in the dark on a freezing mountain road

With a little preperation skiing is great fun in the motorhome and a fraction of the cost.
Keep your eyes open for a mention around December time I'm sure there'll be a trip next year, we're definitly going.:thumb:

 

[magicsurfbus]

Similarly we are off next year to the west coast of france for surfing but we are surfers so any decent sites next to the beach on the west coast where there is some surf. I am thinking about going to La Rochelle area as Lacanau gets a little too hot allegedly in summer. Again any suggestions would be most welcome.

We've done a few surf trips to France. La Rochelle isn't a surf spot in itself, but if you pay your 16 Euro fee to cross the nearby bridge to Ile de Re you might have more luck. We were there earlier this month, and although I didn't take my board this time it struck me that the beach at Bois Plage en Re (look up Camping Campeole Les Amis de la Plage - Google Maps 46.176963,-1.387229) and the one lower down called Plage Gros Jonc had some surfing potential, provided you check to see where the low tide rocks are beforehand. There was a surf school based there anyway. The advantage of the Bois Plage site is that it has a separate 35 pitch MH parking area with open air shower, electricity points and one hour's wi-fi for 12.10 Euros a night (maximum stay 48 hours), or a small free aire opposite, or you could presumably get a pitch on the main site for longer. If you need to use the camp site's service point from the free aire, the barrier allows you in for 45 minutes free.

Ile de Re can get very busy in summer so my advice is arrive everywhere early, and if you go there take your bikes - it's extremely bike friendly.

Further south the Ile d'Oleron is very similar in character but less hectic, and the beaches around Grand Village Plage would be surfable provided you can get your MH close enough to them. While their aires are good, their daytime beachside parking for MH owners is lousy. Maybe there's a coastal campsite or two?

We've been to Lacanau-Ocean a couple of times and I wouldn't describe it as hot. The water's just about warm enough to surf in rash vest and shorts on a sunny day in summer and that's good enough for me. We used the Le Huga aire, which is some way back from the beaches, but there are coastal campsites, and the Plages Sud parking area is MH friendly for easy beach access if you want to commute.

If I was planning a low cost MH surf trip I'd personally go for the aire at Biscarrosse-Plage, which is among pine trees so you get some shade. The neighbouring resort's a bit naff but the beach suits all levels of surfing skill. I've reviewed it on my website - click the link on my signature below. There's a Campeole camp site next to the aire if you prefer luxury.

Other surfing possibilities north of La Rochelle include les Sables d'Olonne, St Gilles Croix de Vie, and Brem-sur-Mer. Personally I prefer the warmer wetsuit-free waters below the Gironde estuary.

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[suavecarve]

Cheers, you ve certainly given us several things to think about and your link is top jonny banana. Its all getting printed out in preperation for July already booked up and i ll try to get the Troyes section of le tour as a stopover.

If you need any places down Newquay or beach reports Dont hesitate to get back to me. Tolcarne at high tide on a body board gives a great wedge which is only a tad scarey. all the local pros like it and only found it this year