First trip to France

[CAJASAT]

Thinking about a short trip to France for the first time. Possibly looking at going from Portsmouth as nearest to us.

Any recommendations for sites on that coast for a few nights? Motorhome (7.2m), 2 adults and, if we can pet passports sorted, 2 dogs.

Also best route to travel with dogs that don’t mean locking them away for hours.

Thanks

 

[Mickthemove]

Just done my first trip to France in a motor home and first trip with the two hounds, we chose the Tunnel due to the speed and not leaving the dogs at all, it was very easy both ways, stayed at a great site close to Calais and then headed off into the country! as it was that easy, we are just planning another 4/5 days staying in Calais and Le Touquet. I love the Portsmouth Caen crossing but the thought of leaving the hounds (they are babies) doesn't appeal

 

[StitchesnFluff]

You’ll love it. Download apps such as Campercontact, park4night or search for sites, they’ll give you lots of choice.

 

[Emmit]

CAJASAT

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[DBK]

Thinking about a short trip to France for the first time. Possibly looking at going from Portsmouth as nearest to us.

Any recommendations for sites on that coast for a few nights? Motorhome (7.2m), 2 adults and, if we can pet passports sorted, 2 dogs.

Also best route to travel with dogs that don’t mean locking them away for hours.

Thanks

Look at the overnight ferries from Portsmouth as these are ideal if you have dogs. We are going Portsmouth to Caen at the end of August and it sails at 22:00 and arrives at the slightly ungodly hour of 06:45 but the dog will just sleep through the night in the van.

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[suavecarve]

We are 30 minutes from Portsmouth and 90 from the tunnel.
Even if we were travelling to Cherbourg or Caen I wouldnt look at Portsmouth purely because of price.
I stand to be corrected but about £250 each way ?
Tunnel with Frequent traveller is £114 return. Possibly even cheaper with Tesco vouchers. I am in france 2.5 hours after leaving home (if the M25 is behaving) whereas i may be just past the isle of wight from pompey.
If you have nowhere to particularly aim at I would consider tunnel and then dependant upon what you want to do (Beach, history, lovely villages) you might not have to travel too far. Arras, montruiel, Wissant, Bergues, Berck, Gravelines are all favourites on here and only 2 of them you have to pay for and all within an hour of Calais (OK maybe Arras isnt).
For a first trip for a few days a tour based around those will see other Brits highly likely to be at those aires and you can pick their brains as well and all are different with different types of aires and all nice (OK Arras isnt the best but its functional)
Arras is still a very interesting town and well worthy of a stop though.
Footnote you may struggle to get in at either of the Berck aires in summer holidays

 

[CAJASAT]

We are 30 minutes from Portsmouth and 90 from the tunnel.
Even if we were travelling to Cherbourg or Caen I wouldnt look at Portsmouth purely because of price.
I stand to be corrected but about £250 each way ?
Tunnel with Frequent traveller is £114 return. Possibly even cheaper with Tesco vouchers. I am in france 2.5 hours after leaving home (if the M25 is behaving) whereas i may be just past the isle of wight from pompey.
If you have nowhere to particularly aim at I would consider tunnel and then dependant upon what you want to do (Beach, history, lovely villages) you might not have to travel too far. Arras, montruiel, Wissant, Bergues, Berck, Gravelines are all favourites on here and only 2 of them you have to pay for and all within an hour of Calais (OK maybe Arras isnt).
For a first trip for a few days a tour based around those will see other Brits highly likely to be at those aires and you can pick their brains as well and all are different with different types of aires and all nice (OK Arras isnt the best but its functional)
Arras is still a very interesting town and well worthy of a stop though.
Footnote you may struggle to get in at either of the Berck aires in summer holidays

Good point - we are hour and a bit from P'mth and 2 hrs to Ashford Int'l. You are about right with prices. Will let you all know what we decide. Will probably avoid summer holidays now.

 

[MisterB]

Just plan for the free aires as youre only going for a few days. Do the dogs have passports and up to date jabs?

 

[PhilandMena]

You may find this helpful. Safe Journey.
Firstly, routes and route maps for France and Spain. This first link is an award-winning database, ‘about France.com’. It has a host of information on best routes to many locations. I have selected the famous N10 route from Calais to Irun which is used by many motorhomes when travelling to Spain. It’s almost all Toll free (more on that a little later) and almost all duel carriageway from start to finish with the exception of about 100 K. This route is great for motorhomes small, medium and large. Note: (HGV’s are not allowed on French roads, Sunday’s, so plan your journey over a weekend if possible).

https://about-france.com/tourism/no-tolls-routes.htm

Tolls: Avoid the toll road from Calais to Abbeville and save 12.50 Euros. The non-toll route is quite scenic and fairly straight forward, between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Abbeville.

At Abbeville, join the A28 Motorway and cross the river Sein at Rouen. We take the second exit immediately after crossing the bridge (about 50 m past the first exit at the end of the bridge), swing down and under the bridge you have just crossed and continue on this road and join the A13 motorway until the N154 which takes you down to Evreux. (Note: there are a number of different options for getting through Rouen and no doubt other members will have their own preferences. We find this very straight forward on both outward and return legs). Approaching Tours on the D910 join the A10 toll road at Jct. 19 and exit at Jct. 23. This will take you through the city via the toll road, (€1.80). At Jct. 23 take the exit lane for Montbazon which returns you to the D910. (Reverse for the return leg). That’s the last toll to pay until you hit the bottom of the A63 after Bordeaux.

To save toll fares on the A63 south of Bordeaux please read the route recommendations in the above link. Do not come off the A63 near the bottom as all roads will be heavily congested and it’s worth paying the last few tolls. (From Jct 6 €9.70 in total) (Fuel costs approx. €153.12 (Based on 1056 K @10K per Ltr. @€1.45 per ltr. 3.5T motorhome)). This route is also recommended during winter, due to its proximity to the Atlantic ocean, which means little to no problems with ice and or snow, unlike using the A75 to cross the Massif Central. Although the A75 is quickly cleared, it is advisable to have winter tyres fitted and there may be some small delays due to snow ploughs clearing this route.

If heading to the Mediterranean side of Spain, it’s worth taking the N121-A to Pamplona after crossing the Spanish boarder on the A63 at Irun. It’s clearly sign posted (Large white sign) Immediately after the Spanish border crossing on the motorway at Biriatou, Spanish Exit 1 (not French exit 1 before the border), clearly marked as the exit for N121a for Pamplona. Also here are Repsol fuel stations and shopping opportunities. You will find more details in this link for the N121-A and how to navigate Spain toll free.

https://about-spain.net/travel/no-tolls.htm

If you decide to pay Tolls in order to save time getting to Spain, your best route options are in this link.

https://about-france.com/tourism/routes-to-spain.htm

Should you choose to plan your own routes anywhere in Europe and also establish Toll costs, (or toll free costs) use this link. Under route options, select caravan then select toll roads. Toll costs for a class 2 motorhome will be calculated for the whole journey. You can also choose Non toll routes and other options. This is currently one of the best online free route planers.

https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/

As for stop overs on routes, you can’t go wrong using the App below which is free but I would recommend getting the paid version for about £6.00 which you can then use off line. You will find numerous places to stop along the above route and I have deliberately not made any recommendations so drivers can make their own choices. This app is also brilliant for finding other places too and highly rated by many users.

https://www.campercontact.com/en/content/app

There is another popular app/website that is used which you may also find useful if you’re doing a lot of wilding and looking for free overnight stops. It too is used by many motor homers in Europe. Get the paid version to use off line for around £9.00

https://www.park4night.com/

One of the best off line MAP ‘App’ and used by many. It also includes a sat-nav function which is quite good and can also be used off line. Again many motor homers use this, especially in Morocco.

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Finally, for those looking for a data sim card for their ‘Mifi’ unit or tablet (WiFi) this is the best deal in the UK and possibly the best deal in the whole of the E.U. at this moment in time. A massive 50GB of 4g data for only £30.00 a month on a monthly rolling contract. Cancel the contract after two months to get the full 3 months usage throughout the whole of the E.U. Other options also available.

(Tip!) (Go on their online ‘Web Chat’ and ask them to confirm the contract starts when you activate the sim and if they agree (they did with me) keep a copy of the Web Chat that they will email to you, otherwise the contract will start from the day your order the sim card). After two months contact customer services by phone and cancel the contract by giving them 30 days’ notice. This prevents their fair play usage kicking in after 3 months and you paying through your nose for Wi-Fi. If they say the contract started from when you made the order contact the complaints number and they will honour the agreement made with the Chat agent! (UK number is 03333 041 524 (standard call charges apply, they will even call you back if you ask them and they are very helpful)). The Wi-Fi coverage is exceptional.

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/bundles-and-sims/sim-only-data-bundles/

Vodaphone APN settings for an unlocked MiFi.

https://search.vodafone.co.uk/search?proxystylesheet=default_frontend&q=APN+settings&x=0&y=0

 

[Van Si]

We did it for the first time in April and then again in July with our two dogs. As others have said, use apps such as Campercontact to find aires and look at reviews and just go for it.

Don't forget to factor in the tapeworm treatment for the dogs, by a French vet, before returning to the UK.

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[Rapphil]

If you still wish to do a crossing further down the coast the Poole Cherbourg ferry is only 4and a half hours and you can go down to the vehicle after a couple of hours (escorted) to check dogs are ok.
Once there you don’t have to go far to get a taste of France, even the Cherbourg peninsular interesting and anywhere in Brittany and Normandy. We are usually driving south for the weather and have just returned from a month in the north as it was just too hot further south and really enjoyed not travelling loads of miles.

 

[CAJASAT]

Useful to know. thanks