south of france in april (1 Viewer)

[russ the rambler]

i'm planning for next year already...

i want to spend a few days in the sun over Easter next year. One idea is to get the portsmouth / bilbao ferry then drive to valencia. Another idea is the ferry to france then drive to the south.

what are my chances of hot weather please? i was thinking maybe one stop over on the way there / back

 

[MisterB]

Fair chance of decent weather the further south you go. I can give you a conditional guarantee that the weather will be brilliant based on a non refundable fee into my offshore account ...

 

[suavecarve]

Fair chance of decent weather the further south you go. I can give you a conditional guarantee that the weather will be brilliant based on a non refundable fee into my offshore account ...

My fee is 5 per cent less.
Any year up to this one and you would have been fine but terrible weather til towards end of may.
Www.ventusky.com is your friend 2 to 3 days before you leave if possible.

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[DBK]

You could get the ferry to Bilbao and decide where to go depending on the forecast. But it would probably be cheaper, if you don't mind the driving, to go through France and if the forecast looks poor keep going into Spain.

 

[russ the rambler]

thanks - i did think of the ferry to Bilbao - I could drive to the coast near Valencia or up to France.

It will be my first time driving in Europe so I dont want too much of a challenge.

"Any year up to this one and you would have been fine"

i like those odds - i'll have the insurance anyway!

 

[tonka]

It's nice to look on a map planning but the reality is expensive crossing and campsites. Easter is a big event in Spain so sites will be packed just like in UK at bank holidays.
4 days + will be lost doing the ferry and driving..

Don't get me wrong, when I was working we did Spain and back for a fortnight or less.
Just give it some consideration.

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[DBK]

thanks - i did think of the ferry to Bilbao - I could drive to the coast near Valencia or up to France.

It will be my first time driving in Europe so I dont want too much of a challenge.

"Any year up to this one and you would have been fine"

i like those odds - i'll have the insurance anyway!

Given you are in Southampton then Portsmouth to Caen would be an option to Bilbao and the drive through France from there won't be too challenging. I would get a tag (from www.emovis-tag.co.uk) and use the péage but others would go non-toll. Either works but the péage is painless and with a tag you don't pay any physical money - they remove it stealthily from your bank account at the end of the month.

 

[russ the rambler]

im thinking exactly the same thing, but i i could get a 5pm ferry on the first day of easter holidays and then stick to sites near Bilbao, Santander and (say) 1 hour inland. I could get the ferry back on the following thu, so about 10 or 11 nights of actual holiday.

just about possible, but a bit of a waste if it rains all the time

 

[DBK]

im thinking exactly the same thing, but i i could get a 5pm ferry on the first day of easter holidays and then stick to sites near Bilbao, Santander and (say) 1 hour inland. I could get the ferry back on the following thu, so about 10 or 11 nights of actual holiday.

just about possible, but a bit of a waste if it rains all the time

The problem is the north coast of Spain gets atlantic weather and could be very wet in April. Given the ferry won't give you a lot of change, if any as its Easter, from £1K this is a big risk for such a short trip. We've sailed to Santander several times but always for trips up to 3 months giving us time to find the sun.

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[Lenny HB]

Need to get further south for warm weather, this year in March we were just above Valencia it was only 18-20° where as Malaga was 28°. Last year a bit south of Valencia in April and only 18°.

 

[Khizzie]

Given you are in Southampton then Portsmouth to Caen would be an option to Bilbao and the drive through France from there won't be too challenging. I would get a tag (from www.emovis-tag.co.uk) and use the péage but others would go non-toll. Either works but the péage is painless and with a tag you don't pay any physical money - they remove it stealthily from your bank account at the end of the month.

My route every time when I go back and forth to my static or tour in motorhome, and yes toll tag everytime.. Enjoy your drive through France its luxury after the UK.

 

[jongood]

Either could be nice but South of France is likely to be windy, Costa verde is likely to be wet.

I would drive and aim for Valencia area, if its nicer as you approach slow down and if its still cold keep going.

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[russ the rambler]

okey dokey, just too early in the year i guess. I will definitely get the bilbao or santander ferry in the summer holiday - i can then slowly move north into France and home. If i can pop into Switzerland and Lichtenstein on the way, so much the better - 3.5 weeks we get for that one.

do you know of any 'centre parks in france' where i can stay in a motorhome? That might be an option for easter?

 

[Chris]

A few years at Easter we have taken the van to Santander and then driven down to the Tarragona area.

It’s been pretty good every time. You can’t guarantee good weather I don’t think but certainly in our experience we had at least 8 good days out of 11 or 12 every time.

I would think the further South the better too.

 

[Chris]

We drove through France to the Costa Brava for a week one May.

It’s a bit far to do that but we had great weather and a great time

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[russ the rambler]

good call chris - bilbao to tarragona is about 5 hours drive on google map, so easily achieved with one stopover

 

[DBK]

I may have been a bit pessimistic about the weather in Northern France. We were there a couple of years ago in April and the weather was excellent - but I think we were lucky. A couple of weeks earlier there was snow on the ground a little way inland from the coast.

Post #36 on this thread onwards describes things as we drove south from Santander.

Two Go Back to Spain

Charlie looks worried - he may have heard the shipping forecast. It could be rough. He's more worried about not being included - 'Two go back to Spain' - should be Three!!

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Allanm]

I was at my Sisters in Carcassonne in February, sunny and hot ( 26 degrees)
In March we stayed at Soustons Plage for a few days and it was very warm, one day topped 28 degrees. Then Northern Spain and Portugal where the weather was also good, up to 27 degrees. Back up to France just before Easter and it was still warm.

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[Clarky]

Spent most of March this year on the Med coast near Narbonne and the weather was excellent. Came home with a decent sun tan.
It is very hit and miss though at that time of year so make sure you can be very flexible and go where the weather apps lead you.

Remember, France is a big place, although it doesn't always look it on a map. If you decide to drive to the south it's the best part of 700 miles from the Channel.
Don't overdo the driving and get back home knackered.

Richard.

 

[Chris]

good call chris - bilbao to tarragona is about 5 hours drive on google map, so easily achieved with one stopover

Hi Russ. Why Bilbao by the way?

The nicer ferry ( Pont Aven) goes to Santander - I think.

It’s a much nicer boat to spend 24 hours on in my opinion.

 

[russ the rambler]

Hi Russ. Why Bilbao by the way?

The nicer ferry ( Pont Aven) goes to Santander - I think.

It’s a much nicer boat to spend 24 hours on in my opinion.

i think the Pont Aven only sails from Plymouth these days. The Cap Finistere seems to be the best and fastest boat from Pompey.

Bilbao and Santander are so close to each other it doesn't really matter?

Tarragona seems to be the 'quickest' route to the med.

One idea is to get Portsmouth / Santander at 5pm on the last day of term, arriving on sat at about the same time. Overnight nearby and then drive to a site near Tarragona on sunday.

Playa Montroig and Playa Tropicana both look good, so we could stay a few nights in both (assuming they are even open).

when we are done, we could head back to Bilbao, stopping for 1 night on the way, and then get the 15.30 Thursday ferry back to Portsmouth (Cap Finistere again).

Thats 14 nights all in

we could play around with the dates and maybe have 2 nights in Bilbao and / or Santander because they both look good as well.

Tarragona itself looks quite cool - you can't go wrong with a nice bit of Roman architecture, and i imagine the Easter weekend would be quite an experience.

It will be a pricey ferry but i'm restricted to school holidays, so I'm used to pricey.

I'll probably give it a go once and see what happens - I've going somewhere at Easter whatever happens.

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[russ the rambler]

...oh and by the way, anyone else notice we are on the wrong forum?