Hi again,
As an answer to your question " why Piantelle", we were recommended Piantelle by some friends and found it has everything we wanted in a site, both for ourselves and our 15yr old. Although we thought Fornella was a really nice site, the pitches have hedges all around and so my husband felt very closed in, at Piantelle the pitches are quite new so trees are still growing, however the xxl pitches were very large and had an open feel to them.
We felt that they were also far enough away from the bar,restaurant and entertainment stage, to be very quiet and peaceful at night, which was lovely.You could also walk to the town and port where we found some lovely restaurants and ice-cream parlour which was a really nice thing to do at night, I felt that it was in a better setting than Fornella, but thats just my opinion.We also found that it is very hard to get the xxl pitches at Fornella, we did try last year(Oct) and couldn't get in, the next size pitches down are 60m sq, which for us is too small, we then found Piantelle and are so very glad we did.
Another thing with Piantelle is that the staff are extremely friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble for them and their english was excellent, the owner even came to say hello, whilst we were on our pitch, and were we having a nice holiday and was there anything he could do to make our stay even better, that doesn't happen on many sites.
So all in all, both sites are great and either one would be wonderful for a holiday but Piantelle just ticked all the boxes for us, which is why we have booked for next year.
The route, I think is also personal choice, but for us the queues at the Gotthard Tunnel are not worth waiting in, especially on the return journey as the hill up to the tunnel is something like 15 miles long and when you are stop start with a large van on the back its no fun, for us Mont Blanc is much better and definately quicker.
Hope this helps, I have some pictures of the pitches at Piantelle, if anyones interested, I could email them to you, just let me know,
Kind Regards,
Dawn.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Dawn, I would love to see some pictures. What dates will you be there next year? Any recommendations on which pitch to ask for, I wondered if an end one would be best?
I read on another post you have also been to Chateau de L'Eperviere, we love the site so perhaps we have similar tastes in sites.
How long did it take you to come home via Mont Blanc? We were thinking of doing both journeys over 3 days with 2 overnight stops as our 10 year old daughter gets restless despite the dvds etc and I dont drive the motorhome so its all down to my husband.
------------- Thistledown Easter
Nantcol June
Domaine du Verdon Castellane and Etoile d'Argens Frejus Aug
Hi Pager,
We are crossing Dover-dunkirk on 30th july and have booked Piantelle 1st Aug, however we know that we can now do the journey with one night stopover, so will more than likely change site to 31st july and we cross back home on the 18th Aug, when are you thinking of going away?
The pitches are all the same size but i think a corner pitch gives you more room, if you look on their website and map of camping site, ask for any corner pitch.
Yes, we use Chateau de L'Eperviere quite alot, only as a stopover site but it really is a beautiful site,in fact we used it as our stopover on way back from Italy this year. However Piantelle and most sites in Italy are quite rustic in comparison, not as manicured, but just as nice.
We left Italy at 7am on the tuesday morning and caught the 4pm ferry at calais on the wednesday afternoon, and we stopped off at Chateau de l'eperviere, so we could have a swim, and good night sleep before going on up to calais. If you are looking at doing the journey over 3 days with 2 stops it will be a very leisurely drive, so your daughter should be fine.
We have fallen in love with Italy and the Lake Garda area so much that we can't see ourselves going anywhere else for a while now, as there is just so much to see and do, both for adults and children, your daughter might like Gardaland theme park,it's fantastic and we all had a wonderful time there, but most of all we could spend all day down on the lake , it is even warmer than the pool.
If you let me have your email address I will send some pictures over to you tomorrow aswell.
Kind Regards,
Dawn.
We always go the last 2 weeks of August so would miss you unfortunately. If we go I'm thinking maybe using your route coming home on our way out and then home via Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and Belgium. How long did it take you to get from Piantelle to L'Eperviere?
------------- Thistledown Easter
Nantcol June
Domaine du Verdon Castellane and Etoile d'Argens Frejus Aug
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Hi,
will send photos in the morning ok.
We were at L'Eperviere at around 3.30pm on the tuesday afternoon,we travelled with friends who run their 4x4 on lpg, but have a small tank, so needed to stop quite often for them to fill up.
Shame that we would miss you, we noticed that the site started to empty from around the 15th Aug, so it should be nice and quite there, although that said, there were a couple of english families there and alot of dutch, who all speak perfect english.
Thank you for all your lovely information. Have only just returned from holiday, hence the delay in replying. We are going to Piantelle (booking form on its way) and looking forward to that. All your info has been very helpful, as well as everyone elses. Can hardly wait now for next May to arrive.
Regards
Mikelor
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
can anyone tell me / recommend one that's closest to Malcesine ?
We stayed on a site by Lake Garda, and went on a boattrip amongst other places to Malcesine. A lovely little place, and when we were there, there was an Italian wedding, with everybody out on the streets, it was lovely!
We haven't stayed in Malcesine, but I've just had a look in my Caravan Europe guide, and there is a site in Malcesine, and THISis the website. The write-up in the guide (from 2005, so may have changed) says it is very good, convenient for all amenities. It only has 3 Amp electrics though! Cost then in peak season for 2 adults, incl EHU and showers was €21.
Whoops, should have tried the link before posing, it seems it's no longer there!!
Have done a Google for sites in Malcesine, results HERE
Hope that works better!
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Travel to Lake Garda, Italy
