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We have been driving over to France for the past 15yrs...never tire of the place, every trip is an adventure. From experience we try to split the journey into 4 hour sections. We generally catch the Ferry from Hull to Zebrugge, this route lands us in France at about 08:30 am (only 1 crossing). We head for a stop at about 11am (France shuts for lunch), heading for a patisserie in a rural town with the intention of a picnic (weather permitting).  The aim is to make the first pitch a 1/3rd of the way to the final destination, and to arrive at about 4pm. This strategy seems to work.

If we know the route well and time is imperative we go via the toll roads, but by doing this you MISS so much , so if we are exploring pastures new we tend to go on the route national and go through all the little villages.

Last year we did Chablis 1 night, 2 nights in Uzerche (classical music festival), then onto the Bordeaux coast...fabulous but we know the area well so we knew what to expect.

This year we are undecided, my OH would love to return to Il De Re, but I fear that boredom may  set in and the campsites were not tha great. I'd like to try the Dordogne but am fearful of meeting Brits on every corner.

You will love camping in France...the sites are wonderful.A smattering of the language will go a long way especially if you want to go and explore off the beaten track. Of course if you go into the large supermarkets to shop a merci bien will do at the check out.

Bon vacances

We're lucky in that we are retired and go to France in June so no problems having to book ahead. As we have 3 or so weeks we generally have a further most place in mind to possibly, weather and site being good, stop at for the longest time, about 5 or 6 days or so . We therefore dawdle down stopping here and there where we have heard of somewhere interesting to visit (often from this site) and do the same on the way back, trying to do a slightly different route to see yet more of France. It works for us as we generally only have a max of 4 to 5 hours driving per day and often only 3 . We avoid the tolls as, like many on this site ,we enjoy the surprises we get from the villages on the way. Enjoy your holiday!

BobCat10 - if you want to visit the Dordogne, in a lot of places you won't meet Brits around every corner - especially if you can go low season.  Perhaps you could choose a site with Dutch owners. We did that a couple of years ago, and had (I think) one of our best holidays ever.  We were the only English people there (the site wasn't full).  We found everyone very friendly - on reception when we arrived at lunchtime, our neighbours who sorted out our hook-up problems with a 'working party', and our first night invite to the Moules/Frites night, where everyone made us really welcome. We had a great time there - despite our initial worries.

We did hear people speaking English in Sarlat (inevitable) but many of the smaller out of the way places were just as 'French' as anywhere else in France.

Val A, its you again.  We are conscious of seasons and busy times to visit France, so we have a set period which is between 19/08 and 3/09. This wy we chnace it with the weather a little but can be sure of a pitch. Obviously the areas within a 1/2 a day of the ports tend to be busy, so we know we may be chancing it in the Loire.

the campsite you mention which is run by Dutch sounds ideal. Moues Frittes sounds good too.

many years ago we camped at le Moulin Fort ne Chenonceaux and had a wonderful experinec with a Dutch couple who owned the site...many glasses of wine later......

I hope I haven'y hyjacked someone elses blog but useful snippets can be sought from such exchanges.

Yes, sorry, back to the main topic now!  I'm sure the original poster will enjoy their drive through France, however they eventually choose to do it!

Have a great holiday!

Yes, sorry, back to the main topic now!  I'm sure the original poster will enjoy their drive through France, however they eventually choose to do it!

Have a great holiday!