We are embarking on a grand 16 day holiday to Spain (Costa Dorada) next summer and are busy planning the itinerary/costs involved etc.
Given the distances involved, we are looking at an overnight stop but are unsure of where to stay. A campsite for one night or a hotel for a nice bed/sleep after a long drive?
We are hoping that members can advise on where would be best. If staying at a hotel overnight, are the Car Parks secure? We would hate to awake in the morning and find that our trailer tent has had the canopy bungee cords removed and contents stolen from within.
If selecting a campsite for 1 night, where would people recommend. I would guess that somewhere around 10 hours from Calais would be the norm?
------------- Geoff & Becky
2013 - Montroig, Spain
2012 - Kloofs
2011 - Isle of Wight
2010 - Las Dunas, Spain
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
How many of you?
We've often used a Formule 1 for a night stop (rooms are a double bed with a single bunk type overhead .... no problem with parking up as they (mostly) have lock up pounds overnight.
They are good value and save the hassle of getting into a camp site and opening up/folding down in the morning.
Unless you fancy an aire on a motorway ... there are lots of safe ones ... but I know some people just don't like the idea.
There are lots of budget hotels, (find links here) and if you have small children then you may prefer rooms with an en-suite bathroom. The Formule 1 bathrooms are down the corridor, and are those self-cleansing types, where the door locks again after you leave and the pod washes itself down.
You may prefer a more characterful hotel, which may offer a family en-suite room, and you can find these through Logis de France website or through booking.com. We stayed in one this year wbich cost no more than a budget hotel, but offered a pool and nice garden, and did a 9 euro three course evening meal. It wasn't on your route to Spain unfortunately. Your trailer should be safe enough in a place like that provided parking is available.
Have you decided on your route? That will make all the difference as to actual recommendations as to where to stay.
Are you and the rest of your family/group used to this kind of distance? If not I would be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. There's no way my family would do a 10 hour "on paper' day on the road . It will be too much for us even if it goes to plan, but is also likely to get to 12 or 13 in practice.
Even if I was starting from Kent I would be looking at 2 overnight stops before I'd even got to the south of France.
We have done basic hotels (Ibis, Campanile etc), which usually have secure car parks. We've never had an issue with car crime over there (and usually have some sort of trailer).
This year we used a campsite instead of a hotel on an overnight and preferred it. We used a smaller tent than our main one to save on set-up/pack away time. We like to let the kids stretch their legs after a long day (6 hours max) in the car. Of course if you're driving 10 (or 13) hours you might not want to be setting up anything when you do stop, and even if you did you might be too late for arriving at a campsite.
Thanks for your comments. There are 5 of us, my wife and I and our 3 sons aged 8,7,4. We have completed the journey twice before, on each occasion traveling without the trailer tent, just popping up the tent on arrival.
We usually travel over night, catching a ferry from Dover around 5pm and don't stop until we get there. I drive for a living so I am used to the 11 hrs driving and the kids all fall fast asleep for most of the journey, except the 2-hourly pit stops!
This time however, we will be slowed down with the trailer so I'm looking at overnight stop somewhere in the region of either Milau should we take the E11 or Nimes if we take the E15. Either way there are around
------------- Geoff & Becky
2013 - Montroig, Spain
2012 - Kloofs
2011 - Isle of Wight
2010 - Las Dunas, Spain
If you are driving that distance, a hotel for one night would be your best bet - I would guess that you will be ariving pretty late, and setting up the TT will be the last thing that you want to do.... and if you TT is packed anything like ours, it would be a real pain as well.
The problem with the E11 is that there are very few hotels between Clermont Ferrand and Beziers - you may have to venture off the beaten track a little. We looked at Milau but there aren't that many places (on the internet at least)
Towing a TT I can easily manage to maintain 70 - 75 mph, if you have an early crossing (in France and on route by 10am) you can get to Milau by 7pm with 3 short breaks - if you are not travelling at the busiest time (ie not Saturday) you may even consider pushing on to Beziers (2 hours beyond Milau) with a really early crossing this is possible
As a reference we towed a trailer tent from Rosas in Spain to Dieppe in 11 hours with one overnight stop and 4 short breaks
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Overnight stop off on route to Spain
