Will be in Les Mathes in a few days, fingers crossed! Trying to decide on a few short stops, whether to try for a few days on Oleron, a few in Les Mathes, a few in Royan, or St George de Didonne. Or all of the above!! Decisions, decisions.
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If you are travelling from Calais to the Charente, why are you going via Paris on the way out, and Lille on the way back - - are they not miles out of your way?
We are off to Ile de re soon. We always go to the west coast of France and I have done all the options. The best route is still Portsmouth - St Malo overnight and then a leisurely drive down to Ile de re arrive at approx 14.00hrs. Then back to St Malo for a couple of nights on the way back and get the day ferry back.
------------- I have forgotten more than I now know
Thank you for all the wonderful advice everybody gave regarding this area. We're back now. I've left a review of the campsite la Palombiere. The area was fantastic we got the train across from Folkestone to Calais using tesco club card vouchers. We travelled down to Paris and stayed the night in a comfortable hotel there. And then the following day finished the journey off. On the return we stayed in a hotel in Lens which worked even better than Paris
All in all there was around 14 hours of driving each way. The tolls cost around £75 each way and the only traffic jams we encountered were in England!
I hope this helps anybody else thinking of travelling down there
------------- Happiness is not a destination, it's a way of life
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Glad you liked it Jonny. I did an off peak review two years ago and was starting to think that nobody else went there !
I agree with you, it's a good site, and in a good area too. So many people go over the bridge to Oleron island, and yet that stretch of mainland coast has a lot going for it .
We did Shropshire to Pont L'Abbe d'Arnoult twice with the kids when they were 6 & 2, 7 & 3. We also went to Ile de Rè for the 3 years afterwards.
When the kids were tiny, we did overnight stops in Calais, each way. When we went to Rè, we tended to press on to Rouen for our overnight stop.
We now have a van in the Vendee, & even with 2hrs taken off the journey, we've only done the journey in 1 full swoop once, both ways there & back. It was knackering & not ideal when you're back in work the next day.
Stuff to do in the area? Well..
Cognac is lovely,
Saintes old Roman town & archaeology,
Brouage is beautiful & quirky,
La Rochelle is lovely but very busy in summer,
Rochefort is a lovely town with the rope maker's building,
Ile de Rè is a must.
Hi again everybody. Its that time of year when I start to book my trip to France for the summer. The site is sorted in Les Mathes again.
I'm looking at getting the Ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo but the prices at present are very expensive £700 return. Through experience are they likely to reduce nearer the time or should I book now?
They aren't likely to reduce. If you're going at a weekend then I would book now. You might find it worth trying a quote from the Caravan Club, and it may be worth trying a 'package' of a site or Camping Cheques to see if this reduces the price. It appears to do so on my 'dummy search' particularly on Portsmouth/Caen However, weekend sailings appear to be very limited. You can always sell the Camping Cheques for around £10 each to several people on here.
Try Portsmouth/Caen which is a bit cheaper - or even the shorter crossings as you did last year, with an overnight stop en-route if you want to cut costs to the bone.
Are you going with Brittany Ferries? Have a look at joining club voyage and you will get 30% off (you can get 10% off without joining by just asking someone for their friends code on here)
------------- 2013
Cofton country park
Woodland springs
Dove meadows
Padstow touring
Polmanter touring
Le Grand Bornand, Lake Anncey, Disney 3 week trip
Cherbourg to Brantome,Dordogne river sites and Rocamadour, Amboise,Utah Beach 2 week trip
Pentewan Sands
July France for 8 weeks
The Eurotunnel is £170 return and only adds 3 1/2 hours each way to our journey. So Ive decided to do the journey in two days and even with a hotel stop over on the way it still works out cheaper than the ferry!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
We used to go Portsmouth to Cherborgh ferry and drive down, stay in a municiple campsite for the night and then drive on to Royan/St George.
We now do the Portsmouth to St Malo overnight which is restful and a fun start to the holiday and then we do a straight run to Royan in a day-we share the driving.
It is more expensive but it does make a huge difference in how tired you are when you arrive.
Just some tips. We do not travel on Saturdays during late July or August and we miss travelling on the busy national holiday weekends as you can spend a long time sitting in one place.
Driving at night is great and the roads are clear but they do not always have lights on the motorway.
Take out a Brittany Ferries membership as it does save you alot against your trip costs and friends using your card can get you some more discounts-I have managed to get £75.00 in friends use set against my ticket plus my 30% discount.
The new road maps now show all the aires available for stops and the facilities are pretty good for a rest/swap of drivers.
On the return we drive back to stay in or around St Malo and then just roll onto the ferry in the morning.
It's just the cost of the ferry that may put you off but it really does make a drastic difference to the holiday in general.
Also once you get below the Loire river then the good weather really shows it's self. We have stayed in Vendee camp sites but the Charente area really is a bonus in comparison.
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: Poitou-Charentes France
