We booked our Canvas holiday a while ago and now have 2 days if we want to make any changes. We are having 2nd thoughts about the driving and looking for reassurance (or ideas).
At the moment our return leg involves driving from the Vendee (St Jean de Mots) to Calais in one trip... is this feasable? - we can do 70 mph as we have bikes on top but we are not towing.
We could make a stopover on the way back - but we would prefer not to do a "one night in a hotel" stopover as that will just feel like the journey home is stretched forever - but for other overnight stops we would be limited to Canvas campsites.
The other alternative is to change the entire holiday around and do a hotel stopover on the way down - somehow stretching the outbound journey doesn't feel as bad - but this may not be possible.
Finally, if we think there is a possibility we might get too tired to drive and have to stop would we be better booking the ferry for the following day and hoping that if we do make it as planned we can get on a day early (currently we are booked on a 9pm-ish ferry on Thursday 10th August) - or keep with the ferry booking and hope that if we end up having to stop we can still get on the next day?
Christine
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Mappy reckons about 440 miles, 7.5 hours driving without stops to St Jean de Monts. We have never driven that route but have driven 500/550 miles to the Dordogne/ Lot regions for the past 2 years. We both drive and swapped every couple of hours so it is quite doable. Depends if you have young kiddies though. They can be hard to amuse for long journeys. It also depends on how far you are driving once you get off the ferry in England. We live in the NW and always use a hotel in Calais on both legs of the journey.
September before last we had a gite near St Jean de Monts, and departed at 9.30 a.m on the Saturday to catch the 7.30 pm ferry from Calais. With short loo stops every couple of hours, and a decent lunch break, we were amazed to find ourselves close to Calais before 5 pm, and even managed to get on the 5.30 ferry! (Only one driver). It's an easy journey, but just keep your wits about you as you approach and pass through Rouen. The signs can be a bit confusing, but I seem to remember that you can keep following the Boulogne sign. Perhaps someone else can clarify this. Enjoy your trip, and a visit to the Island of Noirmoutier via the causeway at low tide is a must!
The kids are 5 and 7 - we do have a DVD player - but even this has limited appeal - unless we get some films that they haven't seen and keep them just for the return journey.
We have two drivers - at the other end we have about 2 - 2.5 hrs drive from Dover. We are booked on the 8.40pm ferry - but plan to leave the site about 9.30 am so should have plenty of time - we would also hope to get an earlier ferry if poss.
Is there anywhere 'en route' that is worth aiming for to make a 'proper' break (maybe 2.5 hrs ish) maybe with a play area etc - something to amuse the kids rather than a motorway cafe for lunch type thing.
Any recommendations for a lunch stop? ideally with a play area so they can run around a bit.
The alternative appears to be an overnight (or 2) at Chateau de Drancourt - but hubby thinks thats just added hassle packing and unpacking...
Christine
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we did Vendee to calais this summer but we were towing.
To be honest i found it a slog as i was the only driver who would tow plus we didnt use the peage ( cos im tight ! ) and some bits of road round pont Audemer and that area were awful , narrow villages etc.
its not so bad once you hit the autoroute round Caen , Rennes and nantes but you do need to keep your wits about you in these areas.
we werent in any great rush fortunately and broke the journey near Mont St Michel both coming and going home.
Its feasible solo but i wouldnt attempt it in one go with a caravan on.
I've done that journey in one day,towing a caravan as well. There wasn't the amount of Autoroute available then as there is now, so I had to use quite a bit of N roads. It took me about 9 hours so it should be a doddle nowadays.
We did a similar trip the first time we ever went camping in France in 1985, with 4 children between 5 and 11. It is not really a question of whether it can be done, more of what is the point? We had a great holiday and then negated the benefit by an exhausting thrash home. Since then, we have always taken the homeward journey in shorter stages and made this a part of the holiday, taking the chance to visit an additional area (or two) en route. If you must have a long drive, I would recommend doing it on the outward rather than the homeward journey - that way, you at least have a chance to recover.
We learned this the hard way. Maybe your experience will be different. In any case, I am sure you will have a great time.
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I need to try and get hold of Canvas to see what our options are - I'm still tempted to do a stop off at St Valery Drancourt even if its just for one night...
I see hubbys point about packing and unpacking though - if we stop for more than one night I'd need to go food shopping etc. but if we just make it a one night stop we can eat out when we get there, get croissants for brecky and eat out for lunch before driving on to Calais mid-afternoon... can't see its that much trouble to pack one bag with a change of clothes and swimming stuff - and this year Canvas are providing bedding so in theory the car won't be so full of pillows, duvets etc which should make the packing/unpacking easier anyway - last year we took a ridiculous amount of stuff - packing the car between sites took us 1.5hrs!
Quote: Originally posted by chrissie7 on 28/11/2005
We did a similar trip the first time we ever went camping in France in 1985, with 4 children between 5 and 11. It is not really a question of whether it can be done, more of what is the point? We had a great holiday and then negated the benefit by an exhausting thrash home. Since then, we have always taken the homeward journey in shorter stages and made this a part of the holiday, taking the chance to visit an additional area (or two) en route. If you must have a long drive, I would recommend doing it on the outward rather than the homeward journey - that way, you at least have a chance to recover.
We learned this the hard way. Maybe your experience will be different. In any case, I am sure you will have a great time.
thats the way we look at it , not worth hammering 500 miles a day, after all its a holiday and not some sort of endurance thing.
much better to split the journey and spend some chill out time with a glass of whatever you fancy and a dip in the site pool before setting off refreshed the next day, or the day after even.
Which route do you think you will follow to Calais, and where do you think you would like to be by lunchtime? I'm sure we could come up with a few ideas for longish stops.
Not sure the route - have been playing about with Mappy, The AA and the RAC - but who to believe...?
the AA says its 678KM and will take 7 hrs from St Jean des Monts to Calais
the RAC says its 684KM and will take 8 hrs 43!
mappy says its 640K and will take 7 hrs 17 mins
now obviously they are making different assumptions, and I know its only a guide - but which is closer to reality the AA at 7hrs or the RAC at nearly 9 hrs...if it were the RAC then the decision to stop is a no brainer...
I am swaying towards stopping one night at St Valery (Chateau de Drancourt). Looks like a nice site - seems to be more or less on the route so not a big detour - and if I was to choose somewhere for a 2 or 3 hour break it would be an ideal place (things to do for the kids, picnic areas etc) so why not for an overnight?
we should be able to get there late afternoon and leave late afternoon the next day - which just somehow sounds a lot less stressful than schlepping it all the way home in a oner...
Christine
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I actually think an overnight stop is more benificial than trying to slog it to the ferry. We did Annecy to Calais (500plus miles) this last summer and it was a long long day! This next year we are doing Interlarken to Zebbrugge with an overnight in Luxembourg ( about 250 miles per day) In my opinion the long slog journey is part of the adventure if you are going to your holiday destination NOT coming back!!
I think that is the conclusion I came to - Canvas said we could change the entire holiday around and go to the Vendee first returning via the Loire. The problem with this is that if the kids end up liking the beach as much as they did last year they will be disappointed with Tours - and I think that its better to have laid down a bit of a tan before hitting the salty water...
also even the drive from Tours to Calais is reasonably significant.
OK - decision made - can you tell I used to be indecisive but now I'm not too sure?
We've changed our last night to be a stop over at Chateux de Drancourt at St Valery - and saved money in the process by switching 'brochures'.
For anyone booked with Canvas who booked from the preview brochure its worth getting them to recost your holiday on the current 'Early Booking' brochure - you don't get the 5% discount but the basic cost is slightly less as are the site supplements and the damage waiver is less so as long as you don't use their personal insurance the holiday should be a little bit cheaper. I think I saved about £25 - ok its not much, but its better in my pocket!
Canvas guarantee that if you book from an early brochure and the prices go down in future brochures you can have the cheapest costing.
I think the A28 between Rouen and Allencon is now open which will save a few hours as the N138 is one long slow road when you stuck behind some damn caravan or the inevitable french haulier!
Just for info, we got from Bolougne to south Le Mans (A11 J9) via the dreaded N138 in approx 5 hours this August. The next morning we got to our final destination at Jard Sur Mer (which is further south than St Jean Du Monts) in approx 3 hours.
This journey should be a lot shorter now with the new autoroute.
We drove from Poitiers to Sc**thorpe in a day, with a trailer last summer (there are no lower speed limits for towing in France) - took about 14 hours in total, the slowest bit by far being in the UK. As a previous poster says, the new A28 will make a big difference to this route. I wouldn't have any hesitation in doing a long journey in France, as long as you're using the autoroutes - you can stick at 80mph on cruise control and watch everyone pass you! Our 2 and 4 year olds have a DVD player in the car which was great. Also, with so many aires to stop at in France, and the possibility of having picnics at them, mortorway driving is much easier than here.
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: Driving from Vendee to Calais
