Easter in France

here2surf

Hi,
Ferry booked for two weeks of easter holidays.
I am looking for tips from anyone who has been to France with a young familly at this time of year.
I am thinking or driving through the night on landing in Cherbourgh, in order to get to the Med.
Has anyone done this and would they recommend it? Kids are 8,6 and 18 months.
Any advise or tips greatly appreciated.
T

pandos

What about the alps, a bit of skiing or just sledging.

Les deux alps or Avoriaz?

Hagar

Fuel costs on motorways are typically 20c to 30c more per litre than a normal service station. Seriously.
It is worth your while leaving the motorway to fill up. The cheapest places are the self service pumps at supermarkets. They take Irish credit cards but not debit cards like laser. It will cost you a little in time but does not add to the toll costs.

db

I went to the Vendee last year at Easter. The weather was like good late spring weather here with one damp day. It was a 6 hour drive from Roscoff for us so much easier than the Med.

unfit2006

Yes you will make the Med and back in 2 weeks with 3 young children in a Camper van....but at what cost (and I dont mean petrol/diesel/tolls).
Take DB's advice and head for the Vendee. 4-5 hours drive. Lovely beaches, fishing villages and just as much to enjoy.
Alternatively, explore Normandy. So many people just drive through this beautiful area of France. The coastal towns are wonderful and very welcoming........Plus more time to relax and have a proper break.

Hagar

You do know the Vendee was devastated by storms a few days ago and 50 people died? A local emergency was declared. Check local news before you travel.

unfit2006

Good advice 69.

Also check out one of the Community Forums for the Region which will carry details of local happenings etc.
Easter week is traditionally a busy time over there.

here2surf

Thanks for the advice,
We spent 3 weeks in Northern France in the summer and went as for as the dordogne.
I suppose I am chasing the chance of good weather on the Med. My other concern would be the lack of facilities on campsites this time of year.

here2surf

Thanks again for replies,
Can you recommend campsites in the vendee region. Was on Ille de Rey last summer and would go back but to a different site as the one we were on was a little isolated.

martyc5674

Here2surf,
Which campsite would you have gone to in hindsight??
We are thinking of il de re this yearnd having never been would appreciate advice...any windsurfing/kitesurfing on the island??
Cheers,
MArty

here2surf

Marty,
The campsite we were on was excellent. On the beach with good facilities.
Can't tell you anything re surfing as weather was very calm when we were there. I found the rates on this campsite were the most expensive we paid out of seven 4 star sites, but I would still go back.
http://www.interlude.fr/contenu/,home,1

corkbuoy

Ile de Re has some good municipal campsites which are very reasonable. One we stay in last year was in Ars en Re called I think Camp Municipal La Combe A L'Eau with direct access to the beach.

corkbuoy

martyc5674

Cheers lads,
Do you really need to book these in advance?...wouldnt mind driving around the island having a look and then picking one that suits our needs...nor do i want to book one for 3 weeks and realise after a week id rather be a mile down the road etc.
Cheers,
Marty

here2surf

Marty, Some sites will be booked out or might only be able to take you for a limited time.
The sites were quiet last year because of the strong euro to pound Sterling.
This may not be the case this year and Il de Re is very popular.
Are you travelling in a campervan?
3 weeks is a long time for one site!

*Kol*

A couple of days is enough in any campsite. Booking shouldn't be an issue at that time of year. It wasn't an issue in last July in the high season.

martyc5674

Cheers lads,
Yeah i suppiose we will do a few campsites...must get myself a decent map and put a bit of a plan together...we want to be somewhere chilled and near the beac...ideally somewhere where there is a bit of wind :-)
Marty.

Remicade Man

Cherbourg to the med is about 1000kms . At 80-90 ks per hour(average ) thats a very long drive in one go !

here2surf

I haven't been to the Med. I have driven (more or less)through the night, non stop from Munich to Dublin via Dover-Holyhead.

Has anyone done the med with familly through the night?

What are the forums opinions re. van breaking down, unsettled kids, and having to find somewhere to pull in if things go haywire?
I am a relative newbie, Only 1 trip notched up so far,
There will be two drivers to share the journey.
However, I really don't fancy it and am looking for a bit of a push.
Thanks for help so far,
H.

Camdec

here2surf wrote: »

Hi,
Ferry booked for two weeks of easter holidays.
I am looking for tips from anyone who has been to France with a young familly at this time of year.
I am thinking or driving through the night on landing in Cherbourgh, in order to get to the Med.
Has anyone done this and would they recommend it? Kids are 8,6 and 18 months.
Any advise or tips greatly appreciated.
T

Did it in summer 2008, landed in Cherbourg around 5-6 pm and then drove to south of Caen, stayed in a small village farm campsite outside Caen (10 euro) and drove on the following day. Worst part but not that bad either was when touching outskirts of Paris but traffic was moving along all the time. Got a lotta miles under the belt that day. I wouldn't think driving at night is a big bonus because anyway wife/partner would need to be awake to keep you alert, (nothing worse I think than driving and all around you are asleep, my personal opinion) and handy to have Red Bull or their version Yellow Dog for that! We got just north of Avignon and got a site in the forest which I would recommend (La Simioune, 84500 Bollene-Vaucluse with pony club and great pool set in the middle of a forest, Roland the owner very very helpful and good all round with plenty of tips). The site was so nice we stayed an extra day to soak it up. Would highly recommend it to everyone. Can give you directions for this site later if you wish. Worth every cent, **site
At that point you are nearly there (Med). Reached Frejus (good campsstes around this town) and were blown away with the heat after exiting van for supplies/diesel (beautiful heat, away from soggy Ireland!!). Stayed also in some good sites between there and Ramatuelle (small hilltop village with character, great market there on Thursdays/Sundays) which is just beyond St. Tropez (very little parking there but didn't look too hard!). Beautiful beaches near Ramatuelle also I think an Aire or two beside them. Stayed on farm camping (vineyard) which was quiet and peaceful. Kids would love the beaches. And if you don't mind, one of the beaches you can wear the birthday suit!!!! Also went to Cannes (expensive but then all of southern France is) and Antibes (great aquarium, whales, dolphins, all form of sealife, great for the kids and the adults!!). Watch out if in Antibes by the beach going out of town if you park up there for a few hours because the van could be sussed out by gypsies (happened to us, knocked at the door even though we were sitting beside it, to see if anyone was in!, we told them to clear off and that was that). We were warned beforehand about this kind of stuff).
Oh! the tolls, paid 100 euro on way down Cherbourg-Frejus and 100 euro plus on way back - but if you want to make time then . . .
One way to save money though is to get off the autoroute (Autoroute du Soleil) and into the towns to buy your diesel (much cheaper there in the supermarkets which are everywhere). You wont be sorry if you make this trip. Re-read your post and realise there are two drivers. Well now, that makes it much easier, lucky you!
Go for it!!!!!!!!:cool::cool:
http://www.la-simioune.fr/index.html

here2surf

Thanks Camdec,
Good info and advice.

Mountainsandh

Hi Here2surf, am newby myself, but planning same trip for summer hols, and I'm French so it does help in planning
Our trip will probably be longer than yours so we're actually going to stop at least 3 nights on the way down. We travelled with kids (now 2 and 4) from Lyon to Italy last year (and back to Lyon along Southern Italian then French coast) in rented campervan, and found that 3/4 hour drives a day where fine, with a nice stop for lunch and a run, and then plenty of time to enjoy campsites with a pool/beach in the evenings.
A beautiful campsite if you push it down to the South is Les Prairies de la Mer, in Port Grimaud (just across the bay from St Tropez). The facilities are perfect (shop, showers/toilets/wash sinks), the campsite has its own beach (150m from your camper), and Port Grimaud is beautiful (expensive but you can walk back to camper in 15 minutes "kids-speed" for meals). There's actually a mini funfair within the campsite !
To search for French campsites why not use the French search engines ? Here are a few links :
http://www.campingfrance.com/
Do a Recherche par criteres for the region you're interested in, Location et equipements, then select the region again and "piscine" for swimming pool for example.
Other sites :
http://www.camping.fr/
http://www.campingdefrance.com/

If you need help with the French don't hesitate to get in touch !

Forgot to mention, there's a lot of campsites with covered pools (piscine couverte), what I don't know is if the pools are open at Easter, but anyway, worth looking into. This one near Vichy (on way down more or less) has one for example :
http://www.camping-beaurivage.com/gb1.html
Great way to make it easier on the kids on the way down.

here2surf

Thanks Mountainsandh
Good links and info.