Our French Sojourn

The places we stayed, the route we took and how much stuff cost

Good Morning all! It is lovely to be back in the land of decent wifi connection! Hope everyone is ok in all this heat. The weather here is genuinely hotter than the weather we had in France!

I felt like we were away for so long that we were legit on the run and that we should probably turn ourselves in at some point.

We escaped for 5 weeks and 3 days. I KNOW!!! 5 WHOLE WEEKS. And it was one of the best things we have EVER done. I must say here that we didn’t for a moment take the fact that we could just bugger off to France - or anywhere for that long, for granted - and we are both incredibly fortunate to be able to work on the move. We are also hugely grateful to the kids who are still at home, for holding the fort, putting the bins out, watering the plants and making sure the homestead was in good order and still standing when we got home, while running their businesses and finishing a degree. If we hadn’t have had their back up it would have been a different ball game as it would have meant leaving an empty house, so this was definitely a moment in time that will be hard to repeat.

I promised you a post about where we went and the route etc and this is it. Apologies in advance to A) any France EXPERTS because, apart from Paris for a couple of nights, neither of us had ever set foot in France so I shall apologise now, for any mistakes and the missing of an obvious ‘must see’. B) I apologise to any camping experts who know more than we do! We are newbies to all this lark. C) Apologies if you were really here for ‘5 Excellent Pairs of Shoes That Don’t Cost a Fortune’ or similar! Actually that would be a brilliant post - watch this space haha

Let’s dive in. So, it was Gav’s pipe dream to get a van, convert it and disappear off to Europe in it and travel about. It took 2 years of working on it whenever he could, to get the van done, and back in January he gave himself a deadline of May to finish it and start driving. May, mainly because of the dog. If we left any later we would be hitting some really hot weather and bless her, she is 10 and it just wouldn’t have been fair. Also, we wanted to avoid any kind of big school holidays. We have absolutely no need to collide with school hols and seeing as we really only had a very rough idea of our route, we wanted to give ourselves the best shot at arriving at a campsite without booking ahead and there being room for us to stay. BEFORE AND AFTER REEL HERE

We booked Le Shuttle from Folkstone to Calais - if you are bringing your dog you can find the info ‘TRAVELLING WITH THE DOG’ here and it was VERY easy and so fast! Au revoir UK and 36 minutes late bon jour France! Our tickets cost around £400 return.

If you are planning a trip you might find this framework useful - we (ahem I say ‘we’ GAV) drove 3.5 thousand miles/ 5.633km in 37 days, which averaged out at 94.5 miles or 152 kms a day. It was ALOT. But this trip was a fact finding mission, to find the places we would visit next time, and plan to spend more than a fleeting 1 or 2 nights there. I think the longest we spent at any one place was 3 nights - and then we adjusted the driving to cover a larger distance to make up for it when we upped sticks again to move to the next place. So we were constantly on the move. Which has it’s pros and cons. We certainly never got bored - but it would have been really nice to spend longer in places we loved -France is SO BIG haha- by the time we arrived in St Tropez and wanted to book an extra night here and there in the South, and linger even a tiny bit, the knock on effect would have meant we’d have had to miss pretty much the whole of the west coast entirely and motor like the wind to get back to Calais for the train booking home, orrrr we could add another week on to allow us a night extra here and there. So we added another week. It all sounds massively disorganised but it was planned and we purposely booked a flexible return date for this exact reason. (We rang and had to pay a bit extra but it was super easy to change dates)

Turns out both of us LOVE life in the VW! I am NOT a natural camper (Quelle surprise…!) - in ‘93 we camped round New Zealand in a PopTop van, which was very cool and we did Australia in a tiny 2 man tent that you couldn’t even stand up in, but we were young and flexible, lived on 2 minute noodles and didn’t care as long as we didn’t spend more 10 dollars a day on living expenses. 32 years on and I need a few home comforts and the VW was ACE. Not least because we invested in a memory foam bespoke mattress. An definite upgrade on the 1993 airbed.

babies haha!

C1993 in a field in New Zealand haha how cool was our van!!

LET’S TALK ROADS - Omg French roads are a DREAM, large and wide and no pot holes and just glorious. And TOLLED. Of course you can choose to drive on toll free roads, the route will take longer and be free to drive on. We mostly chose to use the Autoroutes which have tolls. The costs vary depending on how many miles you use the road for and also what category of vehicle you are in. For instance Category 1 - cars and trailers not exceeding 2m in length and no heavier than 3.5 tonnes. Category 2 - same but with a height of 2-3 meters, all the way up to HGVs in Category 4.

You will also need a European Driving Kit which includes headlamp beam deflectors that need to be applied and warning triangles in case you break down (you can also get all the bits you need on Amazon)

Some of the tolls are humungous, 20 booths across ensuring everyone gets through as fast as possible with no bottle necks. It is EXCELLENT.

If you are worrying about having the right change, using a card and even sitting on the wrong side of the car to easily access the payment terminal (if you have no passenger at the front, bc that is the side the terminals are of course) then I would MASSIVELY recommend using an automatic payment tag. We BOUGHT ONE OF THESE and it meant seamlessly driving through the tolls with barely the need to stop. The tag (on it’s mount on your windscreen) is picked up at the toll by the overhead scanner and the barrier opens and your payment method will be charged automatically. Look for the T on the queue for the gate and make sure you travel through the right part. SO EASY.

We also hired a wifi booster/ mobile router so we didn’t use roaming - (you could buy a SIM card in France ofc but we didn’t) this is what we did and it was really good LINKED HERE

I digress

I think what I will do is list all the sites that we stayed at, we liked some better than others - use my list as a base for your own or cherry pick the areas.

COST - average was around 25 euros a night for a camping car pitch with electric hookup.

We got an ACSI card which gives you discounted nights at participating sites

FIND THE INFO HERE

Also worth considering -the star rating - we filtered our search by 4+ star reviews and not the stars the campsites have on their websites. Obviously the higher they are rated, the more boxes they tick and as such you could find yourself paying for lots of amenities you won’t use. In our case at one of them, that meant a huge play park, multiple pools, trampolines, free evening entertainment, kids disco etc etc - if that is what you are after then BRILL - if not then you will be fine choosing lower star rated sites and sticking to user reviews and their star ratings.

APPS - Search For Sites, Camping Carpark, The ACSI App.

BOOKS - VITAL used them every single day - This one and THIS one which has the ACSI card in it

We were recommended a good ‘beginning and end’ site. In the end we stayed somewhere else at the end, but this was indeed the perfect site to start -about an hour from Calais, v quiet with a farm shop and in an excellent location because we wanted to go over to Belgium and see Ypres and Tyne Cot war cemetery and the Menin Gate where at 8pm sharp every evening The Last Post is played by buglers.

Here is the list of every site we stayed at - hope it’s handy

1. CAMPING DE LA FERME DES SAULES v quiet, nice loos, great farm shop

   

2. CAMPING CHATEAU DE L'OSERAIE situated on The Somme. V quiet and near AMIENS - lovely town for a wander.

3. CAMPING MUNICIPAL D'EPERNAY Champagne region - this is where we booked CHAMPAGNE TASTING - at this champagne house and HERE IS THE REEL

4. CAMPING DU LAC DE LA LIEZ Here is the reel I made from our pitch - such a view!

5. CAMPING AU COEURE DE LAC, ANNECY & here is the reel - pic below is the view of Mont Blanc from the pitch

   

   AND HERE IS THE INFO IF YOU WANT TO HIRE BIKES

6. CAMPING PONT DU AVIGNON

   

   This site had a lovely pool, but non chiens allowed so we just admired it from the bar. Well located to investigate Avignon on foot.

7. This was one of our FAVOURITE sites CAMPING LES MURES GRIMAUD You can stay on the campsite side, or book beach side. I would definitely try and book ‘1st row beach front’ if we visit again. If front row is booked, I’d just switch to the other side of the road and stay on the campsite. Really well organised and so clean with an excellent little supermarket. Hugely helpful staff.

   

   

   Beach snacks at Les Mures

   We took the ferry from Port Grimaud to St Tropez on a Saturday which is market day and a MUST do for all market lovers - HERE IS THE LINK TO THE REEL

   

   From here we also took the train and visited Cannes for the day - HERE IS THE REEL

8. We drove through the lavender fields of Provence but we were too early for the lavender - Next time!!! So next up CAMPING PEGOMAS in Saint Remy

   HERE IS THE REEL and HERE IS A LINK TO THE SUBSTACK POST Hugely recommend the Wednesday market which is a 10 minute walk from the site.

   

   Camping Pegomas

   9. CALIFORNIE PLAGE This one looked like a fresh hell when we rolled up on BH weekend. It was one of the few we could get in to so we booked. If you have young children, it is set up for you. If you don’t, you are paying for a lot of amenities you won’t use. And they asked for a 20 euro deposit which was refunded when we left. Not really sure why, but it was a red flag. The loos and showers were super clean but I would not go back.

   We stayed 2 nights and it was well located to visit LES BAUX from.

   

   

(get there as early as you can - by the time we were done at about 12, the parking was rammed - we arrived around 9 ish and it was lovely - think French St Ives)

10. CAMPING LE MOULIN sweet little site off the beaten track, ace pool and a lovely courtyard, we only stopped for 1 night it was BOILING hot so we were v grateful for our shady pitch. Lots of water nearby which also meant the mosquitos had a field day, but the site was lovely.

11. CAMP AMETZA Right on the border with Spain - in fact one end of the beach is French and the other end is Spanish. The staff were SO friendly but I wouldn’t stay here again perhaps unfairly judged on the fact it was cold, raining and we had our own designated loo, shower and basin, which sounds good on paper. But they were in different blocks and quite a distance away- tbh it was a right faff to remember the key, find the right loo/shower in the maze of blocks, loos and showers and it meant that only one if us could use the facilities at a time so if G was heading for a shower, the key was with him. And that meant the loo was unavailable. The showers were awful and there was no where to put soap or shampoo, and the loos had no loo paper which was the last straw for me! It might have been that we inadvertently booked a pitch like that, but I was not sold on the area either. The beach was nice but … no dogs.

12. AIROTEL OCEAN LACANAU a lovely sprawling site in an open pine forest right next to an enormous white sandy beach (no dogs, but we snuck her on one evening - it does take the enjoyment out though!) Lots to do, nice little supermarket, excellent facilities.

    

13. CAMPING LA PLAGE VEZAC one of our favourites. We were lucky enough to get a pitch right on the river on the Dordogne. Lovely owners, fab shop, pool, lovely facilities and a short walk to the prettiest village. Highly recommend.

    AND HERE IS THE LINK TO THE REEL

    

    14. CAMPING LES SAULES LOIRE

    Funny little site - lots of potential with feeling of not being quite finished and un unprepared for the season. However, the loo blocks were excellent AND… DRUM ROLL - LOO PAPER AND A LOO SEAT. It has come to this being the pinnacle of campsite luxury. Well located to visit Chateau Chambord but dogs aren’t even allowed in the gardens so we didn’t pay to go in, but walked around the outer bit. Sad times.

14. CAMPING AU BORD de LOIRE Excellent location for a quiet stroll along the Loire or a wander to one of the bridges. Lovely owners and a really nice little site. I think it must flood bc all the main buildings are on stilts, including the loos which are up a set of stairs, not one if you can’t do stairs, the showers were pretty bad - low pressure, tepid and 5 seconds of water at a weird angle, tbf I might have just picked the wrong shower.

    

    

    15. CAMPING DE LA TORCHE Another FAVOURITE!

    Super friendly owners, pool, lovely site, brill washing machines, excellent showers etc and very close to the SPARKLY BEACH HERE - definitely one to revisit. (no shop or facility to order baguette or croissants for the next morning so come prepared) Scoped out pitch 226 or 27 for next time.

15. CAMPING CHEVRETS A huge site with direct access to a lovely beach (unless you have a dog then you can just look at it from afar, can you tell the no dogs rule is starting to wear thin? There seems to be no reason for it in most places. Some ofc are to protect the birds that are nesting in sand dunes, but other than that, on these huuuuuuge empty beaches I can’t see a reason why) You can stay in really cool treehouses too. We only stayed one night but the facilities were good.

    

    

    16. OMAHA BEACH CAMPING

    WAIT!!!! Here we have a dog friendly beach!!!! And it is a hugely important beach because it is one of the 2 beaches that the US forces arrived at on D-DAY. Gold beach a bit further along, was one of the beaches that our men landed at. It was VERY emotional to be there and I’d thoroughly recommend seeing it all. Excellent site. Perfect location for exploring the D-Day beaches and the war cemeteries.

    

    

    

16. CAMPING BAARE Y VA Heading back through Normandy and we really landed on our feet here. THE PRIZE FOR THE BEST LOOS GOES TO THIS SITE. What a time to be alive. Lovely little pool, shop and really friendly owners. Make sure you leave at bang on 11 or you’ll get a gentle nudge. Even when it’s 2/3 empty. Lovely location on the banks of the Seine. Here a a couple of photos of the amenities - ok, no loo seat but that is all forgiven on account of how clean and just all round EXCELLENT the showers are

    

    

    17. Aaaaaand finally - the last stop before Le Shuttle (and it is literally 10 mins from the terminal and 10 mins from alllll the enormous shops - 1 last chance to go and stock up in Carrefour or maybe you fancy a mooch round an enormous Primark or any other of the heaps of shops and outlets at Cité Europe. We stayed our last 2 nights at CAMPING BLANC NEZ

    It is a short walk to the beach and by this time we took Molly early and late and figured the gendarmes were not that interested seeing as the next beach along is Sangatte, so there were bigger fish to fry than a little English spaniel on the beach at sunset.

    There is a little shop for supplies (order your baguettes or croissant for the next day) and a cafe and bar and a fab lady out the front doing hot chips, a sandwich (huge filled baguette) and a drink for 12 euros and it was VERY busy and really really good.

    

    And that rounds up the camping details! Sorry if it was boring!! But I know it will be helpful for some of you - if it is I would massively appreciate a restack so others might see it too!

    I promised a post about what we packed, but this one is already a long read and it would be a big ask of you to keep ploughing through.

    So, for now I will be off to stick my head in the fridge and wish for air con !

    It is good to be back. Thanks for sticking with me! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and I will be back before you know it

    Love

    Sally xxx

    

    

    Here is a very technical drawing of our route.