Aibu, road trip with a 4 year old and 5 year old.

[Justanotherquestioner]

Aibu to even consider this? Help me plan... I have no clue where to start.

It'll be me, a school age child and a very nearly school age child, summer 2022. I'm thinking of a ferry across to Europe and a little road trip for a few weeks.

We will take a tent and a camping stove. Probably little else.

Am I completely misguided? Where would you go? What would you do? I'm thinking maybe three weeks. Could do more or less though, we have the whole of the summer holidays

It's doable, but wondering what's your reason for doing it?

Personally it wouldn't be my choice for a relaxing holiday - especially not for that long with two young kids.

I would consider cutting it down to a week and seeing how it goes, and maybe doing a longer one the next year if it goes well.

What are the kids like? Are they outdoorsy and will they enjoy it? A lot of it hinges on their personalities, if they are easy going to cope with the time on the road or if they will be needy/ clingy/ whinging a lot, which won't make for a fun time for anyone.

Are you the type of person who plans a holiday around the kids, or do they have to slot in with you? (and are used to it?)
If the former then you'll need to make sure you do lots of child-friendly activities (which might take away the fun of it for you). I would try to visit lots of places where they will have opportunities to meet and play with other children.

But honestly I think it's not going to be easy...

Not for another year or two IMHO!

I went camping with them three times this summer. They're quite chilled kids, although one potentially sen so can get overwhelmed at times.
They are good in the car and outdoors type kids.
It'll only be me and them so we will mostly just amuse ourselves/take it as it comes.

I've just seen the euro tunnel is considerably cheaper.

Maybe I'm totally overambitious

Are you sure you want to do this? Packing up every day or few days sounds like an absolute nightmare. The kids won't be into sightseeing or hiking at that age (well mine wasnt). I would look to book a week each in two or three well-equipped camp sites (playgrounds, pools, bars, shops on site) for an easier holiday.

@Jenjenn that sounds brilliant! God I didn't even think about the pack up!

I would for a week, two at a push, but any more than that and my kids would start missing home and their creature comforts, and they're the outdoorsy types too.

The camping: great!

France: great!

But I would go easy on a lot of long drives. Do 3 or 4 locations over the 3 weeks?

I wouldn’t want to spend many of my holiday days driving and setting up camp all the time.

OK, so I've found an awesome looking campsite in les mathes.
Maybe we could travel there and back somehow as part of the holiday. Looks like we could easily spend a week there

We’ve done this a few times - France has great camp sites, they often have play areas/swimming pools/generally nice bits of nature to muck about in. One had a lovely river to swim in. My kids were fine with long journeys (haven’t gone since Covid, but last time they were 7, 5 and 1), we bought new toys (those little books with figurines inside) before a trip to amuse them in the car, and Disney greatest hits cd 😀 We would generally pack/unpack with them sat in the car (obv right in front of the tent) with the doors open and some cars. They absolutely loved all the travelling about having adventures, and camping is a cheap way to have a long holiday. I reckon go for it!

OK.
So thinking...
Eurotunnel to calais. Drive to la rochelle over maybe 2 or 3 days with hotel stops.
A week or so in that camp site I found.
Drive to bilbao over a couple of days to get the ferry home.

Does this sound manageable?!
It's approx 6 hours driving from calais to la rochelle. 6 hours from la rochelle to bilbao

Correction. It's 9h from calais to la rochelle

We generally try to do max 6 hours driving (plus stops). We have done 9 hours but it’s pretty tiring (dh doesn’t drive so it’s all me). French service stations often have playgrounds too (and delicious ‘Paul’ coffee shops 🙂) and they also have a lot of picnic stops with no shops but toilets and a little green area and benches.

Oh, I hadn’t realised from your OP that you had DH with you, I thought you were planning to do it solo.

That does make it easier, I think, even if he isn’t sharing the driving.

Sounds great!

I was going to do it alone. But I might try to convince dh to come. I've only told him my plans in the past half hour

Your new plan sounds much better. I'd stay in Bilbao for a day or too. It's quite nice there, iirc.

I have done this for two weeks with a 7yo and 2yo. We also stayed near La Rochelle and had stop offs at other places. We stayed in a mobile home though, not tent. It was a lot of fun but also so, so exhausting. My eldest in particular is very full on (possible ADHD) and they were on the go constantly. We did a lot of beach, pool, walks, some visits to places of interest. I would say two weeks as a maximum with little ones but YMMV if you have very 'easy' kids. The longest stretch of driving we did was five hours - we did plenty of stops for food/a walk/to find a park.

Myself and my husband have driven the trip from Calais to La Rochelle which was a loooonnnnggggggg nightmare with no children...then the trip from La Rochelle down to the south of France which was even worse....I wouldn't recommend on your own with the children...it's long, never ending and exhausting

@Justanotherquestioner

OK. So thinking... Eurotunnel to calais. Drive to la rochelle over maybe 2 or 3 days with hotel stops. A week or so in that camp site I found. Drive to bilbao over a couple of days to get the ferry home.

Does this sound manageable?!
It's approx 6 hours driving from calais to la rochelle. 6 hours from la rochelle to bilbao

That sounds manageable to me although I was with DH. I wouldn't do it alone as my two can be a handful

6 hours will be whole day with long stops for dc to get out and run around

I've spent eight months driving around Europe on my own, apart from the dog.

Random thoughts...

Go for it, my girls loved road trips and France in particular at that age BUT if you're thinking of hiring a van in the UK, check you can take it abroad. Lots of companies aren't allowing it now. I'd look into hiring a fully equipped van over here, crossings in a van are expensive. it would also be easier in a LHD vehicle as you'll be the only adult checking at junctions.

You'd never drive as fast in a van, take google estimates with a pinch of salt. For your own sanity and to not be too tired, I'd work on three hours a day.

Set yourself a deadline for finding somewhere to sleep, lunchtime is good.

I'm sure there's more!

Some awesome. Advice. Thankyou. I've been working on my plans today. I think I'm averaging about 2 hours driving per day. I might ditch the tent and do a mixture of accommodation.

One child is super easy. One is the work of 3 kids. Potentially asd. Jury is currently out on that one though. Plenty of outdoor freedom and he should be fine.

This is my current proposal.

1. euro tunnel.
2. escalles, beach, overnight stay.
3. dungeon visit and overnight stay www.donjonderouen.com/
4. Le parc Théodore-Monod and overnight stay
5. poitiers. Looky land. overnight stay.
6. camp site. La rochelle. One week? www.canvasholidays.co.uk/france/south-west-france/campsite-aquatique-club-la-pinede.php
7. Jonzac - water park. Overnight stay www.lesantillesdejonzac.com/
8. bordeaux. Cap sciences. Science museum. Overnight stay
9. castets. Water sports Club Canoe Kayak La Palue. Overnight stay
10. biarritz. Aquarium. Overnight stay
11. bilbao ferry and home!

Sounds brilliant. Please come back and post a review when you have done it!

I live near Poitiers...check out Puy de Fou, Futuroscope and the Vallée des Singes. Also the lake at St Cyr, I think you can camp there.