Camping in France in campervan - help!!!

[jobnockey]

usually camp in UK in our bell tent but this year we're borrowing a campervan for 2 weeks and are planning to head down to some hot weather in south of france...
I am hoping that knowledgeable mners will be able to help guide me through my planning process!
have seen some lovely looking campsites on coolcamping (definitely want more eco/nature type camping rather than resorty/entertainmenty type) but just having trouble getting my head around a travel itinerary and road route... plan is to go via calais and work way down with a stop off somewhere, then have a week in one place in south, and then work way back up again, with another stop off. Has anyone done anything similar who can lend me some ideas? I don't drive so will have to break driving up into manageable chunks for DP (also 5yo DS).
I like look of the area around Cevennes national park (which would also make it possible to do a day tips to seaside) but have also seen a site near Mirepoix (La Serre) which looks lovely and is also near some prehistoric cave paintings i would love to see... not sure my DP and Ds would share my enthusiasm for this to the point where they'd be willing to add on loads ore driving though!
really hoping someone can help me get my head around this and possible places to stop en route.
TIA x

We've done clockwise and anti-clockwise trips but in a tent and spread over 3+weeks. Stay first night at Castels site at Calais…really close to the tunnel and not too 'commercialised', anyway, it's only for one night and you really just want to get your head in gear and on the right side of the road before you start the mega journey!!
I don't drive in France as we travel in a Landrover pulling a trailer and DH convinced he makes the best job of it so I get to map read and argue with the SATNAV!!
We've made it to either Blois area (stayed Ferme du Prunay loads of times..think its in Cool Camping and it's lovely) or Kawan site near Troyes (also nice but a bit busier) depending on which way down we chose! We normally stay in these sites for 2/3 nights but then we are having to pitch a tent…not travelling in luxury like you will be! The thing is..if you only stop-over, you miss having a proper look at the area.
We then head to around the south of the middle. Last year we went as far south as Nimes (to follow the Tour de France)…the site was fab but we will never do this again! The main road south after Dijon is really busy and it took twice the estimated time to get there. We then travelled along the coast road towards Carcassonne…had the same problem.

We've been to the south loads of times but at Easter and I think from now on we'll keep it that way!
What I do is get a large map of France…pin it on the kitchen wall and start planning routes. you can then Google distance/time and take it from there.

The area around Cahors is beautiful and has lots of little sites. Mostly owned by Dutch people (they seem to have this camping lark sussed), they have all the amenities without the noise!! Also, around Figeac is lovely too with the same sort of set ups. Near the Gorge de l'Ardeche most of the sites are large and not what I think you're after. It is a stunning area though so maybe if you dig around you'll find small ones.
Think I have a local brochure kicking around somewhere with loads of sites. Will hunt for it and get back to you!
Big tip…apply online for an electronic toll payer thing…its got a proper name but i'll get back to you with that too!! It attaches to your windscreen and it means you just drive through the toll gates and it goes on your credit card. You get smaller queues this way and it's just easier.

I think driving to the south of France is a bit mental for a 2 weeks esp if starting from Calais. Why go so far?

thanks campingclaire - good tips there. Traffic was my main worry - i was hoping the toll roads wouldn't be so congested but seems i am wrong! Have already ordered a large map of france for the purpose of road planning - too hard with a road atlas i keep getting lost when i turn the pages!
cerealoffender - after many, many wet camping holidays we just want to make sure we have some sunshine... this is out first 'proper' holiday for years and would hate to be disappointed by the weather... i accept though that big traffic jams will also be a major downer so will have to weigh up pros and cons!

i would happily get car ferry and start a bit further down the coast but the cost seems astronomical compared to tunnel...
will look into toll thingy anyway

thanks!

Camper vans are slower than cars and more expensive. We have taken a camper over the Calais route and although it is cheaper you need to factor in cost of fuel and the tolls. I understand the need for sun but once you southern brittany or Loire it is fairly baking. When are you going?

we'll be going for last 2 weeks of august... I had read through various threads on here and lots of people with stories of how they're going as far south as possible due to bad experiences with weather!

Fair enough but we normally go Loire brittany in July and do ok but we are scottish and it is all relative! We absolutely baked in Loire last august.

We used this campsite near Calais. It is very basic but dirt cheap. We arrived in the evening and were leaving first thing so he only charged €8 and it has fabulous views over to Dover. Perfect for last night

this is a good place to work out toll costs

We live in the south east so have less travelling on this side to do I suppose. It's hard having never done it before as we're not sure what to expect really so thanks for your advice. Will show DP this thread later and see what he thinks - he'll be doing the driving after all! we kind o thought cutting the driving into 4-5 hour chunks would make it do-able but i suppose the estimate you get on a routeplanner doesn't take into account heaving roads does it?

thanks for website cerealoffender - very helpful!

We've been boiling in the middle of France…anything south of Limoges seems to get better weather more often but you do get the odd mega stormy downpour. At least with a camper if the weather looks dodgy for longer than a day or so you can easily drive off somewhere warmer! Like cerealoffender I'm Scottish too so maybe less picky with the weather! We did the ferry back from Caens to Portsmouth last time for a change and it wasn't worth the money. Its the tunnel for us from now on.

We are going through this ATM. As we were formally Eurocampers in France and had our own gear for the UK it was only a matter of time (coupled with huge price hikes) before DH finally agreed to take the plunge and camp independently in France

We both drive which cuts down on a lot of worry about distances. You need to decide how long you are happy (and can afford) to travel for then go from there. Our plans are fluid to say the least at present as we keep adding and discounting areas and sites, all the while planning to avoid any travel on the notorious Black Saturdays. With a camper van it will be little issue to stay on site for only one night but as claire says you will not get any sort of feel for the area.

As previous Eurocamp customers I must confess that I like their website and shamelessly raid it for strategic info such as distances and tolls as I find the site easy to navigate. FWIW I plan to book sites (for the first year at any rate) where I know there is a Eurocamp presence on site. I figure that any problems my smattering of French cannot deal with, I can throw myself armed with wine upon the mercy of the couriers who will hopefully take pity on me :o Past experience has also taught me that they tend to frequent only the better parcs so we have at least a sporting chance of coming up trumps.

So YY to the big map and the toll tag (Liber-T tag) TBH I find that half the pleasure is actually in the planning :)

Is the toll tag worth it then? We drive through using the credit card. Does it work if you cross the border to Germany or Switzerland?

Is the toll tag worth it then? We drive through using the credit card. Does it work if you cross the border to Germany or Switzerland?

On long drives yes millimat, it's a godsend. DH and I share the driving, one of us often sleeping while the other drives. Without the tag the driver needs to wake the sleeper to pay the toll as all the booths are on the wrong side for our right hand drive vehicle.
It also affords a little extra spending money as invoices are sent out monthly :o

Thanks for all the tips - we are still agonising over where to go! be interested to hear other peoples similar plans...