driving to south france

[kiwibella]

has anyone done this? I've been looking at the bargains on eurocamp site and feeling very tempted by a week camping in the sunshine. The downside would be a 1000 mile car journey to get there . So, really just interested to know if anyone has done it and then felt up for the return journey at the end of the week .

Been to France three times doing exactly this, once even Spain! Great fun and worth going further south than Normandy/Brittany for a better guarantee on the weather.

The key is to plan your journey meticulously, especially if you have kids who will get bored on a long car journey.

Re the long drive there and back - either go for broke and do it in one mad go or break your journey somewhere halfway. I've done both.

The former is very exhausting BUT it means an extra day's holiday and you can always book on an overnight ferry and get some sleep there if you want.

The second option is a little more work. Pick somewhere interesting that's on the way home (we went to Blois last year which was BRILLIANT). Setting up camp for just one night only to pack up and move on in the morning is a bit hectic but the French have some really excellent sites for a quick stopover (get the Alan Rodgers guide) especially the state-run ones which can be super cheap. Just be sure to ring and book, say the day before or on the way.

thanks MrsLady... I think I prefer to hit it in one go but not sure the kids will agree! Good idea to look for stop-off points.

You can book cheap Formule type hotels if they are purely for a one night stop over and you wouldn't have your own tent anyway would you?
I'd go for the stopover option France is too beautiful a country to rush through.
Use Mappy to help you divide the journrey into chunks.

Hi there, we drove down to Lourdes last summer. On our way down we stopped at Angers for a couple of nights and then continued our journey, coming back we stopped overnight in Alencon at a Formula One motel.

Our kids are very good in the car and are happy enough with a few games to play, books and the dvd player to keep them occupied.

I guess the time of your ferry crossing's may have a bearing on what you do as well. Have a good holiday.

We do this most years, and overnight in a Novotel family room (if there are 4 of us) or a Campanile or similar (when just 3).

If we are going to the Languedoc we stop at Bourges/Vierzon, then end up at the resort by around 2pm the next day, using a Dover Calais crossing.

This year we are driving to just South of Bacelona!

DH wants to try the "all in one day" drive, but we normally set out around 5am for an 8-9am crossing, and arrive at the overnight stop between 4-6pm, when we have all had enough!

well you could consider the Santander ferries instead, from Plymouth or Portsmouth.

Expensive though...

hm - just priced it for half-term (Fri 28 May - Sat 06 Jun) Portsmouth-Santander with a 4-berth inside cabin both ways - £974.

eek.

We've done this a few times, too. We usually take 2 days to get down there (leaving on a very early ferry 4am) and going for broke by doing it in one day on the way back (getting a very late ferry midnight or just a bit later). You definitely need two of you to drive if you're going to do this.

Have fun.

Hi kiwibella, I started a similar thread to this back in January - you'll find loads of useful advice here!

As it turns out, we've decided to go somewhere else now anyway, but may attempt the trip sometime in the future!

Hope this helps!

I couldn't face it with an 18mnth old so DD and I flew and met up with DP and the older kids who had driven. They broke the journey in Fontainbleu which is south of Paris and is a great area - if you like bouldering.

For finding overnight hotels this site can be incredibly useful, especially for outskirts of cities.

You need to zoom in/out, & move it about a bit, but once you know roughly where you want to be overnighting you get flags for all the hotels in the area & can check them all out for accessibility & availability - it's really helpful.

the Portsmouth ferry is a ridiculous price! I need to be more organised.

I'm pleased to learn that so many people have done this and I am convinced that hubs and I can do this! I would like to do it in one hit and think we will travel through the night (if we can) and perhaps do the Eurotunnel instead of Calais crossing.

I'll check out your thread Stinkyfeet, thanks so much for sharing this link. Thanks also for the hotel suggestions. We have stayed at Formula1 hotels before and they suited our purpose (bed for the night!).

Just thought of another heads up.

There is a date in August when the whole of France goes on holiday and en masse heads for the coast. I think it's usually the first weekend in August. Believe me - you do NOT want to be involved in a long drive when this is going on so make that a consideration when sorting your dates!

Last year we crossed from Newhaven to Dieppe on August 2nd and drove through the night and even at 3am, every service station was packed so full you had to queue for the toilets and the motorway was chocka!

thanks MrsLady... we are almost booked for the May half term. Just deliberating over which bloomin site!!

On the link that stinkyfeet included there is advice about weekend travel, particularly that it can be difficult to fill-up petrol on Sundays.

And of course you have to pay to use the motorways, which can really up the costs... Good luck and I hope the drive isn't too knackering - have a great holiday!