Holiday in France - advice needed please!

[redshinyshoes]

We're planning our first family holiday with are 3 DC's (ages 6, 3, and 6 months) and really fancy a rustic French farmhouse with countryside, a beach & nice wine but are also on a budget! I've only ever been to Montpelier which was amazing but a bit far for us to travel we were thinking more of West France inbetween Bordeaux and La Rochelle, anyone been here before and the the regions vary wildly?! Thanks

I have been to the vendee 3 times. It's on the gulf stream so the weather is usually warmer than brittany.

It is not as busy as other areas, not as condensed. The beaches are lovely, quite quiet.

Sounds lovely, did you fly or get the ferry? We're thinking of driving from St Malo down the coast

We went to charente maritime region, near saintes.

WE got the ferry from Poole ot St Malo, then drove down.

We stayed in a hotel in St Malo as the ferry got in early evening and we weren't sure of where we were going so wanted to wait til morning before we drove.

We really enjoyed it.
And St Malo is wonderful too.

Thanks for all the advice! Is the West of France quite different from the South or is the main difference the temperature?

We went to Charente Maritime last August for 2 weeks, best family holiday we have had.

Stayed inbetween Saintes and St Jean d'Angely. Beautiful countryside with sunflower fields and vineyards. But beach accessible in about 30-40 mins.

Weather was lovely, 25-30 degrees most days.Maritime has a microclimate, not as hot as South but more reliable than other parts of France (but sunny weather not guarenteed!!)

We drove from Calais, but a long drive. Would suggest driving down from St Malo. Or flying... cheap flights to La Rochelle with Easyjet which we will probably use next August when we return.

We were in Vendee last year and I would highly recommend it. It is not too far of a drive, and the weather is warm.

We had a stop over down from st Malo just past la Rochelle and would like to go back. We hotelled it as only one night as we were heading south to friend's house. I think the islands look lovely near there too, the Ile de Rey and Ile de Oleron....

We looked into getting the ferry to St Malo but it is £450 more expensive than the one to Calais, and takes 9 hours longer. We worked out the drive from Calais would add on about 3 hours, Ruthiebabes how long did it take you and did you stop over? Was it a fairly uncomplicated drive?

We drove each time, got the tunnel and had an overnight stay in rouen. There is a good novatel there which is full of brits doing stopovers.

You can sail to st malo and not do an overnight stay, I think the ferry is more expensive.

They have some lovely properties on holiday lettings and owners abroad. When we have picked a property we also look it up on google earth and street view.

we have stayed at La Tranche a few times. The town is lovely, all amenities, good supermarket. Lovely long beach (miles of it).

The Vendée is lovely. he south is less crowded than the north, and the weather is generally better. The added advantage that La Rochelle and the Il de Ré are accessable, which are the best it of the Charente Maritime.

If you want countryside, with nice towns, and easy access to a beach then the area near Fontenay le Comte is lovely.

Count on about a 3hour drive from St Malo to the South Vendee. Some parts of the Charante maritme (St Jean D'angely for example) are another 90 minutes drive on top. The drive from Calais is about 6.5 hours.

For gites try Owners direct or holiday rentals.

If you do go don't miss a day out at the Puy du Fou - it is amazing.

Redshinyshoes.. we did stop over. We crossed from Dover to Calais on the Friday and drove 4 1/2 hours to Le Mans (had booked a fab B&B who provided us with a meal and wine!!, They also had a big garden with a splash pool so loads of space for the boys to run around). The traffic was fine on the Friday. On the Saturday we drove down to St Jean, but the traffic was terrible. It took about 6 hours!!

If you can avoid travelling on a Saturday in August the drive is very manageable. The roads are fab. I researched the hol loads before going, and I purchased a liber-t pass for the tolls. Basically it means you dont need to queue for tolls, it charges your CC, so saves time.

We cant wait to return as loads more we want to see and do.

Thanks Ruth, how did you find the B&B? It sounds perfect, especially the wine after the long drive, ha!

We went to the Vendee when DD was 2.6 but we flew to Bordeaux and hired a car because we felt that the drive was too far with her at that age.

Mind you we were starting from the North West of England so that obviously would have added on a bit of time to the journey.

Redshinyshoes... the b&b I found by luck searching on the net. It is called www.lalunelake.co.uk.

It is owned by an English couple who moved over a few years ago. When we arrived we were offered drinks, they were so friendly. The food was fab, with a carafe of wine and more if required!!

I would recommend it highly.

Take a look at www.gitesandantiques.com - really family friendly gites around 4 hours drive from coast. There's a review on here too and on Trip Advisor.