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Original poster

Getting to the Vendee from North West England....

24 replies

wickedfairy · 06/01/2011 16:50

Hi there,

We want to go camping in the Vendee this summer and are trying to work out the best way to get there (we have 2 young children, will be 4yo and almost 1yo). We live in North West England. We will be driving and will have our own camping equipment, so don't really want to stop overnight anywhere as car will be full and there will probably be stuff on the roofrack too.

Originally thought we'd get the ferry Portsmouth - St Malo overnight, but it is a day crossing on the way back, which we are not too keen on. The prices are shocking too, as Brittany ferries see to have the monopoly!!

Other option is Eurotunnel or Dover-Calais ferry but then it is a massive drive down to the Vendee.

Can anyone recommend which would be the best thing to do (or absolutely NOT to do!). How long would it take to go from NW Enland to Vendee via Calais area - is it possible in one day, to then pitch a tent at the other end? Thinking that might just be a bit much...

Do Brittany ferries do any offers - I assume not when we want to go, which is end of June into July.

Any advice gratefully received

OP posts:

JakeBrake · 06/01/2011 16:52

Ya know the vendee is pretty shit. Go further for better weather and fewer Brits

JakeBrake · 06/01/2011 16:52

We do Poole to Cherbourg. Then 7 hrs to s of Bordeaux. To crappy vendee would be ?5.

frenchfancy · 06/01/2011 17:36

Ignore the people who say the Vendee is crap, if you go further south the weather gets worse not better, and there are far more French tourists than British ones. The beaches are some of the best in the world, there is loads of things to do and the locals are friendly.

In terms of travel it is possible in one day, we have done it from Manchester, but it is quite tiring. Instead of St Malo look at the Caen Ferry, it is still Brittany ferries but whilst the drive is an hour or so longer the crossing is much shorter. They also do a nightime one on the way back. Brittany ferries don't mind if you go one route there and one route back so that is what we have done, St Malo to France and Caen on the way back.

TBH the drive to Dover is so terrible from the NW, we never do it that way unless we are stopping with friends in London. Calais to Vendee takes 6.5hours, Manchester to Dover is anyones guess.

JakeBrake · 06/01/2011 17:54

In my experience weather s of bdx always good. One miserable year at shitty garangeoire horrendous ,you want French people in France surely.

Although maybe not if you are northern

JakeBrake · 06/01/2011 17:55

Lol at geography being tipped on head. Mo the north of France hotter than south.
Non!

startofnewterm · 06/01/2011 18:40

Wicked, we are from north west england and are staying in north vendee this year. We have a tourer though so we have booked to drive down to calais and stay 1 night there then early crossing next morning and drive to vendee.

Could you not arrange do similar except instead of pitching tent for 1 night in dover before ferry crossing, stay in a cheap b&b or travelodge within a 10-20mile radius of port.

Last year we did the portsmouth to caen crossing but its just so expensive compared to dover-calais.

One other thing you could do is trade in tesco vouchers if you have any.

startofnewterm · 06/01/2011 18:42

Oh, and in my opinion, driving from northwest england down to vendee in one go is definitely a no. Even without children. Unless you are able to share the driving and are comfortable driving through the night when your partner is asleep of vice versa.

maclover135 · 06/01/2011 18:58

We travel Portsmouth to Le Havre with LD Lines and then onto the Vendee. Last year the journey from Le Havre took about 5 hours, so we arrived with plenty of daylight to put up the tent. We did some detailed research into the costs, as were equally shocked by ferry prices. In the end though, the petrol costs were almost as bad and we justified the slight extra expense of the ferry because of the gains in terms of less time spent in the car.
We are going a little further south this year (just below the Vendee) and so are going to try the overnight on the way there. Not so bothered about the journey back as we live on the South Coast so journey from Portsmouth home not too long.

I'm not sure that you will be able to manage a journey from the North East to the Vendee without stopping, tbh. I'd be tempted to either stop this side of the Channel the night before or go for an overnight ferry as per your original idea.
The Vendee is fab if you have children - beaches are great and we had lovely weather. Have a great time.

ENormaSnob · 06/01/2011 21:06

We did Bolton (just north of Manchester) to Southern Vendee via Dover-Calais crossing.

We stayed over in Dover then did a 6am crossing and drove to our site in one, it was about 7 hours including a fair few wee breaks as I was 30 weeks pregnant with dc3

It was okay but tbh I wouldn't drive on holiday again, far less stress flying. I also wasn't that keen on the Vendee, we went in August and it wasn't hot enough for me.

frenchfancy · 06/01/2011 21:41

The reason why the weather in the Vendee is normally better than south of Bordeaux is because there is a microclimate which means Vendee gets more sunshine than anywhere else in France except the cote d'azur.

See www.vendee-guide.co.uk/vendee-weather.htm

JakeBrake · 06/01/2011 21:48

Hotter than the Spanish border. Yeah right

frenchfancy · 07/01/2011 06:42

See the map on the link. Not hotter, but more hours of sunshine which is after all what counts:)

RailwayChild · 07/01/2011 06:47

We did the whole 'travel futher south for more sun' thing and it peed down all holiday in Biaritz..

We had sun every year in the vendee and I loved it with children. The beaches were flat and safe. I wouldn't go back now because children older but it was great with small DC

Driving - we went from Dover and drove around to it and we had a 5 hr journey to get to Dover.... -did it in one hit no problem but DH was happy to drive long distance. I wasn't.

Original poster

wickedfairy · 08/01/2011 18:51

Thank you all for your advice, it is very helpful!

Don't think we will be trying to do it all in one day after what you have all said. Good idea to take one ferry route there and another back, will look into that.

Another option is camp for a bit in the vendee and on the way back, go further north (Mont. St. Michel area maybe) and camp there for a bit before heading home....

Lots to look into! Thanks again

OP posts:

LetLoveRule · 09/01/2011 15:27

Vendee is great - don't listen to negative advice in this thread. Complete nonsense. I worked there for a summer and the weather was amazing from May onwards, pretty much nonstop. We have also holidayed a few times as a family with young kids and had a brilliant time. Not busy, even in peak season, friendly - and plenty of French people! We travel from N England - down to Portsmouth, overnight to St Malo. Arrive at 8am and and straight down to Vendee. On the way back we have done fast ferry (BF again) from Caen to Portsmouth and back home in the same day.

ENormaSnob · 09/01/2011 16:06

LLR, a differing opinion to your own does not make it complete nonsense

Or should only people with positive experiences reply?

lostinwales · 09/01/2011 16:11

Have you tried this, you can put in where you are travelling from-to and it will give you a recommended route or you can choose cheapest, shortest, scenic etc.

uggmum · 09/01/2011 16:23

We have been the the vendee 3 times. We live in Yorkshire. We have been on the ferry from Dover to Calais and we have also been on the tunnel.

We prefer the tunnel. We drove from Yorkshire the evening before and stayed in a Marriott hotel in Kent. We had a ground floor room and could unload the car straight into the room as it had patio doors. The hotel had a well lit car park so it was ok to leave some things inside.

When we arrived in France we drove to Rouen and stayed in a hotel there overnight, it had a secure gated car park.

However, if you get a early train you can do the drive from Calais in one go. It is a long drive and I would make plenty of stops.

I really enjoyed the Vendee, We had good weather on all 3 occasions. We did get a couple of duller days but no rain. Personally, I didn't find it was full of Brits. But it wouldnt bother me if it was.

ruthimar · 20/01/2011 18:31

Hi guys, thanks! That was an informative read - I am considering the best way to do a similar journey - West Yorks to La rochelle. Just not sure whether to splash the cash on the overnight ferry from st malo (some crossings already have no cabins left)to do the chunnel and an over night stop (our usual and preferred option) or to look at the other high speed crossings. I have 2 boys 5 and 8 and a husband who doesnt mind driving long distances. I havent been brave enough to drive in France yet... we did the drive last year and I really felt that the long journey back took a lot of fun out the holiday. so am looking for other options and advice...? It ends up that my husb drives and I spend the whole time refereeing their fights etc... However I love that part of France because as FrenchFancy says the weather is great - due to the micro climate and the beaches are lovely. So has anyone tried alternative sailings? Do you think the Brittany ferries are overpriced or worth it??!

PS WICKED FAIRY - Etap hotels v cheap but basic and a good option for mid journey overnights.

pointydug · 20/01/2011 18:44

We did portsmouth to st malo overnight on the way down. Way back we got a quick ferry from Cherbourg to Portsmouth. That got us in at about 10pm so we did stay overnight in a premier inn on the way back.

And it was nearly all french people on our campsite. Which was nice.

chippy47 · 20/01/2011 18:47

Early start to Dover -drive to Le Mans -stay at the Novotel Le Mans (family rooms for 4 -good value and the food was surprisingly good -and a secure car park so no need to unload). Then leisurely drive the next day to the Vendee. Our friends did this from Preston last year (we met at Dover). French roads are a breeze -and inc tolls and petrol still much cheaper than a longer ferry crossing. Hardly any Brits to speak of (Vendee is traditionally a French holiday destination), weather great, beaches great and excellent food.

JETS · 22/01/2011 22:59

Ease see rest of francw we did vendee and it is no where as nice but ok we didit too so on the basis u dont want to change / st malo is a good route othwrwise the big drivew never feel as bad in france we r regulars on thw calais to st tropez route recommend etap as break if needed. But go somewhere else nxt yr : the zoo is nice!

skirt · 22/01/2011 23:03

We've done the overnight stays in UK but much prefer the overnights on the ferry and the shorter drives. Ignore anyone who says the vendee is naff, it SO isnt. Its perfect for young families. Whereabouts in the vendee are you saying?

Ponders · 22/01/2011 23:11

We are in NW England too.

The distance from up here to Plymouth/Portsmouth/Dover/Folkestone is not that different - obv there is a diff the other side, but the autoroutes from Calais are fabulous & you could do it one 1 day with an early start.

Last few times we've gone Eurotunnel - cheap as chips with Tesco vouchers

Vendee is a bit dull though, unless all you want is duny sandy beaches. Normandy is gorgeous & a much shorter drive; Brittany is like Devon & Cornwall combined.

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