Would anyone like to help me plan a holiday touring Normandy, possibly going into Brittany too?

[Dumbledoresgirl]

I am new to planning a foreign holiday as we usually holiday in the same places in Britain or, on occasions when we have been abroad, dh has planned it. But this year, dh has asked me to look into the details.

So, we are thinking of taking our car to Normandy. We are into tourism rather than lying on beaches/around hotel pools and we like history. A look at the map has suggested the following places to visit:

Normandy D day beaches, Bayeux, Rouen, Honfleur, Caen, Mont St Michel, St Malo (I am aware this last is in Brittany).

Have you been to these places? Anything specific to recommend/avoid?

Can you recommend anywhere else? How about beaches in this area or further on in Brittany? I have heard that Brittany is similar to Cornwall so was thinking of surfing beaches or similar. I have also vaguely heard of standing stones in Brittany but don't know where these are.

I am also not sure about the distances between these places/how big Normandy/Brittany are. We are happy to tour from one place to another but obviously it would be easier if we could stay in one central place and go on day trips.

Accommodation is my biggest concern. We can't afford luxury. We are happy with self catering. I would happily camp but dh wouldn't! A cabin would be his minimum level of comfort I think. We would have at least 2 children with us (aged 12 and 15) but possibly 2 older ones too (19 and 17). What sort of accommodation is available in Normandy or what have you stayed in and would recommend?

Any other advice/recommendations you can give? We would be travelling in August, not sure whether for a week or longer, it depends on cost!

We've done Bayeux, DDay Beaches etc. We stayed at a Pierre et Vacances place at Dives and drove along to Deauville which was lovely. There is a larger site with more amenities called Normandy Garden which friends have recommended. Pegasus bridge museum was very moving. You probably need to allow half a day visits to most museums/sites.

I don't know Normandy but the standing stones in Brittany are at Carnac and are very nice. huelgoat was another memorable place.

We pop across a lot as we're only in Jersey. so can easily do day trips.

would recommend Bayeux. The town itself is lovely and of course the tapestry museum is a must.

we've stayed in Granville a lot, and there are some lovely places to stay there, and lovely restaurants. We stayed in a hotel near the casino if memory serves...

Mont st Michel is also a must see. make sure you walk all the way to the top of the monastery. the views are amazing (also have galette frite.....yummmmm))

if you go to St Malo, make sure you go into the walled part of the city. am not sure whether you can still drive in, but there are some lovely creperie and restaurants there.

if you can base yourselves in normandy i'd try and hire a gite or an apartment somewhere. suggest granville as its fairly central.

Thank you for the suggestions. I am not sure what Pierres et Vacances is exactly as you mention 'facilities'. Is it some sort of holiday camp? We aren't bothered about facilities (beyond what you would find in a well appointed apartment) as we don't want to be with other people. But forgive me if I have misunderstood.

I am taking on board any places mentioned - they all sound lovely. Perhaps Brittainy would be a step too far as Normandy seems to have enough going for it.

Can anyone advise re surfing beaches?

Also meant to say we like nature, places of geographical interest, nice places to walk etc. Any suggestions?

I still can't work out if we could stay in one central location or whether we would be better off travelling around. Driving for an hour to get somewhere is no bother, but to bbe regularly driving for 2 hours would spoil the holiday I think.

DG - i find that hiring a house through holiday lettings or similar is WAY cheaper than even Eurocamp.

WE have had some great holidays that way

It is more our style too. I am hoping someone will come along with a company (if not house) recommendation. Though I am grateful for the mention of Pierre et Vacances too because I have absolutely nothing to go on at the moment. Anything is better than nothing!

P and V are apartment/houses. Some are "holiday villages" with activities a la Centerparcs , some on more mixed residential developments with access to pool/beach, some standalone apartment buildings. Have a look at their website. We went to a Wake Up in France holiday home courtesy of MN, in the Vendee but cover most areas.

jsut put the area and what you NEED ( ie pool, or wifi) into the search

ok so i put in a week in August in ' N France' ( you can be more specific) and got this for eg

www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/honfleur/1432901

this SPECIFIES teenagers

shared hot tub etc

OOH LLALA
www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/le-quillio/5436784

www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/guemene-sur-scorff/5813110

Thanks EH. Ooer to the sauna one! Shame it is so far south. I have been talking to dh. I think we have agreed that we are now looking at confining ourselves to Normandy and possibly staying near Caen or Bayeux.

I have found one possible cottage but need to find others so we can compare.

You could get a ferry to Roscoff you know and then you won't have to drive as far, more expensive though.

I'm ashamed to admit that any ferry crossing longer than Dover to Calais is out because I get seasick and am emetophobic.

I know how bad that sounds.

I think that a gite is definitely your best option price wise. Eurocamp is far more expensive than a standard gite in August. There are obviously boutique b&bs that are very pricy but if you are looking for something simple a gite will be much cheaper.

We went Dover-Calais , stopped at Le Touquet for a couple of nights then took about 3 hours' drive. Dh isn't good on boats.

What time of year did you go, or rather, if you went in August, what was the weather like? I am worrying that Normandy won't be much warmer than England but dh says it will.

We holiday in southern Brittany.

Vannes is a beautiful walked medieval City
auray and Saint goustan is very pretty with great cycling, sailing and wooded walks
Quiberon and the cote du savage is stunning.
Carnac has the standing stones, but for me, well it's just lots of rocks in the ground. its pretty touristy.

We sail to roscoes fr, and it's five. I'm not a great sailor!

We stayed in Val Rive in the beautiful village of Lehon, near Dinan. It's good accomadation

www.cheznous.com/180060b/degas--2-bedroom-apartment-cotes-darmor.aspx

There are several lovely apartments in the building overlooking a river.

Dinan - lovely medieval town
St michaels mont - impressive but get there early before the crowds
St malo - nice
Erquay - pretty coastal town. My boys enjoyed sand yachting there

Brittany is a lovely area.

No. There's alot of toll booths between Calais and Brittany.

The Caen Memorial (war & peace museum) is well worth a visit if you are interested in history.

We normally stay in Ibis budget (formerly Etap) hotels as there's only two of us and they are cheap. Might not work so well for a family though.

Towards end of August. Hot to begin with then sun/showers.

We stayed at Chateaux Les Eaux - used it as a base to tour. Children were much younger than yours (possibly the pool would be rather tame for teenagers) but we loved it, site was lovely and not "brits abroad" at all. We booked directly with Les Castels, stayed in on of their chalets (wooden hut) and the closest town was Granville which was lovely.

Look at www.gites-de-france-normandie.com for self catering, we normally select a 15km radius around Bayeux. Omaha Beach (St Laurent sur Mer) is beautiful and worth a visit. Loads of great museums, the tourist office in Bayeux is a great place to go on day one for information. Arromanches is a lovely seaside town, good beach touristy shops, a museum and nice cafes. Juno beach centre is great for all the family if you want to visit some WW2 sites.