Travel to France for first time... ever

[acer]

Not got the camper yet, but its coming soon. Planning Scotland in May and friends are going to be near Nantes in the summer and we've been invited to visit. We've never driven through France, let alone in a camper, but we thought we'd take a jaunt down the West coast to meet them.

Has anyone been down this side of France before?

Any tips on where to go? What to see? Or where to stay?

 

[GrannyJen]

Le Touquet is lovely, Normandy fascinating, Saumur, if you like ww2 history is very interesting, especially if the Normandy beaches are crowded,

 

[bvddobb]

Remember to drive on the wrong side of the road. And make sure your headlights aren't blinding any oncomers (there's enough to be found about it on this forum).

Brittany is also very much worth the while.

 

[Hotel California]

Remember to remove the radar warning from your GPS , not allowed , not only swith it of but remove!
Watch out at the toll- gates , you will be sitting on the opposit side so the co-driver must do the job , watch out for not hitting the curbs , seen frequently UK drivers hitting the curb and damaging tyre and rim...
If your Cali is standaard , no roof baars , take the 2 m toll- gate otherwise you pay more , don' t know howmuch doh...

 

[MichaelB]

If your Cali is standaard , no roof baars , take the 2 m toll- gate otherwise you pay more , don' t know howmuch doh...

Are you sure? The routes we've taken it appears they have sensors to test height because we don't seem to have paid more than when we drove our car. Seeing how some of them are a little bashed I am always nervous they are not the full 2 metres.

 

[Californiaman]

Le Touquet is lovely,

it's especially lovely when there are 1.5m drunk bikers there for the beach race. Quite an experience, recommended. Never been in the van though - go on a motorbike but don't let all the bad people encourage you into mischievous behaviour...

 

[Hotel California]

Are you sure? The routes we've taken it appears they have sensors to test height because we don't seem to have paid more than when we drove our car. Seeing how some of them are a little bashed I am always nervous they are not the full 2 metres.

I never hit one ...a Cali is less then 2m , if it chould toutch they can pay the bill
No serious , a alway use those lanes at the Peage!

 

[Hotel California]

Before my Cali i drove a LR Defender , same thing just under 2 m ....

 

[acer]

From my research it seems a standard Cali is 1990mm tall. If the height barrier is 2000mm the Cali should fit but it might be a bit too close for comfort! I wonder if there are individual differences in Cali heights and would bigger wheels make a difference? I'm having the 17" Thunders. Am I worrying too much?

 

[Gasgas]

Not got the camper yet, but its coming soon. Planning Scotland in May and friends are going to be near Nantes in the summer and we've been invited to visit. We've never driven through France, let alone in a camper, but we thought we'd take a jaunt down the West coast to meet them.

Has anyone been down this side of France before?

Any tips on where to go? What to see? Or where to stay?



Sounds like a good trip ,the roads and motorways in France are in the main very good,The west coast has some great locations ,we have explored around here ourselves and liked the beach at la torche ,good for wild camping,Benodet Is A good base With the letty campsite on the beach and plenty to do in the area?If you like your white wine then the muscadet is your best bet around Nantes As this is where it is from !have a great trip

 

[AlanC]

We have a standard Cali SE with 17" Neva Alloys and went under every Peage pole without a problem last year, so don't worry you will miss it.

BTW the French Peage is quite expensive for long runs. Down to Nantes won't be too much as it isn't far from the ferry ports, but the A roads are much nicer, more interesting, and free!

Alan

 

[Alan]

We have a standard Cali SE with 17" Neva Alloys and went under every Peage pole without a problem last year, so don't worry you will miss it.

BTW the French Peage is quite expensive for long runs. Down to Nantes won't be too much as it isn't far from the ferry ports, but the A roads are much nicer, more interesting, and free!

Alan

Totally agree
I normally dis enable tolls on the satnav, that way you get a much better experience of your journey, but then I'm in no rush ( tight as well ) not only that I found the A roads can run pretty much parallel for long stretches with the toll roads

Alan

 

[briwy]

A few links here which you may find helpful

Avoiding Paris - Routes from Calais to the south and west - About-France.com -

Michelin route planner and maps, traffic news, weather forecast, restaurants and hotel booking

Highways in France, motorway maps, road tolls, maximum speed, traffic info

Prix des carburants en France, site gouvernemental

2015 France holiday periods and public holiday calendar

As you say you are going in the summer you may want to consider getting a telepeage unit. These are now obtainable in the UK for use in France. The tolls can be extremely busy at peak times (see above link) and this will save a considerable amount of time, especially useful if you should be driving a UK vehicle on your own as it saves either getting out or scrambling across to the other side to get a ticket/pay.

What Is Télépéage | Automatic Payment Of French Tolls | Autoroute Tolls in France | Pay French Toll Road Charges - Sanef Tolling

 

[GrannyJen]

A few links here which you may find helpful

Avoiding Paris - Routes from Calais to the south and west - About-France.com -

Michelin route planner and maps, traffic news, weather forecast, restaurants and hotel booking

Highways in France, motorway maps, road tolls, maximum speed, traffic info

Prix des carburants en France, site gouvernemental

2015 France holiday periods and public holiday calendar

As you say you are going in the summer you may want to consider getting a telepeage unit. These are now obtainable in the UK for use in France. The tolls can be extremely busy at peak times (see above link) and this will save a considerable amount of time, especially useful if you should be driving a UK vehicle on your own as it saves either getting out or scrambling across to the other side to get a ticket/pay.

What Is Télépéage | Automatic Payment Of French Tolls | Autoroute Tolls in France | Pay French Toll Road Charges - Sanef Tolling

The Liber-T is essential in my view. Costs a little bit to buy and register but it makes autoroutes so much more of a pleasure. I'm in France most months and would be driven nuts without one.

 

[acer]

That's great! All those places mentioned are now on my list of places to look-up and work into the journey. I hadn't even considered toll roads vs A roads until now. We will be hoping to potter along and investigate on the way, so maybe the toll-free roads would be good. Great links briwy! Although I can't seem to find an English page for the "Prix des carburants en France" site, and my French is "un petit mal!!".

I see on an email that Gasgas contributed with a good list of places to visit but I can't see them on above. Perhaps it's me not grasping the new forum website, but just in case I've copied it below for everyone. Love the idea of wild camping on or near the beach!:

Sounds like a good trip ,the roads and motorways in France are in the main very good,The west coast has some great locations ,we have explored around here ourselves and liked the beach at la torche ,good for wild camping,Benodet Is A good base With the letty campsite on the beach and plenty to do in the area?If you like your white wine then the muscadet is your best bet around Nantes As this is where it is from !have a great trip

 

[Hotel California]

Toll- free roads are very nice in France , you get to see realy great views and small towns .
You wil come acros many places with aires to spent the night , no worry's
Beware that in the high season it can be crouwded on the nationals and frustraded to drive several km behind a big white trailer with Dutch plates......!
My brother in law lives near the Mont Ventoux and i used to drive there strictly toll-roads before i had my Cali . Now i take the route nationals heading there and see traveling as part of the vacation.
Heading back home frequently by highway , so we can stay with the family until last minute...
It's the same as what i experienced last summer traveling to COTF , the UK is amazing while driving the small roads
My brother in law lives neary 15 years overthere , he says ....
France is great , but you have to take the Frenchman with it

 

[bilberry]

We've done most of France with a Berlingo (sleeping in the back and in a tent), but we'll be setting out again in our new Beach this year. Can't wait.
Places we've loved are:
1. Lac Sainte Croix in the Var region. Look at the colour of the water!
2. Corsica, getting a ferry from Marseille. (But don't go there in high season). Caribbean beaches, amazing rock formations, utterly beautiful.
3. Alsace Lorraine – for a touch of German-ness and the pleasure of having breakfast in one country and then crossing the Rhine to have lunch in Germany.
4. Languedoc (inland).
5. Arles for the annual photography festival.

There are details and photos of these trips on Campfire Magazine, by the way. I haven't worked out how to upload photos to the forum yet!

Have a fantastic trip.

 

[marshian70]

+1 for the Liber tag. Very useful indeed

 

[bilberry]

Do Beach owners choose 'motorhome' in the vehicle category lists when booking a ferry? I've used AFerry in the past to compare routes, but this will be the first time of booking something other than a car.

 

[WelshGas]

+ 1 for the Tag. My Defender was rated at 2.05 m in height. No problem with the 2 m lanes. Probably the damaged poles were due to people travelling with roof boxes and bikes, and forgot. Remember, bikes on a VW bike rack will be well over 2 m. Have fun.

 

[BMVS-Camper-Hire]

Definately get a saneftolling tag, you will save a lot of hanging round, and it's so much more convenient. Tolls are a lot cheaper now with the exchange rate. We go down to the alps three or four time a year, and the exchange rate has made that run now £58 each way, whereas it was well over £80. You can use the all the lanes, but there are special 30kmh lanes on the left so you don't have to actually stop or the lorry lanes on the right do the same thing. Another bonus is, if you are travelling with children, who are sleeping, you don't wake them up at every toll by stopping, and opening your window etc. Once you've used one you'll never go back

Fill up your diesel OFF the toll roads. It's now under 90p per litre!!!!

And go to the Alps in both the summer and winter, one of the most beautiful parts of the world. We go to Alpe D'Huez in the winter skiing/snowboarding - they've got an aire under the ski lift there, and in the summer we take our rib down to Lake Annecy.

Enjoy

 

[owen_h]

Do Beach owners choose 'motorhome' in the vehicle category lists when booking a ferry? I've used AFerry in the past to compare routes, but this will be the first time of booking something other than a car.

Try and avoid 'motorhome' as that usually prices the crossing as if for a large white whale. Space wise a Cali takes up the same space as a large estate car with a roof box/bikes. With a Beach there is no gas check issues either which is another thing some crossing companies charge for in the motorhome price. Eurotunnel now uses a numberplate check to come up with a 'campervan' price. My most recent booking (last week) I needed to phone them to use some Tesco vouchers and after explaining what a Beach was she booked me as a tall car . Deciding factor seemed to be did it have built in sleeping and cooking facilities or did I use it more as a car. As with a lot of things concerning a Beach its often better to phone as the computer systems get confused

 

[bvddobb]

We have always booked ferries as a normal car, less than 6m long, less than 2m wide, less than 2m high, which is usually the cheapest category, and never had an issue. When boarding we have seen Cali's in the other line, among those white giants, and always wondered what they were doing there...


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPad met behulp van Tapatalk

 

[Hotel California]

We always pay at peage by Visa , but to take one of those electronic payment pas is indeed a plus when driving a righthand vehicle....

 

[teeboy]

We did a one week jaunt out of season down the west coast, we used the Portsmouth - St Malo ferry - to save time driving from Calais.

It is a good crossing as you can get a late evening start - travel overnight - and land in France for an early start.

St Malo to Nantes is only 2 hours driving - and goes straight through Rennes, which is a lovely city - been for work not camping, but lovely bars and restaurants and historic buildings