First major euro trip- recommendations

redhand

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Taking three weeks to go vaguely in bayonne direction.
Zeebrugge to tours, bordeaux to bayonne in about three days
then stay in french/spanish basque region
would appreciate any suggestions advice
we have done northern france belgium previously staying in aires
Is wild camping ok in this area
 
We went to Bayonne on the way to Italy 2 years ago.
Wild camping is fine but France very busy in summer. The rest of the time its not a problem.
Suggest you have a look at www.france-passion.com
Lovely places belonging to lovely people who like campers! And free.
We used them a lot in France over 4 months and really can recommend.
 
France/Spain

We've just returned from a year in France and Spain, we had no problems at all, the aires are everywhere
and mostly free. Does get a bit busy in the summer but we just parked somewhere quiet.
In Spain we parked on seafronts during the coolere months, police officers were most polite if they didn't
want you there and always advised a more suitable place to park
We both wish you well and have a trouble free journey
 
Best advice is to keep things vague and go with the wind. You could spend three months in that general area so three weeks is not going to get boring.
 
The stretch between Biarittz and St Jean du Luz hides some lovely gems. Biarittz and St Jean de Luz are both really nice resorts. The Aire at St Jean though is the worst in France. Free though with free services but you would have to be a heavy sleeper to stay there. Its usually crammed and has four lanes of traffic in front of it and the main TGV train line right behind it. A few good cheapish campsites in the area though but you dont say when you are going. I would avoid the entire area if its July and August and go up in the Haute Pyrenees. Superb up there.

Great free aire above St Jean at Col d'Ibardin but you need secondary transport to get to the coast about 5 miles away.

Two aires at Biarittz. The official Biarittz one is a bit noisy and about €12 I think the one just outside to the north at Anglet is better and cheaper.

As for wilding well we toured the entire area for over a week on the bike and I dont remember seeing any likely spots and forget it if its in the holiday season. Couple of lakes in Landes with a stop on the way down with a couple of good aires (Sanquenet?). Dune de Payla as well on the coast (largest sand dune in Europe)
 
Thank you all for your comments we have no set plan apart from what I originally posted so taking everything said on board.
I suppose we would like to spend majority of time in aires/wilding with intermittent campsites
apologies just realised i didnt say we are going last three weeks in may so hopefully quiet with lots of sun, we are using this as a practice run for when we both retire and can spend months rather than weeks
 
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You, presumably, have 2 vital dates............ferry into EU, and ferry out of EU.

The rest is up to you, don't have any plans, be ultra flexible, go where your heart takes you, see below for our last trip, based on the "rules" above:-

Froggie Spain / Portugal trip 7/4/2017 to 25/7/2017
Total distance, door to door................1670Miles
Total distance in Spain / Portugal .....1230Miles
Max altitude reached 1107m, 3632ft (Portugese/Spanish border)
Fuel burned (UK Gallons) .................61.3 Gallons
MPG for trip.......................................27.24Mpg
Oil used.............................................0
Other fluids incl coolant used............0
Total nights away...............................18
Nights on ship(s) ...............................2
Night stops:-
1 Cap Finistere Ferry
2 Cabarceno Aire
3 Colunga Campsite
4 Cadavedo Campsite
5 Foz Aire
6 A Coruna (Pillars of Hercules) Aire
7 Leis Campsite
8 Leis Campsite
9 Finisterre Aire
10 Arcade Aire
11 Amarante Campsite
12 Vila Real Campsite
13 Braganca Aire
14 Braganca Aire
15 Leon Aire
16 Burgos Aire
17 Cabarceno Aire
18 Pont Aven Ferry
Nights on Ferries..................2
Nights on Aires ....................10
Nights on Campsites...........6
Pics taken............................400
Wine brought back...............19 (Incl Port)
Total Cost (Incl Ferries and door to door here) £1986 (£52.26 per day per person)



Enjoy, and don't worry!!
 
So you are going to Italy via Bayonne??? very interesting .
 
If you're using a satnav,set it to avoid motorways,I've just spent two​ weeks crossing from Perpignan to Cherbourg just using "D" roads,loads of picnic areas to wild at and plenty of Aires when needed. Only a hundred KMs to go:drive:
 
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