Ile de Re France

[vindiboy]

Planning ? a trip back to France shortly and my wife wants to go on the Ile de Re , does any one have any info please, is there Wilding on there or is it Aires only, watched a video the other day on the bridge crossing, it was stated that it is 16 euros to cross but free return, suspect it will be more than that as the vid was a bit old ,have to pay whatever it costs any way so hey ho .

 

[Jo001]

We stayed on the aire at St Martin de Re a few years back. It wasn't particularly cheap but it is well located and the town and harbour are lovely. There's a municipal campsite too, you might find there isn't much difference in price if you want facilities.

Aire is at Rue de Rempart.

 

[Moped]

Ile de Re limited parking with height barriers everywhere and no overnighting in any official beach car parks. Official aires near urbanisations expensive €10+ Generally not a motorhome friendly place and ACSI sites expensive at 18-20€. It is possible to park up “off piste” but you may feel a bit isolated and roads to these spots are dirt tracks. Check out google earth in forest to south of large south island or in forest to west of small north island.

Ile d’oleron to south is more motorhome friendly with plenty of official aires for €6, ACSI sites at €14 and places to park up and no bridge toll. The roads to the Grand Plage do have height barriers but park in St Trojan and cycle or Grand Village Plage aire and walk. Cycling is better on Ile de Re but beaches, supermarkets (LeClerc, Lidl, Super U and Intermarche) and facilities much better on Ile d’oleron.

I personally can never see the fascination with Ile de Re when compared to Ile d’oleron. Visit both and make up your own mind.

 

[kingfisher1]

Don’t forget your bikes
Easy cycle paths all over the island
Plenty of aires with plenty of space ,

 

[RichardHelen262]

We stayed at a site north of the island by the lighthouse but some were wilding just behind the site near to the lighthouse

 

[Canalsman]

There are four wilding locations in the POIs ...

 

[yeoblade]

Ile de Re limited parking with height barriers everywhere and no overnighting in any official beach car parks. Official aires near urbanisations expensive €10+ Generally not a motorhome friendly place and ACSI sites expensive at 18-20€. It is possible to park up “off piste” but you may feel a bit isolated and roads to these spots are dirt tracks. Check out google earth in forest to south of large south island or in forest to west of small north island.

Ile d’oleron to south is more motorhome friendly with plenty of official aires for €6, ACSI sites at €14 and places to park up and no bridge toll. The roads to the Grand Plage do have height barriers but park in St Trojan and cycle or Grand Village Plage aire and walk. Cycling is better on Ile de Re but beaches, supermarkets (LeClerc, Lidl, Super U and Intermarche) and facilities much better on Ile d’oleron.

I personally can never see the fascination with Ile de Re when compared to Ile d’oleron. Visit both and make up your own mind.

:ditto:

:nothingtoadd:

 

[Val54]

The bridge toll was still €16 last year and the whole island is covered by a regulation aimed at preventing overnighting between 11pm and 7am unless using an official aire or campsite. Wilding opportunities are limited. St Martin is worth a call for a day or so and the aire is well located but small and soon fills up. The aire at Rivedoux as you cross the bridge is also handy if you want to spend a day in La Rochelle using the local bus service.

 

[Channa]

Ile de Re limited parking with height barriers everywhere and no overnighting in any official beach car parks. Official aires near urbanisations expensive €10+ Generally not a motorhome friendly place and ACSI sites expensive at 18-20€. It is possible to park up “off piste” but you may feel a bit isolated and roads to these spots are dirt tracks. Check out google earth in forest to south of large south island or in forest to west of small north island.

Ile d’oleron to south is more motorhome friendly with plenty of official aires for €6, ACSI sites at €14 and places to park up and no bridge toll. The roads to the Grand Plage do have height barriers but park in St Trojan and cycle or Grand Village Plage aire and walk. Cycling is better on Ile de Re but beaches, supermarkets (LeClerc, Lidl, Super U and Intermarche) and facilities much better on Ile d’oleron.

I personally can never see the fascination with Ile de Re when compared to Ile d’oleron. Visit both and make up your own mind.

100 % agreed Ile d oleron seems both easier and friendlier , There is a municiple site at St Georges just outside Boyardville that was reasonable clean and basic with good tree cover and close to the beach and town.

Both islands but particularly Oleron famous for their oysters and mussels ,,hitres for sale everywhere !!

Channa

 

[dalspa]

We have been to Ile de Re many times and Oberon a couple of times but much prefer Re. Would go as far as saying that Re is one of our favourite places in France. The cycling routes on Re are superb, this being our mode of transport when we park up. The site off the roundabout at the start of Rivedoux Plage is an ACSI site and has an aire at the entrance, but we tend to go onto the site as with reduced rates it’s about the same price. From there we can cover the whole island and also bike into La Rochelle with a good cycleway over the bridge. I once cycled over the bridge with a spare bike at the side of me, to the airport, to meet my daughter who was going to have a week with us! The toll for the bridge, assuming that it is still the same, has a low and high season price with the change in mid June (I think- date should be able to determined via Google).
Our last visit, two years ago, we thought we would go to the aire at the very end of the road though Les Porter en Re (farthest point from the bridge) so drove straight there only to find the last place being taken by the motorhome in front of us. Had to drive all way back to Rivedoux. Two days later I biked to this aire and found it completely empty! We have also stayed at St. Martin, but prefer Rivedoux site for close proximity to beach (I also take a blow up kayak) and La Rochelle.

 

[alcam]

We have been to Ile de Re many times and Oberon a couple of times but much prefer Re. Would go as far as saying that Re is one of our favourite places in France. The cycling routes on Re are superb, this being our mode of transport when we park up. The site off the roundabout at the start of Rivedoux Plage is an ACSI site and has an aire at the entrance, but we tend to go onto the site as with reduced rates it’s about the same price. From there we can cover the whole island and also bike into La Rochelle with a good cycleway over the bridge. I once cycled over the bridge with a spare bike at the side of me, to the airport, to meet my daughter who was going to have a week with us! The toll for the bridge, assuming that it is still the same, has a low and high season price with the change in mid June (I think- date should be able to determined via Google).
Our last visit, two years ago, we thought we would go to the aire at the very end of the road though Les Porter en Re (farthest point from the bridge) so drove straight there only to find the last place being taken by the motorhome in front of us. Had to drive all way back to Rivedoux. Two days later I biked to this aire and found it completely empty! We have also stayed at St. Martin, but prefer Rivedoux site for close proximity to beach (I also take a blow up kayak) and La Rochelle.

Some mixed reports on here . Went once and couldn't find a place , had an impression of it not being motorhome friendly , swore never go go back . You have very positive experiences , will go back and try it again

 

[phillybarbour]

Ile de Re limited parking with height barriers everywhere and no overnighting in any official beach car parks. Official aires near urbanisations expensive €10+ Generally not a motorhome friendly place and ACSI sites expensive at 18-20€. It is possible to park up “off piste” but you may feel a bit isolated and roads to these spots are dirt tracks. Check out google earth in forest to south of large south island or in forest to west of small north island.

Ile d’oleron to south is more motorhome friendly with plenty of official aires for €6, ACSI sites at €14 and places to park up and no bridge toll. The roads to the Grand Plage do have height barriers but park in St Trojan and cycle or Grand Village Plage aire and walk. Cycling is better on Ile de Re but beaches, supermarkets (LeClerc, Lidl, Super U and Intermarche) and facilities much better on Ile d’oleron.

I personally can never see the fascination with Ile de Re when compared to Ile d’oleron. Visit both and make up your own mind.

Great detail answer, we where doing to Ile de Re in a couple of weeks but might change our plan to Ile D Oleron thank you.

 

[Moped]

It is a small island and looking at the POIs you are never 3 or 4 miles from anywhere so if you have bikes you can park up probably in no more that 4 official spots and cover the whole island with each park up having a 30 minute radius cycle ride or maybe 1 to 1.5 hours of walking each way. If bikes are not available there are plenty of bike hire places. You can cycle the whole island in a day. We have done it. And if you explore on bike you will inevitably find interesting park up spots that are off the beaten track.

D’oleron is twice the size and really requires 2 days to cycle around.

So initially find one central park up and cycle all over from the central base. Island is flat, no hills, and the only way of travelling around the salt marshes is by bike.

That said still prefer d’oleron as we are beach folk and like convenience and cheap!

 

[witzend]

Planning ? a trip back to France shortly and my wife wants to go on the Ile de Re have to pay whatever it costs any way so hey ho .

Yes I've been in your position several times Paris, Venice, lot of old ruins and other such places. Still once you've been an done it you'll have the badge and hopefully once will be enough :lol-049: