Plymouth - France - west coast

[miss jones]

Hey all!
I am not working between contracts end of April - end June, and thinking I will venture over to France (as the weather in Cornwall could be cold, wet, windy and I would quite like a tan (and to improve my French, although from my experience they aren't the friendliest of people)
has anyone driven down the coast before? i had a look at the Plymouth - Roscoff ferry then travel down to La Rochelle area, I do like the little towns and villages and would like to visit little beauty spots.
Obviously if you can camp out for free it would mean i can stay longer
info on places to visit and where to stay (plus pics) would be much appreciated.

Thanks all.

 

[scotchsw3]

Try to get to an island off the coast, near La Rochelle called Isle De Oleron. It is very beautiful and the Municipal sites are very reasonable.
Tell the French that you are Scottish, they will love you. :cheers:

 

[matttransitconnect]

the area around Lacanau is lovely. Lots of free spots to stay, I stayed for a month in the south beach car park at lacanau last summer, lots of motorhomes, highly recommended. make sure you take bikes with you, lots of flat smooth bike lanes around beaches lakes and towns!

 

[Vantastic123]

Hey all!
I am not working between contracts end of April - end June, and thinking I will venture over to France (as the weather in Cornwall could be cold, wet, windy and I would quite like a tan (and to improve my French, although from my experience they aren't the friendliest of people)
has anyone driven down the coast before? i had a look at the Plymouth - Roscoff ferry then travel down to La Rochelle area, I do like the little towns and villages and would like to visit little beauty spots.
Obviously if you can camp out for free it would mean i can stay longer
info on places to visit and where to stay (plus pics) would be much appreciated.

Thanks all.

We've travelled that route a number of times, a visit to Concarneau is a must if you like beautiful towns and the beaches round there are stunning, Carnac is nice too, if a little touristy in season. Wherever you go I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

[miss jones]

Thanks both!!
I worked in a very french ski resort last year my accent is very english, they don't understand me! Ha
My old boss is working at la rochelle,so I was heading there to stay in his resort, looks like there are some quaint towns close by
Excited to explore

 

[sandraswildcamping]

Hi
Do not worry about where to stay in France as there are Aires in most towns and villages. We decided last year to venture with our motorhome to France and it was the best experience ever. The French are so organised for motorhomes that we never had any problems in finding an aire to stay. Some are very big and some only took motorhomes and we loved every single one of them. We travelled from northeast Scotland, stayed on the prom at Dover for free and caught the ferry the next day. Travelled down the west coast to just prior to La Rochelle and had the most brilliant time ever, as I got my bus pass last year it was quite a daunting thought but truthfully it was easy peasy and we loved it so much we are going again in June this year. Weather was terrific as well which was the icing on the cake. Buy a good road map and the Aires in France book and you will be all set.

Hey all!
I am not working between contracts end of April - end June, and thinking I will venture over to France (as the weather in Cornwall could be cold, wet, windy and I would quite like a tan (and to improve my French, although from my experience they aren't the friendliest of people)
has anyone driven down the coast before? i had a look at the Plymouth - Roscoff ferry then travel down to La Rochelle area, I do like the little towns and villages and would like to visit little beauty spots.
Obviously if you can camp out for free it would mean i can stay longer
info on places to visit and where to stay (plus pics) would be much appreciated.

Thanks all.

 

[Ironjaws]

If you're intending to go down the west coast then going into St Malo is the best idea although going over the Black Mountains (actually hills) from Roscoff is good. Roscoff is also an easy port to start off from. Loads of places to stay, you could join France Passion for small informal and free sites but the aires are good and should be pretty quiet at the time you're contemplating. All changes south of Nantes, La Rochelle is beautiful but not that small; we liked Ile de Re is superb, out of season, very busy July and August.

We find the French very welcoming and friendly, especially if you try with some French, even if you get it wrong. Be aware though that a great number of older, and well educated French do not speak English, younger people generally do although may be reluctant for the same reason the Brits try and avoid speaking French. The Breton do love the Scots and Irish, all Celtic culture.

Have a great time!

FRANCE PASSION la France en camping-car

 

[Debroos]

If you say you're from Cornwall the Bretons will adore you.
They consider themselves closer to the Cornish than the French. The two languages, Cornish and Breton are virtually identical, hence the same place names.

 

[miss jones]

We've travelled that route a number of times, a visit to Concarneau is a must if you like beautiful towns and the beaches round there are stunning, Carnac is nice too, if a little touristy in season. Wherever you go I'm sure you'll have a great time!

Carnac that rings a bell, may have been near there when i went on France with the family in 2000! wow i need to get out more! ha

 

[miss jones]

thanks all for your input!!
are the signs of not stopping in French? luckily i can now speak French with a terrible English accent, although my English accent is bad enough!! ha i'm from the Midlands.

what are the french aires? are they carparks you can stay in by the road? haven;t heard of these. sorry newb here!

p.s you lot are a friendly bunch on here

 

[madria]

Hi :welcome: - You can plan your route just using Aires, some are Car Parks usually with dedicated parking areas for "Camping Car" but most are not and in very good places to stay - try here :- CampingCarinfos - 404.htm - if you do it in Google it will translate it for you, click on "search/add an area" then then scroll down to FRANCE - click, then chose the departments you want to travel through - happy travels

 

[snowbirds]

West coast

Hi miss jones,

We travelled the west coast last year,lots of Aires,a nice lake side Aires at sanguinet 7 Euros a night, water sports (see pics) also Port Louis, Aires on Harbour with beach near town.A great coast right down to the Spanish border.

Regards Snowbirds.

Hey all!
I am not working between contracts end of April - end June, and thinking I will venture over to France (as the weather in Cornwall could be cold, wet, windy and I would quite like a tan (and to improve my French, although from my experience they aren't the friendliest of people)
has anyone driven down the coast before? i had a look at the Plymouth - Roscoff ferry then travel down to La Rochelle area, I do like the little towns and villages and would like to visit little beauty spots.
Obviously if you can camp out for free it would mean i can stay longer
info on places to visit and where to stay (plus pics) would be much appreciated.

Thanks all.

 

[fairytooth]

I wold also endorse Oleron as a good place to visit. There are a couple of dodgy Aires on the south side but if you go to La Bree les Bains there is a big Aire with facilities and it should still be free. And its about 200 yards or so from a nice beach with showers too.

 

[carolinemoon]

Isle De Re

Island of La Rochelle, is Isle De Re, cost to cross bridge I found a tad pricey, but worth it all the same! Isle De Orleon is slightly further south, which is a lovely area, La Palmyre and Royan are nice too.

North of La Rochelle, La Tranche Sur Mer is worth a peek too..............

Hi, are the aires ok on this island or would we need to find a campsite? We're heading that way beginning of July and and are hoping to spend a few nights there:dance:

 

[carol]

Which are the best aire books to get? Do you have to get them in France?

 

[carol]

Which are the best aire books to get? Do you have to get them in France?

 

[vwalan]

i say wait till you are in france . uk sellers are too expensive .
but as whinny says sensible parking is the way and you shouldnt have any probs .
some aires get so crowded its amazing . nobody really takes any notice of aires rules .squeeze as many as you can get closer if more want to get on . even caravans and tents get to use them .

 

[carol]

Ooooo all this talk of France is making me so want to go! But do I want to do it alone? And there will be so many memories to deal with.... maybe I should just "bite the bullet" and book a ferry! :rolleyes2:

 

[snowbirds]

French west coast

Hi miss jones,

If you travel down the N165 at Quimper off the D34 is Benodet and a great camping site called le letty family owned with great out look over the sea with water sports fishing and great views it even has dog showers, but i don't have a dog.you can google the site.Also a bit further down the coast near Lorient N165 there is a small Aires at Port Louis on the beach next to the town.Just below Bordeaux on the coast near Arcachon is a small town in a Fir Forest called Sanguinet Aires de Bardets just across from a beach on a big lake. All the pics are of Aires de Bardets.

Regards Snowbirds.

Hey all!
I am not working between contracts end of April - end June, and thinking I will venture over to France (as the weather in Cornwall could be cold, wet, windy and I would quite like a tan (and to improve my French, although from my experience they aren't the friendliest of people)
has anyone driven down the coast before? i had a look at the Plymouth - Roscoff ferry then travel down to La Rochelle area, I do like the little towns and villages and would like to visit little beauty spots.
Obviously if you can camp out for free it would mean i can stay longer
info on places to visit and where to stay (plus pics) would be much appreciated.

Thanks all.

 

[vwalan]

hi carol . well i could join you at plymouth . when are you thinking iof going . i know brittany quite well . might even get to see that winny whats it . ha ha . we could travel brittany and then down the west coast .going inland to saralat la canada etc lovely area and the dordogne . up to anguleme . or drop down to spain . cantarbria ,asturia and on . well i had to try . share costs and be good friends and company . go on cheers alan.