1st Trip to Spain

[Moth_5041363]

Hi

I'm thinking of going to Las dunas in the bay of roses in spain next year. I have only drivern in France and Spain without the Caravan.I'm thinking of a 8 am ferry from dover to calis and doing two night stops on the way down. can you give me any advice on places to stay for the overnight stops without going miles off route. and also what it will cost me in tolls ect.(single axe van)

Many thanks

 

[BeemerMal]

Moth.....For details on sites en route go to the ACSI website, listed below. There is a route planning option on this site.

http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/europe/
This website is excellent for planning routes and distances.

One point regarding your ferry crossing. If you leave Dover at around 8.00am it means you will not be on the move in Calais until around 11.00am (French time) and allowing for at least one refreshement stop before Paris means you will be on the Paris ring road (Parifique) at the start of rush hour. This is somewhere you don't want to be at the best of times!

I Suggest you get an earlier ferry, or one the night before and stay dockside in Calais for a few hours shut eye. If you clear Paris by 2/3.00pm then look for a campsite south of Paris. I did stay at one site which was about 30 miles south of Paris but it was terrible and a pain to get to so I won't recommend it.

However, further south on route to Spain we stayed at the following site that is very close to the motorway and would be ideal for your second night. This is:

Camping De Fondespierre:

A9 exit 28 direction Vendargues, turn right and follow signs to Castries. Take N110 from Castries and 800 metres past the village turn left towards 'Domaine de Fondespierre' and follow the signs.

This site is literally 5 minutes from the motorway so it is a good stop over. The pitches are tight but my van is a twin axle (8 metres long) and we managed to get on ok and there was no problem with it being a T/A.

The address is:

Camping De Fontespierre

277 Route de Fontmarie

34160 Castries

France

Tel: +33(0)4-67912003

www.campingfondespierre.com

email: pcomtat@free.fr

We used motorways all the way to Spain and they are great for getting from A to B quickly, loads of Stop off places (called Aires) every few miles. The tolls with a caravan are Cat2 but sometimes we were charged Cat3 (never found out why?) We did'nt add up all the toll costs but her with the purse said it was about 120 euros, one way. We returned via Bilbao/Portsmouth.

hope this helps, mal

 

[MikeJE]

Moth,

I agree with BeemerMal and his comment about the time of landing in France.By the time you get ashore, put the clocks on and generally get sorted you have lost travelling time. On our way to Cypsella - not far from Las Dunas - we stopped at the municipal site in Laon which is only about 170 miles from Calais. Next stop was Chateau Chenaud - 416 miles on - and part of the Castels chain. Cypsela was 325 miles further. On return Chenaud again then Guines close to Calais. The next year I broke the journey up even more taking four days which saved the scramble to get on the road each day and made life easier for myself as the only driver.

All this will probably attract comments from the 'we do it in one day brigade' - which must be savage fun.

www. autoroutes.fr will give you a route plan using motorways and the toll charges and would avoid Paris.

Hope this helps

Mike E

 

[Woody3]

As others have said get a very early ferry. The CC site at Black Horse Farm at Densole near Folkestone has an area specifically for early departures and it is open to non-members. You MUST book in advance though. It used to be easy to park dockside at Calais but those days are gone. The exits all shove you out onto roads and you have little option to find a foot-down place. The services on the A16 near Cap Gris Nez towards Boulogne is a popular stop-over but it gets full very quickly mainly with campervans.

Look at www.autoroutes.fr (which is unfortunately only in French) which will allow you to choose a route with caravan and without using autoroutes if you wish - we used it this year en route to Bourges and we only had to pay a small fixed charge on the route near Boulogne having chosen the non-route option. The Periphrique around Paris is not too frightening away from peak times but you MUST know your exit and a little French will come in useful for the matrix signs.

Which way you go depends whether you are going into Spain at the Med side or the Atlantic side. If the former then head for Clermont Ferrand as (IMSMC) the motorways south from there are mostly free - and you get the chance (at a price) to cross the Milau Bridge. If you are going to the Atlantic side then cost your journey and look seriously at using the ferry to Santander. It may save you a whole lost of hassle.

 

[Moth_5041363]

many thanks to you all for your help/sudjestions. I'm looking through them.

 

[emmitdb]

Greetings,

Fully support Beemermals comments, especially re. the docks at Calais and the saving of time at the other side.

Get an evening ferry to Calais, lose your hour then, and crash. Up next morning on french time, you will be on your way long before the 6am ferry gets in and you will have saved a nights camping fee into the bargain and you won't have worried about sleeping in which if your'e like me would result in a disturbed nights sleep.

 

[ValA.]

There are still loads of people who stay near the docks in Calais. You pass through passport control, and 'customs' - sometimes both unmanned, and then at the first roundabout turn back on yourself. You'll see the area on your left as you are leaving on the main exit road. It's a positive campsite in its own right!