Caravan hols in France

[James3]

Taking a caravan to France or other parts of Europe especially in the school holidays seems to be getting very expensive - ferry costs increasing (especially Brittany Ferries) and now the top sites are very expensive - is it really worth it ?

This year we went to France on brittany ferries and certainly on our return the ferry was half full which was a surprise as in other years it was very full at this time of the year. Are people starting to vote with their feet and just not going.

We meet several Brits this year who were using the short crossings (Dover/calais) rather than the longer more convienient crossings from Portsmouth/Poole/Plymouth.Even though it means long drives from the West country to Dover the savings are considerable typically £400 per family, which buys a lot of fuel.

We have been going to France for the past 20 years but we are now going to think carefully before going next year.

 

[Olly]

A point well made James, we live less than ten miles from the Brittany Ferry port at Poole but tomorrow we are booked to go through the Channel Tunnel ( where, apart from the speed, cost and convenience of the journey, there will be no charge for our pets - how can the rob-dogs at Brittany Ferry's justify charging for the transportation of pets when they insist that they remain in the car? ), they deserve for their ferries to be less than half full.

But don't let it stop you going to France.

Regards,

Olivier.

 

[OldBean]

You might be right. We always take the last week in August/first in September and know how many people are usually around but on almost every site we visited this year there were lots of empty pitches - and noticeably less Brits around than normal. Our favourite site had 75 out of 206 empty pitches on the day we arrived - normally it might have only a dozen or so. Our friends who run the site had noticed a real down-turn in Brits on the site this year. We wondered whether it was due to the good weather early on - which made people stay at home, but there may be a combination of factors. Certainly the western ferries are more expensive this year, I imagine due to P and O pulling out of that market.

Our ferry didn't cost any more this year than last (Dover/Calais) but diesel was noticeably more expensive than last year (still cheaper than in Britain though). Our site costs were no more expensive (we use Camping Cheque a lot of the time - which we've been able to use at some sites after mid August in the past) but in peak season the cost of a pitch can now be more than 40 euros on some sites. It may be worth those who have to travel in school holidays choosing the very last two weeks before children go back to school in order to take advantage of any bargains which might be around. If you are able to find a site which takes the Camping Cheques from mid-August then the cost per pitch/car/caravan and two people is only 14 euros per night (there is a small supplement for each child, but nothing adding up to peak rates). Camping Club Lac du Bouzey, in Burgundy, for example, takes Camping Cheque this year (2006) from 15 August onwards, and has a special offer of 14 nights for only 11 cheques. This brings the cost down to 151 euros for 14 nights - which might just tempt you back for next year! Sites which don't take Camping Cheque sometimes reduce their rate to mid-season around the second/third week in August. Another advantage is that there is less traffic and less pressure on the 'facilities' both on site and off. Don't be put off - it's still the most fantastic place to have a caravan/camping holiday.

 

[cooky1]

We stayed in the Ardenne region in France this year in the last week in August. The site had 111 plots and there were a max of 12 in use at any one time. These were a mixture of English and Dutch. I think the main French camping season had finished the weekend that we arrived.

There were few attractions on site, the food bar only opened for 2 nights, the games on the lake had stopped but the toilet block was very quiet! I don't thing the weather helped - it started to rain on August the 1st and rained every day until the first 2 days of Sept!

How do you get quotes for car and caravan on the channel tunnel? I tend to use the Caravan Club site or use the ferry companies web sites.

 

[Guest]

According to the patron of the Dordogne site wheer we stay each yesar, this August was the worst in 20 years. I cannot comment on how true that was but it did follow the coldest winter in that area for 10 years. If this is global warming ,then someone has got their sums wrong.

Seriously it certainly was not the August we had planned for and can only hope that next year it goes back to what has been the norm.I aslo agree it seemed to warm up again in September, just as we were coming home so there is a possible change in our agenda for next year in that we may split our trip in to 2, leaving the high season of August to the French.

Asa for ferries, I live in the north and we did use Dover/Calis this year. However, the drive and the fuel costs are making us re-look at the northern ferries again. If one does some groundwork there are deals to be had.

 

[Le Chant]

According to the patron of the Dordogne site wheer we stay each yesar, this August was the worst in 20 years. I cannot comment on how true that was but it did follow the coldest winter in that area for 10 years. If this is global warming ,then someone has got their sums wrong.

Seriously it certainly was not the August we had planned for and can only hope that next year it goes back to what has been the norm.I aslo agree it seemed to warm up again in September, just as we were coming home so there is a possible change in our agenda for next year in that we may split our trip in to 2, leaving the high season of August to the French.

Asa for ferries, I live in the north and we did use Dover/Calis this year. However, the drive and the fuel costs are making us re-look at the northern ferries again. If one does some groundwork there are deals to be had.

Well, we can certainly echo what has been said about this being the worst August for as long time. French neighbours of ours are saying the same thing. They're really pee'd off because they've taken down their awnings and drained down their pools. Because it hasn't been hot as usual right through from April, pools & such like aren't as warm. We're still busy here, and the weather certainly hasn't had much of an impact on business. I would prefer to have my own holidays in June or September though, away from the crowds of high high season!

Here's to next year!