Enroute Overnight options In France

[wombat1]

I am considering being a first time visitor to France next year, and would like to know if there are any suitable hotel/motel type establishments where I could do an overnight stop whist en route to the final destination.

I am not keen on having to unload the van and setting up just for a stop over, So would ideally like to be able to pull into a hotel/motel like place that provides adequate security for the car and van.

Has anyone ever done this sort of thing?

I would be looking at travelling to the Brittany area or further south west. Not sure what the arrival port would be, it depends on other factors that I will need to consider.
If such places exist I could contemplate crossing to Dunkerque or Calais (cheaper crossing comapred with Brittany), but if not I would probably cross further south and use the ferry trip to provide the rest period.

Look forward to any replies.

Wombat

 

[ValA.]

There are so many campsites in France where you can stay overnight - almost every town of any size has a municipal campsite, which caters for people coming and going - that you shouldn't really need to think about a hotel! You generally don't need to book, and can just find an appropriate site at any distance along your route. There is a good website 'Campsites near the major routes' which gives details of all campsites within 15 km of many major roads, along with opening dates - and with the internet these days, it's easy to find a site, and look for reviews of that particular site. We have a 'minimum' set up routine, which we use for overnight stops, and sometimes only connect the electric hook up, using site facilities for showers, toilets, and washing up. That way we don't need to bother filling aquarolls, emptying waste containers, etc. Obviously this is easier if there are just two of us, but we see lots of families overnighting - and sometimes the kids sleep on the same pitch in a pop-up Quecha type tent to make things easier.

We have, in the past, stayed in a Formule 1, with the caravan parked outside, but that was in very early season, in freezing cold heavy rain, with two tired children and with very few open campsites in the area we were travelling through. Better planning, however, would have made it much easier to find an open site! The hotel reception staff made room for the caravan in an oddly shaped area of the car park, and we were fine, but it isn't usual to find people staying in hotels whilst having a caravan in tow.

 

[jaffasdad]

I agree absolutely with Val. When we had a trailer tent we occasionally used hotels for an overnight stop, but realised that finding a small hotel with decent parking wasn't worth the hassle. It would be even worse with a caravan.
The amount of extra time and trouble that you take setting/packing up for one night is far outweighed by the convenience of having everything to hand - not to mention the expense! Also, the more often you do it the slicker the operation will be. We have done this with quite young children (using both the bunks in the van and small pup tents) and found that they enjoyed the 'challenge' of seeing how long it took us to set up and be sitting outside with a cup of tea. Factor this into your journey times. We have found the principle of making the journey part of the holiday to be very appropriate.
You will get down to Brittany from the chanel ports with one overnight stop quite easily (about 400 miles) so it would only entail 2 overnighters and there are plenty of nice municipals on the way. If you need any suggestions, just put a post on the site.

 

[JacquieO]

Once you get the hang of the overnighters, it is a doddle. My 76yr old mother and I (a spritely 52yr old) travelled from Norfolk to Torrevieja, Alicante last September. We did it in nine days/nights. Only stopped one night at each site. Might I suggest you take a practice run here in the UK by taking, say 3 days and going to 3 different sights? That might give you the confidence to do it in France.
BTW, we are going again next week! Really looking forward to it. Crossing to Dunkerque this time. Haven't been to that port before, but as they say "there's always a first time for everything" !

 

[BigTim]

Hi Wombat
We have driven up from the Channel ports to Brittany a couple of times and there are plenty of campsites and aires enroute for overnighting. If you travel on Brittany ferries many of the campsites are in a day's travel of the ports. We travelled from Roscoff to Camping Du Letty at Benodet for a number of years and it only took a few hours. We used other ports with BF too but have transferred our allegiance to Norfolk Line Dover to Dunkerque for the last few years due to the cost savings.
When we are on a journey which involves overnighting we travel with the 'van set up accordingly. We aim to keep the caravan floor space clear apart from a couple of chairs so that we can sit out and the bed ready made-up. We share the set-up tasks between the 2 of us and it does not take long to set up.
Whilst we do use campsites for overnighting, as has already been said lots of choice in France, we, also, if more convenient stay at motorway aires (services). We park up in the caravan parking area or lorry area free-of-charge. This means that we can stay hooked-up to the car, drive until late and start early in the morning. Whilst this if frowned upon by many because of security considerations we have never had any problem and have stayed at aires in France, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Croatia over a period of 13 years without any problem.
If we think we may overnight on an aire we keep a little water in the onboard tank and have the toilet set up to use. Whilst stopped we run the fridge on gas and use the battery for lights. For added security we have a cheap intruder alarm fixed inside the door which, when armed, screeches if the door is opened. We keep our money and documents in bed with us. We choose any aires we stop at very carefully avoiding ones which are deserted. Another tip is don't park next to refrigerated trucks - there fridge units cycle on/off all night - we got caught like this at an aire near Belgrade. Whilst we were asleep refrigerated trucks arrived and parked-up on either side of us!!!
This year, travelling to Croatia and back, we stopped overnight at 5 campsites and 4 aires including the Norfolk Line car park at Dunkerque before making an early start on our drive south. We sometimes stay at services in the UK too but that involves a parking charge.
Have a good holiday!
Tim

 

[wombat1]

Thanks for the replies - an over night camp appears to be the preferred choice.
I just need to convince the other half, the motel/hotel was her idea.
Her concern is the time it has taken to get the nose weight down to acceptable level after loading up for the trip out and back this year - I spent at least 45 mins shuffling stuff about, and with two bikes, folding chairs, aqua roll, waste master, microwave and some other stuff to load/unload - pulling up and jumping into bed aint going to be possible.
After this UK summers changeable conditions in August, I have decided to give the France option a try, hopefully to catch a reasonable period of continuous dry , warm weather.
If I mange to convince her, I will no doubt be posting qusetions about where we might go.
Thanks
Wombat

 

[BigTim]

Hi Wombat
Is it not possbile to get some of your caravan "load" into your car. As I said previously we specifically plan for this:
(1) Bikes on towbar cycle carrier, used to go on the car roof on a previous vehicle
(2) Aquaroll and wastemaster in the bathroom but still room for to get to the loo, (we may not take the wastemaster to the Continent again as there is never anywhere to empty it on Continental sites and a smaller container might be easier to store and use)
(3) Everything possible into 'van cupboards or under- seat locker
(4) Hook-up lead on a reel under the table
(5) Everything else stacked up to the roof in the car
(6) A sort through what we REALLY NEED to take with us for THAT trip bearing in mind likely weather, etc.
This leaves just large folding plastic chairs on the 'van floor so that we CAN just pull up, steadies down and into bed whether in an aire or campsite. It, also, makes for a better balanced caravan and less problems with the noseweight - I remember those problems from our past!!
We are fortunate in there now being just the 2 of us and having a large car but every little helps!
We gave up on the UK for summer hols about 16 years ago and have never regretted it. Every year we seem to come back to people moaning about the poor UK summer!!
I hope you get sorted - my advice regarding Continental hols would be GO FOR IT!!
Regards
Tim

 

[ValA.]

We've now also taken out the second 'just in case' gas bottle - and use an electric hob for cooking outside, and also our full awning. We now use a single sheet 'sunshade' which does the job instead! We don't take a waste master either, and this year used a smaller water container than the aquaroll as we don't ever drink from the caravan taps and found it easier this year with a smaller container but which still takes our pump. We've also got a roof box on the car, but this is generally used to carry our inflatable canoe, plus the wine we bring home!

 

[TD42]

Hi Wombat There are cheap hotels such as Formula 1,but even when just towing a trailor tent I found parking in the carparks very difficult.I would suggest that you put as much as possible in the car things such as loungers awnings ect I have found that much of clothes & stuff can be put in the appropriat lockers in the van & please forgive me for saying this but from the list of van contents above have you checked that your van is not going to be overloaded & exceed its MTPLM,as from personal experiance I have found it is very easy to do so. Hence most stuff in the car or roof rack
TD

 

[kevm]

You don,t say which time of year, but if not July/Aug , suggest you go further down to say La Rochelle area if weather is a consideration, we always use Dover /Calais , Motorway system from Ports is easy enough and as others have said lots of campsites for a overnight, all towns seem to have a Municipal site which we have used on many occasions

 

[wombat1]

Again, Thanks to all who have commented.
I picked up on one comment that continental sites do not have anywhere to empty a wastematser! What is the method for grey water disposal, are drains provided and are full service type pitches the norm?
And yes, a good think about what do we really need, and possibly reduce the amount of stuff we take.
We would be travelling in July/Augist, during the school hol's, at the moment looking at the coastal Loire area, as it is as far south without having to travel for ever that I can foresee at the moment. Once done it for a first time I will probably think what was all the fuss the about. Want a sandy beach within easy travel distance, a pool, no bar, no restaurant ot takeaway service, essentials shop on site or neraby - oops that's for another post.
Thanks
Wombat

 

[ValA.]

In France many people use much less water in their vans, and you see them using little buckets, or small waste containers. These are sometimes emptied (at the site's reques) around the hedges separating the pitches. Because most people use the site facilities for washing up, showering, etc., the water probably tends to be 'less gray!' than we're used to. There are chemical disposal points, and sometimes an area for disposing of grey water, like a large toilet/sluice thing, but a wastemaster would have to be lifted, and I think this is why many British people now also use a smaller container.
You can get a fully serviced pitch on the larger sites, but they are by no means the norm - probably for the reason, above, that most people use the site facilities.
On some French sites the sanitary blocks can be really state of the art!

 

[colin(bridgend)]

We have done the Plymouth to Roscoff crossing many times and stayed at Camp Du Letty in Benodet. The site is approx. 100 miles from the port and the roads in Brittany are excellent. We travelled to Plymouth the day before the sailing in case of hold ups on M5 and stayed overnight on the quay side. If you are not going on the early ferry put a note in the window of the van otherwise you will be knocked up by the port workers at 5:00am. Basic facilities on quay at Plymouth but in Roscoff the facilities are excellent. we looked upon the 6 hour ferry crossing as part of the holiday. Apart from the one night stay at Plymouth we were on the caravan site with no further stops. If you do go to Camp Du Llety (they have a web page) try to get a pitch close to the beach - we were approx. 30 feet from the beach (nearest pitch). Our first venture abroad was with Select Sites - they did all the necessary paperwork for us except the medical documents we required.

No matter where you sail from good luck and enjoy your holiday - compared to France sites the average site in this country is not of the same high standards.

 

[LesleyRussell]

As many have said it is just about streamlining and making things simple. We always look at the "getting there" as part of the holiday rather than wearing yourself out to get to the main destination. Because of the drive to Dover we usually aim to have a stop the night before in England or just over the water in France before moving on. Depending on the distance we sometimes make one, two or even three stops. We aim to start off at about 9am and arrive at our next stop between 2pm and 3pm. This way you can hopefully enjoy each campsite and, if one takes your fancy, you can make a note to return on a future holiday. Even when sailing Portsmouth to Cherbourg / Caen, you may find that you want a break and not travel too far the following day. If the weather is good you can pull up on site early afternoon, not take too much time fussing over a pitch as you are only staying one night, legs down, electric and water on if you wish, chairs and table out ready to sit down for a rest and well earned cup of tea. At this point al clothers / food are already in cupboards and fridge as we load up before setting off. I leave crocks and glasses packed and just get out what we need. You are then free for the rest of the day to enjoy the site and surrounding area. Perhaps get a cover for the bikes and tie them to a tree on the pitch if you cannot fit them in or on the car.

 

[chrisbee1]

I do almost the same as Lesley except I try to have a visit to the local town/village in the afternoon or evening. I find you see so much more of the real France doing this as apart from just campsites.

 

[Merlin53]

Having caravaned in France over the last 30 years, and 'learned' from our French neighbours many years ago, I do the same as they do with the 'grey water waste', use a ordinary bucket!
Most sites, (either municipal or private) have drains adjacent to there potable water outlets, and such are used to empty the waste water into.
I often think, that some individuals in the UK, make caravaning more complicated than it need be! Even if you go too all the trouble of lugging a wastemaster around, you will end up using the same discharge point as my proverbial bucket!

 

[wombat1]

urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmm Not sure I like the bucket idea - I would not get much of a holiday, I'd just spend all day emptying a bucket!
thats why we use two aqua rolls, so that I don't have to make a trip to fill up more than twice a day.
yup , were are probably big water users - our choice.
we prefer to use our own washroom facilities, so a bucket ain't going to cope with too may showers is it.
I'm becoming despondent with the France idea, had a look at some sites and they don't quite match my cc club idea of a campsite.
I don't want to go to france for the Fench, I want to go to North Devon but get better weather!
And the prices I have seen so far are starting to suggest I'd be better off getting on a plane to Greece - the place I REALLY would like to go.
Wombat

 

[ValA.]

If you use your own facilities, then what it is about French sites which don't match up to Club standards? The waste water issue is not considered important on French sites - they prefer to recycle the small amount of water used by most people, by providing much needed water for plants and bushes. However, if you do want to empty a wastemaster then it's not a problem.
French sites are obviously 'different' - they tend to have hedged, private pitches, even on municipal sites, pitches often have a private tap and drain as standard, but pitches are usually generous and there is usually more shade than on sites in this country

.
Access roads can be variable - French caravans are smaller than British, in general, but otherwise even some municipal sites have very high standards. As far as costs are concerned, you can find perfectly acceptable sites at less than 10 euros per night, including electricity. The above picture is of one of them - and the toilet facilities were certainly up to Club standards.

And this is another: still less than 10 euros per night:

Both these sites were overnight stops - hence the lack of an awning - or in our case a sunshade - and our 'minimal' overnight set up, rather than full equipment.

 

[RayS]

Lots of good advice - you really don't need hotels. In transit use municipals or open all years in winter. Plan for simple meals on the way to your destination - in winter pre-cooked hotpots and or soups will stay frozen for a couple of days; have enough water on board to avoid having to use the aquaroll. I have a 20l plastic container plus a secondary pump connection such that we do not have to get water in winter for a couple of nights. Don't know quite how to put this but my wartime generation didn't shower / bath much more than once per week and we're still here to tell the tale, so perhaps it's not that essential for a night or so. The objective should be hassle free travel to get you to your chosen site even if this requires some compromises of 'normal' standards whatever these may be.

But, do take some comfort foods, plus whatever favourtie tipple / nightcap you choose and make it easy on yourselves - life is too short for any more stress.

 

[wombat1]

Aplogies for anything that might have offended anyone (not that anyone has suggeted they are) but I started off optimistically with the France idea, and then I've started to go off it.
Mostly because I can't find a simple site like the CC sites are - i don't want bars, restaurants etsc, and I don't want to have to pay the extra for them. I never suggested the French sites are not up to CC standards, I just don't want te extras.
Anyway I'd like to suggest no more reples to this thread, it's going off on a tangent to my original posted question - and yes I take the advice to use a camp site rather than a motel/hotel as an overnighter - if I do ever go.
I did post a more relevant question for my next query "does any one know a quiet site Vin the vendee". The replies I have had so far to have suggestions for sites, but they too don't quite match my wants.
P.S. what are peoples thought on 6 year olds trick or treating on camp sites !!!!??????????? looking forward to half term .
Thanks
Wombat