should we bite the bullet?

[garyyorkshire]

what with escallating prices for holidays abroad (flights) now we have to pay for both our childen we are considering trading in our old avondale van in for something quite spunky. we saw a ranger 5 birth absolutely beautiful.

now my question. what are the average costs and travel time to travel to france or spain on the ferry perhaps from dover or hull with a van,car 2 adults 2 children? as we love the the spanish culture we would love to continue our hols abroad.

wanting to justify £8500 on a new van

any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[anthonysharon]

hi there Gary, were off to spain on the 21st july for 15 nights with the price of the ferry and camping pitch,electric 3 adults and 1 child it has cost us

 

[garyyorkshire]

hi antony&sharon thanks for the reply. could i ask what part of spain are you visiting and what is the mileage and journey time.

just over

 

[Robert_374242026]

Hello gary, Dover Calais ferry pricesaccording to time of day is variable,we have paid from

 

[garyyorkshire]

yes robert thanks for that. i was just trying to get an idea where people travel to and what stop off sites they use along with routes from calais. I have done a quick check and the portsmouth to bilboa seems quite expensive.

thanks

 

[anthonysharon]

hi Gary, yes it is in the childrens school holiday and we are going to camping L'amfora on the costa brava

 

[garyyorkshire]

how long will you take from the trip from calais antony&sharon?

 

[anthonysharon]

hi Gary, yes it is in the childrens school holiday and we are going to camping L'amfora on the costa brava

sorry pressed the wrong button.costa brava(girona) approx 800 miles from calais, avoid paris at all cost we found the AA autoroute a great help but i beleive that there are a few websites where you can get route advice from.my two children are now 16 and 14 so thats why we had to pay for 3 adults so you can imagine how much a package deal on a plane would now cost,we booked our holiday through the caravan club we did try to book direct with the site but it actually came out cheaper with the cc club,anyway hope some of this helps .anthony & sharon

 

[anthonysharon]

how long will you take from the trip from calais antony&sharon?

its about a 14 hour drive from calais,we tend to stop when the fuel tank reaches halfway,we refuel have a drink and a bite to eat and stretch our legs and not forgetting the stop to put your shorts on ,normally leave the uk in jeans and half way down we have to stop (4 enter the van with jeans on then 4 leave the van with shorts on) its like a comedy scene!!!there are plenty of campsites for overnight stops that are not to far from the main routes down hope this helps you in your decision making .

 

[garyyorkshire]

its about a 14 hour drive from calais,we tend to stop when the fuel tank reaches halfway,we refuel have a drink and a bite to eat and stretch our legs and not forgetting the stop to put your shorts on ,normally leave the uk in jeans and half way down we have to stop (4 enter the van with jeans on then 4 leave the van with shorts on) its like a comedy scene!!!there are plenty of campsites for overnight stops that are not to far from the main routes down hope this helps you in your decision making .

thankyou for that. very tempted indeed. still looking for the van at the moment. just been to look at lowdhams and seen 2 or 3 ranging from 6k to 8k.

but taking all into account just under

 

[ThePlotter]

Hi we were booked to leave next Monday,Portsmouth-Caen+ 19nights on top sites with Elec etc+travel insurance(car+van+us) just under

 

[garyyorkshire]

thanks plotter. that is very good. i must try and play with the booking on the p&o website until we find something suitable for next year.

where is caen by the way? have you been before?thanks

 

[ThePlotter]

Caen is to the West of Le Havre and if going South a lot shorter than Dover but 6 hour crossing (part of the holiday)been many times usually Le Havre but also Caen and a couple of times Calais.

Some will not agree with me but booking through the likes of Select Sites who I would strongly recommend or CC is almost always cheaper as they have booking clout and handy to have if you have problems(I speak from experience)

 

[ThePlotter]

Caen is to the West of Le Havre and if going South a lot shorter than Dover but 6 hour crossing (part of the holiday)been many times usually Le Havre but also Caen and a couple of times Calais.

Some will not agree with me but booking through the likes of Select Sites who I would strongly recommend or CC is almost always cheaper as they have booking clout and handy to have if you have problems(I speak from experience)

Sorry forgot to say ferry to Caen is Brittany ferries we used to use most P&O to Le Havre (but they stopped the service)

 

[chris_374301714]

hi anthony & sharon going to that site myself in september

would appreciate hearing what you think of the site when you

return and comments / advice would be appreciated e.g

power supply, how big are the pitches, etc

thanks chris

 

[ValA.]

Gary - we live in West Yorkshire too, and have done Spain several times - we've even been for two weeks in the school Easter Hols, when it was beautiful (and cheap). Our method is to travel down from West Yorks on Friday after work, (finishing as early as possible, of course) catching the nearest ferry to midnight that we can. We always go Dover/Calais, because it can be up to four or five times more expensive on the longer routes. We stay near Calais for a sleep at whatever time we arrive, and set off early next morning. We used to always try to get to the mediterranean in Southern France in time for another overnight stop, but now there's only the two of us we tend to take it more easily and build in another stop. You can do it all in one hit, which on the way down is not so bad, but makes you very tired for the return to work when you're coming back. If you make the journey part of the holiday, you can find some lovely places on route to picnic, and for overnight stops - much higher standards than in England.

We've stayed on the Costa Brava a couple of times and more recently have had several holidays at Cambrils Park near Salou, which is absolutely excellent as a campsite - green, clean, fantastic facilities, two large pool complexes and plenty to do and see in the local area. Went there last year with my sister and her small children - and they're considering buying a caravan now, to do the same thing! We use Camping Cheques at Cambrils Park, and the children under 12 were free, so it cost us only

 

[ThePlotter]

I think four or five times dearer might be pushing it a bit but we find that the longer crossing is a nice part of the holiday and reduces the travelling time and cost the other side.

 

[ValA.]

Pennine, I agree that the Brittany Ferries crossing is a lovely start to the holiday, a real piece of France, but I mentioned the cost because just a few minutes earlier I'd been quoted

 

[ValA.]

Sorry, should have said Plotter!! My apologies.

 

[ThePlotter]

Thats ok no problem i get called all sorts of names especially when my wife is upset!Have you tried getting quote for the whole holiday from the likes of Select Sites they have the economy of scale and I speaking personally have always found them cheaper than booking direct and handy to have if problems occur.

 

[ValA.]

Yes, but we use Camping Cheques - so our whole August holiday is only costing just

 

[garyyorkshire]

Thankyou very much for the input.

we have had an old caravan for years but never been serious vanners until the cost of packages went throught he roof. we have 2 children 11 and 4.

we collected our new van this week absolutely lovely. abbey vogue gts 416.7 years old but well looked after. so much room. new awning too. very excited to try it out.

we just received a copy of france campsite by alan rogers. i think for next year we will just visit france. one step at a time so to speak. i will have many more question when i begin planning for next year. hope thats ok.

then once we understand the ifs and buts perhaps go to spain the following year.

dont really understand the camping cheques and were not in the caravan club as yet.

i appreciate all the info.thankyou.

 

[neil_374295444]

have you tried http://www.skyscanner.net/ for flights, very reasonable and they give you a graph of the month you choose to fly on to pick the cheapest days to depart and return. Good luck Neil