Aire recommendations between Calais and La Rochelle

cleve · Mar 13, 2015

Heading to Ile de Re in August and wondered if anyone has any recommendations for Aires between Calais and La Rochelle? Travelling with 3 young children so if there are any with space to let them have a run about safely then even better.

cpjb@btinternet.com · Mar 13, 2015

Sorry can't help with Aire recommendations, as we did it in a single hop from Calais last year. Although long day as motorway shut at Rouen and had to take 2 hour detour - kids weren't very impressed!!

However would say Ile de Re is a superb place to visit. We went for the first time last year en route to n. Spain and was really impressed - we stayed at Phare des Baleines campsite at the far end of the island. Definitely heading back there at some stage.

Good luck.

Hotel California · Mar 14, 2015

In Dutch but gives you an idea of how many there are in France ....

http://www.campercontact.com/nl/frankrijk.aspx?map=1&filter=|

Archie · Mar 14, 2015

We are going to the Ile de Re in July. I can't recommend any aires as we usually do the trip non stop. We are sailing to Dieppe in the afternoon this year so we are stopping here near Le Mans en route

http://en.chateau-de-chanteloup.com

Not stayed before but looks nice.
We did it from Calais non stop in 2013 and it took about 9 hours I think including several monster queues at the toll booths. Not recommended with young children (ours are 12 and 9 and come equipped with iPads)

The Ile de Re is great for kids,especially if you ride bikes. Our youngest did 16 miles one day when she was only 4! The power of ice cream......
It helps that it is almost completely flat and the villages are nicely spaced apart with cycle tracks away from the roads.
This will be our 4th visit and second with the van. Staying at Camping Interlude near Le Bois.

dannosail · Mar 16, 2015

cleve said:
Heading to Ile de Re in August and wondered if anyone has any recommendations for Aires between Calais and La Rochelle? Travelling with 3 young children so if there are any with space to let them have a run about safely then even better.

We have had Il de Re recommended and decided this last weekend to go too late August with 2 little ones. Will check this thread for updates and let you know what we find - just off to look at the campsite recommendations. Thanks ARCHIE and CPJB. :thumb

briwy · Mar 16, 2015

There is an aire in Le Mans right by the river. Gets busy though so you need to get there in good time to bag a spot. We missed out on it the first time we tried it and ended up a few miles away at the aire in Arnage. A couple of spots by the river. Good restaurant about 100m away and clean loos just around the corner next to the church.

cleve · Mar 17, 2015

I'm pleased that everyone seems to speak positively of Ile de Re. We plan to stay at La Grainetiere as it has good reviews and is small but well equipped for the children it seems. We usually tour through France to the med but plan a bit more relaxation and less driving this year with our youngest just hitting the terrible twos! Plan on spending a week on Ile de Re and then a week somewhere else but yet to decide which direction to head in.

cleve · Mar 17, 2015

Archie said:
We are going to the Ile de Re in July. I can't recommend any aires as we usually do the trip non stop. We are sailing to Dieppe in the afternoon this year so we are stopping here near Le Mans en route

http://en.chateau-de-chanteloup.com

Not stayed before but looks nice.
We did it from Calais non stop in 2013 and it took about 9 hours I think including several monster queues at the toll booths. Not recommended with young children (ours are 12 and 9 and come equipped with iPads)

The Ile de Re is great for kids,especially if you ride bikes. Our youngest did 16 miles one day when she was only 4! The power of ice cream......
It helps that it is almost completely flat and the villages are nicely spaced apart with cycle tracks away from the roads.
This will be our 4th visit and second with the van. Staying at Camping Interlude near Le Bois.

Le Chateau Chanteloup sounds lovely, thanks for that. Perhaps a relaxing stopover for the return leg

Geordiemunro · Mar 30, 2015

We've just come back from a trip to La Rochelle, albeit we took our time and stopped over in the Loire. Used a mix of ASCI campsites and Aires. The first night after crossing to Calais we stopped at the Aire in Honfleur (opposite Le Havre on the Seine estuary) which I'd happily recommend. Might be a bit too much of a detour if you are looking to get to La Rochelle quickly though.

cleve · Mar 30, 2015

Thanks I'll have a look & mark it on our Google maps as an option. We tend to leave a gap between arriving in France and first campsite booking to make a holiday of the journey so in no rush. Some of our best holiday memories include the random overnight stops we've found along the way!

Booked our first week at camping St Nicolas, Nevez not far from concarneau then heading to camping la grainetiere, ile design re for our second week. This will be our first year not having multiple stops on the way to the med so looking forward to spending longer exploring each area.

teeboy · Mar 31, 2015

Might be too late if you have booked your ferry, but if going to that side of France we use the overnight St Mali ferry. Meal in Portsmouth, get on Ferry, cheeky beer on the ferry, bed, then get a nice early start to get as far down France as possible

Archie · Mar 31, 2015

cleve said:
I'm pleased that everyone seems to speak positively of Ile de Re. We plan to stay at La Grainetiere as it has good reviews and is small but well equipped for the children it seems. We usually tour through France to the med but plan a bit more relaxation and less driving this year with our youngest just hitting the terrible twos! Plan on spending a week on Ile de Re and then a week somewhere else but yet to decide which direction to head in.

Cleve
if you are at all interested in the cycling you would be able to hire bikes and a tow along trailer that would take 2 young ones, and a child seat for the third to go on the other bike (fight it out with your better half for who gets to haul which!) Every village has several cycle hire shops and some will take bookings on their websites in advance.

cleve · Apr 3, 2015

teeboy said:
Might be too late if you have booked your ferry, but if going to that side of France we use the overnight St Mali ferry. Meal in Portsmouth, get on Ferry, cheeky beer on the ferry, bed, then get a nice early start to get as far down France as possible

Going to stick with euro tunnel as I get so sea sick I can't face looking after 3 little ones & feeling yuck. I also find it easier keeping them all contained in the vehicle, have a picnic during the crossing so we're all fed & watered & ready for a good stretch of driving.

cleve · Apr 3, 2015

Archie said:
Cleve
if you are at all interested in the cycling you would be able to hire bikes and a tow along trailer that would take 2 young ones, and a child seat for the third to go on the other bike (fight it out with your better half for who gets to haul which!) Every village has several cycle hire shops and some will take bookings on their websites in advance.

Yes been looking up cycle routes as we'll take our bikes. It's one of the things that appealed about the island as it will be lovely not having to move the cali everytime we want to go anywhere. My children live on their bikes so are used to road cycling with us & I have a seat for the youngest as she's still on a balance bike.

Just picked up a travel mag today & there was loads of info about ile de re in it. Can't wait!

nezzler · Jun 23, 2015

Is the site booked?

dannosail said:
We have had Il de Re recommended and decided this last weekend to go too late August with 2 little ones. Will check this thread for updates and let you know what we find - just off to look at the campsite recommendations. Thanks ARCHIE and CPJB.

We have been going for the last 6 years, tents to begin with, until we got the cali 4 years ago. Sunelia this year following a trip down to the lot region.

WelshGas · Jun 23, 2015

Isle de Re has been made for cycling. Cycling paths everywhere. I think the only place there isn't a dedicated cycle path is near St Martin where you share the road for 200 m or so with a 20Km speed limit.
South side of the island has the sandy beaches and the rocky ones predominantly on the North side. Great place.

dannosail · Jun 23, 2015

nezzler said:
Is the site booked?

We have been going for the last 6 years, tents to begin with, until we got the cali 4 years ago. Sunelia this year following a trip down to the lot region.

Is Sunelia the Interlude site, if so that's the one we booked last week of August, will you be there?

nezzler · Jun 24, 2015

Yes same week(!) great market nearby for fresh fish etc... Very good facilities on site too e.g. Tap on pitch etc... Will be taking the vango kela so should be easy to spot!

dannosail said:
Is Sunelia the Interlude site, if so that's the one we booked last week of August, will you be there?

dannosail · Jun 24, 2015

nezzler said:
Yes same week(!) great market nearby for fresh fish etc... Very good facilities on site too e.g. Tap on pitch etc... Will be taking the vango kela so should be easy to spot!

SNAP on the Kela...although wish I had the 2015 model since they have a door in the 'tunnel'. Where/How you getting across, are you planning any stopovers?

I'm just negotiating a start date for a new job but hoping to get across a week before and do some touring before finishing with a week on Ile de Re.

Saw another thread, did you get a solar panel in the end?

nezzler · Jun 25, 2015

dannosail said:
SNAP on the Kela...although wish I had the 2015 model since they have a door in the 'tunnel'. Where/How you getting across, are you planning any stopovers?

I'm just negotiating a start date for a new job but hoping to get across a week before and do some touring before finishing with a week on Ile de Re.

Saw another thread, did you get a solar panel in the end?

Yes, frustrating re door especially when raining - I think I was too keen on ordering when it was launched, hence we have the same issue.

We are heading down the week before via dfds at dover, yet to book stops but aiming to call in at cahors to stay in a gite with pool for a couple of nights (stayed before as a bit of a treat) and to pick up some malbec so should be well stocked up by the time we get to Il de Re. First time travelling with our 11 month old daughter so thinking we will need to stop more often (sleeps through which is a bonus!). Intend to get sites booked in the next couple of weeks rather than leaving it to chance like we have done before.

Good luck with the new job, hopefully you can get the extra time. Where are you thinking of stopping if you have the extra time?

No solar panel yet, with the frustration we can't undertake a simple solution of simply having a panel on the dashboard when parked. I'm surprised VW haven't engineered a solution/fixing kit.

Projects to sort prior to the trip at the moment is to select a good child bike seat and a portable vac to hoover food of the kela carpet - not normally an issue!

cleve · Jun 28, 2015

nezzler said:
No solar panel yet, with the frustration we can't undertake a simple solution of simply having a panel on the dashboard when parked. I'm surprised VW haven't engineered a solution/fixing kit.

Projects to sort prior to the trip at the moment is to select a good child bike seat and a portable vac to hoover food of the kela carpet - not normally an issue!

We too need to sort a solar panel for when we're in Aires. Managed last 2 years with a 4w briefcase charger which was enough to keep us topped up enough to keep fridge running but we keep dropping them. Decided against roof one with advice from vw and the fact it could invalidate our warranty.

Recommend the ibert safe T seat for a bike seat & handheld Dyson. We keep our Dyson in the cali at all times for those squashed breadstick/cheddar in the car seat incidents & great for getting sand out of the seat creases before bed!

cleve · Jul 5, 2015

How did you find night time temperatures around ile de re? Just thinking what tog duvet & pj's to pack as we usually head to the med so pack very little & live in our swimwear but remember being in the loire last year on our way back & we had to use the heater at night as we were freezing!!

nezzler · Jul 6, 2015

cleve said:
We too need to sort a solar panel for when we're in Aires. Managed last 2 years with a 4w briefcase charger which was enough to keep us topped up enough to keep fridge running but we keep dropping them. Decided against roof one with advice from vw and the fact it could invalidate our warranty.

Recommend the ibert safe T seat for a bike seat & handheld Dyson. We keep our Dyson in the cali at all times for those squashed breadstick/cheddar in the car seat incidents & great for getting sand out of the seat creases before bed!

Many thanks will check out bike seat and hand held Dyson - it is a slight issue being limited to slave and having to clean every night!

I'm going to see if we can get the drill free lotion prior to going away as I believe they can't be ordered until 21st July. Our cali ran out of warranty last year so will ask at its service re any implications.

nezzler · Jul 6, 2015

cleve said:
How did you find night time temperatures around ile de re? Just thinking what tog duvet & pj's to pack as we usually head to the med so pack very little & live in our swimwear but remember being in the loire last year on our way back & we had to use the heater at night as we were freezing!!

In August it has been known to rain (heavily with localised flooding) but very quickly clears. We use a light weight sleeping bag with a rug/blanket as back up. Normally its fine and we get a great nights sleep as it's not too warm at night, but still warm on the beach at 7—8 pm

NZCol · Jul 6, 2015

^ second vote for an iBert.

Aire recommendations between Calais and La Rochelle

cleve

cpjb@btinternet.com

Hotel California

Archie

dannosail

briwy

cleve

cleve

Geordiemunro

cleve

teeboy

Archie

cleve

cleve

nezzler

WelshGas

Retired after 42 yrs and enjoying Life.

dannosail

nezzler

dannosail

nezzler

cleve

cleve

nezzler

nezzler

NZCol

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