Holiday 2014

[trekoclv]

Our family holiday to the South of France, July/August 2014. On our way down we watched a stage of the tour de France on the Col de L'Izoard, then we proceeded to camp du Domaine near to Le Lavandou. We made our return and stopped off at the municipal site in Epernay this stop is about 3 hour drive to the docks and a ferry home.

 

[calikev]

Very smart looking van you have

 

[trekoclv]

Thanks Calikev, we love it!

 

[PhilipGG]

Hi great pictures. We're off to France this summer, did you book your campsites in advance? were not sure how much to plan ahead. We're doing a five week clockwise lap of France last week of July and all August. We want to try to keep it fairly flexible but we're worried campsites will all be booked up.

If anyone has any advice that would be helpful.

Oh and your van looks well cool. Ours arrives in May and looks the same as yours but grey.

Finally in the second picture is that your tent or were you parked very close to your neighbours?

Cheers. Phil

 

[trekoclv]

Hi Phil,

Yes we always book our pitch at Camp du Domaine as its the South of France!!
The main French Holidays are from middle of July and August so booking is adviseable!
The good thing about the standard VW set up is that you can easily pack up and move from pitch to pitch or site to site as and when they become available!
However we don't fall into that bracket as my wife likes her creature comforts we take a big tent and full size fridge!! It takes me a day to set up and a day to take down but we are in one place for 3 weeks!
Yes its our tent in the photo and the roof of the blue tent is my son's! The plot is 11m square!
If you're mobile around France the municipal sites are quite good and cheap but arrive early before the rush!
Your trip sounds fantastic, if you're not into cycling make yourself familiar with the route and stay well clear!
If you use the toll roads the Cali falls into class 1 for charges which are the cheapest!

 

[storma63]

PhillipGG, We never book campsites in France. There are so many, and you can always use municipal sites, some are basic but the toilet blocks have always been very clean. We have found some fantastic little sites in villages way off the beaten track and often we are the only Brits on site. We love this as it makes us practice our French, still rubbish at it, but its fun. We have always found the locals very friendly and been invited to their birthday parties and other celebrations,

We just book the ferry and once on French soil turn left or right and see where it takes us. We don't book return ferry because we never know which port we will end up near. We're not retired yet so we try to make the most of our fortnight away.

Steve and Norma.

 

[Pineweasel]

We have done several French trips during August. There are popular campsites which it's essential to book but you can always find something. Our strategy has always been to book a few landmark sites with gaps between where we take our chances.