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Trip Review - Santander to Calais, 17 nights

Lambeth Cali

Lambeth Cali

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I thought I would write a trip review. We go to France for approximately two weeks every summer. Twice before we have gone to Spain instead. This August we decided to combine the two and catch the Brittany Ferries Pont Aven Plymouth to Santander and then drive home via Calais Eurotunnel. One of the main aims of this was to get better weather as weather is probably the main contributing factor in our favourite trips.

Ferry
The Pont Aven is great. We wouldn't go on another boat. The 4hr drive to Plymouth was a bit of a concern - previously we have sailed from Portsmouth - as you cant be late for a boat that sails with the tide once a week, but we arrived about an hour and a half before sailing and seemed pretty good. Boarding was easy and efficient. We like the ferry, the cabins are good and our kids like the trip. My daughter had a bit of sea sickness just as we decided to eat. I think we had just got over the Bay of Biscay and the ship moves about a bit more. We should have eaten an hour earlier!

Bilbao for lunch.
Disembarkation was also very good and we headed to Bilbao where I wanted us to have lunch and then head to a supermarket to get food as we had stuck to the rules and had no Dairy, meat, fish or veg! We drove around the centre of Bilbao trying to park for an hour, passed the Guggenheim many times but couldn't find an empty spot and Spanish rules seemed a little more challenging than France with different coloured lines etc. So, we gave up! Not a good start to the holiday. It then started to downpour so we headed to a big Supermarket outside San Sebastian.

San Sebastián - 2 nights
We were ultimately going to 5 campsites in 17 nights, all booked. The first and last we had been to before. So Camping Bungalows Igueldo was exactly how we remembered. The pitches are quite compact, its a very urban style site, all be it at the top of a hill overlooking San Sebastian. All nationalities are here. I quite like it. Very well run. We arrived in the rain, pitched up quickly, realised our van gas had run out. We usually cook outside so had our great new stove and plenty of canisters. We were in our first site and happy enough.
The reason this site is popular is it has a bus stop right outside the door and the bus takes you down into the centre of San Sebastian. It takes about 25 minutes and they go every half an hour. We went down for Pintxos which we all enjoy. My wife had saved the names of various good places from when we last visited 6 years ago. They were all there and still serving great small beers and excellent, very varied hot pinxtos. Our 12 year old daughter and 9 year old son like croquettas, calimari and liked all this. It was a glorious sunny day and San Sebastián, as always, looks spectacular. A better start to the holiday.
1662579526242.jpeg

Camping Pré Fixe - 4 nights
I was looking forward to this site as it looked idyllic, but to get there we had to drive over the Pyrenees first. I had deliberated on which route to take (see other post) as I wanted to enjoy this drive. In the end though I didn’t think my kids were going to like me turning a 4 hour journey (Google Maps/Waze) into a 6 or 7 hour one. My daughter’s mild travel sickness was also a concern for twisty driving. In the end we went North and got stuck in the motorway traffic crossing into France and then at Saint Jean de Luz turned and headed to Saint Jean Pied de Port for some scenery. On the way we pulled in to have a roadside picnic that was beautiful and what we wanted. We had a quick drink in St JP de P and then headed straight to the site.
1662579108940.jpeg
We got there in time for a swim.
Pré Fixe is a lovely smallish site, particularly after urban Igueldo. We had a fab pitch near pool and restaurant and easy for kids to get to loos unaided. We immediately liked it a lot. Almost every bush and tree seems almost to have been placed perfectly. We put our hammock up. The pool is small but very pretty. We had a nice meal - pasta night, spaghetti bolognaise or veg spaghetti only choice, but actually all very tasty.
On day 3 we drove to Toulouse. We aimed for a park and ride metro stop in suburb Arènes but there was a height restriction. This is a student area and we managed to find a space in a car park 100 metres away. All free. We caught the metro into the centre and had a great lunch. Another baking hot day.
Run by a couple, we said we would happily return to Pré Fixe.
1662579066878.jpeg

La Parenthèse Camping Les Ormes - 3 nights
We arrived here at 4pm ready for another swim. It is a wooded site next to a fishing lake, with a large pool and food bus. It was horribly unpleasantly hot when we arrived and after Pré Fixe where it looks like they clip the grass with scissors and polish leaves, at first I wasn’t sure we were going to like it. Though I think both are 4* it felt more scruffy, but anything would. It was possibly 20% full and felt like the end of season it was. We pitched up and had a swim. Slowly we settled in. After a beer by the pool we started to see the appeal. There were a lot of Brits there. The next morning I rode around on my bike with my son and we found three more fields with lots of fixed tents, some huge. That’s where everyone was. We stayed put the whole 3 days and got into the rhythm of poolside camping. The last night was pizza night. Served at a café bit by the lake this was great. Everyone having a good time. A 2 pichets evening. I think for them it was the last hurrah of the season. The main restaurant which we never ate in, shut the next day, but we were off again. We stopped at gorgeous Bergerac for a great lunch at Riverside restaurant. Fab.
1662579176094.jpeg
1662579201267.jpeg

Île de Ré, Sunêlia Interlude - 5 nights.
The main event of the holiday was Ilê de Ré. We had wanted to go for the good weather and the cycle lanes. Advised by Welsh Gas amongst others we chose 5* Sunelia. €78 a night but with a great shower room on our lux pitch.
About 5 years ago I asked my kids if they preferred beaches or pools. They were adamant they liked pools and we haven’t been near a French beach since. Arriving at Île de Ré you immediately get that island vibe. The bridge is a great opener and the style of the white houses and clay roofs, with people cycling everywhere makes you feels you’ve arrived somewhere different. The pitch was of course sandy but while a little small we liked it’s private shower and fridge etc.
Much like Parenthèse we settled into a rhythm. The first day we cycled just a mile to have lunch at Beach Bar Ile de Ré. It was very full but we booked for that night. We had a picnic back at the pitch and went to the lovely beach. Going back at 7.30pm it was clear this was the place to be on this side of the island. We had a great fun meal. Sat at a high table facing a large amount of people unsuccessfully trying to get in, everything just seemed great. The staff were charming, food unusual but good, and it was special to see our kids experiencing and appreciating the atmosphere. Definitely a highlight and the stuff holidays are made for.
The next day we cycled to beautiful La Flotte and had nice crepes for lunch at La Fiancée du Pirate. Stupidly following Google Maps we got lost cycling back. I won’t do that again!
A couple of days later we cycled to Saint Martin de Ré and had another great lunch in Le Bistro du Marin. I do this so you don’t have to!
1662579306999.jpeg
Fantastic steak and interesting pictures on the walls inside. Loads of character. Both our two had a happy ride on a trouser-wearing donkey. It’s a thing here. I got a “17” sticker to add to my small collection for the back of the van.
1662579326302.jpeg
The beach at Sunelia is supposed to be one of the best on the island. We liked it a lot. It was certainly very busy but with Sunelia opening straight onto it, all you have to do is walk 5 minutes along it to get a little more space. Again there was a lot of Brits but with such a strong atmosphere on the island you always know you’re en France. This was the main part of the holiday and I think we all agreed it was a fun place to visit and we could have stayed maybe 7 nights or more. We’ve never come here as I thought it was too far to drive but we certainly will go back.

Le Brévedent - 2 nights
Finally we had a long drive to Normandy. We used to start all our French holidays at Brévedent or nearby Le Colombier. We have a lot of affection for both, so now spend the last night there if we can. Brevedent is just so picturesque, we like the owner Raphael Bonny and staff seem to stay there for yeras. I even always ask for the same pitch between the house and the lake, so we can hear the music as we fall asleep when they have open mic in the bar. This year they had added a great, long zip line which my kids loved. The weather was a bit drizzly, to remind us why we caught the boat to Spain, but we had a kayak around the fishing lake and even got a sunny hour at the pool. We ended as we always do with steak frites and chocolate mouse in the simple restaurant.
1662579385411.jpeg

I suppose I didn't need to reserve all the sites. We might have decided to stay longer or shorter at places but in the end my guesstimates of how long we wanted was about right. The main aim was Ile de Re but it was possible we wouldn't like it. I always ask the kids what they like about each place and some part of my brain is probably already working out next year. My wife said she would happily do all of the sites again.

The ferry with cabin was £739 which seems a lot but the tunnel return was £200 one way which I thought made the 20hr overnight ferry seem quite good value for such a big distance and a nights accomodation.






View attachment 1662579000857.jpeg
 
Last edited:
I thought I would write a trip review. We go to France for approximately two weeks every summer. Twice before we have gone to Spain instead. This August we decided to combine the two and catch the Brittany Ferries Pont Aven Plymouth to Santander and then drive home via Calais Eurotunnel. One of the main aims of this was to get better weather as weather is probably the main contributing factors in our favourite trips.

Ferry
The Pont Aven is great. We wouldn't go on another boat. The 4hr drive to Plymouth was a bit of a concern - previously we have sailed from Portsmouth - as you cant be late for a boat that sails with the tide once a week, but we arrived about an hour and a ha;f before sailing and seemed pretty good. Boarding was easy and efficient. We like the ferry, the cabins are good and our kids like the trip. My daughter had a bit of sea sickness just as we decided to eat. I think we had just got over the Bay of Biscay and the ship moves about a bit more. We should have eaten an hour earlier!

Bilbao for lunch.
Disembarkation was also very good and we headed to Bilbao where I wanted us to have lunch and then head to a supermarket to get food as we had stuck to the rules and had no Dairy, meat, fish or veg! We drove around the centre of Bilbao trying to park for an hour, passed the Guggenheim many times but couldn't find an empty spot and Spanish rules seemed a little more challenging than France with different coloured lines etc. So, we gave up! Not a good start to the holiday. It then started to downpour so we headed to a big Supermarket outside San Sebastian.

San Sebastián - 2 nights
We were ultimately going to 5 campsites in 17 nights, all booked. The first and last we had been to before. So Camping Bungalows Igueldo was exactly how we remembered. The pitches are quite compact, its a very urban style site, all be it at the top of a hill overlooking San Sebastian. All nationalities are here. I quite like it. Very well run. We arrived in the rain, pitched up quickly, realised our van gas had run out. We usually cook outside so had our great new stove and plenty of canisters. We were in our first site and happy enough.
The reason this site is popular is it has a bus stop right outside the door and the bus takes you down into the centre of San Sebastian. It takes about 25 minutes and they go every half an hour. We went down for Pintxos which we all enjoy. My wife had saved the names of various good place from when we last visited 6 years ago. They were all there and still serving great small beers and excellent, very varied hot pinxtos. Our 12 year old daughter and 9 year old son like croquettas, calimari and liked all this. It was a glorious sunny day and San Sebastián, as always, looks spectacular. A better start to the holiday.

Camping Pré Fixe - 4 nights
I was looking forward to this site as it looked idyllic, but to get there we had to drive over the Pyrenees first. I had deliberated on which route to take (see other post) as I wanted to enjoy this drive. In the end though I didn’t think my kids were going to like me turning a 4 hour journey (Google Maps/Waze) into a 6 or 7 hour one. My daughter’s mild travel sickness was also a concern for twisty driving. In the end we went North and got stuck in the motorway traffic crossing into France and then at Saint Jean de Luz turned and headed to Saint Jean Pied de Port for some scenery. On the way we pulled in to have a roadside picnic that was beautiful and what we wanted. We had a quick drink in St JP de P and then headed straight to the site. We got there in time for a swim.
Pré Fixe is a lovely smallish site, particularly after urban Igueldo. We had a fab pitch near pool and restaurant and easy for kids to get to loos unaided. We liked it a lot. Almost every bush and tree seems almost to have been placed perfectly. We put our hammock up. The pool is small but very pretty. We had a nice meal - pasta night, spaghetti bolognaise or veg spaghetti only choice, but actually all very tasty.
On day 3 we drove to Toulouse. We aimed for a park and ride metro stop in suburb Arènes but there was a height restriction. This is a student area and we managed to find a space in a car park 100 metres away. All free. We caught the metro into the centre and had a great lunch. Another baking hot day.
Run by a couple, we said we would happily return to Pré Fixe.

La Parenthèse Camping Les Ormes - 3 nights
We arrived here at 4pm ready for another swim. It is a wooded site next to a fishing lake, with a large pool and food bus. It was horribly unpleasantly hot when we arrived and after Pré Fixe where it looks like they clip the grass with scissors and polish leaves, at first I wasn’t sure we were going to like it. Though I think both are 4* it felt more scruffy, but anything would. It was possibly 20% full and felt like the end of season it was. We pitched up and had a swim. Slowly we settled in. After a beer by the pool we started to see the appeal. There were a lot of Brits there. The next morning I rode around on my bike with my son and we found three more fields with lots of fixed tents, some huge. That’s where everyone was. We stayed put the whole 3 days and got into the rhythm of poolside camping. The last night was pizza night. Served at a café bit by the lake this was great. Everyone having a good time. A 2 pichets evening. I think for them it was the last hurrah of the season. The main restaurant which we never ate in, shut the next day, but we were off again. We stopped at gorgeous Bergerac for a great lunch at Riverside restaurant. Fab.

Île de Ré, Sunêlia Interlude - 5 nights.

The main event of the holiday was Ilê de Ré. We had wanted to go for the good weather and the cycle lanes. Advised by Welsh Gas amongst others we chose 5* Sunelia. €78 a night but with a great shower room on our lux pitch.

TBC
Thank you @Lambeth Cali for that detailed report. Some key items added to my list of things to do/places to visit.

On our last trip to Portugal, we drove past San Sebastian. From your post we now have info on a campsite and also what to do when there. Thank you

Ilê de Ré and Camping Pré Fixe also added to the list. :thumb
 

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