Where To Drive To In France?

[knowabit]

We are looking at maybe going to France in the summer holidays, to a Eurocamp or the like. Having never been to France, other than a day trip to Calais, we have no idea which area to look at? Once off ferry we are happy to drive about 4 hours, but don't know which areas to look at?
Can anyone advise? Many thanks.

[Bazile]

Looking at that link from Beunchico - crazy

I wonder what the accident figures are for collisions , in paris

[pixie373]

I'm surprised you know the Charente, shoots. My dad used to live there, but nobody seemed to know it. It's so lovely there with the artificial beaches, so you can pretty much have one to yourself.

[pixie373]

Yes, divebuddy. I think we went overnight from Southampton to St Malo.

[pixie373]

That was probably it...where i said "i think" i couldn't decide Southampton or Portsmouth. My sense of direction is great;-)

[shoota]

Although my house is in Deux Sevres Pixie, it is part of Poitou Charente, another part of which is Charente Maritime (the coastal bit) so I go there whenever I want sand and sea (or the Vendee coast just a bit to the North). I went to the Ile de Re early last summer and spent a week dossing on the beach the evidence for which still adorns my forearms.....

[pixie373]

How lovely. My dad was in Sauze Vaussais.

[bhg481]

Those distances surprise me, Shoota - but you're obviously right.
We choose the Dover-Calais crossing mainly because of the frequency of crossings, so no panic if there's a traffic problem and, since we like driving, we prefer to see the French countryside to the English Channel (When you've seen one wave, you've seen them all).

[shoota]

That was going to be my home but I couldn't find a house to suit so ended up a bit further North.
I stayed there for a fortnight whilst I looked......

[Sycamore3House]

Our family used to visit Eurocamps in the Vendee region. We took the overnight ferry from Plymouth to Roskoff. then 4/5 hour drive to the campsite. We would be there for lunchtime.
Swimming gear was packed on top so when we got there we were ready to swim and sunbathe. Sort of gave us an extra day. Also going overnight the kids would be so excited they would not sleep much on the ferry but when they were in the car the next day they would sleep.

[pixie373]

He converted gites into a farmhouse- or vice versa. Did you meet a mad alcoholic Englishman there?
sorry, knowabit. Do you have children to take too?

[knowabit]

Wow.. lots of answers! Thanks all. We are in West London, so maybe Portsmouth is nearer? We are 3 families with children of various ages and fancy trying a camping holiday in France for a change... will have a good look at all suggestions. Thanks again x

[jomifl]

When we lived in the UK and owned a house in France we used to catch the ferry several times per year. It quickly became evident that one of the most important factors in choosing a route was not only where the ferry went from and arrived at but also the time it arrived so that we could get to our house the same day the ferry docked. As a consequence we opted for the Poole or Weymouth to St.Malo hydrofoil ferry which left at 7 or 8 AM and docked at lunch time, enabling us to do the 8/9 hour drive the same day and not having to either book a cabin or stay in a hotel, thus saving time and money (the money saved paid for the more expensive ferry fare).