3 weeks in Europe, mid September!

[TallPaul_S]

Right then. A while back, thanks to an abundance of annual leave that needed to be taken by the end of the year, I booked myself 3 weeks off work between the 16th September and the 4th October.

My plans for this 3 week break from work? a Eurotrip!!!

I'm about a 40 minute drive straight down the M20 from the LeShuttle, and I've booked an evening crossing on Sunday the 15th September, which will get me to France at just before 9pm local time (8pm UK time), having left my door at about 5pm. I've not yet booked a return crossing - I'll book this when I'm out there, based on weather, where I am, and if I fancy coming home early. But I'll probably be looking at coming home on the Friday 4th, just to give me a couple of days at home before going back to work!

I've not driven abroad in a car, however I've done probably around 5000 miles on motorbikes, in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and Austria, so know what to expect in terms of driving. I've done a few of these trips solo too, just me and the motorbike!
Here's some memories of those trips:





I'm aiming to do this fairly cheaply - I've set a rough figure of £1000, inc eurotunnel (£280ish), fuel - 3x or 4x tanks at 500 miles per tank (£320) - however that's £600 gone already so I'll probably be well over budget! In fact, I'll probably blow though that!! I'll be staying in free parkups, cheap aires, with the occasional campsite for a day or 3 if I fancy stopping somewhere for a few days, so accomodation costs will hopefully only be £150 or so, max.

My rough plan for the trip - well, this map with several saved park ups/campsites/aires gives an idea of where I'll be heading!




Initial plans are to hit the autoroutes for the first evening's drive, stopping either at a parkup in the town of Gace - park4night - (61230) Gacé - 3-430 Rue du Marché aux Bestiaux - which is just over 3hrs away from Calais according to google maps - or if I fancy doing another hour, a different parkup just outside Le Mans - park4night - (72550) Brains-sur-Gée - Château des Touches - which is just over 4hrs away. So an ETA of 12am or 1am - local time - which would be 11pm or 12am for me, still on UK time I enjoy driving at night with less cars so I'm happy driving into the night.

On the subject of autoroutes, I have an Sanef/Emovis Tag ready to go and stuck in my windscreen next to the rear view mirror (currently in it's little foil bag in my dash) so Peage toll booths should be no issue. I just need to remember to avoid the 2m restricted lanes, as I've got my roof rack, solar panel, and I'll have a bag on the rack with my table and chair in.

I have a Monzo card which is excellent for euro transactions so I'll be using that for any card payments. I have 12GB of data roaming on my phone, and also 12GB on my 4G router in the van, this will roll over 2 weeks into the trip so I'll have another 12GB then too.

After the initial day I'll probably head into Le Mans and drive (and try and stop for a cheeky pic) on the public road sections of the 24hr circuit - Mulsanne straight, Arnage, and the Porsche curves!!

Then onto La Rochelle for the rest of the day, with another parkup just to the south of the town.

After that, I have a rough idea of where I'll be heading, but how long I stay in each location is subject to change based on weather and various other factors. The rough plan after the first day in La Rochelle is to head down towards Biarritz. I'll stay here a day or 3, enjoy a wander around the town and enjoy the beaches, and try to not spend too much money! There's options of cheap Aires, or a slightly more expensive Yelloh! village, or independent campsites (which hopefully should be fairly quiet and able to be booked on short notice due to it being out of peak season).

After Biarritz I'll be heading into the Pyrenees, with at least one stop over before heading to a small town on the Spanish side called Ainsa - any MTB'ers will likely have heard of this place, they have an excellent trail network called 'Zona Zero' - Zona Zero Pirineos - Home - with most of the trails starting in or around Ainsa. I'll spend a few days here, I'll be taking one of my mountain bikes with me so I'll ride at least one of the routes whilst I'm there.

After this, I think I'll be heading across to the northern coast of Spain, Catalonia and the Costa Brava. I've picked out a few gems of locations here where I'll spend some time soaking up the (hopefully) warm weather and warm sea. Then after this It'll be onto the French Rivieria, again having picked out a few 'must see places' to stop at! Cassis, Porquerolles, and Èze to name a few...

That should take me up to about the middle of week 3 roughly, when I'll start to head north, taking the Route Napoleon to Grenoble, then either hitting the autoroute to get back to the UK or taking a slightly longer route over a few days, depending how much time I have left!!

The van is almost ready to go, I'm about to build some overhead storage above my kitchen area which will also house my Victron touch 50 display. I've got 230Ah of battery and 305w of solar so won't have to worry about electrics, even with an 800w induction hob (I have a double gas hob too). I also need to do a few tweaks with VCDS before I go.

I'll be taking a folding portable toilet in case of emergencies, the fridge will be stocked with easy to cook meals, and I'll take plenty of smidge fly repellant, and sunscreen!!

3 weeks and 4 days and I'll be on the French autoroute!!

 

[TallPaul_S]

Obviously, it goes without saying, that I'll be updating this thread with LOADS of pictures of the trip!

 

[3crispies]

Few places we did.
Public car park free in Le mans
Contis aire at lighthouse
Foix in Pyrenees campsite
Area 340 camping near Tarragona
La manga free
We did 4 weeks and spent average £10/night and covered 3000 miles. Just used search for sites again.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Few places we did.
Public car park free in Le mans
Contis aire at lighthouse
Foix in Pyrenees campsite
Area 340 camping near Tarragona
La manga free
We did 4 weeks and spent average £10/night and covered 3000 miles. Just used search for sites again.

Awesome, cheers, I'll have a search for some of those.

Yeah that's the plan, search for sites, park4 night, and the camping-carpark app which has all the French Aires for a few euros a night.

 

[ginkster]

Sounds great. I’m very jealous!

Don’t forget to allow for the tolls in your (very rough!) budget as they soon add up. As an idea Tunnel to Chamonix was £75 each way a couple of years ago, it may well be more now.

the fridge will be stocked with easy to cook meals

Go empty and buy local and fresh - isn’t that part of the experience? Don’t forget proper tea bags though (if you drink tea)!

 

[TallPaul_S]

Sounds great. I’m very jealous!

Don’t forget to allow for the tolls in your (very rough!) budget as they soon add up. As an idea Tunnel to Chamonix was £75 each way a couple of years ago, it may well be more now.


Go empty and buy local and fresh - isn’t that part of the experience? Don’t forget proper tea bags though (if you drink tea)!

Yeah I'll be trying to avoid tolls apart from when I need to cover ground, and the first evening's drive - I'll be using Waze for navigation and that gives the toll prices so if they're high for a particular section I'll just take my time and enjoy the back roads!

I'll definitely be visiting a few boulangeries along the way but will be going with some basics that are cheap and easy to cook without too much mess. Caffeine will be taken care of by simple coffee, nothing too complex!

 

[rod_vw]

We will be crossing on the 4th September late afternoon and stopping on a Aire somewhere within about an hour of Calais. We've no particular destination but using Aires in rural areas wherever possible. Our return date is like yours @TallPaul_S the early morning of 4th October so if you see a silver LWB MAN TGE (Crafter in disguise) on your return trip please give us a wave.

Our plan may be to head down the western side of France this time although we will be ruled by the weather forecast!

 

[TallPaul_S]

We will be crossing on the 4th September late afternoon and stopping on a Aire somewhere within about an hour of Calais. We've no particular destination but using Aires in rural areas wherever possible. Our return date is like yours @TallPaul_S the early morning of 4th October so if you see a silver LWB MAN TGE (Crafter in disguise) on your return trip please give us a wave.

Our plan may be to head down the western side of France this time although we will be ruled by the weather forecast!

Nice! I'm guessing you're much further from the channel - it's a great only being 40 minutes away but it does mean anywhere nice in the UK is 4hrs drive or more!

I could easily leave my front door and be in the Alps the same day without much issue. I'll be going for a late crossing on the last day, once I'm back in the UK I'm basically home!

And yeah I'll definitely be going by the weather, if it's crap I'll have no hesitation moving on in search of sunnier weather.

 

[rod_vw]

Nice! I'm guessing you're much further from the channel - it's a great only being 40 minutes away but it does mean anywhere nice in the UK is 4hrs drive or more!

I could easily leave my front door and be in the Alps the same day without much issue. I'll be going for a late crossing on the last day, once I'm back in the UK I'm basically home!

And yeah I'll definitely be going by the weather, if it's crap I'll have no hesitation moving on in search of sunnier weather.

Yes you are right, I'm four hours plus from Folkstone all M54, M6, M1, M25 & M20 dependent! It's about 240 miles for me but all motorway except for about three miles at the home end.

 

[Bigsidavies]

On our trip this year we stopped at Biarritz but the weather was truly horrific so it was an overnighter and we moved on.
If you have time in your schedule then San Sebastián is very close by and well worth a trip. If you are looking for somewhere to visit/stop on the way (sort of) to Ainsa then I can recommend Pamplona. We only had a day there and the weather was a bit pants, so we intend to go back.
Stayed at the aire next to the fire station that is barrier entry, secure, €10 and has EHU, with a lift around the corner that takes you straight into the old town.
We did something similar earlier this year. Aires using the SFS app and a site, usually basic and cheap, every third day or so. We shopped local and ate picnics and van meals quite often, rather than eating out every day and we ended up spending the same as we normally do when living at home, so apart from the ferry it was essentially a free holiday, although we were primarily in Spain which is much cheaper than France.

 

[Podge]

Don't forget your Crit air sticker (7 euros) even if you are avoiding clean air zones you have to have it. You'd probably get away with it but it does give Le Plod an easy excuse to pull you up.

 

[Bigsidavies]

Don't forget your Crit air sticker (7 euros) even if you are avoiding clean air zones you have to have it. You'd probably get away with it but it does give Le Plod an easy excuse to pull you up.

You only need one if you drive in an emissions controlled zone.

The Crit'Air anti-pollution vehicle sticker

Paris has become the first restricted traffic area in France. This means that all vehicles travelling in the capital must now carry a ‘Crit’

www.france.fr

 

[Podge]

Carcassonne is well worth a visit while you are round that side. It has a really spectacular old town an castle. Take a mac because when it rains it really rains!

 

[TallPaul_S]

On our trip this year we stopped at Biarritz but the weather was truly horrific so it was an overnighter and we moved on.
If you have time in your schedule then San Sebastián is very close by and well worth a trip. If you are looking for somewhere to visit/stop on the way (sort of) to Ainsa then I can recommend Pamplona. We only had a day there and the weather was a bit pants, so we intend to go back.
Stayed at the aire next to the fire station that is barrier entry, secure, €10 and has EHU, with a lift around the corner that takes you straight into the old town.
We did something similar earlier this year. Aires using the SFS app and a site, usually basic and cheap, every third day or so. We shopped local and ate picnics and van meals quite often, rather than eating out every day and we ended up spending the same as we normally do when living at home, so apart from the ferry it was essentially a free holiday, although we were primarily in Spain which is much cheaper than France.

Cheers, may add San Sebastian to the list! I did look at Pamplona, so that's another option. There's almost too many places to visit tbh!!

Don't forget your Crit air sticker (7 euros) even if you are avoiding clean air zones you have to have it. You'd probably get away with it but it does give Le Plod an easy excuse to pull you up.

You only need one if you drive in an emissions controlled zone.

The Crit'Air anti-pollution vehicle sticker

Paris has become the first restricted traffic area in France. This means that all vehicles travelling in the capital must now carry a ‘Crit’

www.france.fr

Sorted for that, just need to stick mine in my windscreen. My route down on the first evening takes me through Rouen which you need the Crit air sticker for.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Carcassonne is well worth a visit while you are round that side. It has a really spectacular old town an castle. Take a mac because when it rains it really rains!

View attachment 256221

and another to add to the possible list

I rarely do holidays where I just stay at a single place and sit by the van for days - so a day or 2 in each place is perfectly fine by me - I'll enjoy a day relaxing on a beach every now and then but any longer than that and I'll just get bored. So places like Carcassonne I'll happily stop off at for a few hours, have a wander through the old town, get lost a bit, stop for a coffee and maybe a cheap pizza, then carry onto the next destination.

 

[archersam]

Nice! I'm guessing you're much further from the channel - it's a great only being 40 minutes away but it does mean anywhere nice in the UK is 4hrs drive or more!

I could easily leave my front door and be in the Alps the same day without much issue. I'll be going for a late crossing on the last day, once I'm back in the UK I'm basically home!

And yeah I'll definitely be going by the weather, if it's crap I'll have no hesitation moving on in search of sunnier weather.

me too, it is 5 miles from my driveway to the French passport control and I don't consider my trip starting until I arrive in Coquelles.

 

[Stay Frosty]

@TallPaul_S We had a similar trip to yours but only managed to get as far as Isle de Rey off La Rochelle before we got three cherries on the EML display.
Our next stops should have been Biarritz, Lourdes, Arcachon for the Dune de Pilat/Bordeaux, St Jean de Mont, Pornic and then back to Normandy.
Wish I could be braver on so many aspects of continental travel as we've done Cannes on a motorbike and car before now but in your 60s you worry yourself to a standstill over dashboard lights, definite Marmite relationship with our camper this year.

 

[TallPaul_S]

@TallPaul_S We had a similar trip to yours but only managed to get as far as Isle de Rey off La Rochelle before we got three cherries on the EML display.
Our next stops should have been Biarritz, Lourdes, Arcachon for the Dune de Pilat/Bordeaux, St Jean de Mont, Pornic and then back to Normandy.
Wish I could be braver on so many aspects of continental travel as we've done Cannes on a motorbike and car before now but in your 60s you worry yourself to a standstill over dashboard lights, definite Marmite relationship with our camper this year.

Touc wood I've had no issues with the van, I've done about 4k miles in the last year or year. Adblue - I'm currently showing 3500 mile range so may top that up soon - I topped it up when I bought the van so I've done 4000 miles and it was at the usual 6000 mile range.

Dune de Pilat is a stop I may make on my way down to the south west of France, I'm hoping places like this (and everywhere in general tbh!) isn't rammo with people - I can't stand when you need a big stick to push the tourists out of the way!!

 

[Stay Frosty]

Definitely top up your Adblu to check that it recalibrates as ours was showing 2500 miles range which went to a 650 mile countdown and orange spanner sign midway to Isle de Rey.
This was on top of what turned out to be a cam position sensor fault that had come on as we left our first stop in Normandy.
The Adblu did finally reset after a 7 litre top up of pig wee when it had counted down to 300 miles remaining before engine start defeat and after just over 80 Kms of the abort holiday return trip. We subsequently picked up an additional EML light after these French trip lights were sorted a month later back home when we went to the IOW for a consolation stay and this time the new light cleared itself before a subsequent EGR flush at the local dealer here.
This on a 67 T28 102hp camper at 57,000 miles.
I'm going to try a return trip to Arcachon next year as it's now taking on bucket list status, I will climb that bloody dune!

 

[TallPaul_S]

Well I'm continuing to add places to see on my list, far more than I'd be able to visit in 3 weeks - but it gives me options. If I'm sick of the beach, there's towns and gorges and stuff to do.

Places like Camargue, where there are wild flamingos! Or Gorge Du Verdon, basically a massive gorge in the mountains, with a blue river at the bottom.