Calais to Valras-Plage = late night stop?
Hi all, we land in Calais at 930pm, I wonder if we can drive past paris and park up somewhere, we have to get to our park on the Saturday (next day) as we have paid for that night but can't leave work until 330 Friday so getting 7.45 Eurotunnel to Calais (probably). I would like to keep going so we don't have 12 hours drive the next day. Any advice as to where we could park up? We will have 4 older kids with us too. If the laybys are safe that's fine as I think all parks would be closed to us?
Any advice gratefully received. I really don't understand why the ferries to Caen/St. Malo are so expensive but only get you an hour off your journey?! Maybe I'm looking at the wrong route planner of something (viaMichelin).
Many thanks
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The big unknown with that timing is the first stretch from Oxford to Folkestone. Who knows what the M25 will be like on a Friday night? You may be delayed and on a later train.
But if you are on time and in France by 9.30 pm. you should be south of Paris by 1.30 am. and you can start looking for parking space on a motorway service station. That's probably your only choice. It may be busy and probably noisy but I think that six of you will be safe enough, but put phones, passports, valuables and money under the beds.
That leaves you another 450 miles next day - do you have two drivers? Take care.
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You seem to be putting a lot of pressure on yourself- the distance,the M25 on a Friday, stopping in services etc-to save one nights fees?
One advantage of the Tunnel is you know you won't wait long for a train but once you are at Coquelles you are looking at 650 miles which is at least 13-14 hours driving without any stops.
It's not to say you can't do it but would it be save, let alone enjoyable?
You might be able to get on a site nearer to Calais, where they are more geared up to late arrivals,then with an early start and stopover on Saturday get to Valras on Sunday afternoon.
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We did Calais to Perpignan in one day 2 years ago, with 2 drivers in a Car not towing anything. It was brutal and looking back towards the end of our journey dangerous because we were so tired.
Why not consider a site near Calais for a overnight stop then an early but refreshed start in the morning.
Here are 2 sites within 30 minutes of Calais and both have good reviews. Yu could be at either of these sites by 10:15pm and then make a 7am start.
Chateau Camping de la Bien Assise
Camping Chateau De Gandspette
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Doesn't sound like a holiday to me.
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The text below, regarding La Bien Assise, is firm David Klynes website. Would advise emailing them to check if you consider this option. We have stayed a few times, but not for a few years, and vans have arrived and left throughout the night.
"Reception is open until about 8.00pm in the evening for late arrivals. If you arrive later than this you can go to the Bar. Otherwise a notice on the door of reception says to find a pitch and settle up in the morning."
Re the ferries and prices that's another topic but come back if you want more info. For route planning we use a combination of Google maps, Viamichelin and old fashioned Phillips Map of Europe. One advantage of Viamichelin is that it will show the cost of tolls which by varying the arrival port and route from it can be reduced significantly.
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You can stay on any motorway services overnight, but plenty of people don't recommend it, these days, especially around major cities. There was a story posted on this form just a couple of days ago from someone who prevented a thief breaking into his motorhome recently on a service station on the autoroute in the south of France.
Having done the journey many times in the past, and stayed overnight on a variety of motorway services, I have become increasingly reluctant to recommend it, in recent years, as it does seem that it's not as safe as it used to be when we first started doing it some thirty-odd years ago.
Thieves don't necessarily have to 'break in' to a caravan. Our caravan was entered whilst parked up (but unoccupied at the time) on a rural site in southern France. We suspect that the thieves had a set of caravan keys, as the caravan was completely undamaged and the door locked when my husband arrived back the following morning, but lots of stuff was missing.
If you do choose to stay overnight on services, then make sure it's one of the larger places, with a fuel station and cafeteria, park up in a well lit area, make sure all your valuables are safe in both the car and caravan. There are other precautions you can take, such as putting something against the door, in the doorway so that if someone does get in the noise of something falling outwards will wake you and unnerve them. Or you can fit a simple alarm where a circuit is broken if someone tries to open the door.
There are sites near Calais which take late arrivals (Les Erables at Peuplingues for example) but I don't know of any further south, especially at what will be 'the middle of the night'. I would be inclined, like others have suggested, to stay near Calais, have another overnight stop on Saturday night, and forego one night's site fees to make for a safer and more enjoyable journey.
In recent years we have stayed near Millau on the A75 for our second night, and then it's possible to arrive at Valras by lunchtime meaning you actually only miss a very short time on site.
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Even though I don't work when travelling alone with the van I often travel overnight staying at services for 3hour sleep break with no problem. I always try to avoid cities and only stop on parts of the toll road system. Last year I stopped over in the Vosges and also in Holland with no problem. Travelling alone I only have myself to consider and just be vigilant.
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Thank you all, I'm trying to save a nights fees I'm trying to get their as my daughters best friend is there and they leave on sunday and they wanted a night together at the disco!
We are two drivers so perhaps will go all night. Last year we drove from Dordogne to Calais in one day and found it really easy but may be that's an easier route.
We wanted to go Newhaven but the cost is double and only gets you 30-60 minutes closer than Calais which I don't understand at all!
I will check those sites many thanks for giving advise much appreciated
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I used to live near Beziers and have done the journey many times solo and with a caravan in tow. It is a long way and even solo we very rarely did it in one day. With a caravan in tow we would give ourselves 2 nights en route. If you are the only driver I would contact the site to tell them I would be a day late. If you can share the driving the trip is feasible. But having said that I know of people who do it in one go; however, I cannot recommend this. Where you stop for rests, and that will be all you can do to get to the site before reception closes, it will be your tiredness that dictates where you stop rather than pre planning. You have not said when you are going. If it is mid Jul to mid Aug you could well clash with the French 'Black Saturdays' making your journey a nightmare. Sorry to sound negative but this does seem to be the consensus from most contributors. As an additional comment; why go via Paris? We used to go via Rouen, Dreux, Chartres, Orleans and found it a much better drive.
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I would echo other posters and feel that it will be quite a demanding journey, especially if you are towing. Maybe you have to be a little laid back and see how you feel as your journey progresses. I don't know how old your daughter is but a few years ago we stayed near Beziers and our friends mid-teenage children flew down to spend time with us. Grandparents put them on the plane and we met them off. Might be worth thinking about if your daughter badly wants to meet up with her friend.
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It all sounds fine on paper, but will it all work in practice would be my take on your plan. You haven't made clear whether you are towing a caravan. If you are towing, I think that after working before setting off, your proposal could be dangerous, unless you can find suitable place to stay before or around Paris, then you should be OK.
Please don't consider sharing the driving and not stopping, you will most likely endanger yourselves and others, need 2 days of your holiday to recover.
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