First time to France?????
Hi to everyone.
I am looking at taking our van to France this August but have never ever even drove abroad before.
I am looking for a ideal site for our 2 young children so any recommendations would be very much appreciated.
I understand there's much I need to take into account i.e., facilities on site , electrics (are these different) would I need to purchase different cables and other accessories I've actually no idea.
The actual ferry crossing also sounds daunting but you have to start somewhere I guess.
would I need to download sat nav instructions .....oh my god ,I'm already putting myself off going.
Any help regarding getting started would be gratefully accepted and in return I will personally send you a post card 😀
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Please, please, please, stop worrying. I had never driven abroad before, and I took two young children on my own as I had split up with their dad. We drove 2,600 miles without a (major) mishap and had a wonderful time! Admittedly I had camped and caravanned in France before, but never actually done any of the driving.
Roads are quieter, and more caravan-friendly. The ferry crossing is easy - just drive on and drive back off again! Make sure you drive on the right by thinking 'keep your bum in the gutter' whenever you pull out anywhere, go around a roundabout, or negotiate a junction. Campsite electrics are mostly the same - but you may need a French two pin adaptor as well. Take a good map with detailed roads - a Michelin atlas is a good one. If you've got a good map you can manage perfectly well without a SatNav.
Whereabouts are you planning to cross? How long do you want to travel? Where are you thinking about finding a site? There are lovely sites almost everywhere in France and most of them are geared up for children. If your children are under six years old then it might pay to think about Spring Bank Holiday and you'll have a pick of all sites and won't even need to book. In July and August if you want popular sites in beach areas then you may have more problems in finding a pitch.
Sorry I read again that you say August - can you perhaps go the last two weeks in August, when things will be a bit quieter and more pitches available.
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Thank you so much Valda.
we are tied to those dates due to work commitments.
Ideally Val we would like a site suitable for kids and not to far away from Calais.
we are in Sheffield so will probably go from Dover ???,
again not sure I've only heard of Dover.
I am wanting to book something today for 11th and depart on the 20th August.
brittany ,burgundy maybe not sure of distance ?.
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Don't you dare let yourself be put off
Once you have been you will be back every year. We first went with two small children after three consecutive wet holidays in this country and then returned every year for about eight years while the children came with us. Hubby had only been abroad once and certainly never driven but he said it was far easier than he thought. If you cross to Calais the road takes you straight onto the motorway so you don't have to worry about finding your way initially.We use our satnav all the time but you MUST have a good map with you in case the satnav has a sulk as ours has occasionally.
https://www.eurocampings.co.uk/
I use these two sites to look for campsites. The second one is called uk but covers abroad as well.
https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Routes
Is a good website for distances. Calais to Beaune in Burgundy for example is 381 miles.
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What about Camping Le Champ Neuf - which is about an hour and a half from Calais, and has an indoor pool in case the weather is not good. It's near to the coast for lovely beaches, Bay de Somme for birdwatching and seals or the Parc de Marquenterre (where you can see a huge colony of storks) if your children would be interested. Nearby is St Valery (where there is a tourist train route) and Le Crotoy which are nice little towns to wander round, and a very easy drive there and back, mostly on the autoroute.
Dover to Brittany is about 400 miles to the nicer parts. Dover to Burgundy about the same.
It's not a problem, driving, but if you really want an easy holiday then Champ Neuf can provide it - and it's just as French and different as driving hundreds of miles.
However, if you want more guaranteed weather, if there is such a thing these days,, then head south of the Loire, which is a bit further still.
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Reviews of Champ Neuf here
If you're only going between the 11th and the 20th then going further south is probably not a good idea as two or your days (at least) will be taken up travelling.
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All the above advice is excellent. Caravanning in France is easy and not complicated; really all you have to remember when you are there is to drive on the right and then where will we go next time you venture across the channel. Book your ferry and site as soon as possible. When we first started going on the continent many many years ago with young children we used to drive down to Dover on day one (we lived in the midlands then), stay at a site near Dover, get an early morning ferry the next day (last of the cheaper night fares!) and have breakfast on the boat, the children loved it. Obviously things like Health Card (free), insurance, breakdown cover etc need to be sorted but that is easy. Get a few euros before you go and if possible a card that does not charge for o'seas transactions; there are many Post Office, Halifax for example. The food is excellent, the weather better, the wine marvellous and France is a very child friendly country. Pity you are stuck to August but that's the way it is for many. Don't take too much stuff but ensure you have a bottle opener, sun umbrella and, ideally, a BBQ! Finally, should anyone dare to post negative comments just ignore them!!!
We all started somewhere in the past - pre sat nav days
. Relax, enjoy your holiday and keep it simple.
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Th OP mentions near to Calais so guessing not wanting to go far for the first trip.
There are some lovely beaches in Normandy (obviously) so could that be a starting point. How about not spending all your time in one place how about 2 different sites, you don't have to travel far between them to get to totally different areas.
As other have said we all had to start somewhere. Are you both (and children) familiar with the caravan and setting everything up once arrived. If so then half the battle has been done already, so many folk are new to everything on their first trip.
If you are not familiar then use the weekends to get away in this country and practice. Think about what things you will need for a 2 week holiday, don't be tempted to take to much everything is available abroad. Do not overload either the caravan or the car.
Breathe and relax you have plenty of time to go over things on here, plenty of folk have lots of experience so can help out with every little question you should ask and remember nothing is silly if you don't know the answer.
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Hi Bonbons, Plan B.
Drive to Poole - same distance for you as Dover, but avoids the M25 around the London area. Ferry from Poole to Cherbourg and then a beachfront campsite within 25 miles of landing in France - a simple site or a fancy one, cheap or expensive, just as you wish.
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Many excellent posts on here.
Good suggestion from Tammy about Normandy as it won't be too far from Calais and there are seaside places like Dieppe and Honfleur which will help with kids and they are also very French.
Don't think that the crossing will be daunting. It's only 90 minutes from Dover and not like you will be venturing across the Bay of Biscay to Spain. In August you should be fine but if you are worried about seasickness then I can recommend Stugeron as an anti sickness pill, but seek advice from a Chemist. Mrs WN doesn't get seasick but is not at her best in early morning so tends to take one of these if it's an early crossing and they work.
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I would echo Eurortraveller's suggestion and head for Brittany. If you use either Portsmouth or Poole, you won't have any mega distances to cover, avoiding the worst of the "Are we there yet?". Southern Brittany has slightly better weather than the UK usually although not entirely guaranteed.
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The problem with Eurotraveller's original suggestion is that the OP has only 9 days between 11th and 20th August. To get a Poole crossing, outward, he would have to cross on Sunday 12th or set off from home on the 10th and spend that night at Poole, and to get a return crossing would arrive in Poole at 21.45 pm - leaving a very long late night journey or another overnight stop.
From Dover the OP can get a sailing at a time of his choice, drive an hour or two to a Picardie beach and still enjoy a French holiday without losing any days.
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I don't think you've mentioned whether you have any of the language. Unsurprisingly, you can get most things you'll need in English, but if you don't have any French it's worth starting now to get a few words - some "hello please thank you" type stuff, along with names of foods you're likely to want, counting, and so on. On our first trip ( 1980's, tent, 2 small children, wildly overpacked car and years before sat navs or mobile phones) we panicked that important signs would be indecipherable, but oddly, the sky didn't fall on our heads. And while our French was very basic, just the fact of trying a bit in shops and campsites helped enormously.
Have a great time, chances are you'll be fine!
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as a regular user of the above route, I'd recommend it too.....and there's a lovely kid friendly site called Camping Halliotis at a charming town called Pontorson....
Loads to do on site, including ball courts, loads of open grass, even a small 'zoo'....
also just up the road is the Mont St Michel, can be accessed by bike, car (up to a point, then a tram)....
check out the website...
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Actually, for children a site like Le Grand Large at Les Pieux is a better bet. It's less sophisticated than Haliotis but is right on a sandy beach, faces out to the Channel Islands, has a covered pool, and is less than 20 miles from getting off the ferry at Cherbourg.
But our children were happy enough at sites that were simpler still - there are municipal campings all along that same west facing coast like the one at Clairfontaine - with miles of beach.
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We all had to do it for the first time. You have good advice above. Just go for it and enjoy.
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Might be worth having a look at this page on this website https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overseas-holidays/useful-information/first-time-abroad/?ref=top_nav&id=first_time_abroad
David
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I'm with ValDa on this. The Picardy coast is an ideal distance from Calais and plenty of campsites. Many years ago we took our children to chateau drancourt near st valery a couple of years running. A lovely site then, no idea what its like now. Short drive to an empty beach, again no idea what its like now! But perfect for our children.
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Apologies if it has been mentioned earlier and I have missed it but an almost essential thing is the CMC's "Touring France" book. As well as listing and detailing over 3,500 sites in France it has a wealth of information in the first 90 pages of the book, particularly useful for the first time visitor. This covers everything such as documents, electricity, driving, road signs, essential equipment for the car, health matters, food, etc etc etc. Very well worth the £15.00
Valda (I think) mentioned motorways. These are far, far quieter than UK motorways and have good rest areas about every 12 to 15 miles on average. Many, though, are toll motorways (autoroutes) but are not that expensive. Many of us prefer non-autoroute journeys as they are usually very easy roads and more picturesque.
If I had to throw in any negativity it is that many, if not most, campsites are not particularly geared up for the English obsession with Aquarolls and Wastemasters. Water taps are often the slow push button type and suitable drains to empty the wastemaster are not usually of the sort that one would find in the UK. The motorhome service point is probably the best or do as most visitors of any nationality do and that is empty waste grey water under a hedge or bush. The water is usually very welcome.
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John's post reminded me that sanitary blocks are not always 'geared up for the English obsession' with toilet seats, toilet paper, etc. Always take your own roll on a first visit, and be prepared for a seatless toilet. This doesn't mean they are broken, or ill-maintained, just that campsite owners find toilets a lot easier to clean without a lid, hinges, etc., to trap dirt and odours. Toilet paper isn't supplied on some sites because of the propensity of some children to find it amusing to take huge wads and block the toilets or unroll the rolls all over the block.......... which we have seen on one occasion, (but campsite owner friends told us it happens regularly).
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And of course the British obsession (panic in fact) about what men should wear when going into a swimming pool.
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An important point. Men must wear trunks and not shorts in public swimming pools in France and this is usually enforced on camp sites as well. In Italy you also need a bathing cap (which you can buy at the pool quite cheaply).
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and some French sites as well. I used to have enough hair worth covering once upon a time.
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To make sure that your holiday starts well, here's a simple tip regarding ferry travel. When you leave the car deck make a note, mental or otherwise, of which deck you are on and which exit. Similarly, when you reach the upper deck, make a note of which stairwell you exit from.
Newcomers to ferry travel can often be seen wandering about looking for their vehicles, once the ferry has docked and everyone else is ready to go!
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Just read this post and my 1st thought was why not Portsmouth or Poole for a crossing and then a lot of family friendly campsites to choose from in Normandy or Brittany, lots of excellent beaches and just lots to see in general.
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