France Ferry & Campsite info (use Search function) mod warning post 1

kindalen

Are Irish Ferries still doing to free ferry to Britain with a booking to France in summer 2021?

Mickyjoek

SusanC10 wrote: »

We go for 3-4 weeks when going to France and like bringing the Car for the Bikes and also to bring home decent quantities of Wine !

We have driven Cherbourg to the Dordogne twice in the one day. Over 700km. My Husband does all the driving for that trip. 2 short stops and arrival just before 9pm both times.

We are hoping to make it to Spain (after the Dordogne) next Summer.

Drive from Cherbourg to Bordeaux after we get off the IF take a break for lunch, arrive around 5pm and have a lovely dinner close to the hotel, next morning leave around 10am and arrive on site in Aloha around 1/2pm. Have done this now 4 times now number 5 for 21 all booked, best way to go, bring everything but the kitchen sink with the wife and 3 kids now 10, 13 and 14. There's the usual fighting with the kids but when given the option as to weather they want to fly or drive they have always said drive as they enjoy the boat and love the fact that they can bring what they want in the car and enjoy the craic we have on the way down especially when paying the tolls (you have to be there). We wouldn't keep doing this if we didn't enjoy it. Any request for advice kindly shared.

sceach16

Mickyjoek wrote: »

Drive from Cherbourg to Bordeaux after we get off the IF take a break for lunch, arrive around 5pm and have a lovely dinner close to the hotel, next morning leave around 10am and arrive on site in Aloha around 1/2pm. Have done this now 4 times now number 5 for 21 all booked, best way to go, bring everything but the kitchen sink with the wife and 3 kids now 10, 13 and 14. There's the usual fighting with the kids but when given the option as to weather they want to fly or drive they have always said drive as they enjoy the boat and love the fact that they can bring what they want in the car and enjoy the craic we have on the way down especially when paying the tolls (you have to be there). We wouldn't keep doing this if we didn't enjoy it. Any request for advice kindly shared.

Whats with tolls ? We stick a credit card in and bingo.....only problem is cost!

gerfmurphy

Plan for next year is ferry to holyhead end of June. Drive to London to stay/see my brother, then next day eurotunnel over and Disney for 3/4 days before 16 days in Vendee.
Home on IF. It looks a hell of a lot cheaper. Ferry home was just hitting 1k
Any tips on Disney?

the_amazing_raisin

sceach16 wrote: »

Whats with tolls ? We stick a credit card in and bingo.....only problem is cost!

Maybe something to do with the ticket machine being on the passenger side of the car?

Nekarsulm

gerfmurphy wrote: »

Plan for next year is ferry to holyhead end of June. Drive to London to stay/see my brother, then next day eurotunnel over and Disney for 3/4 days before 16 days in Vendee.
Home on IF. It looks a hell of a lot cheaper. Ferry home was just hitting 1k
Any tips on Disney?

To be honest, I though one day was plenty for the Disney end of it.
( we didn't go to the movie/film park.)
Tough day, lots of queueing for fairly basic rides (some of them anyway) Space Mountain was great, Haunted house with a dropping floor v good, gold rush town and train likewise..
Biggest complaint? Nowhere to sit down , and a small child gets heavy...
Excellent parade about 6pm with all the characters, but get to your kerb spot by 5.
Every shop on the Main Street sells the same tat, and food very pensive for what it is.
Bring a cooler bag with enough picnic to do the day.
Carpark was about 30 Euro per 24 hours parked there. No hook-up. Railway station inside the park, at the main gates so very practical to commute in from a campsite near a station further out.

Munsterbhoy

gerfmurphy wrote: »

Plan for next year is ferry to holyhead end of June. Drive to London to stay/see my brother, then next day eurotunnel over and Disney for 3/4 days before 16 days in Vendee.
Home on IF. It looks a hell of a lot cheaper. Ferry home was just hitting 1k
Any tips on Disney?

Done practically the same in 2013, going thru the Eurotunnel was really cool. Don't know what ure accom is but we stayed in le village parisien, a campsite 20 mins from Disney. It suited us to stay away and commute in. Campsite was brilliant with pool, bar restaurant and it was lovely and quiet. For Disney obviously it's way overpriced to eat so bring in a packed lunch and as other poster said there is nowhere to sit and relax.. We had 3 day tickets but only did 2 and gave the other day to people we met at the campsite.

the_amazing_raisin

gerfmurphy wrote: »

Plan for next year is ferry to holyhead end of June. Drive to London to stay/see my brother, then next day eurotunnel over and Disney for 3/4 days before 16 days in Vendee.
Home on IF. It looks a hell of a lot cheaper. Ferry home was just hitting 1k
Any tips on Disney?

I'm debating doing the reverse. Ferry to France, campsite for a week, eurotunnel to UK, visit family, go to Legoland and home

I think it might be too much with too kids but I'm also not sure how much travelling we'll be able to do next year, so there's a temptation to roll it all into one mega holiday

Also, what's the deal with the Irish ferries not taking UK bookings for 2021? I know things are a bit in flux with Brexit but you'd think they'd take some bookings

Mickyjoek

sceach16 wrote: »

Whats with tolls ? We stick a credit card in and bingo.....only problem is cost!

The missus having to pay stick the arm out the windows and how close i get to the machine without damaging the car, herself giving out to me that I'm not close enough ðŸ˜

Mickyjoek

cruisey1987 wrote: »

Maybe something to do with the ticket machine being on the passenger side of the car?

Exactly, kids in the back putting her under pressure to get it right and waking her up as she lovrse to sleep on the drives.

54and56

Mickyjoek wrote: »

The missus having to pay stick the arm out the windows and how close i get to the machine without damaging the car, herself giving out to me that I'm not close enough ðŸ˜

You must have been a passenger in my car the last few years!!

fdevine

gerfmurphy wrote: »

Any tips on Disney?

Lots of great advice on the theme parks thread.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=112529561

Disney is as expensive as you make it really. There are cheaper places to eat and plenty of buffet style places that do meal deals

McDonalds isn't any more expensive than home in my experience & there's a newagents at the train station where you can get premade sandwiches

Do plan for the parades and if at all possible don't miss the closing fireworks

If planned properly a full day in each park is probably enough but it would be more leisurely over three days

McSween

How much do Tesco club card points/vouchers save on a France booking?

Usually, the wine weekend trip is about 380/400 return. We were going to put Tesco towards other things but saving them for a wine trip could be a good option

average_runner

cruisey1987 wrote: »

I'm debating doing the reverse. Ferry to France, campsite for a week, eurotunnel to UK, visit family, go to Legoland and home

I think it might be too much with too kids but I'm also not sure how much travelling we'll be able to do next year, so there's a temptation to roll it all into one mega holiday

Also, what's the deal with the Irish ferries not taking UK bookings for 2021? I know things are a bit in flux with Brexit but you'd think they'd take some bookings

Would hold off on Disney land till we know what will happen with Covid. We were due to go in November, just gave us a refund

tfeldi

McSween wrote: »

How much do Tesco club card points/vouchers save on a France booking?

Usually, the wine weekend trip is about 380/400 return. We were going to put Tesco towards other things but saving them for a wine trip could be a good option

Depends on how many club card points you have. We had about 800 Euro worth after the boost.

tfeldi

cruisey1987 wrote: »

I'm debating doing the reverse. Ferry to France, campsite for a week, eurotunnel to UK, visit family, go to Legoland and home

I think it might be too much with too kids but I'm also not sure how much travelling we'll be able to do next year, so there's a temptation to roll it all into one mega holiday

Also, what's the deal with the Irish ferries not taking UK bookings for 2021? I know things are a bit in flux with Brexit but you'd think they'd take some bookings

If considering to go through the UK on the return leg you might be restricted on what you can import into the UK and then into Ireland custom free due to Brexit. Some people like filling their car with cases of French wine. Worth looking into personal allowances.

MorganIRL

Hols booked for next August, hitting new area for us. Guerande north of St Nazaire. Have a day to kill coming from ferry (Cherbourg) to site.. has anyone any suggestions of somewhere to stay on route with things to do for 3 kids under 10.. cheap and cheerful preferably.. TIA

First Up

MorganIRL wrote:

Hols booked for next August, hitting new area for us. Guerande north of St Nazaire. Have a day to kill coming from ferry (Cherbourg) to site.. has anyone any suggestions of somewhere to stay on route with things to do for 3 kids under 10.. cheap and cheerful preferably.. TIA

Guerande is a nice typical medieval town with a good castle but not much else for under 10s. The most interesting thing nearby is the salt marshes and exhibits but that's not great for kids either.

Maybe give them a run on the beach at La Baule (and an oogle at the posh houses). The bridge over the river is spectacular.

Fann Linn

Holiday's sorted for end of August. Ferry down to Bilbao and then trek into French Pyrenees for two weeks.
Roll out that vaccine!!

Teeley

MorganIRL wrote: »

Hols booked for next August, hitting new area for us. Guerande north of St Nazaire. Have a day to kill coming from ferry (Cherbourg) to site.. has anyone any suggestions of somewhere to stay on route with things to do for 3 kids under 10.. cheap and cheerful preferably.. TIA

Can I ask what campsite you've booked? Lovely area and not a bad drive from ports.

MorganIRL

Teeley wrote: »

Can I ask what campsite you've booked? Lovely area and not a bad drive from ports.

Booked the Domaine de Leveno site through canvas. Found canvas so good last year, we wanted to try and use them this year. Haven't been to the area before, as u said easy enough drive from ports, but ferry timetable doesn't match up going out, so have to stay in a hotel or something on route for 1 night, hence my question looking for anywhere on route that peeps would recommend to stay and look around..

54and56

MorganIRL wrote: »

Booked the Domaine de Leveno site through canvas. Found canvas so good last year, we wanted to try and use them this year. Haven't been to the area before, as u said easy enough drive from ports, but ferry timetable doesn't match up going out, so have to stay in a hotel or something on route for 1 night, hence my question looking for anywhere on route that peeps would recommend to stay and look around..

If I was in your shoes I'd just drive to and stay in the Best Western Hôtel de la Cité in Guerande which is only 5 minutes from your campsite and would enable you to explore the area the day before you check in plus it would enable you to check in nice and early.

We (2 adults and 2 kids) stayed in similar Best Western Hotels over the years and always found them to be clean, safe, well run and very good value for money. There's no bells and whistles (although the one in Guerande does have a pool) but they are perfect for a family overnight stay IMHO.

I just checked and a family room for 4 occupants on Friday night July 9th is €99 if pre-paid which I think is pretty good.

MorganIRL

54and56 wrote: »

If I was in your shoes I'd just drive to and stay in the Best Western Hôtel de la Cité in Guerande which is only 5 minutes from your campsite and would enable you to explore the area the day before you check in plus it would enable you to check in nice and early.

We (2 adults and 2 kids) stayed in similar Best Western Hotels over the years and always found them to be clean, safe, well run and very good value for money. There's no bells and whistles (although the one in Guerande does have a pool) but they are perfect for a family overnight stay IMHO.

I just checked and a family room for 4 occupants on Friday night July 9th is €99 if pre-paid which I think is pretty good.

Perfect that's great info. If no other suggestions come in I'll prob do that. Had skirted over the hotels in the area already..

necstandards

Looking for campsite options with direct access to a beach. Have been to Sologogo and while it was great, I'd like to check for other options for 2021.

Munsterbhoy

necstandards wrote: »

Looking for campsite options with direct access to a beach. Have been to Sologogo and while it was great, I'd like to check for other options for 2021.

Les pierres couchees in Brittany. Its a Siblu park not too far from Nantes and 2 mins walk to beach.

54and56

necstandards wrote: »

Looking for campsite options with direct access to a beach. Have been to Sologogo and while it was great, I'd like to check for other options for 2021.

If you don't mind a 8-9 hour drive Siblu's La Reserve has a private lake beach onsite. It's excellent for younger kids as there's no waves, it's freshwater and quite shallow but it doesn't have that seaside beach vibe with crashing waves, surfers etc.

Sandwell

necstandards wrote: »

Looking for campsite options with direct access to a beach. Have been to Sologogo and while it was great, I'd like to check for other options for 2021.

We're looking at this place in southern Brittany:

https://www.camping-les-embruns.com/en/

It seems to get great reviews.

Jaden

necstandards wrote: »

Looking for campsite options with direct access to a beach. Have been to Sologogo and while it was great, I'd like to check for other options for 2021.

Camping Du Letty in Benodet. We've been there a couple of times, and are desperate to get back in 21. The site is bordered by a beach, some pitches are literally the other side of a hedge from the sand.

beggars_bush

Jaden wrote: »

Camping Du Letty in Benodet. We've been there a couple of times, and are desperate to get back in 21. The site is bordered by a beach, some pitches are literally the other side of a hedge from the sand.

No mobile homes or chalets though

Maximus_1

Took the gamble and booked deposit this morning for 10 days in July in a site close to Bordeaux. Les Grande Pins site looks great. Spent the extra few quid on the flights to include cancellation if this blasted virus is still a big deal by then. Fingers crossed we're clear for take off! Excited for something to look forward to. Seems counter intuitive booking with things the way they are but I'm an optimist or maybe deluded I'm not sure! Please God this vaccine can be a big success. Never been to Bordeaux region so can't wait. . Not gonna tell the kids until much closer the time to avoid disappointment!